Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Officer
Reporting:
Reports to the Director of Department.
Responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the Director of Department the ITAS Officer has the following responsibilities:
- To provide culturally appropriate support to Indigenous students in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs through the recruitment and selection of mentors in all academic fields.
- Recruit* suitably qualified and experienced mentors.
- Manage ITAS program funds including the preparation of the mid year and annual acquittal to the Department.
- Develop mentor training and cultural awareness workshops for all mentors.
- Plan and monitor the annual ITAS budget.
- Liaise* with students to assess academic needs in relation to ITAS assistance.
- Through the Director of Department, liaise with academic staff in order to evaluate and ensure effective ITAS support.
While it is the role of the ITAS Officer to establish a register of potential tutors in as many fields of study as possible, as well as to assist students in the location of suitable tutors, it is neither the primary, nor sole, responsibility of the ITAS officer to do so.
The responsibility of locating a suitably qualified and available tutor is a shared responsibility. Just as the student's ability to locate a tutor is limited so is the ITAS Officer's. The success of locating a tutor for a student is limited by a number of factors.
These include:
- The availability of tutors with particular expertise
(the ITAS Officer may not always be able to maintain a register of tutors covering every area of expertise). - The time availability of tutors
(tutors do so on a voluntary basis and have limited availability as well as preferred times themselves. These may not always be compatible with those of students). - The travelling limitations of the tutor
(these may be for reasons of personal safety, availability of transport or any other factors). - Student/tutor personal compatibility
(people don't always get along). - The amount of notice given to the ITAS officer by the student requesting a tutor
(the shorter the time frame given, the less likely the request can be met). - In short, while the ITAS officer will, to the best of their ability seek to assist students with the identification and engagement of a suitable tutor, it is a shared responsibility without guarantees.