Academic Tutors – Who are they and what can they do for you?

The idea of moving away from home and studying in an entirely new environment can feel daunting and incredibly scary.

But do not fear! There will always be support at hand to guide you through the big change and help you to settle in. One of the ways in which the University of Worcester provides this support is through Academic Tutoring.

When you first start your course at the university, you’ll be assigned an Academic Tutor, usually one of the lecturers from your course. Then they’ll stay assigned to you throughout your degree!

Your Academic Tutor will have three key roles:

Supporting your academic development

This includes keeping track of your progress, finding opportunities to take advantage of, reflecting upon your experiences and results, and making future plans.

Acting as a first point of call if you are experiencing difficulties arising whilst at University

Any concerns or troubles you have can be taken to your Academic Tutor. From difficulty using the university website, to advice on assignments and feeling of homesick, your tutors are there to support you. No matter how trivial or irrelevant they seem, they can listen to you, give advice, and point you in the direction of resolving them.

Providing your official University reference.

This is for when you apply for postgraduate courses and jobs after university. Since by the end of your time at university, your Academic Tutor should know you pretty well, they are given the task of writing your official reference. Do keep this in mind when going to their meetings, as there you can share information about yourself that could prove useful when writing the statement.

You’ll have frequent meetings with your Academic Tutor, usually around 4/5 times during your first year, and whenever you wish to in later years. But you can also contact them at any time!

My academic tutor was Dr. Ian Maddock, Principal Lecturer in Physical Geography. Here are some examples of things I’ve discussed with my tutor include: