One of your roles as a tutor is to monitor the progress of your tutees, and to provide them with guidance and advice to help them improve their academic performance. Progress can be observed through many different facets of student behaviour, such as;
- Attendance at scheduled activities (lectures, seminars, tutorials, etc) and at meetings with you. The student’s attitude in these sessions can provide an indicator of the student’s progress or of issues they are facing. For instance, does the student show enthusiasm, or are they withdrawn?
- Submitting work on time
- Marks – are marks broadly consistent or showing signs of improvement? If not, why not? This may indicate that the student is affected by underlying issues
- Feedback on assessed work – are common and recurrent themes for areas of improvement evident in feedback given to the student?
- Do you feel a sense of concern for the student’s progress?
If you have concerns about the progress of a tutee, you should discuss this with your tutee, listen to what they have to say to identify any issues that may be impeding their progress, give them appropriate advice to improve their academic performance and/or refer them to specialist support services as necessary. The way in which you present your intervention to the student is important. It should be portrayed as an attempt to help them maximise their achievement and reach their potential, rather than an attempt to remedy poor performance. Remember that many students can feel nervous and apprehensive about meeting with their Academic Tutor. Members of staff are often regarded as ‘too important’ or ‘too busy’ to worry about helping students, so you should do everything you can to set your tutee at their ease. Your attitude and approachability in all meetings with your tutees can help in overcoming this concern. It can be harmful to the student’s experience at the University if your tutees see you as unapproachable when they face concerns or difficulties.