As a personal tutor, you are often the first point of contact for students; therefore, it is important that you are aware of the role, its expectations, and its limitations so that a student can be referred appropriately to a more specialised source of support if required.

You are expected to attend the Education Development Unit’s Introduction to personal tutoring workshop. The workshop discusses expectations and practical approaches to fulfilling them, as well as how to establish boundaries and signpost specialist expertise.

Your role and responsibilities are outlined in detail here and a summary can be found below.

There are further resources available through the Educational Development Unit (EDU). 

 

Summary of Roles and Responsibilities

Summary of personal tutor’s role
  • Have conversations with students about their general academic, personal and professional development, as appropriate
  • Establish regular contact and a supportive, professional relationship with students through meetings, although other forms of communication might be used for cases like placement students
  • Maintain overview of students’ progress and development  
  • Signpost students towards appropriate sources of support where necessary
  • Signpost students toward developmental opportunities and share links to resources, where available

 

As a personal tutor, you should also be aware of where to find information relating to academic regulations, academic policies and procedures at Imperial, including key policies and procedures relating to the academic and examination regulations, discipline, complaints and appeals. 

What students can expect

During their time at Imperial, students can expect that you will:

  • Offer practical guidance and support on matters relating to their studies, and signposting to other areas of support when settling into university
  • Provision of academic support, guidance and signposting on challenges encountered during studies
  • Provide opportunities to discuss academic progress and develop confidence in learning independently
  • Discuss professional development and career decisions (with support from the Careers Service), and provide a reference for jobs, placements and further study when needed
  • Discuss topics relating to other aspects of university life

 

If there is a concern which a student does not want to discuss with their personal tutor, they can contact their department’s Senior Tutor or their Student Wellbeing Adviser, or other forms of support.