Tutorials for Physics undergraduates consist of a group students who meet each week with their tutor for at least 50 minutes as follows:
The tutor will also be available in weeks L0, T0 and T1 to discuss problems that arise during revision, but attendance by students is optional.
All physics tutorials follow the general guidelines given here and the stage-specific details are documented separately:
These guidelines are intended to ensure equivalent treatment of students and also to allow tutors enough scope to deal flexibly with the specific problems raised by individual tutorial groups.
Part of the final-year examination is a general problems paper (PHY3136, PHY3137, PHYM428, or PHYM429 depending on the degree programme) testing the student's comprehension of the general principles of physics. The problems do not relate to any specific module but represent the kind of questions that a well-trained physicist should be capable of answering from his or her core knowledge of physics. Tutorials in Stages 3 and 4 help students to prepare for this paper.
For radiography students, tutorials will normally consist of a group of about 10 students who will meet fortnightly with their tutor, for at period of at least 50 minutes. Tutorials will continue during clinical placements and will be conducted at the clinical placement sites.
The tutor will also be available to discuss problems that arise during the revision periods, but attendance by students during this time is optional.
Tutors are the primary contact between undergraduate students and the School. A tutor is the student's personal tutor as well as their academic tutor.
Tutorials are an important part of the teaching programme of the School. Everybody involved is expected to be present and on time; if a tutorial has to be rescheduled students will be notified a week in advance unless this is made impossible by exceptional circumstances.
Written work collected by the tutor should be marked within a week of handing in. Generally assignments should be graded, either by the tutor or by the tutorial group as appropriate. Samples of marked work will be copied and used for teaching-quality review purposes.
The duties of a tutor specifically include the following:
Attendance at tutorials is compulsory.
At the start of each semester the office distributes a Tutorial Record sheet for each student. The pre-printed information (name, programme, email address, etc.) should be confirmed with each student at the first tutorial. It has columns to record what exercises were set, whether the student is present or absent, marks for work and comments. It also has space for Stage 1 and Stage 2 tutors to note performance in mid-semester ('MST') tests. The back of the sheet can be used for more general notes and records about the student (e.g. to jog people's memory when writing references). At the end of the semester, all record sheets should be returned to the School Student Services office who will place them in the student's personal file.
All absences must be reported by email to the Student Co-ordinator immediately (i.e. at the end of the tutorial). The tutor will issue a student who has missed two tutorials a copy of the School's Warning Form, and the receipt must be signed and returned to the School Student Services office. Any further absences after this warning has been issued must be investigated by the Stage Coordinator and the student will normally be put On Report.
A student who needs to be absent for good reason must either get permission for absence in advance, or use the Mitigating Circumstances Procedures to get warnings, etc. revoked.
The Personal Development Planning system is accessed via the Student Portal (MyExeter) or Student Records System (SRS). The purpose of PDP is for students to improve their capacity to understand what and how they are learning, and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning.
In the School of Physics, all students are encouraged to use the structure provided by Exeter's ePDP system and constuct a 'Progress File'. Undergraduates are supported in this process by, and have an annual appraisal meeting with, their personal tutor.
University guides decribe how to navigate the web-based ePDP system:
These are rather short on specifics, so the School of Physcics has its own suggestions for appropriate things to to consider/discuss:
Students should develop and update their Progress File continually throughout their programmes. The annual appraisal meetings start with the student reflecting on their progress to date, and constructing an action plan by the end of week L1. Tutors must invite their tutees to annual appraisal meetings. These are normally held instead of the tutorials during Week L1 and/or L2. To accommodate their clinical placements, Stage 2 Radiography students update their action plan by Week M7 and are invited to appraisal meetings in Week M8.
After the meeting, tutors should use both the Tutorial Record Sheet (above) and the ePDP system 'Tutor/Supervisor View' to record the date the PDP meeting took place. (A link to facilitate this appears once the student submits their action plan to the tutor for comment.)
Students whose performance is falling below the standards required by the School's Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning, e.g. those who
will be put 'On Report'. Students on report must use the 'My Timetable' link from the University timetable system to print a personalised report form. Each week this must be signed by an instructor at each lecture, tutorial, etc.. The sheet will be checked each week by the tutor who will notify the Head of School (via an email to the School Secretary) of any non-attendance by the student on report. A copy of the email should also be sent to the Stage Coordinator and the student. Unless evidence of good reason for the absence is provided, the Head of School will normally issue a formal warning, verbal and written. This will inform the student that their place at University is under threat of withdrawal if no improvement is made. In event of a further lapse they will be reported to the Dean of the Undergraduate Faculty for lack of attendance and as a result may be required to withdraw from the University.
Students who are repeating a Stage because of poor academic performance can expect to be required to withdraw if they fail to adhere to the standards specified in the 'Students Guidelines' of the School of Physics Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning.
Many modules now involve a substantial component of 'continuous assessment' so tutors must be careful not give their students unfair advantage. For example, tutors may provide some general help to tutees who are attempting to solve assessed problems, particularly in terms of pointers as to how to start a problem. However, tutors must not attempt to solve problems. Obviously, once the Problems Class has met any remaining problems can be discussed.
For reports, essays or case-studies, tutors may provide some general advice but will not read drafts of such work. Tutors may offer advice on plans or frameworks (typically a summary on a single side of A4) but will not review work in a more advanced stage of development.
A student who has a good reason need to change tutors should, if they feel able, discuss the matter with their tutor and then approach the appropriate Student Co-ordinator who will facilitate a change if s/he agrees that it would be appropriate.
Tutorial arrangements for Flexible Combined Honours students are made on a case-by-case basis by the FCH Programme Director in consultation with the Physics FCH Subject Coordinator. It will be decided whether a student is required to attend some or all of the academic tutorials (as described above), which member of the Physics staff will be responsible for pastoral matters and PDP.