The role of teaching staff in the department
The Module Convenor is the person who is responsible for the content and probably takes the majority of your lectures. You should consult them regarding any problems that are module specific: essay writing for the module, examination difficulties, and general questions about lecture content and information available.
Within the first few weeks of arriving at the University, your department will allocate you a Personal Tutor. This is a member of academic staff in your department who is there to support you with any difficulties you may be experiencing and also point you in the right direction for specialist help or additional skills development you may be interested in. Your Personal Tutor is likely to be the same person throughout your degree, although this may change if your Personal Tutor goes on Research leave. If this occurs, your department will allocate you a replacement Personal Tutor. If you are a Dual Honours student, your Personal Tutor will be from your Home department (normally whichever of your subjects is first alphabetically) but your second department may also have a member of academic staff with responsibilities for dual degree students whom you can contact as well
Your Personal Tutor will organise to meet you periodically during your time at University to discuss how you are getting on and if you have any concerns. However, if you are experiencing difficulties, don’t wait for your scheduled meeting but do contact your Personal Tutor as they will want to help you identify ways to help resolve the problem. You can email or phone your Personal Tutor to ask for an appointment or visit your Personal Tutor during their office hours. It is important to meet your personal tutor early in on in your programme so you know who to go to if you have a problem. Remember, your Personal Tutor is not just there to help resolve issues but to support you in reaching your full potential and making the most out of your experience here so be proactive and make the most of your meetings.
You should contact your Programme Manager if you have concerns about your progression within your degree - if you are considering taking leave of absence, changing your degree or leaving the University. You may also be asked to meet with your Programme Director regarding your progress on the degree, should concerns arise around issues such as attendance or attainment.
Programme Directors have overall responsibility for managing and overseeing programmes of study.
The Examinations Officer’s role is to consider extensions within the department, administer the degree classification process and to ensure equity within modules and students progression.
Module convenors and lecturers may be contacted concerning specific pieces of work and Personal Tutors will give general academic advice. In relation to module assignments, convenors will normally only comment on assignment plans and will not read full drafts of assignments. For dissertations, students will be allocated a dissertation supervisor once their initial outline has been agreed with their tutor. Supervisors will usually comment on individual draft chapters as part of the supervision process. Dissertation supervision is allocated across the academic team.