Resources

Getting started

Access to:

Student Record System:  Request online via Management Information Systems Online Request Form

MyAberdeen: Send a request, including your Personal Tutor Reference (PXXX) and your username to servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk

MyCurriculum & MyTimetable: As above, send a request to servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk

There are currently several different systems you can use to help you support your tutees and we have produced guides to step you through each. The system you use will depend on what you want to do:

For further guidance, see our Preparing for Meetings pages.

Leaflets and guides

• Worried about a Student?
• Confidentiality and boundaries
• Jury service excusing letter - exam clash - letter template for Personal Tutors
• Writing an Academic Reference for a tutee

Workshops and training

• Student Records for Personal Tutors training sessions - Tutor led sessions organised by IT Services and Registry. Note: Workshops to be held mid-late August, You can also access Student Record System User Guides for photographic lists of students, automatic email groups, record cards etc
• Equality and Diversity eTraining
• Coaching and Mentoring - advice from the University’s Staff Development team
• Understanding Mental Health - Key Challenges and Available Support
• Scotland's Mental Health First Aid (2 day certified course)

For other training and development opportunities, see Staff Development pages on StaffNet.

For students with personal difficulties – such as disability advice, financial concerns, personal issues, visa renewals – please refer them to Student Services and Support

Support services for students

• Student Services and Support- Services and Support for academic and non-academic issues
• Student Learning Service- Academic skills workshops and study advice sessions for students
• University Careers and Employability Service- Careers advice
• Counselling Service- Support for students
• Chaplaincy- Support for students
• IT Services for Students - information about email, printing, wireless, IT support, PC classrooms, IT security, working off-campus, and more.

Student queries

If a student has a query or problem relating to any of the following, please refer them to Students’ Infohub:

• ID Cards
• Making payments to the University
• Student Records
• Accommodation
• Registry

Resources for studies

• MyCurriculum online course selection - user guides and video guides
• MyTimetable - video guide on signing up for tutorials, practicals and labs
• Timetable Clash-Checker
• Catalogue of Courses - course descriptions
• University Calendar - programme/degree requirements

See our Student Help Guide for a full list of support services, including contact details.

Feedback Logs

Feedback Logs are a means to promote students’ engagement with feedback.  At the introductory meeting with Level 1 students and at other meetings focused on feedback for different Levels of students (or indeed at any other appropriate time) Personal Tutors can encourage their Tutees to keep a Feedback Log to record and reflect on feedback given in courses across their programme of studies.  Students can also note what actions they have taken/will take to improve.  It is hoped that by engaging with the Feedback Logs, receiving, reflecting and responding to feedback will become a more meaningful and beneficial practice.  By sharing their Feedback Logs with their Personal Tutors (as well as with other appropriate academic and support staff) students can allow staff to gain a contextualised overview of their progress, as well as identify areas of difficulty.

All students are provided with a Feedback Log template to use in MyAberdeen, which leads them to create a shareable portfolio.  Instructions on to how to develop, maintain and share the Log are also available. 

Feedback Log template

As shown above, students note their name, degree programme, year of study and courses; they also note the total number of credits being taken per half-session of each academic year they are studying here.  For each course, the template provides two distinct areas in which each student records:

1) A copy (or file) of feedback received for each assignment undertaken + a brief summary of the key points of the feedback.  Students can also note or cross-reference to any other form of feedback received (which may exist elsewhere e.g. in a lab notebook).

2) The actions the student has taken/will be taking in response to the feedback.

Students are asked to complete both sections for each piece of feedback they are given during a course.  If the feedback is in electronic form (written or recorded) they can attach a copy.  If it is handwritten they can scan the original in any MFD, email it to themselves and upload the pdf to the Log.  This will allow a record to build up over the student’s time in the university, which documents all feedback given, the understanding of the feedback and the actions taken in response. 

Example of a Feedback Log in progress

How does sharing a Feedback Log work?

If a student wishes to discuss any aspect of feedback with his/her Personal Tutor (or with any other appropriate member of staff) the member of staff can request access to the Feedback Log.  This will enable him/her to see the student’s record of all feedback received to date.  The information will provide a broader context for discussions about the student’s progress overall and help identify any areas of difficulty, which may (or may not) be confined to certain courses. 

If the student has completed the Log, the reader will gain a quick overview of the student’s interpretation of feedback received across his/her courses of study.  If the summaries of written (or recorded) feedback are accompanied by copies of the originals, the reader can also check to see if the student’s interpretation is accurate!  Many misunderstandings of feedback can and do occur.  Any action points or responses noted will allow the reader to see what measures (if any) the student has taken/is undertaking to act upon any recommendations for improvement given in the feedback. 

If nothing is recorded against a particular course, or courses, then this can prompt a conversation between the student and the reader to determine why this is the case.  Resulting conversations can be more focused according to the similarities or differences noted across the range of courses. 

Download the above page regarding feedback logs as a pdf

There is extensive information about feedback on the University's feedback web pages which will be of use in your preparation for meetings on this theme.

You can download this full resource in pdf format.                    

LEVEL 1 or Direct Entry (DE) students - January meeting:

Meeting focused on exam reflection

As this will have been the first diet of exams for this cohort of students, there may well be questions in their minds as to what happens next. Some of the students may not have had any formal exams but instead will have had to submit course work for their final assessment(s).

