Personal Tutors

Every student is assigned a personal tutor. Your personal tutor is responsible for giving academic and personal advice, and may act on your behalf in internal University matters. They may be consulted by both administrative and academic staff on matters that concern you, and will usually represent you formally, if that is necessary, on University committees. It is therefore important that you get to know your personal tutor as soon as possible, and keep him or her informed of any problems (financial, health, accommodation, and family problems, for example) that may interfere with your studies. Your personal tutor can also advise you on your selection of options. Students should contact their Personal Tutors in the first instance if they would like a reference for any purpose during their studies.

The first thing you should do as a first year when you join the Department is call on your personal tutor (you can see who your personal tutor is on the personal tutor tab of your Tabula profile). It is likely they will get in touch with your directly to arrange a meeting, but if not please do feel free to contact them. We would recommend that you discuss with your personal tutor which optional modules are open to you, if any, and which you would like to follow. In Philosophy, all lectures start in the first week of the autumn term (with seminars starting in the second week); other departments may have different starting dates.

You should meet your tutor between weeks 1-5 of each term (although the earlier the better!) and keep in regular contact. As you may need to rely on your personal tutor later for references, it is not a good idea to be invisible! We recommend using the Personal Tutor Form Link opens in a new windowto help guide your conversations with your Personal Tutor, particularly when you start or if you change Personal Tutors.

If you wish to change your personal tutor, or have difficulty in making contact with him or her, you should get in touch with the Departmental Senior Tutor, Barney Walker.

Illness and absences

If you are absent from a seminar (due to illness etc.) please inform the seminar tutor at your earliest convenience. If you have to be absent from study for any length of time, please ensure you complete the online absence form as (depending on the circumstances) this may allow us to authorise your absence and will help prevent you being contacted by multiple members of staff asking why you have been absent.

The Senior Tutor

The current Departmental Senior Tutor is Barney Walker. Barney is responsible for the effective operation of the personal tutor system in Philosophy.

Student-Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs)

Each degree course has its own student/staff liaison committee (SSLC). The purpose of the SSLC (which usually meets twice each term) is to consider any general matters of concern raised by students, and also issues on which the Departmental staff seek student opinion. Normally two student representatives are elected from each year, and the SSLC contains in addition one or two staff members. Comments and questions that cannot be dealt with at the meetings are referred to a meeting of Departmental staff for consideration. The committees are an important part of the smooth functioning of the degree courses; if they do not work properly, everyone can suffer. The Department is therefore grateful to those students who are ready to give a small amount of time to serving on these committees.

Student Mentors (for first year students)

The Philosophy Department operates a mentoring scheme, whereby 2nd and 3rd year students volunteer to offer advice, guidance and support to incoming students. Upon arrival at Warwick, each new student will be given the name of a mentor, i.e. an existing student on the same course who can tell them about their experiences of life and studies at Warwick. New students very much appreciate knowing that there is another student whose is willing to share their experiences with them in this way.

Further University Support

There are many different sources of support across the University. We list and describe some of the important ones here:

• Accommodation Office - advice on campus residences and on finding accommodation off-campus.
• Advice and Welfare Services at the Students' Union - practical advice on all aspects of student life.
• Chaplaincy - welcomes students and staff of any or no faith.
• Disability Services - support for students with disabilities.
• Mental Health Coordinators - help and advice for students enduring mental health difficulties.
• Financial Advice - information and advice on tuition fees, accommodation fees, library fines and any other charges students may have whilst they are at Warwick.
• Health Centre - access health advice and register at the Practice.
• International Office - guidance for students from overseas and visiting students, including visa and immigration advice.
• Nightline - an independent listening service open all night, every night of term from 9pm to 9am ext 22199, or 02476 417 668, or drop in at Rootes P-Block.
• Nursery - friendly and professional childcare for University members.
• Residential Life Team - The Residential Life team work and live alongside you within the Halls of Residences and are a key part of the University's welfare and support network.
• Security Services - The University Security Team works 24 hours a day to support the University’s overall aims by ensuring there is a safe, secure and friendly environment for all.
• Wellbeing Support Services, located on the ground floor of University House, can be contacted by telephone on 024 765 75570 or via the contact form on the website.

Academic Office:

• Examination Office
• Student Records
• Awards and Ceremonies
• Student Finance
• Student Funding

Academic Registrar’s Office:

• International Office
• Teaching Quality

Further information on all of these services can be found on the University website. If you can't find what you are looking for, please contact the Undergraduate Office or your Personal Tutor in the first instance.

Complaints and Grievances

There may be occasions during your time at university when things do not go as you would wish them to or something goes wrong. The information below explains how to raise an issue and/or to make a complaint, informally or formally. It is clearly desirable that complaints be resolved informally, wherever possible, although formal channels are available.

Informal channels

If your complaint concerns a module or your programme of study, firstly, you should contact the member of staff in the Department whose actions have caused the issue to occur. You may want to also talk to your Personal Tutor or your Senior Tutor for advice. If you believe the issue is of a general nature relating to the teaching and learning provision in the department in question, you may alternatively contact your SSLC representative, who can raise the matter on your behalf.

Occasionally there are disputes of a personal nature. These are rare, but cannot be ruled out in a large organisation like a University. Personal difficulties may arise if you believe that another student or a member of staff is discriminating against you or harassing you on grounds of personal dislike or broader prejudice. In such circumstances you may take the matter up with your Personal Tutor, who will help you refer the issue to the appropriate authority. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, you may contact the Students’ Union’s Education Officer or the Student Advice Centre for support.

In the event of a personal dispute involving your Personal Tutor, we recommend that you contact your Senior Tutor (who will assign you a new personal tutor at your request and without requiring you to give reasons if you do not wish to do so).

Formal channels

Student Academic Complaints procedure
A complaint should initially be made in writing to the person responsible for the action which has given rise to the complaint. Where this is not appropriate (e.g. where you not feel comfortable contacting the person responsible directly or where there has been previous unproductive discussion/ disagreement) or where such action has been taken and the matter has not been satisfactorily resolved it should be raised with the Senior Tutor or Director of Studies.

If, having contacted the Senior Tutor or Director of Studies, you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of consideration of your complaint, the University has a Student Academic Complaints Procedure to deal with complaints about the teaching and learning process, provided that the complaint is received within three months of the occurrence about which the complaint is made. For further details, please see here.

Withdrawal from your Programme of Study

If you are considering permanently withdrawing from your degree programme at any point, it is strongly advised that you discuss this as soon as possible with your Personal Tutor (or the Senior Tutor, if preferable).

There are a number of alternative options to permanent withdrawal (such as temporary withdrawal or a course transfer), which may better suit your situation, and can leave more options open to you. Your Personal Tutor (or the Senior Tutor) will be able to discuss these with you and will also be able to help you connect with wider support services such as Student Careers & Skills, Student Funding or Wellbeing Support, to advise you further and inform you of the implications of any decision.

If you decide to proceed with permanent withdrawal, you should contact Dr. Tom Crowther, Director of Education to inform him of your decision. A further discussion with Dr. Crowther is also advisable.

To compete the process, you must submit a request via the Student Records Online system, which will then be sent to the department for approval by the Director of Education. You will need to provide your last date of attendance and select a reason for your withdrawal.

The department will confirm the last date of attendance and this will be processed by the Student Records Management team. You will be notified in writing.

You are advised to read carefully through the permanent withdrawal form guidance section before submitting your request.