Session Outline

Research consistently demonstrates that strong personal tutoring relationships can significantly foster a sense of belonging among students (Palmer et al., 2009). However, the majority of existing scholarship focuses on these benefits within the humanities and social sciences, meaning there is limited exploration of how academic personal tutoring operates within business education and other applied disciplines. Given Advance HE’s observation that cultivating a sense of community is positively linked to student integration and retention (Taylor, 2022), the value of academic personal tutoring remains highly significant (Thomas, 2012). In light of this, the establishment of the Academic Personal Tutor (“APT”) Team, one which is separate and distinct from the pastoral student support team, represents a distinctive and innovative pilot initiative within Salford Business School. Launched at the end of 2022, the purpose of this team is to deliver tailored one-to-one academic support that strengthens the student experience, enhances academic progression, and fosters learner confidence. Previous conference submissions to UKAT have focussed on broad overviews of the APT pilot’s impact on student experience. However, this submission, while building on earlier work (Seager, 2025), offers a deeper, more targeted analysis of the extent to which APT intervention can directly influence progression and grade attainment across three distinct programmes within the Business School.

This project analyses the impact of APT engagement within three Business School programmes: Accounting and Finance, Business Management, and Law. Specifically, it examines the experiences and performance of a targeted group of 25 Level Four students per programme during the 2024/25 academic year. Drawing on qualitative insights from programme-specific focus groups, as well as comparative quantitative analysis of progression indicators, the project evaluates how personalised academic tutoring may relate to student outcomes.

Early evidence emerging in this project indicates that across all three programmes, the students who engaged with APT support have achieved consistently higher average module grades than their wider cohorts as a whole, and even more so against a control group of students who have not engaged with the APT provision at all. Furthermore, feedback from the student focus groups broadly highlighted that learners attributed elements of their academic success to the personalised support received from the APT team. Students described the interventions as contributing to a more tailored and meaningful student experience, with many referencing a positive impact on confidence, motivation, and engagement. They also emphasised the value of working with a tutor who understood their individual needs and academic journey, reinforcing the importance of relational pedagogies in promoting progression and enhancing the overall sense of belonging.

It is recognised that the student numbers in this project are small and therefore not determinative of correlation; however, the findings remain instructive, offering valuable insights into emerging trends, learner behaviour, and the potential of distinct academic personalised tutoring as a supportive mechanism. Therefore, this submission aims not only to present emerging evidence as this project continues, but also to receive critical reflections from peers and to share evolving examples of best practice in academic personal tutoring.

Learning Outcomes

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