Student Services, Personal Tutors, and Student Mental Health: A Case Study

Abstract

In recent years, student mental health has attracted significant concern in the literature and the media across the Westernized nations. Given that academic staff and the curriculum are the only guaranteed points of contact between students and their university, this has placed a particular focus on the role of the academic as personal tutor in relation to student mental health.Research has shown that the role of academics regarding student mental health is unclear for both students and staff; this lack of clarity creates risk that can lead to students not receiving timely support. This is particularly prevalent when gaps exist in relationships or understanding between academics and Student Services.This chapter focuses on a practical example of work undertaken at the University of Derby, to redefine the personal tutor role, making it a more proactive teaching role with clearer purpose and boundaries. Work was also undertaken to improve relationships between Student Services and Personal Academic Tutors (PAT) and to equip tutors with effective signposting skills to direct students to appropriate support services. This chapter outlines the processes, conceptualization, and development of the new Personal Academic Tutor role. The mandatory training delivered to all tutors is discussed as well as the learning that the University has gained from this project and how it will be applied to future developments.KeywordsPersonal tutoringStudent mental healthTraining academics