Tutelage

It is aimed at students in their first year of study. An introductory tutor advises students individually and helps them to integrate into the academic and non-academic environment. The tutors help first-year students primarily by providing information that is relevant to them and by advising them on what to do if they encounter a problem. If the problem is very complex and professional help is needed, the student tutor  guide the student accordingly to appropriate services.

How an introductory tutor can help a student:

• Individual advice and guidance.
• He/she familiarises the student with all sources of information and encourages him/her to search for information him/herself.
• Explains the content of the different courses and encourages the student to find the most suitable course for him/her.
• Points out the different ways of learning: what is more or less important, what to pay attention to in each subject, which literature is most suitable for each subject, etc.
• advises and helps to solve problems that arise in the student-teacher relationship.
• Encourages the student to participate in extracurricular activities at the faculty/academy, thus promoting the development of his/her talents.

Who can become an introductory tutor student?
Any student in their second or higher year of study and any graduate of any field of study who has the status of a full-time or part-time student at the University of Ljubljana can become a tutor for introductory study programmes. A student tutor must be able to accept and take into account other people's opinions, empathise with their problems and offer them help. At the same time, student tutors must be able to set clear boundaries when communicating with their group of students and contact the person responsible for tutoring at the faculty or academy in a timely manner if problems arise.

Frequently asked questions from students

• Attendance at lectures,
• Registration/deregistration for examinations,
• Change of study programme, possibility of an exchange,
• Organisation of timetables, notes and materials, preparation for exams.

Obstacles for tutors:

• student unresponsiveness.

Subject-specific student tutoring is intended to provide students with additional support in understanding and mastering the material in certain subjects. It is usually organised for individual subjects with more complex and extensive learning material. This can significantly improve examination results. During a tutoring session, the student can ask for further explanation of the material, the most appropriate learning methods and learning strategies for a particular subject, literature, etc.

How a subject-specific tutor can help a student:

• Familiarises the student with all sources of information and literature for the subject being taught.
• Recommends and explains to the student the appropriate learning methods and strategies for the subject in question.
• Helps to solve problems that arise between the student and the tutor.
• Offers support in learning the more difficult content of the subject.
• It is recommended that the tutor maintain a website summarising common student questions about the subject matter and also prepare answers to the most important of these questions at the discretion of the lecturer.

Who can become a subject-specific tutor?
In addition to a positive work attitude, it is very important for a student subject tutor to have the appropriate knowledge of the subject in which he or she is helping students. He or she is conscientious, reliable, responsible and, if he or she does not know the answer, can direct the student to the right information.

Example of a subject-specific tutoring at the Faculty of Law
A tutor is first and foremost a trustworthy person who is willing to sacrifice some of his/her free time to help younger colleagues. He/she is genuinely enthusiastic about the subject for which he/she is applying (the grade of the chosen subject is not a prerequisite). The lecturers are involved at a later stage, once the tutors have been selected. The tutors then introduce themselves to the lecturer and ask for his/her opinion and guidance on the subject matter, leaving the tutoring in the hands of the student.

Frequently asked questions from students:

• Fear of exams (subject),
• Inexperience in organising a large amount of study material,
• Delay in the start of studies,
• Use of study scripts instead of books.

Tutoring for international students and exchange students (mainly Erasmus exchange students) is designed to help international students deal with administrative matters and integrate into student life, a new environment and a new culture.

How a tutor can help international students can help:

• Contacts the international student by email before they arrive in Slovenia.
• Picks up the international student at the airport, train or bus station and accompanies him/her to his/her accommodation or helps him/her find accommodation.
• Assists with administrative matters (obtaining a student ID card, purchasing traffic (LPP) tickets and student vouchers, registering temporary residence with the city administration, obtaining a tax number, a personal student bank account, etc.).
• Helps with orientation at UL and with questions about studying.
• Informs students about extracurricular activities in Ljubljana. Informs students about all activities and events organised by UL members and other organisations for international students.
• The tutor's tasks are most important and extensive in the first days after the international student's arrival in Slovenia, as he/she assists the student with administrative matters, but later he/she has fewer or more specific tasks, which vary according to the international student's needs and problems.

