At the start of the course all students will be allocated a supervisor. The role of the supervisor is to help guide the student’s learning, to assist them to gain maximum benefit from the course. The supervisor can either help students with problems they are having during the course or, if the supervisor cannot help the student, they will suggest people with special skills or refer the student on to someone else.
The supervisor is the main person with particular interest in the progress of individual students. Academic Supervisors assist their tutees with academic progress, choice of elective modules, curriculum vitae preparation, and career planning and personal issues.
Below are listed some areas in which a supervisor might assist a student:
- If students are having problems with the course (they just do not understand, cannot keep up etc.) then they should see their supervisor as soon as possible. The supervisor will be able to help the student clarify the nature of the problem and suggest ways to solve it.
- If a student is experiencing problems with a particular teaching module the supervisor may be able to help direct the student to additional learning resources or people that may be able to help them with the particular problem they have.
- A supervisor can help a student to choose the most appropriate elective units for their chosen career path or interests. In addition supervisors can offer guidance about choice of assignment topics and dissertation subject.
- If students have social or emotional problems which may be having an impact on their progress they should inform their supervisor. The supervisor may be able to refer them on to someone else for help and can also inform the course Coordinator and other teachers (with the consent of the student) of the difficulties they are experiencing and how they may be impacting on that students performance
- The supervisor may also help students with practicing particular study skills such as essay writing, or presenting work.