Building on the major leap forward that Volta undergraduates and MSc students accomplished in their examination results in 2013/14, the College is strenghtening further in house teaching for 2014/15.
In the new academic year a strong line-up of Junior Tutors (typically College MSc students, in excpetional cases outstanding College undergraduates) will play an important role in ensuring that young College undergraduates and notabliy the large number of freshers who entered College in the last four weeks, will achieve or exceed the grades required by EdISU.
The main roles of Junior Tutors are to: (i) ensure attendance at the meetings with Director of Studies, (ii) ensure submission of study plans by November 7th or shortly after in those cases in which students await approval, (iii) ensure attendance of the College supervisions offered by Senior Tutors in selected subjects, (iv) meet the students regularly (at least fortnightly in semester 1) and discuss/propose study aids and a revision/examination schedule yielding the majority - or at the very least - half of the credits required for EdISU bursaries and confirmation of College placements by the end of semester 1 and, (iv) ensure that the examination dates and marks of semester 1 are submitted to the College Director by 6th March 2015.
Senior Tutors (College PhD students, medical postgraduates and post-doctoral fellows) will offer supervisions in a range of subjects. A full programme of topics, venues and dates of the College supervisions will be published on the College intranet early in November. Additional subjects may also be offered later in the year if additional PhD students or post docs will join the College later this term or early in 2015.
Supervisions constitute an informal, small group teaching activity in which key topics covered in formal lectures are re-addressed in College from a different point of view and their discussion is expanded; practical problems related to the topic are set and solved under the guidance of the senior tutor and the topic is put in context within the subject but also, where appropriate, in the broad scope of the Course. The students of Collegio Volta may wish to know that in Universities with a Collegiate system, supervisions are the single and most crucial determinant of examination grades, hence they are strongly encouraged to take full advantage of College teaching.
The list of College Junior Tutors for 2014/15 can be found here. The list of College Senior Tutors can be found here. Although College teaching is directed primarily at undergraduate students, the College believes that MSc students (students of so-called Lauree Magistrali), especially yr 1 MSc students may benefit from interacting with both Junior and Senior Tutors and attending supervisions. These students should feel free to contact Tutors directly and enrol in the programme of supervisions available in the College intranet pages from early November.
