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Referral to other/specialist services
The links and materials in this section relate to the knowledge and interpersonal skills involved in referring tutees to specialist (often central institutional) services while maintaining one’s own approachability as tutor.
Knowledge of the range of services offered by your institution to support students is an essential part of the training of a new personal tutor. There is some variability but, almost certainly, your institution will offer a careers service, a counselling service and some form of specialist support for students with disabilities. There may also be central support for learning development/study skills (sometimes with specialist help for mathematics and writing); housing, financial and legal advice; specialist support for international students; and a health service. Sometimes, central services from the institution may appear to be duplicated by similar services from the Students' Union: it is worth knowing what is offered as some students will feel more comfortable accessing services via the Students' Union.
Hopefully all this information and, crucially, how to access these services, will have been gathered together by the institution as part of a guide to personal tutors, but this may not always be the case.
Personal tutors should be able to think of these services as their back-up and support. Confidence in your knowledge of what is available and how to access it will help you to stay within the boundaries of your role. There is skill involved in persuading a student to accept a referral to another source of support without feeling rejected, and confidence in your own knowledge will help.
Below is a list of issues which a personal tutor might be presented with. In many cases the most appropriate action would be to refer the student for more specialist help. It could be a useful checklist for tutors new to an institution to be helped to complete.
In the videoclip below, the tutor gently raises the possibility that the student would benefit from visiting the Counselling Service. He is aware that, for some students, there is a stigma attached to the idea of seeking help from a counsellor, so alternatives are also offered.
Scenario 5: A depressed student?
In the videoclip below, the tutor needs to be firm about the limits of his own role, to protect his own time. He is more directive in his advice to the student, while still making his own availability clear.
