Guidance Note for Personal Tutors
Thank you for taking on the role of Personal Tutor to MSc students at the Institute. This is a brief document to guide you to being a personal tutor. In conjunction with the notes below, please also see the personal tutor checklist which can help you to structure each meeting with your tutee.
Role of Personal Tutors
We expect our students to take responsibility for their studies and their own lives, and we treat them as self-sufficient adults. However, many are coping with the shift in gear from undergraduate to MSc study, some are studying in the UK for the first time, and a few are managing modular study alongside work.
Therefore, the purpose of a personal tutor is to provide all students with at least one member of staff who gets to know them as individuals, keeps an eye on their overall academic progress, and who is concerned for their general welfare.
Meetings
Each personal tutor will be allocated one to three students each year. You should agree a timetable to see each of your tutees five times during the academic year.
Most of our MSc and PG (Dip) students are full time for one year, but a few are modular/flexible students who will spread their studies out over two years. It is preferable that modular students have the same personal tutor for the duration of their studies, but it may be that they require fewer formal meetings (we would suggest at least three) in their second year of study.
Please let Angela Poulter ( a.poulter@ucl.ac.uk
) know the dates on which you meet your tutees.
A meeting should be set up as soon as possible during Term 1. A further meeting should be arranged for Term 2 and another for Term 3. The students begin their projects full time in early
June, so a fourth meeting should be scheduled for late June/early July to check on progress with this. A fifth meeting should be decided as needed between the personal tutor and tutee. For UCL term dates see: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/staff/term-dates/
Tutees will be asked to contact you to set up these meetings in the first instance, but if you have not heard from them within a few weeks of the start of each term, please do contact them.
You should also agree with tutees how and when they can contact you outside of these scheduled slots if they wish to, and ensure that students know what the contingency arrangements are if you are going to be away from UCL for any length of time.
The first meeting

Students should be asked to send their CVs to you in advance, so that you are aware of their background, which may be in science or medicine.

The first meeting is very much about getting to know the student and to check if they are having any issues settling in. You should ask the tutee about their accommodation, about settling in to London life and to the MSc course.
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
The students are given a tutorial early in the first term on essay writing and plagiarism, and on oral presentations. However some, especially those students for whom English is a second language, do struggle with these skills and may need some additional support (see
2 & 3 below). You should ask tutees about their academic writing and presentation skills, and discuss their key skills development. Depending on the issues the student raises, you can:

provide them with tips yourself. We are all engaged with academic writing and presentation and will have suggestions to share;

direct them to some of the online Personal and Professional Development (PPD) support
UCL provides access to and particularly introduce them to My Portfolio (see p.4 below)

where a student appears to be struggling with English as a second language, encourage them to explore the possibility of a UCL Language Centre academic writing or reading course.
Subsequent meetings
At subsequent meetings, you should:
 discuss how tutees are progressing in the course so far, especially in relation to writing essays and sitting exams, and feedback/marks they have had for specific modules;

 ask them about progress on their projects and discuss any issues relating to this; discuss their Personal and Professional Development and how they are getting on with My
Portfolio;
 talk to them about their career plans. The students are given a presentation in Term 1 or 2 by the Careers Service, which covers both applying for jobs and making PhD applications, but they may want to talk about this as they start to put applications in.
You might offer to read covering letters for them, or give them some advice on how to improve their CV. If they are interested in academic or clinical work within your own field, you are likely to be able to provide them with particular insights. If their interests lie outside of your area, you might suggest colleagues at the Institute who could give them more advice. In either instance, you can encourage and remind them to make further use of the UCL Careers Service, Graduate
School courses, and Personal and Professional Development system resources (see below);
 always give them a space to discuss any other personal matters if they wish.
Where to meet
If you do not have an appropriate private space where you can meet with tutees, please get in touch with Angela Poulter, Senior Teaching Administrator ( a.poulter@ucl.ac.uk
; tel: 0207 679
6050) who will let you know when there is a room available at Chenies Mews or book you an appropriate room elsewhere.
What you need to know
The UCL Personal Tutors website has been re-launched for 2013-14 with video material and an updated handbook for both new and experienced Personal Tutors at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/ so it is worth having another look even if you are not new to Personal Tutoring.
You should certainly review the pages on:

