Performance Management

How does the university measure your performance?  What role do your lecturers take in this process and your personal tutors?

The university measures performance by giving students exams and assignments as this will test students’ knowledge and skills. When students receive their grades at the end of the year, this shows indications of the university measuring student performance as they are giving students a level at which they have performed within.

The role lecturers take within this process is that they provide students with the work needed to gain the knowledge which measures their performance. Lecturers also carry out lessons to help students develop the knowledge and skills required.

Personal tutors play the role of being mentors, they help students with problems they may be experiencing, and furthermore they offer advice and support. This plays an important role in performance measurement as personal tutors aim to encourage all students to do well.

Read the article on the next page from The Times on mentoring.  What skills do you think are required to be an effective mentor?

A mentor is an advisor, so this means that the most important trait they acquire is the nature to be trustworthy.

A mentor should have the skill to be able to listen and give feedback, they must be able to show respect to their mentee. The mentor must also show unconditional acceptance and be able to provide support and help when mistakes are made. A mentor must also have the skill to be sensitive towards the mentee’s feelings, furthermore they must have patience. The mentor must also be able to encourage the mentee in fulfilling their aims.

Mentors must also have excellent communication skills as they will need to be able to talk and influence the mentee to carry out the right tasks. (The Times, 2008)
Identify someone from your college/uni, school, work, social life who has been a mentor to you.  How have they affected your life?

Someone who has been a good mentor for me at school was my form tutor. My mentor was able to influence me in making the right choices in life, such as subjects which I should take for GCSE and also showed continuous interest in my academic life. She proved to be a good mentor as she was always there for me when I needed her. She affected my life as she always gave regular feedback in how she thinks I am doing, and also encouraged me to set myself targets as she believed this will help me to get further in life while being able to reach my full potential. My mentor had the necessary skills needed to be an effective mentor; she was trustworthy, supportive, showed patience and sensitivity. She showed that she genuinely cared as she would regularly call home and ask if I am getting on fine at school and she would always remind me that she is there if I need a chat.

References

The Times (2008) Entrepreneurs: A Mentor Can Tune Your Skills [online]. Available From: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3778514.ece [Accessed Date: 6^th May 2012]