Institutional Tutoring Programs in Higher Education: A Guide by ANUIES

Posted on Aug 25, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Institutional Programs Tutoring

(A proposal by the ANUIES for organization and operation in Higher Education Institutions)

Collection Library Higher Education “Research” Series

ANUIES 2001 – 2nd Edition, Corrected
National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education

IMPORTANT NOTES

Higher education requires a new vision and a new paradigm for training students, whose elements are learning throughout life, self-directed learning orientation (learning to learn, learning to engage and learn to be) and comprehensive training.

There are three mechanisms of attention and academic support to students:

  • Tutoring
  • Academic Advising
  • Programs to improve the quality of the educational process

The elements for the dimensions of the risk of lag or dropout by students can be learned by integrating consolidated information from the analysis of students’ school performance, their performance on an entrance exam, their socioeconomic characteristics and previous school career.

The Institutional Tutoring Program (PIT) and its component parts should carry out training activities, updating, monitoring and evaluation. The central actors are:

  • PIT Coordination
  • Tutor – Axis of institutional transformation
  • Student
  • Administrative and managerial

Overall Figures – National Average

Of 100 students who begin undergraduate studies, between 50 and 60 conclude the subjects of the curriculum five years later, and of these, only 20 obtain their qualifications. Of those who are entitled, only 10% or 2 graduates do so at the considered age (24 or 25 years).

It is possible to assume that students entering higher education do not have the skills or information and knowledge needed to use, in the best possible way, the resources the college offers.

Desertion, understood as a form of neglect of higher education, takes different behaviors in students which affects the continuity of their school careers. These behaviors are characterized by:

  1. Abandonment or voluntary or permanent suspension of studies and the higher education system by the student.
  2. Departure of students due to academic deficiencies and subsequent poor school performance.
  3. Career change (student continuing in the same institution but is incorporated into another generational cohort) or institution.
  4. Low student compliance to alter the institutional order and discipline. Generally impedes the entrance to another school.

We have detected that desertion is in response to a multiplicity of factors that affect students. Among them, especially during the first year after admission to a degree, are:

  • Unfavorable economic conditions of the student.
  • The low cultural level of the family to which the student belongs.
  • The expectations of students about the importance of education.
  • Incompatibility involving marriage.
  • The student’s personal characteristics, for example, lack of achievement attitude.
  • The lack of interest in studies in general, for the chosen career, and the institution.
  • The student’s previous academic characteristics, such as low averages in upper secondary education that reflect the lack of knowledge and skills that graduate students, in conjunction with those required to maintain top-level academic demands.
  • Poor career guidance received before entering a degree, causing students to enroll in professional careers without substantiating their decision based on solid information about it.

According to (Tinto, 1992) there are three critical periods in the university school career, which may influence the dropout rate:

  • 1st Critical Period: It occurs in the transition between the upper and middle level degree and is characterized by the passage of a familiar environment to a seemingly impersonal world, which means serious adjustment problems for students.
  • 2nd Critical Period: Occurs during the admission process, when the student forms expectations regarding the institutions and conditions of student life which, if not satisfied, can lead to early disappointment and, therefore, to desertion.
  • 3rd Critical Period: It arises when a student fails to achieve adequate academic performance in the subjects of the curriculum and the institution does not provide the necessary tools to overcome academic deficiencies.

Tutoring, understood as the support and teaching support of an individual character, offered to students as a normal activity of their training curriculum, may be the lever that serves a transformation in the quality of the educational process at the top level. The personal attention fosters a better understanding of the problems facing the student and the teacher, in regard to adapting to the university environment to the individual conditions for acceptable performance during training and the achievement of the academic objectives to help students meet the commitments of their future professional practice.

Care of the Problems in the School Path

Supporting the student in developing a methodology of study and work that is appropriate to the requirements of the first year of the course, offering support and supervision in matters of greater difficulty in various subjects, creating a climate of trust between mentor and student, enabling the mentor to learn aspects of students’ personal lives that directly or indirectly influence their performance, identifying and suggesting curricular activities that encourage the student’s overall professional development, and providing academic and administrative information, according to student needs, are actions that give content to the concept of mentoring.

Mentoring: Strategy for Improving the Quality of Education

The best-known manifestations of the individual who fails in their studies are personal disorganization, social withdrawal, and disruptive behavior.

Psychological research has identified factors that pose risks to the psychosocial development of the individual and, consequently, their performance in school. Lopez, et al, recognize the existence of four factors that affect academic performance:

  • Physiological Factors
  • Pedagogical Factors
  • Psychological Factors
  • Sociological Factors

Physiological Factors

  • Endocrine changes that affect adolescents.
  • Deficiencies in the organs of the senses (sight, hearing)
  • Malnutrition
  • Health and weight of students.
  • These factors reduce motivation, attention, and application in work; they also affect the ability of learning in the classroom and limited intellectual capacities.

Pedagogical Factors

  • Are those that are directly related to the quality of teaching. Among them are:
  • The number of students per teacher.
  • Using methods and inappropriate materials.
  • Teacher motivation and time devoted to the preparation of their classes.

Psychological Factors

  • Disorders in basic psychological functions such as:
  • Perception
  • Memory
  • Concentration-Conceptualization

Academic performance is influenced by personality, motivational, attitudinal, and affective variables that relate to issues such as educational level, gender, and abilities. Among the most common problems in older groups studying a university degree are the problems of an emotional nature, corresponding to the stage of adolescence (early-late), as these young people face a period of change in many areas of life.

Learning disabilities come in all ages; it can be assumed that one of the causes of low academic performance is the misuse or lack of study strategies that allow the student to fully exploit the knowledge acquired in the teaching and learning process.

Sociological Factors

These include the socioeconomic and family characteristics of students.

Performance / Truancy / Conduct

  • The economic position of the family.
  • Educational Level
  • Parents’ Employment
  • Quality of the environment surrounding the student