the role on being an effective personal tutor: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/personal-tutor-UCL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/effective
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support and guidance page for new personal tutors: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/support/new-personal-tutors

resources, events and workshops for personal tutors: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/support/resources
UCL (CALT) resources (powerpoints, handouts, videos) from previous SLMS Lunchtime Series
Personal Tutor sessions are available on the SLMS Staff Moodle page at: https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=22764&section=4 (login using your UCL user name and password).
If you have attended any of these events or workshops, or watched online presentations, please let Angela Poulter ( a.poulter@ucl.ac.uk
) so that we have a record of your Personal Tutor training.
Other essential knowledge you need to have as an IfWH Personal Tutor is set out below.
1. How the MSc degree programmes work:
The MSc Prenatal Gen etics & Fetal Medicine and MSc Reproductive Science & Women’s Health programmes run over the full academic year, and comprise eight 3-week taught modules and a project that runs from June to September. The taught modules are variously assessed by problem booklet, essay and exam. While the project is not full time until June, students will be making contact with supervisors, doing background reading, and preparing their introduction, aims and methods from early in Term 2.
If you do not teach on these courses and would like to know more about the content and structure of them, please see the Institute education webpages for more information: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/instituteforwomenshealth/education/masters
In addition, for your information, we have provided you with the relevant programme handbooks, a list of key dates in the MSc schedule (including module dates, essay submission and exam dates), and notes for project supervisors, which give details of the key phases and deadlines for the project.
UCL academic regulations for MSc programmes are at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ras/acd_regs but if you have any questions about the structure, delivery or assessment of the MSc programmes, please also feel free to contact Angela Poulter ( a.poulter@ucl.ac.uk
; tel. 020 7679 6050).
2. Student Services provided by UCL
It is vital to know the boundaries of the role of Personal Tutor. A good relationship between
Personal Tutor and tutees encourages students to talk about any difficulties they are experiencing before they become major problems, but you are not expected to deal with critical issues that require specialist skills. Rather you need to know when to refer a student with a problem to others with appropriate expertise and be familiar with what facilities are available for such referrals.

Find more information about how Personal Tutors might help students with common problems (worrying, struggling academically, workload related issues, financial difficulties, mental health issues etc.) here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/support/students-indifficulty

Find information about when to refer and about the extensive range of advisers and welfare services UCL provides to support students with academic, personal and practical problems, including everything from counselling, health/medical, child care and services for students with disabilities, to careers, financial and accommodation services here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/effective/knowing-when-to-refer http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/effective/knowing-when-to-refer/student-services

Take a look at the Careers Service Personal Tutor Pack http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/staff/studentsupport/personaltutorpack
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3. Other Facilities and Resources for Students
UCL Language Centre
Each t erm UCL’s Language Centre runs academic writing and reading courses, two hours a week for eight weeks, which are specifically for undergraduate and taught Master’s students. Please note students must pay a fee for these courses. For more information see: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/language-centre/english-for-academic-purposes/part-time/
Plagiarism & Academic writing – Moodle course
All students are advised to review the Plagiarism and Academic Writing course on Moodle at: https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=12731
Graduate School courses
While the Graduate School’s Skills and Development Programme caters primarily for research students, they do run a small number of useful courses for MSc students. These include:
 Mastering a Master’s: this course offers new taught graduate students a chance to reflect on what might be hard for them in the transition to postgraduate study, covering problems of stress, work-life balance, self-esteem, issues around the supervisor relationship, getting work done in the time available etc. Registration for the course is confidential and no information will be passed on to the Institute.
 How to find and fund a PhD for Master’s Students
 Planning your job hunt for Master’s Students
 Succeeding at interviews and assessment centres for Master’s Students

