Science Faculty

Teacher's Guide

The Tutorial Action Plan (PAT) of the Faculty of Science is targeted to undergraduate students. Its basic objectives are to facilitate the academic integration of students, encourage their participation in university life, provide information on the availability and use of learning resources, provide academic support for configuring their academic and professional goals and supply information on job placement and continuing education. At the same time, the PAT brings together information on the operation of degrees in order to detect possible problems, which can be the basis for formulating proposals for improvement.

The PAT is structured through a series of activities that are developed jointly by the central bodies of the University, the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Science, the Degree Committees and the tutors. Table 1 of Annex 1 shows the activities schedule of the PAT for the Faculty of Science degrees and the various agents who participate in them.

At the start of the school year, the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Science assigns a group of ten students to each tutor. In this guide, basic recommendations are provided to the tutors on the following topics:

1. Setting up meetings with students
2. Content of meetings
3. Limitations of tutorial action

1. Setting up meetings with students

Two to three scheduled meetings will be made with the assigned students. One meeting will be set up at the beginning of the school year during the first two weeks and other at the start of the second quarter. A third meeting at the end of the second quarter may be useful for finding out the students' final results although meetings tend to be difficult to arrange beyond April.

Meetings may be in a group or individual. It is recommended that the first meeting be in a group with all of the students or in small groups. This type of meeting helps initial contact by providing a less polarised environment than that of an individual meeting. If the tutor deems it appropriate, additional meetings can be scheduled at the start of the school year after the initial meeting, either individually or in small groups.

The most efficient way to arrange meetings is through e-mail. In the first meeting, it is recommended that the student and tutor agree upon the method of communication and means for arranging subsequent meetings. It is recommended that the last issue in a meeting be the tentative date and the issues to discuss for the following meeting as this helps reinforce the commitment.

In addition to the scheduled meetings, it is likely that during the school year some of the students will request a meeting with the tutor to deal with a specific topic.

2. Content of meetings

The initial meeting is valuable since it is important to make the student aware of the usefulness of the orientation and the counseling that tutoring provides. In addition to those decided upon by the tutor, the contents of the initial meeting may include the following:

Presentation and description of the objectives and possibilities of the tutorial action.
Data collection. Appendix 2 provides a standard form for data collection. From the information gathered, the tutor will assess the appropriateness of individual guidance based on the student's academic record.
Methodology Despite the fact that the welcome meeting organised by the Dean's Office deals with this issue, it is important that the tutor insist upon compulsory class attendance, the need for daily study and the dedication of 40 hours per week to university studies.
Permanency. Although this is an issue that was also dealt with at the welcome meeting, it is important to remind the student that there are two years in a subject, starting from the initial registration. In other words, there are four consecutive examination sessions to complete and therefore it is essential to continue with the registered subjects.
It is important that the students integrate into university life through participation in representative bodies, associations, etc.
The importance to the University that students communicate to their tutors their dedication to and methods for studying, difficulties, academic results, etc., since this is the basis for detecting and correcting problems.
The method for maintaining contact between students and tutor and the tentative date and contents of the following meeting.
In the subsequent scheduled meetings the basic objective is to track the results of the students, the difficulties they may have run into, reasons for withdrawing from courses, etc. Appendix 3 shows a standard form for collecting data in the initial meeting of the second quarter. Students can request that specific problems or questions be discussed at the scheduled and student-requested meetings. Due to the unpredictable nature of such questions, it is not possible to prescribe action guidelines although it is important that the tutor report these questions to the PAT coordinator during such meetings in order to put together a “Frequently Asked Questions”manual.

In meetings prompted by requests for advice and guidance, it is important that the tutor listen to the student and avoid making hasty assessments of the situation or the student. A dialogue in which the students' themselves sort through their ideas is more valuable for their education. The tutor can help this process by paraphrasing or asking for more details about the issues they consider most relevant. Once the topic has been communicated, the tutor should avoid making recommendations since it is the student who should make decisions based on the information at hand. The tutor's role is to provide options that the student may not have thought about and help assess the advantages, disadvantages and consequences of those options.

It is essential that the tutor maintain confidentiality over the information and personal situations that the students relate during the meetings.

3. Limitations of tutorial action

The tutorial action must be carried out in an academic environment. If the student raises personal issues during the meetings, it is recommended that the tutor listen to them but their role is not to delve into these issues and the conversation should be redirected toward academic issues. There are also issues that should not be the subject of tutorial action and tutor intervention:

Conflicts between students and subject teachers. The tutor should steer clear of these conflicts and prevent the tutoring from becoming a place for criticism. Conflicts should be resolved through student-teacher dialogue and, if necessary, through the Dean's Office (Vice-dean of Academic Affairs). As a last resort, they can petition the University Ombudsman.
Examination date overlaps. In case these cannot be resolved between the student and the teachers then they are the responsibility of the Dean's Office (Vice-dean of Students).
Examination complaints. These should be addressed to the Management of the Department responsible for the subject.
Defence of student interests. Students have representation systems to enforce their rights.
Psychological problems (stress, coping difficulties, etc.), health problems, difficulty with language, disability-related problems. In these cases, the teacher may give the student information on University services that provide specialised help: Applied Psychology Centre, Medical Service,Language Service, Office of Support and Cooperation (helping with disabilities, marginalisation, etc.), Office of Student Guidance and Services .
Resolution of paperwork and bureaucratic problems. The secretaries for student affairs and the Office of Student Guidance and Services can provide help in this area.