Student Support & Resources

Programme Support (Departmental)

We recognise that combining part-time study with work and other commitments can be very demanding. To address this we offer four forms of support: academic, pastoral, administrative and the wider facilities of the University. These exist to address the questions and the difficulties which participants may have during a programme of this kind. The following sections guide where you might direct your question/problem.

Academic Support

If you are finding the development of your assessed work particularly challenging, want to discuss whether an idea for an assignment is viable or want clarification of a concept then you should contact the lead for the module you are currently studying (usually by email which can be found on the contacts page at the front of this handbook). If your question or problem cannot be resolved in this way then it may be possible to organise a one to one meeting as described earlier, with the module lead or one of the module team. This might be particularly relevant if you are referred in a particular assignment (we define this in the assessment section).

Pastoral Support

We distinguish between academic and pastoral support in two ways. Firstly, we recognise that issues outside of your academic work may arise. Secondly, we try to ensure that the transition between modules is as smooth as possible by identifying if there are any ‘strategic’ problems with your work e.g. difficulties with reflective writing. Pastoral support is provided by a personal tutor who will be allocated to you after the induction day and will stay with you for the duration of the programme.

Personal Tutors

Mr Andrew Stork is the Director of Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education and has overall responsibility for the postgraduate course.

What a personal tutor is NOT required to do

The tutor is independent to the student’s qualification and does not provide course-specific advice, read through and give feedback on summative or formative assignments, or provide extra course tutoring of any kind.

Which students get personal tutors?

Every student registered on the Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education is allocated a personal tutor at the beginning of the academic year and these details will be emailed to you after your Induction Day.

Support Services

Sometimes your tutor will offer support and guidance well beyond what is expected of a personal tutor. In these instances, tutees can be signposted to specialised services offered by the University.

Administrative Support

The programme administrator is the person you should contact if you are concerned about any other part of your programme.

The programme administrator monitors attendances, submissions and requests for extensions and can discuss any related worries you have with the programme. If you require assistance through the Programme because you are struggling with the workload, the programme administrator can discuss this with you and recommend a new set of submission deadlines. The programme administrator will in many cases decide that you need to speak with the Programme Director or a tutor for a specific module if the area of concern is academic related and will organise this for you. The Programme Director and the administrator work together to ensure that participants meet the programme requirements in respect of attendance and submission of work.