Advising and guidance | philosophy

Guidance refers to all activities aimed at enabling the future student or current student to plan and manage their learning in a manner consistent with personal life goals and making full use of individual skills and interests in order to achieve personal fulfillment.
Depending on the moment in the university studies when these activities are implemented, a distinction is made between Advising carried out before choosing a course of study, which is aimed at prospective students and offers support in identifying the course to be undertaken on the basis of individual interests, expectations and aptitudes. In this phase, the various possible scenarios are presented to the future student and the alternatives of the university pathway are illustrated; Guidance carried out during the university career, aimed at enrolled students and is designed to guide them within the degree course already undertaken, enabling them to establish a better interaction with the structures and the university context; Career Guidance carried out close to or after graduation, it is aimed at graduates or graduating students and aims to facilitate their introduction into the working environment.

Advising

Advising/guidance activities are carried out and coordinated by a committee consisting of the Course President (Prof. Wolfgang Huemer), the contact persons of the Modena and Ferrara universities (Prof. Annalisa Coliva and Prof. Matteo d'Alfonso) and the Guidance delegates (Prof. Irene Binini and Prof. Alessandro Torza). This committee cooperates with the administrative heads of the Advising Committee of their respective sites.

An initial form of tutoring takes place via e-mail, responding to requests from students for information on the course or the evaluation of their previous career, in order to find out what, if any, course debts need to be cleared in order to access the course.

Entrance interviews are also held: a committee of professors/instructors specially appointed by the Course Council for each of the three universities, and convened on the same days, conducts interviews with new entrants. The purpose of these interviews is to check that the minimum requirements for admission are met and to ascertain the possession of the necessary basic knowledge and comprehension skills by examining the training undertaken in previous years. The interview is also an opportunity to inform and guide the student in case of specific difficulties or doubts.
In the academic year 2021/22, advising and guidance activities consisted of the following initiatives:
- Newly enrolled student interviews to check entry requirements (7 October 2021 and 17 February 2022). The interviews were held at the three universities on the same days.
- Presentation of the Interuniversity Course to newly enrolled students during Welcome Day (7 October 2021).
- Second-level Degree Course Open Day: the initiative is specifically aimed at first-cycle degree course students with course presentations, visits to facilities, information stands with distribution of illustrative material. Course presentations are also broadcast via streaming.

Guidance and tutoring

Guidance and tutoring is carried out within the Second-cycle in Philosophy degree course by Prof. Huemer (Parma campus), Prof. Coliva (Modena-Reggio Emilia campus), Prof. D'Alfonso (Ferrara campus) assisted by other professors/instructors. Insofar as the second-cycle degree courses take place in seminar form and require the active participation of the student, professors/instructors have the opportunity to get to know the student directly and to guide him or her in his or her course of study and research.

Three professors/instructors-tutors are provided for student advising/guidance in relation to the curricular placement, one for each location: Prof. Iocco (PR), Prof. Cera (FE), Prof. Casadei (MO). The tutors for the Erasmus placements are Profs. Testa and Torza (PR).

Prof. Fabbianelli is responsible for an Erasmus Plus programme for students from abroad.

The tutor-teachers who supervise and guide the student for stays at European and non-European universities (Erasmus Plus STM and Overworld programmes) are Prof. Huemer and Testa (PR).

The course has a student tutor in the person of Dr. Rebecca Mancini. The course tutor carries out, among other things, information activities for newly enrolled students and students in general, with the function of providing initial advising/guidance and signalling the needs perceived to professors/instructors and the competent bodies (RG). The course tutor cooperates with the other tutors in the Philosophy Unit in welcoming students on Open Day and Welcome Day and at all other information meetings.

Ms Maria Velardi acts as teaching manager at the administrative office of the degree course, providing guidance and information to students at the administrative level.