All undergraduate students at FUB are assigned a tutor who accompanies them throughout their studies and serves as their main point of reference at the university. This tutor is a faculty member whose role is to monitor the student’s progress and provide support in all matters related to the academic sphere. The tutor facilitates the student’s integration into the university, advises them on course selection, informs them about internships, encourages them to pursue further learning, and guides them regarding career opportunities, further training, or research options upon completion of their studies.
To find out who your assigned tutor is, please contact the Academic Secretariat of the programme in which you are enrolled.
1. RESPONSIBLE BODY
The design, planning, and management of the Student Tutorial Action Plan are the responsibility of the Degree Committee of the UVic-UCC Manresa Campus. This committee is made up of the deans of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Social Sciences of Manresa, the degree programme directors, the Director of Quality and Academic Services, and the Head of Academic Management.
2. CONTENTS OF THE STUDENT TUTORING SYSTEM
The student tutoring system is based on the tutoring task, which is implemented through specific Tutorial Action and organised in accordance with a Tutorial Action Plan.
a) Tutoring: Student support and guidance are based on a tutoring model that assumes the following functions:
1. Facilitate students’ personal development
2. Supervise students’ academic progress
3. Make the institutional organisation and its regulations known to students
4. Provide students with a trusted and authoritative point of reference
5. Manage students’ requests with the university
b) Tutorial Action: This is the process of support and guidance carried out by the tutor faculty to contribute to the holistic development of students, and it is specified through the following actions:
- Facilitating students’ transition from secondary education to university studies.
- Facilitating students’ integration into the University.
- Introducing students to the methodology specific to higher education.
- Assisting students in the initial selection of their learning pathway.
- Facilitating students’ transition from university to the professional world.
- Guiding and supervising students during internships in companies and external organisations.
- Encouraging students to explore knowledge about professional opportunities.
- Encouraging students to continue their education and professional development.
- Guiding students towards professional practice and/or research.
In the case of students coming from outside Catalonia and Spain, special attention will be paid to their integration and to ensuring that language does not pose any obstacle to following the course normally.
c) Tutorial Action Plan: This is the set of systematic and coordinated actions of personal, academic, and professional guidance, designed and planned by tutors, lecturers, and technical staff with the collaboration of the university community. Its objective is to guide, supervise, and accompany students throughout their university studies. The Tutorial Action Plan is developed in accordance with three phases, which are detailed in the following section.
3. PROCEDURES OF THE TUTORIAL ACTION PLAN
The Tutorial Action Plan involves the implementation of various procedures:
a) Selection of tutor faculty: The selection of tutor faculty is the responsibility of the centre’s management, at the request of the degree programme coordinator, and in all cases must comply with the following criteria:
1. The proposal must provide for at least one tutor for every twenty first-year students enrolled.
2. The proposal must respect equality among individuals and avoid discrimination.
3. The proposal will include faculty with part-time dedication to the University only in the event that there is an insufficient number of full-time faculty in a degree programme to cover the needs of the student cohort.
b) Assignment of tutor faculty: Once the annual proposal of tutor faculty has been approved, which is planned during the month of May, the coordinators of each degree programme assign students to each tutor during the month of September. In this process, the following internal rules must be respected:
1. Students must be assigned tutors who are lecturers in their degree programme.
2. Tutors and tutees may request a review of the annual assignments from the centre’s management during the month of June, providing justification for the request. Such requests will be considered if they are supported by a favourable report from the degree programme coordinator.
c) Training of tutor faculty: Possible annual training actions include:
- Information session at the beginning of the academic year: presentation of the set of regulations affecting students that tutors must be familiar with in order to convey them appropriately during tutorial action.
- At the end of the academic year, a discussion session with the management team on the development of tutorial action, the difficulties encountered, and the challenges ahead. This discussion serves as an internal consultation procedure for improving the quality of tutorial action and is included in the final report on tutorial action.
- When deemed appropriate, a training workshop on specific aspects of tutoring is organised, delivered by specialists in this field.
d) Monitoring of tutorial action:
Tutors have access to a computer application or Moodle, which allows them to consult all the academic information of their tutees, provides a communication tool with these students, and offers standardised templates for records and reports that must be kept up to date. For proper monitoring of tutorial action, tutors must open a record for each tutee, in which they will log meetings, specific issues of each student, and any other information they consider relevant for effective monitoring of students’ studies.
The annual monitoring of students varies depending on the year of study the student is in. Accordingly, the university has established the following phases:
Phase 1: First year.
- Interviews: The standardised first-year monitoring protocol establishes three interviews for each tutee:
- At the beginning of the academic year, with the main objective of getting to know each other, explaining the tutoring system, and resolving the initial questions that the student may have. [The possibility of conducting this tutorial in small groups of students is предусмотрed.] In the case of international undergraduate students, it is necessary to ensure that they are properly integrated.
- After the first-semester assessment meeting, with the aim of evaluating the first semester and appropriately focusing the second.
- At the end of the academic year, and before enrolment, with the objective of making an overall assessment of academic performance during the first year at university and preparing for the following year.
In addition to these predetermined interviews, students may request an interview with their tutor whenever they consider it necessary.
- Reports: The tutor must prepare the following reports in accordance with the standardised templates:
- The initial tutee record with personal and academic data [F 01]
- The report following the second interview, including an assessment of academic results from the first semester [F 02]
- At the end of the first year, a report with an overall assessment of the tutee’s performance and progress, and authorisation for enrolment in the following academic year [F 03]
- An incident report, in the event that the student has requested an interview due to a personal issue or problem [F 04]
Phase 2: Second and third year.
- Interviews: During the second and third years, the tutor offers office hours to attend to students who, on their own initiative, request an interview. In addition, the protocol provides for two interviews:
- If the tutor perceives a decline in the student’s academic performance or detects any problem in the progress of their studies.
- At the end of the second and third years, with the objective of assessing the academic year and guiding the student regarding enrolment for the following year. (This interview is mandatory.)
- Reports: The tutor must prepare the following reports:
- A report in cases where the tutor has deemed it necessary to hold an interview with the tutee [F 05]
- At the end of the second year, a report with an overall assessment of academic performance and progress of the tutee, and authorisation for enrolment in the following year [F 06]
- At the end of the third year, the tutor prepares an overall assessment of the tutee’s performance and progress in accordance with a standardised template. This report focuses particularly on aspects relevant to the student’s future professional path, indicating professional interests, strengths, and shortcomings in the field of study. In addition to being an important tool for academic evaluation, this report serves as a reference for guidance in decision-making during the final year and in the choice of pathway [F 07]
Phase 3: Fourth year.
- Interviews: During the fourth year, tutorial action is not subject to a protocol with a predetermined number of scheduled interviews. The tutor offers office hours to attend to students who, on their own initiative, request an interview. Tutorial action in the final year focuses on post-graduation guidance, whether professional or related to further studies.
- Reports: The tutor must prepare the following reports:
- At the end of the academic year, the tutor prepares a report outlining the elements the tutee should take into account when choosing to continue to a second university cycle or to enter the labour market [F 08]
e) Evaluation of tutorial action:
At the end of each phase (end of the first, third, and fourth years), students must complete a satisfaction survey regarding the tutorial action [Doc 1]. The results of the satisfaction surveys are included in the academic report prepared annually by the centre’s management, which, in addition to an overall assessment of the development of tutorial action, incorporates, where appropriate, proposals to improve the quality of tutorial support. These proposals may be regulatory, organisational, or procedural in nature [Doc 2].