Personal Tutors for Masters students
All students at the University of Sheffield are assigned a personal tutor. You will be provided with details about your personal tutor in Intro Week via an email sent to your University account.
You will have an opportunity to meet with your personal tutor at 10.00 am on Thursday 21st September. If you are not able to meet with your tutor at this time, you should ensure that you book an appointment during one of their Consultation and Feedback (C&Fs) Hours (during the first two weeks in semester one. Consultation and Feedback Hours will be published in the Student Handbook at the start of semester one.
You are expected to meet your personal tutor every semester during your time at university to discuss how you are getting on and whether you need any support. You will be sent email reminders asking you to meet with your personal tutor, as well as information about their availability.
Your personal tutor is an experienced member of staff who is there to provide you with general guidance on academic matters and help you with any problems or difficulties that may have an impact on your studies. They will be able to signpost you towards the appropriate services that are offered by the University to help you.
Please always attend scheduled meetings with your personal tutor and prepare beforehand so you can get the most out of them.
Please ensure that you speak with your personal tutor if you have any concerns about such things as your engagement, attendance, or progression. Where necessary, your Personal Tutor will be able to direct you to more specialist support, either personal, academic, or more general.
If you are experiencing difficulties, do not wait for your regular scheduled meeting – contact your personal tutor as soon as possible as they will be pleased to help you identify ways to help deal with the issue. Your personal tutor will provide with details about how to make an appointment with them. It is vital to inform your Personal Tutor of any changes in your circumstances, especially if these affect your academic work.
In summary, to get the best from your partnership with your personal tutor, you will need to:
- attend scheduled meetings punctually;
- keep your tutor informed of any problems that affect your university work;
- talk to them about your academic progress - they will be able to offer an informed overview and if necessary, suggest places to find more help;
- become an 'active learner' - reflect on the feedback you get from assignments and discuss this with your tutor to help improve your performance;
- discuss future planning and personal development;
- get to know the member of staff, and let them get to know you - they will be writing your references in future and need to do this accurately.