Student Support System

1. Student Support System School of Geosciences

2. You and Student Support • The Student Support co-ordinator is your central and initial contact point • She will make arrangements for your 1-2-1 meetings with your Personal Tutor • She will inform you of the timings and places for Group meetings • She will listen to you, assess your situation and direct you to the best sources of help or advice • She will administrate your records and monitor your support, acting in your interest to ensure you are enabled to succeed.

3. You and Student Support • The Student Support co-ordinator looks after the following: • guidance on degree regulations and requirements • information on submission deadlines and procedures • requests for deferred submission of course work • requests for Special Circumstances for degree course work or exams • processing of degree programme transfers / interruptions • procedures for applying to study abroad • requests to change Personal Tutor • UK Border Agency or other visa issues, including the School level census (where applicable) • references to confirm student status (e.g. for flat rental) • advice on support for personal or health issues • advice on support for accommodation problems

4. Personal Tutor Role • Each of you will have been allocated a Personal Tutor • You will need to see your PT as soon as possible this week. Reading and think about your choices! • Role is to support students in: • Reviewing academic progress through a complete programme of study by providing: • welcome at the beginning of each academic year • guidance on course choices, degree path(s) • advice on study difficulties • overview of progress • Reflect on long term development • based on learning inside and outside the formal curriculum • Fostering a sense of belonging to a learning community

5. Personal Tutor Role The PT will provide: • advice on course choices • advice on study skills • advice on feedback and academic progress • guidance on careers related to degree programme • guidance on exam and other assessment techniques • advice on essay and field / laboratory report writing skills • academic advice on changing degree programme • advice on studying abroad (academic matters) • an academic reference, on request from you, where appropriate The PT will NOT: • contact your LEA on your behalf re funding and fees matters • Do your work for you! The PT will support you by assessing how best to develop your skills and learning strategies.

6. You and Student Support • Your Responsibilities in engaging with us: • Reflect on academic performance • Understand how learning supports longer-term aspirations • reflect, engage, take an active approach to your development, write records • “Engage as a one of a community of learners” • ie - not as a passive recipient (or not!) of content

7. You and Student Support • Your Responsibilities in a Practical Sense: • Attend initial interview, armed with all information and sensible, researched course choices for discussion • Attend individual meetings, one each semester, as arranged • Attend and participate in the Group Meetings facilitated by your PT or their representative. • Complete any tasks assigned to you by your PT • Enter notes into EUCLID to maintain and develop an engagement trail and keep your Support Team informed. • Respond quickly and clearly to requests for information • Maintain records and ensure you have supporting documentation for special circumstances. • Keep yourself informed regarding your funding • Keep yourself informed of the times and sites of examinations, and assessment hand-in dates and times for all courses

8. Student myed channel

9. Personal Tutor Tasks and Advice School of Geosciences

10. The Tasks of a Personal Tutor • Meetings: • One individual meeting per semester (and others by appointment) • Group meetings • Brief students on any preparatory and follow-up work • Respond promptly to student requests for contact: • Normally within 3 working days • Liaise with Senior Tutor/Student Support Team if problems • Share personal (pastoral) responsibilities with Student Support Team: • Refer to central services and specialist sources of guidance as appropriate • Maintain accurate and appropriate records via EUCLID • Undertake training and CPD associated with role

11. Individual Meetings • Tailored to individual student: • time of year, year of study, student’s progress • Focus on core purposes and any student concerns • Student led preparation and follow up • http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/undergraduate • Guidance, advice and resources for Personal Tutors in preparing for and running 1:1 meetings • http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/learning-teaching/academic-pastoral/support/resources/individuals

12. Group Meetings • Considerable flexibility in timing, topic and structure • Opportunity to link to specific elements of the degree programme (e.g. preparation for placements) • To deal more effectively and efficiently with specific topics (e.g. study skills) • To work with other personal tutors across different year groups or support particular cohorts (e.g. joint degree students) • Guidance, advice and resources for running group meetings • http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/learning-teaching/academic-pastoral/support/resources/groups

13. Support for Personal Tutors Central Support Services • Student Disability Service http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-disability-service/staff • Advice on helping distressed studentshttp://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-disability-service/staff/supporting-students/help-distressed-students • Student Counselling Service http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-counselling • Careers Service (employability and careers) • http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/careers/staff • A to Z of Student Support Services • http://www.ed.ac.uk/staff-students/students/student-services

