UCL Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate Year Tutor (Personal Tutor) - Job Description
Summary of role
The department currently recruits a total of about 15-25 students per year on our two
undergraduate courses. These are the 3-year BSc in Physics with Medical Physics and the 4-year
MSci in Medical Physics. During the first two years of these courses, students spend most of their
time taking core physics modules in the Physics & Astronomy department. In the third year (and
fourth for the MSci) the students spend about half their time taking our medical physics modules.
Our tutors provide two kinds of support. A Personal Tutor helps and guides students on all
matters related to their academic experience at UCL, including advice on progression and careers,
and is the first point-of-contact in event of any personal or financial problems. Meanwhile an
Academic Tutor provides help and advice on the content of the degree course, i.e. helps with
students’ understanding of physics and maths, and any other matters related to the taught material.
The principal tasks of our Year Tutors are as follows:
 Serve as Personal Tutor to all our students in a given year (starting in their first year), and
(ordinarily) remain as their Personal Tutor until they complete their undergraduate studies at
UCL. Thus our First-year Tutor becomes the Second-year Tutor the following year, and so on.
Thus the Year Tutor and his/her students will get to know each other very well. General
guidance and UCL policy on personal tutoring is in the UCL Academic Handbook (available at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/part-g/g11) and the following notes describe how these
guidelines are applied in the department. Being a Personal Tutor largely implies “being
available” to students when they require advice, rather than meeting with them at regular
intervals (although regular contact is recommended).
 Report any significant problems with the progress of any specific student, especially long-term
absences, to the Programme Tutor, Dr. Ben Cox, and the Director of Studies, Prof. Alan
Cottenden.
 For First-year and Second-year Tutors only: Arrange regular academic tutorials for the
students with his/her year group. This involves dividing the year cohort into small groups (5-8
per group) and assigning each group an Academic Tutor (recruited from among the
department’s staff, including enthusiastic postdocs). It is suggested that the Year Tutor also
serves as Academic Tutor to one of the groups (see Job Description for Academic Tutor).
Academic Tutorials should occur at least once every three weeks during the first and second
term.
 For Third-year and Fourth-year Tutors: So far we have not regarded regular tutorials in the
third and fourth years as essential, although we continue to review this. Our students spend a
much greater proportion of their time in the department, especially when conducting their
project in their final year. Nevertheless, Year Tutors should keep occasional contact with
his/her students to ensure that they are not experiencing any particular problems.
Specific duties of First-Year and Second-Year tutors
 Together with Ben Cox, a First-year Tutor must attend a meeting with the new cohort of firstyear students on the first day of term. It is recommended that pictures are taken of all the
students, which are then compiled (by Jem Hebden) into a photosheet.
JH/AC
August 2014
 During the first week of term, divide the cohort of students into groups of around 5-8 each and
assign to Academic Tutors. Identify a student to represent the group on the Departmental Staff
Student Consultative Committee and provide the chair of that committee with the student’s
name and email address.
 At the start of the first and second terms, email a few students requesting details of their lecture
timetable for the term, and (in consultation with your Academic Tutors) identify suitable
regular one-hour slots for academic tutorials. The groups may have tutorials at the same time
or at different times. (Different times actually helps with booking rooms for tutorials). This
process is likely to involve a few adjustments during the term, as student’s discover that they
cannot attend specific slots. If necessary, exchange students between groups in order to
accommodate them. Academic tutorials should be held at least once every two weeks, but
students may request more frequent tutorials.
 For Academic Tutors who do not have personal offices, book rooms (e.g. 3.14a and 2.14) for
all academic tutorials at appropriate intervals throughout the term. Notify the tutors and the
students of the tutorial schedule and locations.
 Ensure that your Academic Tutors are notified of their responsibilities regarding assessment of
their students’ assignments as part of the first-year module PHAS1901 (Developing Effective
Communication I) and second-year module PHAS2901 (Developing Effective Communication
II). This may include marking short essays (a marking scheme will be provided) and marking a
short oral presentation (5-minutes each). (Year Tutors will be notified of requirements by the
module organisers in the Physics & Astronomy Department).
 At regular intervals (when prompted by automatic email or by a colleague), use portico to
register “points of engagement”, confirming whether you (or a colleague) have had personal
contact with your year group students since the last point of engagement. This is easy, and
takes about 2 minutes of your time. Points-of-engagement can include tutorials, lectures, and
exams. Note that module attendance registers and tutorial record sheets are collected by
Mohini.
Year Tutors 2014/15
First-year students:
Dr. Karin Shmueli
Second-year students:
Prof. Jem Hebden
Third-year students:
Dr. Ben Cox
Fourth-year students:
Dr. Adrien Desjardins
JH/AC
August 2014