Writing effective appl ications for Master’s Students
Where other Graduate School SDP courses are undersubscribed by research students, it is possible for Master’s students to sign up. For more information see: http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/list-training.pht
Personal and Professional Development
UCL has long believed in the importance of students developing their key skills (communication, planning, numeracy, literacy skills etc.) and provides a number of resources for taught students, targeted at different aspects of their skills development process.
The UCL PPD pages are designed to help UCL students and personal tutors integrate PPD in to personal tutorials and to navigate the supporting resources: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/ppd

The UCL PPD system in Portico is a comprehensive suite of diagnostic and self-study resources for student development, which you are welcome to use with tutees. Staff and student user guides are available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/ppd/portico

Alternatively, we suggest UCL’s MyPortfolio as a particularly useful PPD tool for graduate students : https://myportfolio.ucl.ac.uk/
It is an e-portfolio, blogging tool, CV builder and social networking system connecting UCL students and staff and creating online communities. Students can set up a personal online learning and development environment; they can collect, reflect on and share their learning, achievements and development. It is entirely controlled by them and no-one else can see it unless they give permission. It lets them enter personal, academic and CV information, to record skills and set goals, to upload files (e.g. formative and summative assessments), enter text (e.g. reflection on observation days, tutorials they have chaired etc.) and create blogs, and should contain useful information for their CV, future employer, and those asked to write references.

There is a wide range of useful associated resources that you might want to direct students to, having discussed with them which skills they feel they need to develop. A good place to
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start is the Personal and Professional Development Framework at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ppd/resources/framework
This is divided up into the following skills and provides listings of web-based resources for each particular area.

academic (learning actively, analysing data, thinking critically, using sources, solving problems, managing projects)
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self-management (reflecting on learning, managing time, being creative/innovative, assessing oneself, being independent, managing resources)
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communicating (writing, listening, using IT, presenting, communicating globally, planning & making decisions)
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working with others (working in teams, understanding others, negotiating, leading, assessing self & peers, managing change)
 Palgrave’s skills4study campus website provides 11 interactive courses on: getting ready for academic study; reading & note-making; writing skills; referencing & understanding plagiarism; critical thinking; exam skills; groupwork & presentations; projects, dissertations and reports; employability & personal development; confidence with number; and time management: http://www.skills4studycampus.com/orglogin.aspx
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Skills4Work is an initiative organised jointly by UCL Union and UCL Careers Service giving students the opportunity to meet employers and develop the skills needed to start their career when they leave UCL: http://www.skills4work.net/
4. Staff responsible for students’ academic progress and general welfare
The reporting line for Personal Tutors is to the Graduate Tutor for Taught Students (Joyce Harper: joyce.harper@ucl.ac.uk
– also Director of the MSc programmes) who in turn reports to the Faculty
Tutor, and the Faculty Staff Student Consultative Committee. The Faculty Tutor reports to the
UCL Joint Staff Student Consultative Committee.
The Dean of Students (Academic) co-ordinates the work of faculty tutors and liaises with the
Registrar on a range of issues relating to students’ academic work and progress and (taking over the responsibilities of the former Dean of Students (Welfare), the department of Student Support and Wellbeing is responsible for student welfare and support services.
For more information on this UCL support structure see: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personaltutors/effective/knowing-when-to-refer/ucl-support-services
You are always welcome to contact Angela Poulter, Senior Teaching Administrator, Institute for
Women’s Health, ( a.poulter@ucl.ac.uk
; tel: 020 7679 6050) with any questions you might have about your role as a Personal Tutor or our MSc programmes.
Your feedback
Finally, we want to tailor the personal tutoring scheme to suit the needs of our students and so your feedback on what works well, what does not work, and what we might add to this guidance note for the future is very welcome.
Please send feedback to us ( a.poulter@ucl.ac.uk
) at any point throughout the year, but we will also write to you towards the end of the academic year as part of a more formal review of how the scheme has worked this year.
October 2013
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