University of Silesia in Katowice

• A tutor is a student’s academic supervisor.
• Each student selects their tutor every semester from among academic staff members representing the discipline most closely aligned with the student’s academic interests.
• Who can become a tutor?
  a) an employee of the University,
  b) a person that holds at least a PhD degree.
• An academic teacher cannot be the tutor for more than two students.
• When planning the cooperation with the tutor, the student includes the module on Academic Tutoring in their plan, amounting to 15 hours and 3 ECTS credits.
• Together with the student, the tutor defines the subject matter, scope and structure of the Academic Tutoring module and the expected outcome (e.g. an academic essay, a research and art project, or the findings of a sociological study); all that will serve as the basis for completing the module. It is recommended that the outcomes of a student’s cooperation with their tutor form the basis for a scientific publication.
• The Academic Tutoring module is to be completed in accordance with the exam session schedule.
• The tutor may not simultaneously act as a team tutor for the same student or act as their thesis supervisor.

Tutor’s tasks include:

• assisting in designing the student’s individual semester schedule,
• ensuring that the individual semester timetable goes beyond the leading degree programme and includes modules from other fields of study,
• ensuring that degree programmes other than the leading degree programme are represented by their key modules,
• determining, reviewing and evaluating the term paper of the student,
• monitoring the progress of the student’s academic or artistic development,
• involving the student in academic and non-academic events,
• supporting the student in solving possible administrative issues.

The staff-student cooperation at the College of Individual Interdisciplinary Studies is formalised each semester by submitting the Declaration of Academic Tutoring. The declaration form is available to Student in the USOSweb system in the tab Requests. Before submitting the document, the student should speak to the staff member and obtain their approval. We encourage each tutor to first read the Rules and Regulations for Studying at the College and the Tutor’s Work Evaluation Rules. In case of any questions, feel free to contact College employees.

If a student and a tutor agree on the terms of the cooperation, the student fills in the Declaration form and submits it to the Secretary Office via the system. The Secretary Office verifies the staff member’s details and assigns them as a reviewer in the system. In the opinion field, the staff member confirms their willingness to take on the tutoring role. If necessary, they complete any missing information (e.g. their staff ID number). They may also add comments regarding the planned cooperation.

The approval of the Declaration in USOSweb confirms that the information regarding Student-Tutor cooperation has been entered into the system. The staff member is given access to the College’s dedicated portal called Portal ISM, which is later used for communication between students, tutors and the College of Individual Interdisciplinary Studies.

The basis for evaluating an academic tutor’s work is the fulfilment of the obligations related to the approval of a student’s schedule and the review of the term paper.

The Academic Tutoring module is part of the Individual Interdisciplinary Studies but the hours are not counted towards the employee’s workload. Pursuant to Section 22 of the Remuneration Policy for Employees of the University of Silesia in Katowice (Appendix to the Rector’s Regulation No. 103 of 14 July 2020), these hours are paid at the rate as for overtime hours in the position occupied by the academic mentor.

Once the review is approved in the Portal ISM, the Secretary Office staff prepares a list of bonuses, which is then submitted for signature to the College Directors. The signed documents are forwarded directly to the Payroll Department of the respective faculty and settled with the employee’s next salary payment. Tutors do not have to submit any additional documents related to settling the cooperation.