RAPPORT
Issue 5 (August 2020)
satisfaction, leading and managing
personal tutoring and academic advising
schemes are more important now than
ever. In particular, there is increasing
recognition that course or programme
directors have particular leadership
development needs. There is evidence,
for example, that describes how
programme and course leaders become
the backstop for all personal tutoring
inquiries where a nominated tutor is
unwilling or unable to fulfil this role as well
as being responsible for the management
of any personal tutoring or academic
advising system the programme or course
might have (Outram 2019).
13. ‘identify and remove (infrastructure)
obstacles to development and change
(such as unhelpful or unnecessarily
constraining resource allocation
methods, workload allocation
methods, promotion criteria, library
policy, assessment policy, room
allocation systems, quality assurance
rules etc.).’
This is easier said than done, of course,
and might relate to the development of
influencing skills and political astuteness
as a part of the leadership development of
personal tutoring and academic advising.
Importantly, one of the most striking and
consistent observations from the CRA
Programme portfolios is the issue of
resources to support personal tutoring
and academic advising and the absolute
need to ensure that this is a realistic
element in any discussion about
workloads and equitable work allocation.
In particular, work allocation becomes an
even more acute consideration within the
context of online personal tutoring and
academic guidance where there might be
a qualitative as well as quantitative
consideration – online personal tutoring
and support may be extremely intensive
and quite tiring compared to face-to-face
support.
14. ‘integrate and align several of the
above in a co-ordinated institutional
strategy, and link this to parallel
strategies (Estates, Research, Student
Support etc.) with a focus on strategic
planning and orient all these towards a
common goal, with a focus on
corporatism.’
This will have emerged from a
consideration of all of these elements
prior to strategy or policy development
rather than being determined before this
consideration. In this way, an institutional
narrative about personal tutoring and
academic advising may emerge that is
more nuanced and evidence-informed
and more sustainable.
15. ‘influence the external environment
(e.g. national quality assurance a
funding policies) that frame what is
possible and institutional priorities,
with a focus on politics.’
Undoubtedly, the introduction in the UK of
the Teaching Excellent Framework has
had the most dramatic impact on
institutional thinking about learning and
teaching in general and personal tutoring
and academic advising in particular.
Scrutiny of all of the CRA institutional
subscribers who have achieved TEF Gold
shows that all of them had quite detailed
and nuanced narratives relating to
personal tutoring and academic advising
and, as Stokes (2019) argues in relation
to institutions who were successful in
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