Personal academic tutors (PATs): A student perspective

Abstract

IntroductionPersonal academic tutors (PATs) have an important role in providing academic and non-academic support for university students. This study sought to assess the effectiveness of a PAT system developed for pharmacy students. MethodsA student-led survey was developed using a mix of single answer, Likert-style scale, and free text responses. The questionnaire was peer reviewed by students and other researchers and was piloted before being made available online to pharmacy students. ResultsOne hundred fifty-nine responses were received from students across all stages of the programme. In general, students expressed high levels of satisfaction with their PATs. Despite high levels of recognition of positive attributes of the PAT system, students had low levels of willingness to discuss personal issues with their PAT. Male students were more comfortable than female students in discussing personal issues. The level of comfort expressed by female participants was not significantly different with male or female PATs. Often students turn to friends and family who may provide advice that is unhelpful or outdated, particularly for issues such as poor mental health. Reasons for not speaking to PATs included concerns about being judged and academic records being affected. Worryingly, 18% of respondents (n = 28) had personal issues that had not been disclosed to anyone. ConclusionsSatisfaction with more traditional academic tutoring was high but the reluctance to discuss wellbeing issues was concerning. Further work involving the student body is planned to co-create strategies to overcome reluctance to discuss personal issues.