Receiving and interpreting the results

• All course results for the December diet of exams will be delivered via the Student Hub. 
• For each of the courses they took, students will receive a final course grade, which will be expressed as a single grade on the Common Grading Scale (CGS), which will be issued to students through their Student Hub. 
• They will need to understand that a final grade of D3 or above indicates a pass and they will see noted ‘A’ (for achieved).  A final grade of E1 or below indicates that they have not passed the course and they will see noted ‘NA’ (not achieved).
• The calculation of a final course grade will take into account all marks achieved in summative (the results count toward the final grade) assessments.  Each assessment will form a percentage of the final grade (see relevant Course Guide or the Undergraduate Online Course Catalogue for the percentage weighting of each assessed element).

What happens if a student does not pass a course?

• If a student does not pass a course there will be a resit opportunity to try to complete the course. Details of applying for resits can be found here.  Dates for exams and resits can be found on the Week Numbers. The prescribed resit format for each course can be found in the relevant Course Guide or the Undergraduate Catalogue of Courses. 
• If a student was unable to sit an exam due to notified illness, or other circumstances, there will not be a final course result.  The opportunity to complete the course (in the prescribed format for that course) will be during the resit period in the summer.

Will there be feedback on exams?

The University policy on providing feedback on exams can be found in the Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment (page 2):

Feedback on examinations should:

1. Be provided as soon as possible after the exam diet.
2. Where appropriate, be offered as generic feedback.
3. Be available to individual students upon request.

ALL STUDENTS

Suggested questions for group reflection on exam preparation:

• How did you go about preparing for your exams? When did you start? Was this early enough, do you think?
• Did you sit with your lecture notes and read and re-read them over and over again?  This ‘passive’ learning activity is generally shown to be unproductive.
• Did you do any active learning, reconstructing the material into a different form when revising? This is generally shown to promote greater understanding and deeper learning.
• Did you test yourself: use online tests/quizzes, brainstorm with friends, use quizzes in textbooks etc.?  These, too, are active learning activities.
• Did you access past exam papers (through the Library database) and practise timed answers?  The Library has an online guide for students on accessing past exam papers.

Suggested questions for group reflection on the exams:

• How was your time management?
• Do you think you allowed yourself time to read through the instructions and the questions on the paper thoroughly?
• Did you struggle in the exam to show what you know while still answering the question?
• Did you move beyond just reciting your notes?
• Were there parts of the exams that you found easy?  Which bits were difficult? Why was this?
• How can you improve in the areas you found tricky? (e.g.: Did you find essays more difficult than Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)?)

HONOURS STUDENTS

• Did you think you show understanding and thought as well as knowledge?
• Do you think you showed what your ideas were building on?
• Did you acknowledge the critical work of others?

ALL STUDENTS

Some questions to consider on receiving the exam results:

• Are your results as you expected?
• Are your results as good as you had hoped for?
• Do you think your results are a fair reflection of the effort you put in?
• What techniques did you use?
• How do you think you could improve?

What can I do to improve?

• Request individual feedback on your exam paper(s) if generic course feedback still leaves you feeling unsure
• Access online resources on revision and exam skills on ACHIEVE
• Attend a Student Learning Service workshop to help develop your revision and exam techniques
• Request an individual Study Advice Session with the Student Learning Service to help develop your revision and exam techniques
• Attend in-course revision and/or exam techniques sessions, if offered
• Access the Library past exams papers database to practice exam answers

They are grouped under four main categories:

Academic Excellence

• In-depth and extensive knowledge, understanding and skills at internationally-recognised levels in their chosen discipline(s);
• A breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills beyond their chosen discipline(s);
• An ability to participate in the creation of new knowledge and understanding through research and inquiry;
• A contextual understanding of past and present knowledge and ideas;
• An intellectual curiosity and a willingness to question accepted wisdom and to be open to new ideas

Critical Thinking and Effective Communication

• A capacity for independent, conceptual and creative thinking;
• A capacity for problem identification, the collection of evidence, synthesis and dispassionate analysis;
• A capacity for attentive exchange, informed argument and reasoning;
• An ability to communicate effectively for different purposes and in different contexts;
• An ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• A diverse set of transferable and generic skills

Learning and Personal Development

• An openness to, and an interest in, life-long learning through directed and self-directed study;
• An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses;
• A capacity for self-reflection, self-discovery and personal development

Active Citizenship

• An awareness and appreciation of ethical and moral issues;
• An awareness and appreciation of social and cultural diversity;
• An understanding of social and civic responsibilities, and of the rights of individuals and groups;
• An appreciation of the concepts of enterprise and leadership in all aspects of life;
• A readiness for citizenship in an inclusive society.

• To reflect an increased focus on the breadth of the student experience.
• To encourage staff and student engagement with a reflective and developmental process that would extend across the curriculum and co-curriculum, at all levels of undergraduate study.
• To enhance student employability in the global employment market.

Through engaging staff, student and employer awareness and development of the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes.

Through stating explicitly in each course how it supports the development of Aberdeen Graduate Attributes and encouraging students to articulate their reflections and development of them.

Through establishing ACHIEVE, a central site located in MyAberdeen, which offers undergraduate students resources to assess and reflect upon their skills and development needs in the curriculum and the co-curriculum.  ACHIEVE also refers them to relevant support services, including the Student Learning Service and the Careers and Employability Service.

Please refer to the meeting preparation resources for some suggested activities and prompt questions.