Supporting student progress

In supporting student progress it is the personal supervisor’s responsibility to:

• review and discuss their supervisee’s academic progress; 
• support and encourage reflection on course decisions such as module choices to help the supervisee to make a considered decision;
• provide opportunities for students to explore their future employment or study goals and direct them to specialised support;
• provide references when requested for supervisees while they are studying at York and for a reasonable period after they have left. 

Guidance on supporting student progress

The content of personal supervision sessions should be appropriate to the individual student journey but there are particular areas relevant to supporting student progress that personal supervisors will need to be aware of, even if these are not discussed at every meeting:

1. Knowledge of policy and procedure

Guiding students based on your expertise and subject knowledge is central to the success of personal supervision and should be a core part of all scheduled sessions. Disciplines have their own language, skills and expectations and personal supervisors are uniquely placed to share these with students as they progress through their studies. 

However, discussions with students should also be based on your knowledge of the most up to date policy and procedure so that you can make sure your advice is accurate. For this reason you should: 

• Review programme content information each year to ensure you have the most up to date versions of programme regulations such as core modules and areas that are ‘exempt’ from University policy;
• Ensure you are familiar with the optional modules that students can select from in the current academic year so that you can advise them on their choices;
• Be aware of broader University policy relating to student progression issues such as leave of absence; programme withdrawal; programme transfer; extension of enrolment;
• Be aware of how to access information about rules relating to assessment and awards and be aware of who in your department can support you in interpreting these rules in the context of student results.

2. The student journey

As a personal supervisor you will have engaged with students at every stage of their academic journey - from new freshers through to graduation and beyond; but for every student you meet, they are likely to be facing these situations for the first time! 

As a personal supervisor,  you are uniquely placed to help guide students through these critical moments in their university experience, and whilst every journey is different, there are particular points where additional support and guidance will be beneficial:

• New starters - know nothing about the institution or the rules or the language we use to describe processes or procedures. The University provides lots of advice and support for new students who are living independently for the first time, but as a personal supervisor you can help navigate the language of academia and the institutional language (think module; credits; office hours) that will help them to thrive. Explain any jargon that you are using and if in doubt give an explanation.
• Mature students returning to education after time away from studying - will be especially nervous about their position at University and completing assignments for the first time. Consider offering them support in advance of deadlines to provide encouragement and advice.
• Returning from a leave of absence - remember this student is joining a new cohort where they may not know anyone and will have had a period with no academic engagement.
• Returning from a period of study abroad or placement - students are likely to be studying with a new cohort, and may not have a friendship group in York e.g. for shared accommodation in their final year. They will also be adjusting back to academic study, including preparing for their capstone project, and may need support with this.
• Students with a Support Plan - are likely to need additional support and their Support Plan might indicate a role for the personal supervisor in facilitating this. Make sure you are aware of your supervisees support plan arrangements and keep a check on how things are going with this on a regular basis. 

3. Academic progress and course decisions

There is no single or ‘best’ way to discuss academic progress with your students, but your shared interest in the subject does provide common ground for you to offer guidance, advice and support. The following are some ideas about the kinds of topics you might want to cover in some or all of your scheduled meetings although the areas of focus and level of depth will depend on the needs of individual students, and will differ depending on the level of study and the time of year:

• Student aspirations - what do they hope to achieve and how can you help them get there?
• Review assessment marks through e:Vision and encourage students to reflect on these in the light of their own expectations;
• Review student attendance through Check-In to identify any issues with engagement;
• Ask students to share feedback on assessments with you. Look for common problems across feedback and help students to reflect on this;
• Direct students to academic skills support and remind them of the support that is available at different points in their academic journey;
• Specific student experiences such as problems arising for those taking combined degrees or studying part time;
• Check whether there are any problems with current support plans (where relevant).

Don’t forget to review our helping with problems page to support students when their progress is hindered or they are experiencing difficulties. 

4. Dealing with complaints

You are likely to be a key contact for students who are dissatisfied with various aspects of their learning experience. It is not your responsibility to try to fix these issues, and it is important that we try to maintain a consistent approach to dealing with complaints so that students feel heard. Appropriate responses to student complaints might include:

• Directing students to module leaders or markers for further discussion about their grades or assessment feedback;
• Directing students to programme leaders to discuss dissatisfaction with an aspect of teaching;
• Encouraging students to use the student rep system to raise issues at department/school level;
• Directing students to the relevant student web pages for complaints

5. Future employment goals and personal development

There is no expectation that supervisors can offer expert guidance on the wide range of activities that students are encouraged to undertake, but discussing these issues can provide a focus for scheduled supervision sessions. You might want to consider some of the following:

• talk to your supervisee about their life at university and encourage them to take part in non-academic activities if this is appropriate (bearing in mind personal circumstances);
• ensure students are aware of other key student services associated with careers and placements and study abroad options;
• provide encouragement to reflect on broader aspirations for careers or further study and direct to specialised support services. 

6. Providing references

You are likely to be asked to write references for students while they are studying and after they have left York. This can feel like a big responsibility, and so you might want to remember the following:

• Holding regular sessions and taking an interest in student progression, aspirations and non-academic activities can all help you to provide a genuine reference - keeping notes will definitely help. 
• Most academic references for future study will be requested through University admissions portals and guidance will be offered about the content you should cover, so read this before you start.
• Some people find it useful to use a standard format for references to save time and make sure they are covering all the necessary information.