For the reception of new students, the Degree has a specific procedure common to every UCA center. The process of reception, tutoring and support for student training is integrated by a set of different activities whose overall objective is to inform the student about their adaptation to the faculty.

Within this plan there are specific information and orientation activities for new students, focused on facilitating their incorporation to the University of Cádiz. The first antecedents date from the 1999/2000 academic year. With these activities it is intended that the student knows the curriculum, its characteristics and particularities, as well as having information about the different university services, paying special attention to the library services, sport and administrative secretary management.

Our Faculty has established different procedures and specific orientation activities for the new students, that facilitate their incorporation to the Degree.

The first contact with our Faculty is made through the Welcome Meeting to first-year students, that takes place in the Aula Magna of the Faculty where the Managing Board (Dean, Vice-Deans, Secretary and Coordinators) receive these new students and show the Faculty and the services available to them (Tutorial Action Plan, academic information and teacher, mobility, internship, library…).

In the Welcome Meeting, it is explained the Tutorial Action Plan, which began in February 2010, motivated, fundamentally, by the implementation of the eight new Degrees that began to be taught in the 2010/2011 academic year. The need to have this plan, which will show the tutoring tasks of our teachers, is reflected in the adaptation of the Orientation and Student Support Programme of the Quality Assurance System (RD 1393/2007 relating to this academic question).

This plan is launched during the 2011/2012 academic year through a tutoring programme called ‘Tumentor Project’, to which are added the ‘Compañero Project’ and the ‘Compañero Mentoring Project’ (specific for international students). These programs focus on work of reception, orientation, support (reinforcement, permanence, promotion or disability) and student follow-up, and have as fundamental objective the university student integration through an information and advice system.

‘Tumentor Project’ is made up of a group of volunteer teachers (tutors) of the eight grades offered at our Faculty, while the mentors are students of higher years who have previously received a training course. The tutor will help by providing academic, personal and professional orientation (facilitating university integration, guiding the curriculum, guiding the development of learning strategies, study habits and techniques, reporting on career opportunities and providing information on academic aspects). They will guide new students and will serve as a liaison between tutors and students during the first semester of the first year. The aims of these projects are to promote awareness of the environment of the University of Cádiz and to report on legislation, organization, UCA services, library, scholarships, European space, seminars and courses, as well as to facilitate the planning of the study and track the students academic performance.

The program is defined by the following phases:

• Welcome and orientation: university environment and academic information (first semester of the first academic year).
• Integration: Academic and social adaptation to the new environment (second semester of the first academic year).
• Support and specific orientation: Academic follow-up and specific information on academic issues. Collective tutorials will be established on specific topics (mobility, practices, itineraries, career and academic opportunities (second, third and fourth years).

The Tutorial Action Plan favours academic excellence by reflecting on the learning process (detection of deficiencies, application of strategies and development of autonomous learning), and the professional orientation.