Departmental Pastoral Mentors

• Acts as a first port of call when students are not sure what academic or pastoral support they might need.
• Shares and promotes information about Pastoral Mentor support services with students and staff.
• Proactively identifies and reaches out to students who may be experiencing challenges that create barriers to academic study, wellness, and success.
• Triages and maintains oversight for students in the department, including signposting and referring students to academic and pastoral support within and outside the department.
•  Refers and signposts students to relevant University support services (including the Education Welfare Team), and to Academic Tutors, to help with any difficulties relating to pastoral support, academic study, and success.
• Co-creates action plans related to pastoral support needs and academic interventions with staff and students to support improvement in engagement.
• Provides clear and relevant pastoral information, advice, and guidance to staff and students in the department.
• Can provide evidence for mitigation applications where academic and pastoral concerns are raised.
• Fosters an inclusive, supportive, and accessible academic community for all students in a Department e.g., through departmental events, sharing of information, and proactive outreach.
• Works in collaboration with all University support teams to ensure the correct support is received and students can progress with their studies by being a central point of contact, embedded in the student’s department.

Your Pastoral Mentor will have 1:1 drop-in sessions during their office hours, which can be face-to-face or virtual, please contact them using their details above. They will also host and join events within your department throughout the year.

Currently, Pastoral Mentors support undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. They do not support postgraduate research students, purely online learners, and degree apprenticeships students, as these groups of students have alternative support mechanism in place.

For PGR support:

• https://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/pgr/supervisionofpgr/#pgrpastoraltutors
• https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/doctoralcollege/support/pgrsupportandservices/wellbeing

Online learners:

• https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/online/services/
• Students on online programmes have two Student Support Advisors who work across all online programmes and students can book an online appointment or telephone meeting with.   

For DA support: 

• https://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/wellbeing/support/degreeapprenticeshipstudents/
• https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/degreeapprenticeships/apprentices/whattoexpect/

Undergraduate (UG):

This will be a student’s first degree, often a Bachelors Degree (BA/BA Hons). Bachelors (or honours, styled as ‘Hons’) degrees are Level 6 courses. They include titles like Bachelor of Arts, or BA (Hons); Bachelor of Science, or BSc (Hons); Bachelor of Engineering, or BEng (Hons); and Bachelor of Law, or LLB.  Also see: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/. UG programmes include Degree Apprentices (DA) (www.exeter.ac.uk/study/degreeapprenticeships/), however, as per the exceptions list below, DAs are not within the PM’s purview.

Postgraduate Taught (PGT):

These are level 7 qualifications, with the most common kind being a Masters Degree. This can be a Master of Science (MSc) or a Master of Arts (MA), for example. These are typically one year (full-time). They involve a taught component and an intensive, independent research project. It is important to note that an MRes is a PGT programme, while a MbyRes programme is a PGR programme. Also see: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/.  

• Worries about your academic progress, due to a health or wellbeing difficulty;
• Ongoing support through the Health, Wellbeing and Support for Study process
  • This involves sitting down with you to discuss your concerns and difficulties, then looking through available support options.
  • The aim is to create a plan together which helps you to get on track with your study and Uni life, using regular check ins to help address any challenges your health or wellbeing may be causing and support you to progress with your studies. This can include supporting evidence for Mitigation Applications where appropriate.
  • We can help you liaise with other teams within the university, including other practitioners within Wellbeing Services and arrange joint meetings with your university or external support network, where appropriate, to help ensure your support is linked up.
  • Engaging with HWSS can also help ensure that the University is offering you the full range of support available to you.
• Support around interrupting your studies, or changing your mode of attendance due to a health or wellbeing difficulty;
• Support with exceptional mitigating circumstances, where you may need to consider applying to repeat a year of your studies;
• Support for a specific study-related problem or issue impacted by your health or wellbeing through a one-off meeting, including signposting or referral to other support teams within Wellbeing Services if appropriate.

• Provides academic advice and support to the student across the programme of study and reviews wider academic progress.
• Meets with tutees regularly throughout the year to support their transition and progress and help them to realise their ambitions.
• Works closely with Module Convenors, Senior Tutors, Education Welfare Team, and Pastoral Mentors to manage unsatisfactory engagement and/or performance.
• Can provide evidence for mitigation applications (excluding exceptional mitigation) where academic concerns are raised.
• Refers and signposts students to Pastoral Mentors for the department where they are unsure of the support students might need and/or they have concerns in relation to academic study and success.
• Refers and signposts students to specialist support services as appropriate (e.g. wellbeing (including the Education Welfare Team), careers and professional development, etc.).

These pastoral drop-in sessions are optional and you do not need to attend if you have a clash.