Session Outline

Humanising academic tutoring: Creating Safe Spaces and Building Community Through Small Interactions

Claudia Panuta (University of Sunderland London)

Belonging and mattering are often framed in strategic terms, yet in reality they are cultivated through micro-moments, small, everyday interactions that make students feel recognised and valued (Berry, 2025). Tutors, frequently the first point of contact for academic or personal concerns, play a pivotal role in shaping these experiences. Their accessibility, empathy, and attentiveness reassure students and strengthen their connection to the institution, fostering an environment where learners feel they matter and are part of something larger than themselves (Yale, 2017).

However, students may hesitate to approach their Personal Academic Tutor when interactions feel transactional, overly formal, or limited to academic performance alone. A lack of relational trust, perceived inaccessibility, or fear of being judged can prevent students from seeking support, underscoring the importance of humanising tutoring through empathy and authentic connection.

These signals of recognition often emerge in subtle ways: recalling a prior conversation, acknowledging a student’s perspective, or creating space for reflection during moments of uncertainty. Occurring in informal or transitional spaces, before or after meetings, in unstructured dialogue, or through spontaneous opportunities for engagement, such encounters, though modest in appearance, have a cumulative impact. They humanise the advising relationship and reinforce the message that students are seen as individuals rather than solely as learners within a system.

This study aims to explore the extent to which the relational tutoring practices could create safe and supportive spaces for students within higher education.

Delegates will have the opportunity to observe real examples of how micro-moments of care can be integrated into everyday advising, reflect on institutional approaches, and leave with practical, scalable strategies to strengthen belonging, enhance student confidence, and embed a culture of mattering across their own institutions.

Mandatory Check-Ins as an Emerging Early-Warning System for Personal Tutoring: Insights from a Whole-Cohort Pilot

Isabelle Brent (Buckinghamshire New University); Buxi Duan (Buckinghamshire New University)

This Lightning Talk presents findings from Buckinghamshire New University’s (BNU) development of mandatory, universal check-ins for all Foundation and Level 4 students. The pilot was designed to understand the kinds of issues students are experiencing at the start of their studies, identify early indicators of belonging and mattering, and gain insight into the navigational challenges they face when transitioning into higher education. These insights now shape the next step in institutional practice: embedding mandatory check-ins within the personal tutoring system to strengthen early intervention, belonging, and academic identity.

The pilot consisted of a structured 10-minute conversations focusing on belonging, wellbeing, engagement, and early academic or logistical barriers. Internal evaluation revealed two striking patterns: first, attendance significantly declined when messaging shifted from ‘mandatory’ to ‘recommended’, demonstrating that voluntary participation does not reach the full cohort (particularly students least likely to self-refer); second, students often reported high confidence while simultaneously lacking awareness of core support services, including personal tutoring. This ‘hidden risk’ phenomenon echoes evidence that students often overestimate readiness while lacking the cultural and navigational capital needed for academic transition (Karp & Bork, 2014; Thomas, 2012). It also reinforces the literature showing that early personalised contact is central to fostering belonging, mattering, and persistence (Strayhorn, 2018; Tinto, 2017). Together, these findings point to the need for structured, universal contact that normalises help-seeking and enables systematic identification of barriers before assessments begin.

The next developmental stage involves bringing the check-ins into closer alignment with the personal tutoring model. Research on proactive advising consistently demonstrates that institution-initiated contact—that is timely, relational, and systematically delivered—has the greatest impact on continuation and early engagement (Varney, 2012; Finnie et al., 2017). A blended approach is proposed in which academic coaches undertake high-volume early touchpoints, enabling personal tutors to focus on discipline-specific academic identity, complex issues, and escalated cases. This form of role differentiation is supported by advising scholarship emphasising relational competency, workload sustainability, and consistent student experience (McGill et al., 2020; Steele & McIntosh, 2020).

The session will be co-presented by the institutional lead for personal tutoring and an academic coach.

• The Personal Tutoring Lead will introduce the rationale, evidence base, and implications for personal tutoring—particularly how mandatory early contact complements and strengthens discipline-based academic guidance.

• The Academic Coach will demonstrate the practicalities of delivering the check-ins, including how rapport is established in 10 minutes, the questions that elicit meaningful responses, and the patterns of concerns that emerged from the pilot.

This dual perspective illustrates how mandatory check-ins can evolve into a core mechanism supporting belonging, mattering, and equitable early intervention within a renewed personal tutoring ecosystem.

Session Format

Lightning Talk (15 minutes)

Co-presented by the Personal Tutoring Lead and an Academic Coach.

The Transformative Role of Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising in Supporting Transition, Belonging, and Graduate Confidence for International Students

Lei Zeng (University of Manchester); Yao Yao (University of Manchester)

The increasing internationalisation of higher education has intensified the need for effective structures that support the diverse academic, social, and developmental needs of international students. While personal tutoring and academic advising serve as central mechanisms for fostering student success, their potential to shape empowering and future-oriented trajectories for international learners is not always fully realised. Aligned with the conference theme, Spotlight on Student Futures, this lightning session aims to examine how tailored, culturally responsive tutoring practices can actively support international students’ transitions into UK higher education and enhance their long-term educational outcomes.

The session has three key objectives. First, it seeks to identify and articulate the specific challenges faced by international students, including cultural adjustment, linguistic demands, social integration, and differing academic expectations, and demonstrate how these challenges influence engagement and feelings of mattering. Drawing on research indicating the centrality of belonging in student success (Masika & Jones, 2016; Meehan & Howells, 2019), the session discusses how structured, compassionate advising interactions can foster a stronger sense of inclusion and academic community.

Second, the session aims to outline concrete tutoring practices that support academic transition, with an emphasis on demystifying hidden curricula, clarifying assessment expectations, and developing academic literacies. It will present examples of proactive advising strategies, such as early diagnostic conversations, explicit feedback guidance, and culturally sensitive communication, that help international students navigate new pedagogical norms and build academic confidence.

Third, the session seeks to highlight the role of advising in shaping international students’ future aspirations and employability, an area often complicated by unfamiliar labour markets, visa regulations, and limited access to professional networks (Zeng, 2024). The session introduces approaches based on developmental advising, focusing on how tutors can support reflection, goal-setting, and engagement with co-curricular opportunities that strengthen graduate identities.

Overall, the content of the session is structured to provide participants with evidence-informed strategies and practical examples of how personal tutors and advisors can enact culturally aware, relationally grounded support that enhances international students’ wellbeing, continuation, and graduate outcomes. By foregrounding the lived experiences of international learners and the mechanisms through which advising can influence their trajectories, the session contributes to broader sector discussions on creating equitable, empowering, and future-focused educational environments.

Learning Outcomes

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