RAPPORT
Issue 5 (August 2020)
rather than those who might most be
in need of updating or training.
(Portfolio 30, CS 3)
While the case studies naturally focus on
the personal development of the authors,
they also offer examples of times when
they have supported others or have
attempted development initiatives. These
have met with varying success. In some
cases, the initiative was well received:
Input on pastoral support that I have
developed focuses on raising
awareness of centralised
professional support services and
reviewing advice from the Wellbeing
Service as to how to conduct
appointments.
This [advice] provides a checklist or
scaffold that frames the interaction
with the student. A number of staff
have responded particularly well to
this input and approached me after
the workshops to say how they
appreciated this discussion. It
seems to be of particular concern to
a number of staff who are
uncomfortable dealing with areas
outside of their own academic
expertise, and nervous when dealing
with students in distress.
These pages provide a framework
for managing these interviews and
also proved useful in feeding back to
staff [completing the CRA / SEDA
Award] on their portfolio drafts. Here
the framework provides an objective
means to assess the performance of
academic advisers; did they follow
the correct procedure? Were there
any missed opportunities? Were
appropriate permissions sought
before referring on?
I have also used this informal
checklist as a means to frame my
feedback to a member of staff in
compiling their portfolio. It provided a
way to unpack and discuss a
potentially very stressful interview
with a student. It also prompts the
staff member to manage the process
of the interview without being overly
directive or providing false
reassurance or solutions. The
member of staff [said] that they had
found this useful. (Portfolio 5, CS 4)
These examples show how those in a
senior tutor (or equivalent) role can
support colleagues in carrying out their
work as tutors, and it is interesting that it
is often practical information or
frameworks that are most appreciated.
However, it is not always the case that
support is welcomed or appreciated, as
underlying resistance, perhaps due to the
issues mentioned above, surface:
This was not a success. Some staff
did not attend the meeting at all;
others attended and contributed to
other parts of the agenda, but
decided to leave when we
approached this part ("I'm not an
APA this year, I don't need to be
here"). (Portfolio 19, CS 4)
What also became evident very
quickly was that existing staff,
particularly within Computing, were
not all keen to embrace the
guidelines offered within the newly
published procedure. There were
concerns raised about the types of
problems students might bring to the
discussion, the time constraints
involved in managing appointments,
the communications that had to go
out to students and the recording of
the meetings onto the university
database. Whilst there was a visible
compliance with the university
requirements, the essence of what a
Personal Tutor represented was not
always transparent. (Portfolio 31,
CS 3)
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