TTA Guidelines

Targeted Tutorial Assistance (TTA)

Guidelines

Section 1: What is TTA?

The Targeted Tutorial Assistance Program (TTA) is a specialised tutorial program operated by the Oorala Aboriginal Centre at the University of New England (UNE). The program is aimed at improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The TTA Program is designed to be accessible to as many students as possible. Therefore, our program offers individual and group tutoring sessions; as well as face-to-face and online tutoring.

Tutors work closely with students to:

• identify key areas of a student’s academic support needs;
• provide expert advice to allocated students on specific subject areas;
• introduce allocated students to the underlying principles of those subjects or disciplines and discipline/s;
• support allocated students to develop skills in reading and writing for academic (subject and discipline-specific) purposes at the required level;
• assist allocated students to develop effective independent study skills.

Students do not incur any fees for accessing this program. However, there are strict responsibilities and obligations that govern the programs that students are required to abide by. These are outlined in the TTA student terms and conditions and the TTA tutor terms and conditions.

Section 2: Eligibility and Priority Access

1. To be eligible to access TTA support, students must satisfy the following criteria:
   1. Identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person; and
   2. Be enrolled in a current unit of study at UNE.
2. The funding guidelines, Indigenous Student Assistance Grants Guidelines 2017, require UNE to provide priority access to Pathway students, first-year students and those at risk of not successfully completing their course and/or unit.

Section 3: How to Apply

Students can submit an application online. Applications need to be submitted at the start of each new teaching period.

Applications open for tutoring two weeks prior to the commencement of a trimester and are open for submission throughout a trimester.

Please be aware that submitting a TTA application does not guarantee that you will be provided with a tutor. Approval of applications will be subject to the availability of a qualified tutor to meet your needs, as well as the availability of funds.

Section 4: Study Preparation

UNE Enabling and Undergraduate students enrolled in their first Trimester of studies are eligible to access an additional two [2] hours of tutoring in the two [2] weeks prior to lectures commencing. This is to assist the student in preparing for university and navigating online systems (e.g. establishing a study schedule, organising textbooks, TTA Online and myLearn).

Section 5: Tutoring and Assessment and Allocation

Where a student is assessed as being eligible to receive TTA support, as outlined in Section 2 of the TTA Guidelines, Oorala will assign a qualified tutor to provide academic support. Below is an outline of the approved allocated available to students.

The approved allocation is also subject to the following:

• Each tutoring session will be two (2) hours long.
• During the first session, students and tutors must discuss and mutually agree on how to use their allocated hours throughout the trimester.
• It is the responsibility of the tutor and the student to monitor their usage of the allocated TTA hours.
• Additional hours can be requested. Refer to Section 6 for details.

Section 6: Requesting an Increase in TTA support

Students and/or tutors must submit a request through the online form to the TTA Program Coordinator if they wish to  increase the approved TTA allocation listed in Section 5 of the TTA Guidelines. Requests must include a supporting letter from the unit coordinator.

Section 7: Assessment of Requests to Increase TTA Support

All requests will be reviewed by the TTA Program Coordinator and Student Engagement Manager.

The assessment of each request will review:

1. Student’s individual needs and special circumstances
2. If the student requires priority access
3. Letter of Support from the Unit Coordinator
4. The students’ academic progression
5. TTA support received to date
6. Available funding

A written notice of decision will be sent by email to the student and tutor, within four [4] business days of receiving the request.

Any complaints or disputes about the decision must be made and handled in accordance with the University’s Student (Related) Grievance Handling Policy and its associated Procedures.

Section 8: Student - Tutor Matching Process

The process of assessing suitable tutors for applications considers the following:

• The tutor’s field of education and the student’s educational needs;
• Location of tutor and student;
• Previous tutoring arrangements (for both tutors and students) where there have been good results;
• Availability of the tutor;
• Experience of the tutor – new or inexperienced tutor assignment load is reduced whilst they find their feet;
• Ability of a tutor to connect, and therefore make progress, with a particular student

Ideally, Oorala will aim to limit the number of tutors a student is paired with, for consistency in approach to the delivery of support.

Section 9: Qualifications and Assessment of Tutors

To be considered for the role of TTA Tutor, you must complete the online registration.

Individuals will be asked to demonstrate that they:

• Have obtained a tertiary qualification, or are currently in the process of obtaining a tertiary qualification having completed a minimum of 2 years full-time equivalent of study at an Australian university; and
• Can demonstrate their ability to work with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people; and
• Can demonstrate their experience, or their ability, to provide academic support and mentoring to a University student; and
• Can demonstrate high-level communication skills and interpersonal skills; and
• Have demonstrated administrative experience including the use of computer-based records systems.
• Reside within Australia
• Are entitled to work in Australia

Section 10: Induction for Tutors

Induction of tutors can be completed at the Oorala Aboriginal Centre in Armidale, via phone, Zoom, or online myLearn course, as arranged with the TTA Coordinator.