14. Support for Personal Tutors • IAD web resources and guidance for personal tutors http://bit.ly/QIg7hK • Links to academic advice and procedures • Links to advice on personal support for students • Resources for personal tutors • Information on Central briefing events and CPD: • Personal Tutor IT tools • Personal Tutors: students mental health workshop • Personal Tutors: running lively and useful group meetings • School documentation and contacts • The College Personal tutor pages

15. IT tools – Current Status • EUCLID tools are fairly straightforward! • Take record of meetings • Take record of notes/discussions • Ensure students are not forgotten (e.g. failed/ignored emails) • Student records/notes accessible by all with EUCLID account • Notes are best marked confidential • to Dean of Students/ST/PT/SST/Student/Originator • Route in – login to EUCLID and on left-hand-side youwill see a tab “Personal Tutor”

16. EUCLID is your Friend !? • Login to EUCLID • Click on “Personal Tutor”

17. Finding Students

18. Assign Myself to Students Assign Unassigned Tutees Re-assign Tutees, searching by current Personal Tutor Find Tutees to assign Assign by file upload

19. Personal Tutor ‘My Tutees’

20. Personal Tutor ‘My Tutees’ If you click “Full record” you’ll get to normal EUCLID “Courses” screen Note new tab “Meetings/Notes” that takes you back to the meetings and notes page

21. Personal Tutor - Meetings If you click “Notes/ Meetings” you get to this screen Here you set up meetings or check what meetings have been set up for you.

22. Record a Future Meeting “Record a future meeting” tells the student that you want a future meeting and “opens” it “Meeting type” is important Note “Confidential” flag Note that nothing can be deleted or edited once saved

23. Record a Recent Meeting “Record recent meeting” is probably the most useful, and records a meeting that has already taken place This must be completed to “close” an individual meeting

24. Schedule a new meeting

25. Students with no 1:1 meeting • No Sem 1 meeting & No Sem 2 meetings links removed • Replaced by No meeting (past 90 days) link • No meeting past days editable

26. Cancelling a meeting Senior Tutor

27. Working with Notes Notes are arranged in orderof date, latest at the bottom Comments on notes (children) go under the initial note (parent) A parent can have unlimited children Confidentiality propagates down You can now “close” a discussion! The requirement for an S1 or S2 individual meeting is met by the first comment on a future meeting, or by the record of a past meeting

28. Working with Notes “Add a note” allows you to record any “random” individual meeting “Add comment” allows you to add further points relating to a meeting or student issue

29. Notes – an Additional Meeting

30. What goes in notes? • Comments on meeting outcomes • From PT: brief comment • From student: expanded comments • From PT: feedback on student comments • Any other communications from anyone that should be on the record (all staff can add notes) • Praise is good! • Feedback like “Progress on project not good enough”

31. What goes in notes? • SCC stuff (but be careful) • Can be marked confidential • … but confidentiality includes: Dean of Students, ST, PT, SST • Confidentiality choices should improve with time • If the student tells you something very confidential you will wish to keep notes somewhere else • The “somewhere” else should be accessible if the bus gets you • Note that un-disclosable information may not be used in SCC • May have to “cover yourself” with a note here. “student has told me something I may not disclose further. I have told him that if I can’t disclose it I can’t take it to the SCC or make allowances. He has accepted this.”

32. ‘Personal Tutors’ email notification matrix Here we see who gets an email under what circumstances Note that emails contain no information except a link to the notes The ST has a different system that fires an alert if requests are not dealt with, or meetings not held and closed

33. Scheduling Group meetings

34. IT - Further stuff • If a meeting is requested by a PT (student) the student (PT) will get an email (this does not have a link to the notes / EUCLID pages, unfortunately!) • If a PT gets a meeting request or receives a note from a student it must be responded to within three working days - if not it is flagged to the SSC • Student contribution expected • FAQs at http://www.euclid.ed.ac.uk/staff/User_GuidesPersonal_Tutors/PT_FAQ.htm#General

35. On-line Resources • IT tools for Personal Tutors • http://www.euclid.ed.ac.uk/staff/User_Guides/Personal_Tutors/Index.htm • http://www.euclid.ed.ac.uk/staff/User_Guides/Personal_Tutors/Personal_Tutor.htm • Online course enrolment • http://www.euclid.ed.ac.uk/staff/Support/User_Guides/OCE/index.html • SACS training • http://www.euclid.ed.ac.uk/staff/training/index.htm • SACS@ed.ac.uk Student Support Team

38. Accessing Timetables • You can now use Web Timetables (SWS), a tool accessible through MyEd. • Select “Timetabling at Edinburgh (Staff)” from menu on the Admin or Teaching tabs. • Can also link from a student’s EUCLID record, or from a Course description in EUCLID, or the DRPS • The best thing is to just try it! • See the further note on this in the handout.

