At Roehampton we are committed to giving our students a high quality and supportive learning experience. We recognise that moving into higher education can be a daunting and unfamiliar experience and have a number of measures in place to support our students in this transition and with their progression and attainment. Two such measures are our Academic Guidance Tutors and the Academic Achievement Advisors.
Academic Guidance Tutors
The Academic Guidance Tutor (AGT), formally Personal Tutor, has a central role in personalising the higher education experience of our students (Owen, 2002), an institutional priority at Roehampton. AGTs are vital in the first few weeks of students’ higher education, easing the transition to university and helping students engage with learning at HE level (Wilcox et al, 2005). The support and guidance of an AGT will continue throughout the students’ time at Roehampton, however, promoting their academic achievement and personal development by monitoring their progress, taking an interest in their academic, career and personal development and encouraging them to take full advantage of all of the opportunities available to them at Roehampton (e.g. Barfield et al, 2006). Not all students need the same level of support but, for students experiencing difficulties or challenges, the AGT’s support is deemed to be invaluable, through listening and signposting the relevant available services.
Academic Achievement Advisers
We have a dedicated team of Academic Achievement Advisers, who work out of the Library, who are highly experienced in working with students to ensure that they are able to benefit fully from the learning opportunities on offer and get the best out of their time at Roehampton. They advise on time management, complex reading, research and written work, independent study and critical thinking amongst others.
The team offers a wide range of online resources and interactive tutorials on the Learning Skills Hub Moodle site. These include: essay, dissertation and report writing; time management; reading and thinking critically; note-taking; exam revision; SPSS and use of statistics; and much more.
The Team also runs practical advice through workshops, Pop Up Sessions, quick query drop-in sessions and other academic skills events. , times for which can be found on the Learning Skills Hub.