Challenges and Triumphs: The development and implementation of an Institution-wide Personal Tutor Training Programme

Bingham Ann (University of Southampton)
Julia Kelly (University of Southampton)

Monday, April 8, 2024 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM

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Session Outline


It is often invisible and seemingly undervalued, yet the role of the personal tutor plays a fundamental role in the retention and progression of our students.

Personal tutoring/Academic Advising is often seen as an ‘add-on’ to the ‘important’ roles of research and teaching and as a result, this lack of recognition, can leave us feeling under-appreciated and with a sense of isolation. We will explore how, in trying to address this by developing a supportive community, we identified, and addressed, a gap in training provision for personal tutors.

Through this workshop we will explore the process utilised in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the initial pilot programme for Personal tutor training, how this has evolved over the past 3 years, as well as sharing the impact this has had on personal tutors who have engaged in the programme.

The design followed consultation with key stakeholders and results of staff surveys to inform the design. We explore how we used the resulting data to identify the emerging key themes and how those reflected those found in literature.

We explore the challenges and the triumphs and through the lively interactive session, explore how this practice could be developed to suit other institutional landscapes. It offers an opportunity to engage in discussions around existing programmes and share how to identify and overcome potential challenges.

Competencies
This session addresses the following competencies of the UKAT Professional Framework for Advising and Tutoring
C3 - Academic advising and tutoring approaches and strategies
P1 - Create and support environments that consider the needs and perspectives of students, and respect individual learners
P3 - Commit to students, colleagues, and their institutions through engagement in continuing professional development, scholarly enquiry, and the evaluation of professional practices
R4 - Plan and conduct successful advising and tutoring interactions
R7 - Collaborate effectively with campus services to provide support to students
I6 - Campus and community resources that support student success
C1 - Core values of academic advising and tutoring