Support and guidance

Each academic year, ULL centers implement Guidance and Tutorial Action Plans (POAT) for their degree programs to provide students with support and guidance systems once they enroll.

The training activities included in the POAT address various topics that aim to facilitate students' academic and professional decision-making at different stages (welcome and integration into the center and the university, guidance throughout the degree and for their incorporation into the labor market), which will allow them to successfully complete the degree and adapt to new demands: autonomous learning strategies, teamwork, improvement of academic performance results, resolution of difficulties, information and advice on external internships and final degree projects, guidance on existing mobility programs, demands and characteristics of the labor market, etc.

By enrolling at the ULL, students of the degree can participate in their center's POAT, benefiting from:

• The training and information activities provided throughout the degree.
• Advice from a tutor-teacher, who will support you in your intellectual, academic, and professional pursuits.
• Its recognition in ECTS credits – 1 per academic year – as stated in the Regulations for the Recognition of Credits for Participation in University Activities in Official Undergraduate Studies.

Quality Assurance is an essential objective of university policy and a cornerstone of other fundamental quality criteria for the verification and accreditation of official courses, in line with the provisions established in the construction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In this context, student guidance and tutoring become a necessity and a key element of quality, as reflected in national (AUDIT program, VERIFICA program, and DOCENTIA program of the Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation) and regional (Protocol for the Monitoring of Official Degrees) assessment and quality regulations and programs. The importance of guidance and tutoring for the training of university students is reflected in extensive and diverse regulations at different levels: national, regional, and ULL itself, which are included in the Annex to this document.

In order to promote guidance and tutorial activities as an institutionally organized and planned activity, taking place in the ULL centers, and also to respond to the requirements of university regulations, the Governing Council of the University of La Laguna approved the document "Guidelines for the preparation, implementation, and consolidation of guidance and tutorial action plans at the ULL centers" on January 31, 2012. Taking as reference the provisions of these guidelines, the Center's Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIC), and the Center's Quality Policy and Objectives (approved by the Center's Board meeting on May 17, 2012), the Guidance and Tutorial Action Plan (POAT) of the Higher Technical School of Nautical Engineering, Machinery, and Naval Radioelectronics has been designed.

General Objectives

• Improve the organization and implementation of guidance and tutoring activities at the center by clarifying objectives, structuring the various actions, specifying roles and responsibilities, and optimizing the coordination and evaluation mechanisms for the implemented actions.
• Respond to the requirements of the various procedures (PR) established in the Center's SGIC, understood as a mechanism for supervising and ensuring the quality of the degrees taught there: PR_Definition of profiles, admission, enrollment, and student recruitment; PR_Student guidance and teaching development; PR_Management of student mobility; PR_Management of career guidance; PR_Management of external internships integrated into the curriculum; and PR_Measurement and analysis of results.

In addition:

• Support the process of welcoming, integrating and guiding students from the moment they arrive at the center
• Advise students on independent learning strategies
• Motivate students to be persistent in achieving their educational goals
• Help students resolve difficulties that arise during their training
• Teach students to plan their learning process
• Help students in their professional development through guided practices
• Inform the student about the demands and characteristics of the labor market

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives sought to be achieved through the POAT refer to the acquisition by students of those competencies whose attainment is linked to guidance and tutorial action, as well as to addressing and overcoming the difficulties that the school, through its School Quality Committee (CQC), has identified in ensuring adequate curricular progress. The objectives contemplated in the School's POAT are the following:

• Improve student adaptation to the University and School, promoting their integration into university life and participation and management bodies.
• Provide guidance to students regarding the school's resources and facilities, facilitating the channels and regulations that ensure their availability and proper use.
• Provide training and support to students in acquiring strategies that contribute to improving access to and management of information and independent learning.
• Promote students' skills to properly plan and leverage their dedication to study.
• To help students acquire skills, abilities, and capacities for academic and professional decision-making.
• Provide guidance to students on job placement and continuing education options.

Mentoring can be structured according to the following dimensions: academic mentoring (included in the academic planning plans for ULL degrees), career mentoring, and guidance activities. This Plan focuses on career mentoring and guidance activities:

• Career Tutoring. This is carried out at the degree level. Career or academic track tutoring could be defined as the task performed by a professor who is concerned with the comprehensive development of a small group of students throughout their studies. The purpose of this tutoring is to contribute to the comprehensive development of students by continuously monitoring and optimizing the educational process and promoting independent learning, research, and professional performance. It is planned and adapted each year according to a specific plan developed for each degree program at the center and is aimed at students from the beginning of their studies until their completion.
• Guidance Activities. These are carried out at the school level. This third dimension addresses student needs related to information (information guides, questions about validations, courses, and grants) and additional training (courses and workshops for students). In general, these activities must ensure the connection of students at the school with all ULL services that, in one way or another, cover guidance aspects.

In this context, the center's POAT will be structured through the actual tutorial activity, as well as the training and guidance activities. It is proposed as a sequenced integration of both types of activities throughout the student's curriculum in the degree program. The sequence of activities will adhere to the following phases:

Welcome: This extends from pre-registration to the end of the first semester. This is the transition phase from secondary education to university. During this phase, the initial group meeting with the students takes place, where information will be provided on the curricula, academic regulations, facilities, university services, etc. The POAT, the faculty/tutor presentation, and the initial meetings with them will also take place.

Follow-up: This program extends from the first to the third year of the degree and includes guidance on curriculum planning (selection of pathways, mobility, internships, etc.), extracurricular activities, and suggestions for enrolling in courses and improving academic performance. It also includes training aimed at acquiring learning skills and planning study time. Finally, professional guidance and information on final-year projects will begin to be offered.

Completion of studies and job placement. This includes the final year of the degree. Students will be provided with information and guidance on completing their final degree project, completing internships, finding a job, and continuing their studies.

Table I lists and summarizes the objectives and actions to be carried out in the different phases of the guidance and tutoring process, as well as the agents involved.