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What is a Personal Tutor (PT) for?
What is a Personal Tutor (PT) for?
Personal Tutors are your first point of contact for any issues or questions about academic or personal matters throughout your degree.
Specific questions about module content should be posted on the Question & Answer sheets via Blackboard. Questions of an organisational nature can be directed to the relevant Stream Leader/Module Organiser.
Personal Tutors:
Provide an entrance to the department, giving information and assistance for each new student to overcome the initial problems associated with starting a new degree course and to get to know the nature of the department, allowing the students to become a part of the Departmental “community”.
Provide guidance and oral feedback throughout the degree course, including the detailed monitoring of academic progress and encouraging self assessment and reflection.
Provide guidance on how to deal with academic and personal problems that may arise.
Discuss options for the future.
If you are unsure who your Personal Tutor is, please contact the relevant Level Administrator.
Departmental Policy on Personal Tutoring
All students will be allocated a named Personal Tutor at the beginning of their Level 1 studies. As far as possible, we try to ensure that you stay with the same tutor throughout your degree, so that there is one member of staff you know well. Your Personal Tutor may not be able to solve your problems, but will certainly be able to give you advice or information about where to seek help.
Personal Tutors meet their students at least once each semester with an additional email 'check-in'. Additional meetings may also take place at the instigation of the Personal Tutor or the student.
If a Personal Tutor is absent, another meeting will be scheduled.
In the event of a complaint or wish to change to another Personal Tutor, students should consult the Senior Tutor (Dr Merve Mollaahmetoglu) or the Head of Department (Dr Chris Martin).
The role of the Personal Tutor will be to provide personal support and academic guidance, acting as a first point of contact for students and a conduit, where necessary, to the wide range of student support services provided by the University and the Students' Union. Where the student asks that information given to a Personal Tutor be treated as confidential, this will be respected.
Personal Tutorials
Personal Tutorials
Personal Tutorials should be viewed as a principal mechanism of feedback. Information on coursework and exam results are made available to the tutor, and students are encouraged to reflect on their performance during the scheduled meetings.
If your Personal Tutor is unavailable or your problem is an administrative one, then please contact your Level Administrator.
It is important to meet your personal tutor early on in your programme so you know who to go to if you have a problem. Remember, your Personal Tutor is not just there to help resolve issues but to support you in reaching your full potential and making the most out of your experience here so be proactive and make the most of your meetings.
Getting help
Getting help
If you are experiencing difficulties, do not wait for your scheduled meeting but contact your Personal Tutor as soon as you can. They will want to help you identify ways to help resolve the problem. If they are not in their office you can email or phone your Personal Tutor to ask for an appointment at a mutually convenient time (see Academic Contact times for official office hours).
Alternative sources of help
Alternative sources of help
Tutors may not always themselves be able to provide the necessary support and guidance for personal problems, but will do their utmost to advise you in confidence about help that is available elsewhere. The University also has a Counselling Service and Personal Harassment Network to whom you may turn for advice. Personal Tutors can put you in touch if necessary.
If, for whatever reason, you have difficulties in approaching a Personal Tutor on a particular matter, you should contact either the Senior Tutor, or your level administrator. You should feel free to contact any member of staff if you have a serious or urgent problem.
We very much hope that everyone will have an enjoyable and rewarding experience throughout their course, but it is important that people know where to turn if you did wish to make a complaint. Anyone wishing to raise a complaint about the course, or a member of staff, are encouraged to raise the matter informally in the first instance. This can be done by approaching the Head of Department, your Level Tutor or Personal Tutor, or a member of Administrative staff, depending on the issue and/or whom you feel most comfortable to approach. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this informal action then a formal complaint may be made to the University using the appropriate form from the link below.
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/complaints-and-appeals/complaints
If your complaint is regarding another student, then the best people to contact are the University's Central Welfare and Wellbeing team. You are also advised to inform your Personal Tutor (even if you do not wish to disclose details) because a situation of this sort is likely to affect your performance. The Central Welfare and Wellbeing Team can be contacted via the following link:
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