Section 11: Administrative Responsibilities of Tutors and Students

The TTA program is funded by the Australian Federal Government. A condition of that funding is that UNE provide regular reporting on the management and performance of the program, therefore UNE relies on the prompt and accurate administration by tutors and students alike.

A failure by a tutor to comply with their administrative duties may lead to a termination of the tutor’s casual engagement with UNE to tutor in the TTA Program.

Tutors must:

• not commence tutoring prior to entering into a casual employment contract with UNE and receiving an engagement offer by Oorala via the TTA Online portal. Any tutoring prior to this will not receive payment.
• draft and submit tutoring work plans. A work plan must be completed during the first tutoring session for each student and each unit during a teaching period.
• submit a record of a tutorial session via the TTA Online portal within 24 hours of the session being conducted.
• provide a written record via the TTA Online portal outlining what the tutoring session(s) covered.
• submit a payroll timesheet every two weeks via web kiosk.
• submit an End of Trimester Evaluation via the TTA Online portal.

Students must:

• apply for TTA support each trimester via the TTA Online portal.
• review and approve/decline the tutor match via the TTA Online portal.
• review and approve/decline the work plan via the TTA Online portal.
• review and approve/decline records of tutorial sessions via the TTA Online portal within 3 days of the session being recorded.
• contact the TTA Program Coordinator to inform them of an incorrect session record. Notification of an incorrect session record must be conveyed to the TTA Program Coordinator within 3 days of the session being recorded.
• submit an End of Trimester Evaluation via the TTA Online portal.

Students that do not engage early in the trimester may not be able to participate in the TTA Program as tutors and session times may already be allocated.

Students who fail to action their administrative responsibilities within 3 days of the session being recorded will result in tutorial sessions being suspended until actioned.

Section 12. Originality of Students' Work

Under no circumstances is a tutor permitted to do any part of the student's work for them. Tutors are not permitted to undertake library research, take or supply notes, nor write or word-process assignments on the student’s behalf.  Any non-compliance will result in termination of the tutor’s casual engagement with UNE to tutor in the TTA Program.

Section 13: Session Cancellation Policy

If a tutor or student needs to postpone a tutorial session, they are required to provide 24 hours' notice to the other party by phone or email. However, if a tutor or student is unable to provide 24 hours' notice due to unforeseen circumstances or an emergency, they must provide as much notice as possible by phone or email.

If a student does not provide 24 hours’ notice or does not provide any notice that they cannot attend a tutoring session, two [2] hours will be deducted from the student’s allocation of tutorial hours.

A student’s TTA Program tutorial arrangement may be terminated if they do not attend three scheduled tutoring sessions within a trimester without giving at least 24 hours notice. This decision is made after review by the TTA Coordinator and the Student Engagement Manager  A decision to terminate a student’s TTA Program tutorial arrangement is at the discretion of UNE and is final.

Section 14: Cancelling or Closing a Match

The TTA Program has a ‘No Blame’ policy for cancelling student-tutor matches. UNE acknowledge that there are a variety of reasons that a student or tutor may wish to requesta different student-tutor match. There is no guarantee that a new student or tutor will be available if a match is cancelled.

Section 15: Conflict of Interest

To ensure the integrity of the TTA program, as well as the academic relationship between a student and a tutor, there must be no undeclared conflict of interest influencing their participation in the TTA Program. Both student and tutor need to be aware that the following restrictions apply for individual or small group tutoring sessions:

• Tutors and students cannot have a pre-existing personal relationship with one another. These include but are not limited to partners, family members or  friends  professional colleagues.
• Tutors must not be involved in the assessment of the unit they are tutoring, without declaring a conflict of interest and being managed in accordance with UNE policies. This includes but is not limited to any other role they may have in relation to the unit (e.g. the unit coordinator, regular lecturer, tutor, or exam assessor).

Any actual or perceived conflict of interest between a tutor and student that is identified/declared will need to be managed in accordance with the UNE Conflict of Interest Policy and Conflict of Interest Procedures.

Section 16: Privacy and Confidentiality

Any personal information provided to UNE and relevant government agencies for the purpose of monitoring, reporting and evaluating the TTA Program will be managed in accordance with the UNE Privacy Management Rule.

Section 17: Grievance Policy

Any complaints or disputes about the TTA Program must be made and handled in accordance with the University’s Student (Related) Grievance Handling Policy and its associated Procedures.

If the student does not feel satisfied by the response to their grievance, they may contact the Student Grievance Unit at any time.