Good Practice Guidelines for College Advisors for Postgraduate Students

i)                Every student (including part-time students) should be allocated a College Advisor. The responsibilities and expectations of the advisor and advisee should be clearly specified in order that both the student and the Advisor understand what is expected of them.

ii)              All graduate students should be provided with the opportunity to make contact with their College Advisor early in their first academic year at the college. Early contact between Advisors and students is important, as it lays the basis for subsequent meetings, which may have to deal with unanticipated issues.

iii)            Each student on a taught graduate course should have the opportunity of making contact with his/her advisor at least once a term. Such contact may be achieved electronically or by an actual meeting, as deemed appropriate by the Advisor and Advisee.

iv)             Other graduate students should have opportunities for contact with their advisor as required; it is expected that this would normally be not less than once a year.

v)               Advisors should have access to all reports on their students, including termly reports from University supervisors, and also information concerning the outcome of transfer and applications. Advisors should normally be available to discuss reports and their outcomes with the students, responding as appropriate to any issues of concern, communicating where appropriate with the relevant University department, and keeping a record of such communication and any actions taken in response to problems. 

vi)             Each student should have the opportunity to participate in some form of annual ‘collection’ or ‘progress review’ where their academic progress is discussed, and where they have the opportunity to raise any issues of concern to them in the presence of the Senior Tutor/Tutor for Graduates and (depending on college practice) the Head of House and/or their College Advisor.

vii)           The Tutor for Graduates/Senior Tutor should take appropriate action where problems are identified by College Advisors. In some cases this may mean bringing the matter to the attention of the appropriate college committee or University department, either as an individual case to be resolved or as a general issue to be reviewed by the College.

i)                Reports from College Advisors and any specific outcomes of Collections/Annual Progress Reviews, as appropriate;

ii)              University Supervisors’ reports, and copies of transfer and confirmation applications;

iii)            Details of course being taken or completed, marks achieved, thesis topic, current status, funding etc;

iv)             Actions taken by a student’s Advisor or any College Officer in response to problems.

 The College Advisor: Principal Responsibilities

The College Advisor should be in a position to discuss the student’s academic work. This does not mean that the student and advisor must be members of the same Department or Faculty. The College Advisor is not in any way intended to replace the University supervisor, or to act in his or her stead and should, therefore, not be expected to give the same detailed academic guidance and direction. Thus, a College Advisor to a student should not also be the student’s University supervisor. Rather, the intention is to provide a local focal point for an individual student’s relationship with the College, which nevertheless includes an academic component.

The College Advisor is expected to monitor a student’s progress, to discuss the University supervisor’s reports, and to be available for regular consultation on academic or other matters, including those issues that a student may feel unable to raise with his/her supervisor. Advisors should, as appropriate, comment positively on students’ progress, and achievements; they are not only there to monitor students’ progress and pick up problems. The Advisor may wish to consult with the Tutor for Graduates (or Senior Tutor in Graduate colleges) about any students who appear to be experiencing difficulties in their academic work, or direct students to other appropriate persons for assistance with non-academic related difficulties.

College advisees should respond to invitations from their Advisors to meet them; if the proposed time is not suitable, they should contact their Advisor to arrange an alternative time to meet. They should not hesitate (or feel any way inhibited) to contact their college advisors outside their regular meetings and should feel free to consult other college officers as necessary, including the Tutor for Graduates, the Senior Tutor or the College Secretary. College Advisees should be aware that the College Advisor is not expected to perform the academic role of the University supervisor. However, depending on their college advisor’s field of expertise, and intellectual interests, advisees may seek academic advice from the Advisor. In addition, advisees should feel free to seek advice from the College Advisor on academic-related matters including applications for research funding, conferences and seminar attendance, publication and career plans etc. It is particularly important that advisees should consult their College Advisor if they experience any difficulty with their University supervisor. Any matters concerning examination procedures may be discussed with the College Advisors. If students wish to raise them formally, they should do so with the Tutor for Graduates/Senior Tutor.