39. Positives to Discuss • GeosPALS – encourage your tutees to attend • Personal development • Career development • Choosing courses • CV writing • Study skills • Time management • Presentation skills (verbal/written) • Praise and encouragement

40. What not to Discuss! • Visas etc → College Office • Community charge etc → Advice Place • Funding → Advice place

41. Frequent issues • Mental health/depression/stress • Medical/Special Circumstances • Lack of motivation (in tutees) • Relationships • Transferring Course/School/College

42. Infrequent issues • Chronic illness/condition (e.g. Dyslexia = special arrangements) • Family • Financial • Legal – (e.g. been arrested!) • Drug/alcohol abuse

43. Progression rules • Full-time students are expected to take and pass courses worth 120 credits each year • PTs are permitted to deal with students without referral to the Senior Director if they: • have passed 100 or more credits last year • have not failed any course that appear in the relevant DPT • have not failed any course 4 times • Are in a position to progress (no more than 20 credits short of credits needed to be achieved by the end of that academic year) • and have not been referred to the Senior Director before

44. Progression - Concessions • PT can authorise concessions for progression of students who have narrowly failed to get the required credits. • PT can authorise Interruption of Studies (max 1 year) for students in non-honours years (except for non-EU) • PTs cannot authorise: • Concessions relating to variations from DPTs (SCAO) • Progression and exclusion re academic failure (ST) • Repeat year for a student in non-hons years (ST) • Repeat year for a student in hons years (College) • Repeat year for non-EU student (any year) (College) • Interruptions of study in hons years or for greater than 1 year (College) • There are many other decisions that require Colege and even Senatus approval.

45. Progression rules • Normally, these students will be allowed to proceed to the next year of their programme, re-taking the failed course(s) “assessment only”. • In some cases, the student may wish to retake the course “in full attendance” - this is allowed. • If an “outside course” (i.e. a course not named in the DPT) has been failed, then a new course can be substituted (in full attendance) • Email the SSC, but the student will not normally be interviewed by the Senior Director or the Head of Degree

46. Progression rules • All other students must be referred to the Senior Director (email the SSC, not to Senior Tutor/Director directly) • Interviews will not take place before Freshers’ Week • Get tutees to book an interview ASAP! • Students who have any chance of continuing should be encouraged to take the appropriate classes but shouldnot be signed up for them in EUCLID • If a student is not progressing to the next year of the programme, they should be referred to the Senior Director (this is particularly important where international students are concerned)

47. PT Attributes and Conduct • Patience • Listening skills • “Appropriateness” (eg keeping oneself safe!) • Managing the PT/student relationship (distance vs chumminess) • Compartmentalising PTs’ problems (more distance) • Note and record-keeping • Confidentiality

48. Finally • Keep in contact with the SSC • Maintain records and contact through EUCLID • Use the ‘notes’ section for brief summaries of your meetings • Contact your SSC or the Senior Tutor for advice on unusual or difficult cases • Look out for material on Individual and groups sessions, both from the ST and IAD

49. Policies for 2013-14 • Student Withdrawal and Exclusion (revised) • Form • Template communication to student • Assessment Regulations • minimal changes to Taught Assessment Regulations • significant changes to Postgraduate Research Assessment Regulations occurred in 2013 (to align with Taught) • Degree Regulations • In 2013 were revised and restructured to make them easier to use (see link for UG changes) • Part-time / Full-time study revised in 2013 • clarification from Registry on what constitutes FT/PT (EASE authentication needed)

50. New policies for 2013-14 • Academic Standards and Guiding Principles (revised 2013) • Feedback Standards and Guiding Principles (revised 2013) • Collaborative activity • new forms, clarification on authority to approve, new Global Partnerships Protocol for international collaborations (2013) • Online distance education • External Examiners • new Code of Practice and Report Forms (2013)