The Tutor Scheme

BSc students at DTU are guided in their studies by heads of studies, DTU’s central Study Guidance and the vectors. It is a clearly formulated task for these groups to guide and advice students, who would wish them to do so. All three groups meet the students during their first weeks of studies, where they introduce themselves so they are always accessible for the students.

In addition to these initiatives, DTU has a Tutor Scheme to ensure a close dialogue between students and lecturers by means of shorter meetings arranged directly between lecturer and students.

The purpose of the Tutor Scheme is:

To create and develop the contact between students and lecturers
To strengthen guidance and support for the students
To give DTU and the lecturers a better understanding of how students experience their studies and what may cause that they do well, do less well – or maybe even give up on their studies.

Scope
The tutor scheme encompasses all new BSc students and is commenced during the first semesters. Later in their studies, it is typically the heads of studies and/or the student advisors who guide and advice the students, but the tutor can still be part of guiding the students and giving them an academic guidance within the field of engineering.

Who becomes tutors and how are they appointed?
A tutor needs to have a thorough knowledge of the academic content of the specific BSc programme and should therefore ideally teach or have taught courses on the specific BSc programme. A tutor is attached to a vector and typically 8-10 students. It is not mandatory for the tutor to speak Danish, but it is necessary to have an understanding of the Danish educational system. The study boards draw up a list of potential tutors for the heads of study. See the list of appointed tutors for the academic year of 2020-2021.

Meetings, frequency and content
The heads of studies introduce the tutors for the students and vectors in the beginning of the semester – possibly the first Monday in the introduction week.
In the beginning of the semester the tutor arranges the first meeting with the students, her or she has been assigned to. It may be that the tutor participates in a meeting the vector has set up, or that the tutor sets up a group meeting, depending on what agreed upon with the head of study.
Depending on the need, the tutor can set up individual meetings or additional group meetings during the course of the first two semesters. It is not intended for the tutor scheme to continue during later semesters, but the students are encouraged to contact the tutor, if they have the need for advice or wish to discuss a specific problem.
During the meetings, life as a student is discussed with the student’s need as a starting point. On some study programmes (often during the course ‘Engineering work’) the head of studies arrange for the students to work out a study plan, which they can then go through with the tutor. If it turns out that a student has problems which the tutor is does not have the qualifications to help with, the tutor should refer the student to appropriate guidance. This may be DTU’s Study Guidance, The Student Counselling Service or the Student Chaplain.
For some BSc programmes it is more relevant to offer the tutor scheme during the 2nd semester, because it is not relevant to talk about study planning before this point in the study programme.

What is expected by a tutor?
It is expected that a tutor:

Has a good knowledge of the study programme he or she is a tutor for
Is interested in engaging in the social aspects of the academic work done in the BSc programmes
Is open for becoming a known face among DTU’s students
Is good at cooperating with vectors, heads of studies et al.
Is able to talk honestly with students and refer them to other guidance options, when necessary

Being a tutor is an excellent opportunity to work with the social aspects of DTU’s academic work. The crux of tutoring is to help the students becoming competent engineering students. As a tutor, you are an active part of the BSc programme. You have a unique insight into how the students experience their studies and are therefore able to guide them in the right direction, when they have questions.

The tutor scheme is part of DTU’s “Open Door” policy, where the students feel comfortable reaching out to lecturers and other of DTU’s employees.