Personal Academic Tutoring training

Personal Academic Tutoring is a core academic responsibility. To enable the highest quality Personal Academic Tutoring, there is training available for all staff who carry out or support the role.

Workshops 

Introduction to Personal Academic Tutoring at UCL

This workshop, offered by HEDS (Arena), is designed for new Personal Academic Tutors and introduces the core principles, responsibilities, and resources of the role. Participants will explore UCL’s Student Triage and Referral Tool (STaRT), and engage with common advising scenarios to build confidence in supporting student development and wellbeing. Through personal reflection and collaborative exercises, participants will begin to shape their own tutoring approach. The session also includes a brief introduction to the GROW coaching model, laying the groundwork for future development.

In this workshop, you will:

• learn about the purpose and scope of personal academic tutoring at UCL
• explore the STaRT tool
• discuss best practices for building effective tutor–tutee relationships
• reflect on your approach as a Personal Academic Tutor.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• understand the role and purpose of a Personal Academic Tutor at UCL
• effectively navigate UCL's Student Triage and Referral Tool
• understand and implement personal academic tutoring best practices
• develop their approach to personal academic tutoring.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this workshop only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk

Developing as a UCL Personal Academic Tutor

This workshop, offered by HEDS (Arena), is designed for Personal Academic Tutors who have already attended the introductory workshop and are looking to deepen their practice. Participants will reflect on their current approach, identify the core skills of effective tutoring, and explore common challenges in the role. The session includes opportunities for personal reflection, peer learning, and group discussion. Building on the brief introduction to coaching approaches in the ‘Introduction to Personal Academic Tutoring at UCL’ workshop, this workshop focuses on the ‘Goal’ element of the GROW model to support more purposeful and structured student conversations.

It is highly recommended that participants complete the ‘Introduction to Personal Academic Tutoring at UCL’ workshop before attending this session.

In this workshop, you will:

• reflect on your current personal tutoring approach and identify areas for growth
• explore the core skills of effective personal academic tutoring
• discuss common challenges and strategies for navigating them
• learn how to support student goal setting using the ‘Goal’ element of the GROW model.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• identify the skills of a good personal academic tutor
• develop a personalised plan to strengthen their personal tutoring skills
• recognise possible ways to manage challenges faced by personal academic tutors
• begin to integrate a coaching approach in their interactions with students.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this workshop only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk

 

Advanced Coaching Skills for Personal Academic Tutors

This workshop, offered by HEDS (Arena), is designed for Personal Academic Tutors who have attended the earlier workshops and are ready to develop greater confidence and fluency in using coaching approaches to support their students. Through reflection, small-group discussion and role play participants will explore how to ask more effective open questions, encourage student agency, and work through the final two stages of the GROW model: Options and Way Forward.

We highly recommend that participants complete both the ‘Introduction to Personal Academic Tutoring at UCL’ and ‘Developing as a Personal Academic Tutor’ workshops before attending this session.

In this workshop, you will:

• deepen your understanding of how coaching can enhance personal tutoring conversations
• practise using open, student-centred questions to promote reflection and agency
• explore ways to support students through the Options and Way Forward stages of the GROW model.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• apply the Options and Way Forward stages of the GROW model in tutoring conversations
• use open, non-directive questions to support student reflection and decision-making
• build confidence in using coaching approaches to foster student ownership and action.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this workshop only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk

Approaches to supporting students for Professional and Technical Services staff

This workshop, offered by HEDS (Arena), is aimed at professional and technical services staff who are new to student support, or Personal Academic Tutoring, roles at UCL. It focuses on the role of professional/technical services colleagues within Personal Academic Tutoring and provide support for working with students in this setting.  

In this session we will: 

• explore approaches in the remote and blended environments
• discuss some challenging scenarios
• review further sources of support for students and staff
• review UCL’s approach to Personal Academic Tutoring and your role within it
• reflect on expectations, boundaries and referrals
• consider how to have conversations with students.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this workshop only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk

 

Academic Support for Programme Leads and Department Tutors

This workshop, offered by HEDS (Arena), is aimed at Programme Leads and Departmental Tutors. It considers the role of the Programme Lead and Departmental Tutors in managing academic support and personal tutoring across their taught programme or department.

In this session we will:

• consider the programme lead’s role in managing personal tutoring and academic support across their taught programme
• reflect on the types of academic support your programme’s students might need
• describe the central academic support resources available to help students and staff at UCL, including the new Student Support Framework
• discuss some examples of how personal tutoring and academic support is structured across UCL.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this workshop only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk.

Courses 

Peer Coaching Circles for Personal Academic Tutors

This structured and supportive process offers dedicated time to reflect on your role, explore your thinking in a non-judgemental space, and gain new perspectives by engaging in purposeful, coaching-style conversations with peers.

To ensure the effectiveness of the coaching circle, it is essential that you commit to attending all scheduled sessions and actively participate in each discussion.

Eligibility

To take part, you must:

• be a Personal Academic Tutor.
• have supported students in this role for at least one academic term.

In these peer coaching sessions, you will:

• reflect on current challenges in your academic or tutoring practice
• engage in purposeful, supportive dialogue with colleagues
• gain fresh perspectives through structured peer conversations
• develop greater clarity, confidence and self-awareness in your role as a Personal Academic Tutor.

By the end of these sessions, participants will be able to:

• apply coaching-style listening and questioning techniques in a group setting
• reflect critically on your own practice in response to peer discussion
• recognise the value of peer dialogue in developing professional insight and confidence.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this course only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk

One-to-One Coaching for Personal Academic Tutors

This coaching opportunity, offered through HEDS (Arena), is aimed at academic staff who are currently Personal Academic Tutors and are interested in developing their practice through structured, one-to-one support.

You will work with a qualified coach over the course of one term, beginning with an introductory meeting followed by four 30-minute sessions delivered online via Microsoft Teams.

This structured and supportive process offers dedicated time to reflect on your role as a Personal Academic Tutor, identify meaningful goals, and explore practical approaches to enhance your confidence and effectiveness in supporting students.

To ensure the effectiveness of the coaching process, it is essential that you commit to attending all scheduled sessions.

Eligibility

To take part you must be a Personal Academic Tutor at UCL.

In these coaching sessions, you will:

• reflect on your role and responsibilities as a Personal Academic Tutor
• identify individual goals and areas for development
• explore practical strategies to support students more effectively
• build confidence in navigating the specific challenges you encounter in your role as a Personal Academic Tutor.

By the end of the coaching sessions, participants will be able to:

• articulate key insights gained through reflection on their Personal Academic Tutoring practice
• identify specific changes or actions they have implemented to enhance their approach
• apply practical strategies to support and engage students effectively
• reflect critically on their experiences to build confidence and improve their approach to student support.

How to sign up: Open this unique link to LearnUpon (specific to this course only) and click "Start" to enrol, then "Register" to view available dates, then proceed to sign-up for a session. To access LearnUpon you must be signed into Office365 with your UCL credentials. If you are having trouble using LearnUpon please email r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk

Upcoming events 

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Join the Personal Academic Tutoring community 

You are also invited to join the ‘Personal Academic Tutoring @ UCL’ Microsoft Teams site. We are using this site to share new resources and training opportunities (internal and external to UCL) throughout the year, and to establish a community of practice for Personal Academic Tutors where colleagues who are new and experienced in the role can share examples of practice/activities for engaging with and supporting their tutees.