Session Outline

This paper explores how early communication and collaboration across university departments can strengthen personal tutoring practice and measurably improve student success. Drawing on case studies and practitioner insight from the University of Sunderland in London, the study examines the ways in which Personal Academic Tutors, wellbeing teams, student support services, and student administration collaborate to promote academic progression, particularly through preventative rather than reactive intervention.

Grounded in experience across both student support and academic tutoring contexts, the research focuses on internal processes such as student data records, early tutorial scheduling, and informal referrals to pastoral or academic services. The research findings show that when embedded early in the student journey, these collaborative practices contribute significantly to positive outcomes. The paper highlights recurrent patterns of disengagement and missed contact points between departments, offering evidence that coordinated responses are more likely to re-engage students and prevent withdrawal, confirming the findings of Yale (2019), and McIntosh and Nutt (2022).

The study further examines institutional approaches for identifying students who may be at risk of academic failure or disengagement. This includes tracking attendance records, submission deadlines, and classroom engagement, as well as interpreting more nuanced indicators such as shifts in communication frequency or a reduction in help seeking behaviours. The paper investigates how these early indicators are interpreted within and across teams, and how they can inform more unified responses through integrated support systems, an approach sustained as well by Gray and Perkins (2019).

The research methodology includes the analysis of anonymised engagement data, compass ticket logs, and student reflections from those who accessed academic support over the last two years. This is complemented by qualitative insights from academic and professional services staff. While the findings are institution specific, they present transferable principles that illustrate the potential of proactive communication strategies. A subsequent journal article will undertake a more critical evaluation of these case studies, focusing on key turning points in student trajectories and institutional decision making.

The session aims to:

• Identify the importance of collaborative support that can be adapted in different institutional settings

• Discuss the role of tutors and advisers as institutional connectors

• Demonstrate contextually appropriate responses to student risk factors

The conference session will extend this work by engaging participants in practical reflection on how similar indicators and risks are addressed within their respective contexts. During the conference presentation, participants will engage with reflective prompts, small group discussion, and structured mapping activities.

Drawing on anonymised student journey narratives, each group will explore moments of missed opportunity and suggest alternative responses grounded in their own institutional experience. These conversations will centre on decision making processes, including how and when academic or wellbeing teams intervene, and how information is shared or lost in practice. Attendees will be encouraged to consider how current structures enable or limit timely response to risk, and where greater cross departmental coordination may be achievable.

The session is designed for colleagues engaged in advising, academic tutoring, and student support, particularly those seeking to develop a more connected, data informed, and preventative approach to student success. Participants will leave with examples and shared tools that may be adapted to support earlier intervention and more coherent team-based responses within their own institutions.

Learning Outcomes

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