Evaluation of the Tutoring in a Distance-Learning Context of Masters Dissertations at the UNED Faculty of Philology

Abstract

In the field of Modern Languages, a significant shortfall in methodological guidance for distance tutoring of students’ Master’s dissertations (TFM) – one of the requirements for obtaining the degree, in line with European Higher Education Area regulations – has been observed. The objective of this project is to carry out a large-scale analysis of the needs and opinions of the teachers participating in the eleven Master courses of the Faculty of Philology at the UNED in relation to the tutoring and assessment of the TFM. By means of an online questionnaire, information will be collected from the teachers about their experience throughout the process: the topics, the amount of time invested, the tasks performed during the tutoring process, assessment/evaluation of the TFM, students’ responses etc. The data collected show the importance of having general guidelines which will be valid for all masters and which will speed up the process of tutoring and facilitate the evaluation of the TFM, so that the tutors’ work becomes more effective. In addition, teachers demand institutional improvements and increased autonomy and academic rigor from students, complaints that do not differentiate us from other universities and other educational contexts.