Placement Support Guidance Notes for Academic Staff
The Role of the Placement Tutor1
The purpose of the role is to provide support to the student throughout their placement until
their reintegration to academic life. All students who have secured a placement will be
allocated their Placement Tutor during the summer vacation following their 2nd year.
Aims of the Placement Unit
Insert programme specific placement aims: insert placement unit code: insert web link to
placement unit
The placement unit is worth 60 credits. As it is credit bearing there is a requirement for a
Pass/Fail assessment to be made. See the checklist at the end of this guide for a summary
of what is required to pass the unit.
Students’ obligations:
1. Stay in touch with the Faculty via the Placement Office/Tutor.
2. Provide contact and placement details within 2 weeks of starting and keep them
updated.
3. Use their University email address and keep inbox cleared.
4. Agree content of ‘Personal Objectives & Learning Outcomes’ (POLO) form and
complete any other documentation as required by their programme of study.
5. Arrange and facilitate a visit from your Placement Tutor.
Academics’ obligations:
1. Provide feedback on Personal Objectives & Learning Outcomes (POLO) and other
assignments as required by the programme of study and assess whether Learning
Outcomes have been met for award of credits.
2. Visit students on site or via Skype if overseas.
3. Provide support to students and maintain contact.
4. Debrief returning students about their experiences.
Personal Objectives & Learning Outcomes (POLO): As required by QA6 the student will
set objectives based on the Learning Outcomes of the placement unit to be agreed in writing
between the student, the department and the employer. To support this we have created a
straightforward document which the student uses to set objectives with their supervisor and
review at the end of the year. This will also act as an end of placement report by the
employer. Placement Tutors will discuss the objectives and student’s progress during their
visit.
The visit
Every effort will be made to visit students at their placement company. The Placement
Team, in consultation with academic staff, will assign a visiting tutor from across the Faculty
and this may reflect their academic/research interests or may be based on location. Students
on placement abroad can arrange for a Skype call in lieu of a visit.
The visit should be made ideally between 3 to 6 months into the placement giving the
student time to settle in. The student will contact the nominated visitor to arrange a suitable
date and time, ensuring that their supervisor/mentor will be available. It is also advisable for
the student to let the company’s HR Department know you intend to visit on that day. When
organising the visit the student should arrange to show you around the site or facilities. You
1
Terminology varies across Departments/Faculties/Schools but ‘Placement Tutor’ refers to the individual assigned to you to provide
support during placement; this may be an academic Placement or Personal Tutor or a member of the Placements team.
1
can learn a great deal on how the student is progressing from this but equally get to meet a
number of other people who could be useful contacts for the University for next year’s
placement, projects, research, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) etc. Having copies
of the Placement Guidelines, undergraduate and postgraduate prospectuses, KTP
brochures could be useful. Make contact with the HR team or in the case of small
companies, the MD or equivalent, to let them know you are there.
POLO, Reports, Logbooks etc.
Prior to meeting the student, the nominated visitor should review any documentation
submitted by the student to date.
Feedback required for visiting students on placement
The purpose of the visit is to assess whether the student is having a good placement
experience, with good quality work/projects that contribute to the company and the student’s
development. Do they have good support from their supervisor and are they happy? We also
want to build relationships with the companies for future placements and projects.
University of Bath placement students have stated that the matters determining placement
quality are as follows:
1. The nature of the student’s work or activity
2. Their placement environment, its language and culture and the nature and level of
support for learning/understanding.
3. The student’s perceptions of and emotional reactions to their placement experiences.
4. The learning outcomes resulting from placement, as reported by the student.
The meeting between the Placement Tutor and student should be in a location where the
student can speak freely in case there are any issues they need to raise. It normally lasts for
around an hour. Allow students to reveal their thoughts and feelings during their
placements, through open questions and open dialogue results in feedback that is rich and
varied.
The student’s supervisor should be invited to join the meeting, although this should be after
the Placement Tutor and student have met. The supervisor may also ask for an additional
private meeting with the Placement Tutor.
During the meeting, the Placement Tutor and student discuss how the placement is going
and review the POLO. It is advised that the Placement Tutor takes a copy of the Tutor Visit
form to the meeting as this can be used to guide the discussion. After the meeting, the
Placement Tutor is required to complete the Tutor Visit form.
Students become important ambassadors for the university and many do really well with
offers from the host company to join graduate schemes, receive financial sponsorship and
support with Final Year Projects. The visit is not only to monitor student progress/welfare
but is a means of registering the University’s “presence” with the company for continuing and
future placements, projects and research. Time and effort by both the company and the
University has been invested to arrange the placement and usually a good relationship has
been developed during this process which can be further developed.
Returning to the University
At the point the student returns to the University to complete their studies, there are several
events/occasions to help them ‘reintegrate’, as detailed in the table overleaf.
2
Requirements to Pass the Placement Unit
Populate as appropriate for your Faculty/Department
Useful Links
QA6 Placement Learning, Work-based Learning and Study Abroad
http://www.bath.ac.uk/quality/documents/QA6.pdf
Populate with further links as appropriate for your Faculty/Department
3
Faculty of <<insert Faculty name>> Placement checklist
A student MUST complete this process to be awarded a Pass/Fail for their placement.
Please tailor table below to your Faculty specific needs
Compulsory
aspects of the
placement to be
completed
Personal
Learning
Objectives Form
(POLO)
Goals,
Objectives and
Learning Form
(GOLF)
Tutor Visit Form
Final Personal
Learning
Objectives Form
(POLO FINAL)
Action
What the Placement Tutor
needs to do
Agree with supervisor
during first month of the
placement
Placement Administrator
emails Placement Tutor
the Moodle link
Employer to complete
Time of
year
Comment as appropriate and
email back to Placement
Administrator, this will be
available to the student via
Moodle
Before
XXXX
Identify and relay any issues
to the student
Due XXXX
To be completed by
Placement Tutor following
visit
As soon as
possible
after visit.
Tutor emails/uploads
document to XXXX
Placement Tutor reads
before Post-placement
meeting
Student completes and
submits prior to recommencing studies
Student uploads to Moodle
Post-placement
meeting
Placement Tutor meets with
student to review report and
supervisor appraisal.
Placement Tutor completes
Post-Placement Meeting
Form
Attend event
Reintegration
Event
4
As early as
possible in
first
semester of
returning
year.