Who can become a tutor for international and Erasmus students?
A student who has a positive attitude towards tutoring and other cultures, who understands and accepts other customs and values. Someone who can empathise with the problems of others, who can set boundaries in communication and who can communicate in a foreign language.

Frequently asked questions from students:

• Transportation,
• Student meals,
• Accommodation and problems finding an apartment,
• Learning Slovenian,
• Weather conditions in Slovenia.

Obsticles for tutors:

• Student websites are not in English,
• most landlords are reluctant to rent to foreigners, the documents are in Slovenian.

Tutoring for students with special needs varies from case to case, as the obstacles faced by students with special needs are also very different and individually determined. A tutor for students with special needs assists the student with special needs in developing the skills that will enable him/her to adapt and successfully integrate into academic work and student life. He/she also assists him/her with the learning activities that he/she cannot accomplish on his/her own. This form of tutoring is intended for students of all years and can be taken advantage of throughout their studies.

How a tutor can help students with special needs:

• He/she advises and supports the student on an individual basis.
• He/she points out different learning methods, what is more or less important, what the student needs to pay attention to in certain subjects, which lecturers are available, which literature is most suitable, etc.
• Together with the student, the tutor tries to find the most suitable way of learning and absorbing information.
• The tutor familiarises the student with all media for obtaining information and encourages him/her to inform him/herself (the tutor only obtains information for the student if he/she does not have access to an information medium due to his/her special needs).
• Explains the content of the different courses and encourages the student to find the most suitable course for him/her. In the same way, the tutor - in collaboration with the supervising teachers or career counsellors - can advise on the choice of professional practise.
• Assists in solving problems that have arisen between the student and the professor, as well as problems that have arisen due to the student's special needs.
• Refers to other forms of support offered by the department/academy and, if needed, to other forms of support in the community (e.g., social and economic problems).
• Encourages the student to participate in other activities at the faculty/academy. In this way, he/she also encourages the development of his/her talents.

The way in which the tutor works with students with special needs should be determined in an individual discussion with the coordinator and the student with special needs.

If the student tutor feels overwhelmed with tutorial support (in practice, the student with special needs may overwhelm the student tutor with other needs or requests), both students should be invited to a joint meeting with the coordinator. In this meeting, the goals and tasks of the student tutor are usually redefined and the boundaries in the interpersonal relationship are set so that both students are satisfied with the process of working together.

If no agreement can be reached, the tutoring relationship can also be terminated and the student with special needs can be assigned to another tutor. It is also possible to divide the care of a student with special needs among several tutors, but in this case the tasks, the working methods of each student tutor and the consent of the student with special needs must be clearly recognizable and agreed upon.

Frequently asked questions from students:

• Obtaining and meaning of special needs student status,
• Information on how to adapt your studies,
• Information about adapted literature,
• Ways to communicate with professors about special needs,
• Preparation for exams and time planning.

Support and further information

• Each member faculty or academy has a contact person for working with students with special needs. These are lecturers or practitioners who provide information for students with special needs at the faculty or academy. More information about students with special needs can be found on the UL website.
• Practical advice on adapting studies to different special needs can be found in the Handbook for better accessibility of studies for students with special needs - Recommendations for adapting the study process (only available in Slovenian) on the website of the Association of Students with Special Needs in Slovenia  . 
• The Slovenian Associationa of Students with Disabilities - Društvo Študentov invalidov Slovenije (DŠIS) 
• ZIZRS – Združenje izvajalcev zaposlitvene rehabilitacije v Republiki Sloveniji

 UL faculties and academies also offer other types of tutoring, such as:

• Information resource tutoring: help with finding and managing information resources.
• Research tutoring: help with research papers from research problem to solution.
• Tutoring for mandatory student exercises: Help with finding and organizing a mandatory student internship.
• Tutoring for students with special status: assistance in obtaining special status, exercising rights and fulfilling obligations, and integrating into academic life and the world of work.