RAPPORT
Issue 5 (August 2020)
and support from senior management is
available.
Effective management and leadership of
the personal tutoring system implies a
ladder of support that stretches up from
the personal tutor to senior management,
by way of the Senior Personal Tutor, the
University Tutor and the Dean of
Students to the DVC Student
Experience, or whatever the equivalent
roles are in any particular institution.
Arguably, the impulse of leadership
needs to come from the top, but a
perusal of UK personal tutoring policies
suggests that the chain may be broken,
most often just above the level of Senior
Personal Tutor, which itself has only in
recent decades become a common role.
The passion and vision for personal
tutoring may sit largely at this level of
staff who have made the choice to
specialise in academic and pastoral
support, but who may not have the status
or the capacity to influence institutional
policy to create the necessary structures
or to negotiate for resources and other
support to achieve their goals.
It is essential that this group be
empowered, and that the ladder of
support remains unbroken. For this to be
realised, institutions will need to be
prepared to invest in resources that will
undoubtedly bring a positive return on
that investment. While a comprehensive
and conclusive cost-benefits analysis of
personal tutoring systems has yet to be
carried out, Simpson’s (2006) article on
the Open University’s initiative to prevent
student drop out provides a clear
indication that the benefits - for
institution, staff and students - far
outweigh the costs.
References
Grant, A. (2006) Personal tutoring: a
system in crisis? In Thomas, L, & .
Hixenbaugh, P. (eds.) Personal
tutoring in Higher Education. Stoke on
Trent: Trentham Books (pp 11-20)
Grant, A. (2007) Personal tutoring and
Student Service. In Neville, L. (ed.)
The Personal Tutor’s Handbook.
Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan (pp
59-78)
Hughes, G., Panjawni, M., Tulcidas, P. &
Byrom, N. (2018) Student Mental
Health: The role and experiences of
academics. Oxford: Student Minds.
At: http://hdl.handle.net/10545/622114
(accessed 10.8.2020)
Luck, C. (2010) Challenges faced by
tutors in Higher Education.
Psychodynamic Practice, 16(3): 273-
287
Macfarlane, K. (2016) Tutoring the tutors:
Supporting effective personal tutoring.
Active Learning in Higher Education,
17(1): 77–88
Myers, J. (2008) Is personal tutoring
sustainable? Comparing the trajectory
of the personal tutor with that of the
residential warden. Teaching in Higher
Education, 13(5): 607-611
Neville, L. (2007) Suggested model of
best practice for personal tutoring. In
Neville, L. (ed.) The Personal Tutor’s
Handbook. Houndmills: Palgrave
Macmillan (pp 127-142)
Owen, M. (2002) “Sometimes you feel
you’re in niche time” The personal
tutor system, a case study. Active
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