Education Committee approves UCL’s first Personal Academic Tutoring Policy

Implementing a Personal Academic Tutoring Policy was a recommendation of the Personal Tutor Review undertaken in 2023/24. It reflects the purpose of Personal Academic Tutoring statement that was agreed through review: ‘The purpose of Personal Academic Tutoring at UCL is to guide and support students in their academic, personal and professional development during their time at university’.  

We have designed the policy (available to read as a PDF or Word document) with the support of the Department Tutor Network and the input of the 17 Departments participating in the Personal Academic Tutoring Pilot run by our Higher Education Development & Support Institute (HEDS). 

We have given significant thought to developing a policy that can effectively be implemented across UCL, that is based on existing good practice and promotes a baseline expectation of personal academic tutoring for taught students.  

The HEDS team is continuing to update staff training and support to align with the new policy and output from the Personal Academic Tutoring Pilot, including bringing staff support resources together into a new PAT SharePoint ahead of next academic year. All Personal Academic Tutors will have access to online training, which is already in development. HEDS colleagues will ensure the training is both valuable and accessible, particularly for those with limited time.

We will be introducing the new policy for the beginning of the 2025/26 academic year. This summer we’ll share further information about policy implementation (Personal Academic Tutoring in practice) and the mandatory training.