GCU Supporting your Academic Success through the personal tutoring scheme
At Glasgow Caledonian, we are committed to Supporting your Academic Success and one key support in place is personal tutoring.
Through the personal tutoring scheme, students can meet one-on-one with a lecturer once per trimester. These sessions keep you accountable and go far beyond academic performance, they are a chance to talk about:
- University experience
- General wellbeing
- Mental health advice
- Steps to get back on track
Christina McIntyre, a senior lecturer in Multimedia Journalism, says her personal tutoring sessions are so much more than academic results.
She has worked with students at Glasgow Caledonian since 2012 and believes her teaching style differs from the softness she brings to her one-on-one meetings.
Christina McIntyre
We spoke with Christina to learn more about her role as a personal tutor and how she supports her students.
Tell me the benefits of the personal tutoring scheme.
“It’s a safe space for students to have private conversations with someone who cares about them and their future. We don’t just act as academic tutors; we listen to all sorts of concerns and do our best to help.
“This could be sign-posting to support services like student wellbeing. As work placements are a big part of my students’ experience, I use my industry links to help them get where they need to be.”
Why is it so important to meet students once a trimester to get updates on their work?
“A lot can change in a short space of time for a student so it’s important to have a regular check in. If someone is struggling, it’s key I know about it early so I can try to help.
“It’s not just about academic results; it could be a family matter or a health issue. It could just be state of mind – someone is losing focus and needs a gentle push to get organised and back on track.”
How does your approach as a personal tutor differ from your role as a lecturer?
“I act as a fairly tough news editor in class, but students see a softer side in personal tutoring meetings.
“While I will always be direct, there's an element of agony aunt in personal tutoring and tissues are provided when required.”
How has the personal tutoring scheme evolved over time and are there any improvements you’d like to see?
“Using my industry links to help with work placements has become more important in recent years as our students now have a final year module based on work experience. In terms of improvements, I’d like to see more engagement in the process from students.
“I’ve long championed the benefits of being able to do one-to-one personal tutoring meetings for senior students, and I hope this continues.”
Robbie Wilson
The personal tutor scheme has helped champion students for years and to Robbie Wilson, a fourth year Multimedia Journalism student, his meetings help point him in the right direction.
We spoke with him to find out about how having a personal tutor like Christina has improved his university experience.
How would you describe your experience with the personal tutoring scheme so far?
“My experience with personal tutoring so far has been very positive.
“It has been a nice thought that I’ve had a person to contact with any enquiries and know that they will be there to help whenever needed.”
In what ways has your personal tutor helped you academically or personally?
“My tutor has helped me outline important parts of my studies and has helped point me in the right direction whenever I may have been feeling lost in any way.
“Personally, my tutor has been able to help me strive in my course and how I conduct myself in day-to-day life.”
Has your tutor helped support YOUR academic success?
“My tutor has helped my academic success as they are always able to offer their advice and give constructive criticism whenever I have anything that I may need to improve on.”
Have your meetings helped you stay on track with your academic goals or deadlines?
“My meetings have helped me stay on track with my goals as I’ve been able to make plans and map out my goals, with ways to realistically achieve them.
“My tutor has helped me create these plans that will best suit my schedule with university and external commitments.”
Lucy Clark
Next up is Lucy Clark, another student who has benefited from her meetings with Christina.
She spoke about how Christina always asks her about her physical and mental health as well as her academic process.
How would you describe your experience with the personal tutoring scheme so far?
“The personal tutoring scheme has been a great asset to my experience at GCU. Having two meetings per year (minimum) and being able to break down my grades, academic and personal needs has made the demands of the course much more manageable.
“Compared to other universities, there is a level of personability here that I'm unsure is available elsewhere.”
In what ways has your personal tutor helped you academically or personally?
“Academically, personal tutoring has helped me by ensuring I receive advice and support for my compulsory work experience placements. It's also been helpful to look over my credits and grades each term, so I am reassured that I am meeting what is required of me.
“Personally, the meetings have been helpful as I am always asked about my physical and mental health, the number of hours I am working outside of university, and of any other concerns. Most of my concerns have been mentioned during these meetings, instead of via email or class rep.
“I feel confident that I could go to the office of my personal tutor during working hours with any concerns or personal troubles I have, and that I would be met with support.”
Has your tutor helped support YOUR academic success?
“As previously mentioned, by revising my working hours as per advised, my grades were improved.
“It has also been made clear to me what is expected in my final year, and I feel I am well-equipped with the knowledge to complete my final year to a high standard - with help from my personal tutor.”
Have your meetings helped you stay on track with your academic goals or deadlines?
“Absolutely. Every meeting I have attended, my personal tutor has already prepared my grades from the previous term - so we can go through and identify any issues or concerns, with plans to meet any additional requirements.
“Overall, the scheme has been a great support throughout my studies, and I feel any student would benefit from the same experience and frequency I've had over the past three years.”
Aaron Haire
Aaron Haire is another multimedia Journalism student who has felt the positive effects of having a lecturer to talk to every trimester.
How would you describe your experience with the personal tutoring scheme so far?
“It’s been good. It’s helped me set goal and realistic targets and achieve them. I’ve enjoyed the appointments with my tutors, too as they have been helpful.”
In what ways has your personal tutor helped you academically or personally?
“They've given me confidence in my performance and degree, while also being a friendly face.”
Has your tutor helped support YOUR academic success?
“They've pointed out areas where I can improve and talked over ways of doing that. By the next meetings I had achieved what we had discussed.”
Have your meetings helped you stay on track with your academic goals or deadlines?
“I'm on top of that myself, but they're good at helping if I do struggle and I know I can go to them if need be."
Keir Roberts
Finally, we caught up with Keir Roberts who is another of Christina's tutees and he believes these meetings keep him striving to strict deadlines in his course.
How would you describe your experience with the personal tutoring scheme so far?
“The personal tutoring scheme has been helpful in many ways, and it is easy to set up meetings with my tutor.”
In what ways has your personal tutor helped you academically or personally?
“I have had two personal tutors over my four years at GCU, both have been helpful in supporting me through my academic journey.
“They also put me in contact with professionals in the industry which is great for securing work placements.”
Has your tutor helped support YOUR academic success?
“My tutor has previously recommended things that I can work on to improve my marks and have a smoother experience at university.”
Have your meetings helped you stay on track with your academic goals or deadlines?
“Meetings have motivated me to work to strict deadlines on the journalism course.”
By Lucy Rodgers
Got a story? Email me at Lucy.Rodgers@gcu.ac.uk