Almost half of University of Manchester students think that their academic supervision is inadequate, according to a survey conducted by Student Direct: Mancunion. The survey, which quizzed students on their experiences with academic advisers (formally personal tutors), revealed that 49 per cent felt the time they had been afforded with their adviser was “less than adequate.”
While 88 per cent of students questioned knew who their adviser or tutor was, when asked how often they had seen their adviser 43 per cent admitted they had met with them on fewer than two occasions, with one in 10 having never met with their tutor at all. John, a Town and Country Planning (MTCP) student said: “I’ve never had any contact, nor info stating who they are or where they are based in over four years.”
The University has acknowledged the importance of improving academic advisory structures. Speaking to Student Direct: Mancunion, Colin Stirling, Vice-President for Teaching and Learning, said: “[The University] is determined to make sure that our students get a significant level of personal contact … it would be utterly unacceptable if our students didn’t have regular contact with our academic staff.”
Out of the students who had met their tutor at least eight times, the majority were from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. In contrast there were only three students from the Faculty of Humanities who reported the same level of meetings.
In keeping with the apparent discrepancy between faculties, Stirling commented that the survey results were “more complicated than they first appear.”
Stirling pointed to the recent change in University policy concerning academic advisement as a possible explanation for the lack of satisfaction. He said: “This academic year just passed is the first one where academic advisement began to be rolled out across the University and we’re seeing it developing.”
However he did acknowledge that it is developing “faster in some schools than in others.”
Stirling added that, “it’s crucial that other schools catch up.”
Under the University policy it is recommended that academic advisers should contact students on a weekly basis. However, when Student Direct: Mancunion asked students what they thought, per semester, would be a sufficient amount of time with their adviser, two common themes emerged. 39 per cent of students who responded indicated that between two and five hours per semester would be a suitable level of contact time. This, coupled with written responses accompanying the survey, suggested that students would like a more formalised system for meeting with their advisers. Georgina, a second year Politics and Modern History student, said: “Seeing your personal tutor to discuss progress and any problems once or twice a term should be a uniform system, rather than being left to your own devices, struggling or feeling awkward about making appointments.”
However the results also stressed a need for flexibility. One in five students suggested that advisers should be available as often as required, with many pointing out that individual student needs are likely to vary greatly, even within the same programme of study. An MA Social Work student commented: “As a postgrad student, rather than regular meetings, knowing [they are] available on e-mail and will reply within a couple of days is all I need.”
Likewise, student comments registered a sense that while more time was needed, the time spent with their academic adviser also needed to be more productive. A Physics student, who had met his tutor seven times, said: “It’s more about quality of time. I know that seeing them 10 times as much would be just as useless.”
Final year Philosophy and Linguistics and English Language student Kate seemed to concur, saying: “I’m not going to waste time meeting them for ‘Motivations Chats’ or ‘How To Revise’ chats if I don’t need to.”
The survey also indicates that adviser availability is a problem for many students with 29 per cent of students reporting occasions when they wanted to see their adviser but couldn’t. Out of those students, 34 per cent said it was because their tutor was unavailable. Ellie, a Neuroscience finalist, said: “All I’d like is a meeting to discuss a reference but mine hasn’t been replying to my emails.”
When asked about the problems with adviser availability Stirling said: “I think if there were cases of tutors who were routinely ignoring emails… that would not be acceptable, however it is probably more complicated than that. There are going to be times when staff are unavailable.”
Tellingly, only 26 per cent of students questioned said that they would go to their academic adviser first if they had a personal problem that was affecting their university work.
Again unfamiliarity seemed to be a common problem. Iskra, a postgraduate Structural Engineering student said: “[I] don’t know what kinds of problems should be addressed to them and what I should deal with myself.” While, French and German final year student Cheryl, said: “I doubt that my personal tutor even knows my name, so [I] do not anticipate that they would be able to offer me great advice.”
Even when students said they would go to their adviser, many seemed conscious of how little contact they had with them. One postgraduate student said: “I would probably try my personal tutor for course-related issues but as I haven’t had even a ‘hello’ email from him, I assume he isn’t interested.”
Kate Little, the University of Manchester Students’ Union Academic Affairs Officer, has called these findings: “a damning indictment of the University’s academic support structure.”
Little commented that: “Academic support is crucial to making the most of the university experience, and clearly many parts of the University still aren’t doing it right.
“There needs to be more training and monitoring of academic advisers and personal tutors, and students should be clear where they can go for help if their tutor isn’t up to scratch. Some schools, like Life Sciences, do it and do it well: now it’s time for all schools to learn from these places and start giving students what they deserve and what they pay for.”
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