This is a comprehensive guide for higher education professionals engaged in student support, advising or personal tutoring roles. It covers a range of key topics relating to tutoring in the HE landscape including definitions, pedagogy, coaching, core values and skills, boundaries, monitoring students, undertaking group and individual tutorials and the need to measure impact.
A scholarly and practical text, it brings together relevant academic literature to inform personal tutoring practice and contextualise the role within HE policy. This second edition has been thoroughly updated, and explores topical and timely content with new chapters that examine the pedagogy of personal tutoring, key concepts surrounding effective student interactions, and inclusive personal tutoring. Further emphasis is placed on student engagement and motivation as well as how to effectively share responsibility and manage expectations. Reflective exercises are provided throughout the text to encourage critical thinking about this key role and support tutors’ own professional development.
Packed with actionable steps, this is a vital toolkit for higher education professionals at any stage of their career, and offers a wealth of expert guidance, resources and checklists to help develop meaningful and impactful connections with students throughout their learning journey.
Table of Contents:
Updated foreword by Professor Liz Thomas and authors' note on second edition Introduction Chapter 1: What is a personal tutor? Chapter 2: The pedagogy of personal tutoring Chapter 3: Core values and skills of the personal tutor Chapter 4: Setting boundaries Chapter 5: Key activities - identifying and supporting student populations Chapter 6: Key activities - effectively supporting all stages of the student lifecycle Chapter 7: Key concepts - effective student interactions, engagement and relationships Chapter 8: Reflective practice and professional development Chapter 9: Measuring impact Chapter 10: What next? Index
About the Author :
Dave Lochtie is the Operations Manager for the Ann Craft Trust, a leading authority in safeguarding adults, University of Nottingham. He is Co-chair of the Association for Peer Learning and Support which promotes best practice in student-led learning.
Emily McIntosh is Chief Student Officer at Harper Adams University (HAU) where she has executive responsibility for the holistic student journey and student experience.
Andrew Stork is a University Teacher and Programme Director for the Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education at the University of Sheffield. He delivers personal tutoring and staff development and has presented at national and international conferences, including as an invited keynote speaker.
Ben W. Walker is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Development at Oxford Brookes University, where he leads on academic advising, supports colleagues to gain fellowship of Advance HE and is an active educational researcher.
Nienke Alberts is a Higher Education researcher, specialising in student support and educational inequalities. She led on the Personal Tutoring Project at the University of Bristol, investigating staff and student experiences of personal tutoring. Nienke has worked as a lecturer in Anthropology at various Universities.
Alison Raby is a Senior Lecturer, Senior Tutor and Programme Leader at the University of Lincoln, in addition to being co-Project Manager of the University’s partnership with Guizhou University in China.
Review :
"This is a vital and timely resource on personal tutoring in higher education, offering practical strategies to enhance student belonging, well-being, and success. Rooted in evidence-informed practice and enriched with new content on inclusive pedagogy, coaching, and emotional labour (and more), the book equips both new and experienced staff with the tools they need. In short, the book is a toolkit, an inspiration, and a challenge for what personal tutoring is – and what it could, and should, be."
Professor Peter Felten, Center for Engaged Learning, Elon University (US). Co-author of Connections Are Everything: A Student’s Guide to Relationship Rich Education (John Hopkins University Press, 2023).
"I welcome this updated edition of “Effective Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising in Higher Education”. With mounting pressures on personal tutors to offer ever more professional student support—while juggling diverse demands—this book provides relevant scholarship, practical strategies, and space for thoughtful reflection at one’s own pace. It is a timely, indispensable resource for anyone seeking to offer the highest standards of academic and pastoral support and guidance."
Professor Harriet Dunbar-Morris PFHEA, NTF, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Provost, The University of Buckingham
"This second edition is academically outstanding, delivers fundamental contemporary content, and inspires transformational tutoring practices. The new edition makes a strong evidential case for the positioning, purposes and pedagogies of tutoring in the current higher education landscape, challenging and enhancing existing notions of what tutors do, how, and why. Activities throughout model what great tutoring does: making the learning relevant to the individual reader, and providing high-quality professional development. This new edition should be required reading for everyone currently involved in tutoring in higher education: tutors, tutoring leads, managers and university executive leaders."
Dr Melanie Pope, Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching at Arden University, UK.
"Effective Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising in Higher Education is a publication written by practitioners for practitioners. This guide helps new, mid-career, and novice-level professionals gain insights into the tutoring and advising field in the UK and abroad. This text is ideal for training and development activities for individuals and/or teams of tutors and advisors, as it offers case studies, critical thinking activities, and reflective exercises necessary for anyone looking to grow in the field. It covers the topics affecting our current student populations and prepares us to be change agents for student success. It covers universal themes that help us in our work to assist in transforming global citizens on our campuses throughout their student life cycles."
Gavin Farber, Coordinator for Undergraduate Advising, School of Business, The College of New Jersey, USA, NACADA Board of Directors (2023-2026).
"The first edition of this book was my go-to recommendation for anyone, tutors, student support staff, senior leaders, looking to deepen their understanding of tutoring and advising. However, with significant changes happening across the sector, institutions are now scrutinising their tutoring and advising practices more closely than ever. I’m pleased to say that this new and improved edition fits seamlessly into that evolving conversation.
It serves as an ideal reference companion for anyone involved in tutoring. Like the previous edition, it includes helpful summaries, critical thinking exercises, and strikes the perfect balance between informality and professionalism, making it both accessible and engaging.
That said, this edition also introduces several valuable additions, including discussions on emotional labour, widening participation, updated references and statistics, professional identity, and key concepts such as effective student interactions, engagement, and relationships. It also covers a fascinating chapter on the pedagogy of personal tutoring.
As the sector increasingly recognises the vital role of tutoring and advising, I expect this book to become even more widely used and for very good reason."
Professor Andrew Fisher, University Senior Tutor, PFHEA, Recognised Leader in Advising UKAT, NTF, The University of Nottingham, UK.
