Abstract:

Higher education institutions face increasing challenges regarding student retention, success and psychosocial integration, particularly during the transition to higher education. The first year is widely recognised as the most critical phase of students’ academic trajectories, concentrating higher risks of disengagement, underperformance and dropout. This period requires significant cognitive, relational and identity adjustments, making early institutional support particularly relevant for persistence and well-being.

In response to these challenges, the Polytechnic University of Leiria implemented a structured tutoring programme within a transversal institutional project – the Observatory for Academic Success (OPSA 2.0) – designed to promote success and foster student integration. The OPSA Tutoring Programme constitutes one of its core strategic axes, aiming to enhance faculty–student engagement, support academic adjustment and reinforce institutional belonging.

This study analyses empirical data drawn from institutional tutor enrolment surveys conducted in 2024/2025 (n=174) and 2025/2026 (n=125). A mixed methodological design was adopted, combining descriptive statistical analysis with thematic content analysis of open-ended responses to identify motivational patterns, professional orientations and institutional dynamics underpinning faculty engagement in tutoring practices, still underexplored in the literature.

Findings reveal a strong pedagogical and relational orientation among participating faculty. In 2024/2025, 69.5% of tutors identified support for student success and integration as their main motivation, increasing to 80.8% in 2025/2026. Institutional commitment represented a secondary motivation (3.4% and 4.8%, respectively), while motivations related to professional development or formalisation remained residual. Additionally, 68.8% of tutors in 2025/2026 had participated in the programme’s first edition, indicating continuity, consolidation and organisational alignment. These findings provide empirical evidence of tutoring not only as a student support mechanism, but as a form of faculty engagement primarily shaped by intrinsic pedagogical motivations.

The evidence indicates that the tutoring programme operates at the intersection of student engagement and faculty engagement, being driven by pedagogical conviction and professional responsibility rather than external incentives. While this reflects strong academic ethos and relational commitment, it may also signal reliance on individual goodwill, raising governance questions regarding sustainability, workload distribution and formal recognition within academic careers. The relatively limited emphasis on professional development or formalisation suggests that tutoring may not yet be fully embedded within institutional career frameworks. Sustainable consolidation requires alignment between professional commitment and structural recognition. These findings highlight the relevance of structured faculty-based tutoring as an evidence-informed institutional strategy, while pointing to the need for research on balancing voluntarism with organisational embedding.

While tutoring programmes in higher education have predominantly focused on student outcomes, this study advances the field by conceptualising tutoring as a faculty-driven institutional practice, shaped by intrinsic pedagogical commitment and embedded within a structured organisational framework.

Keywords:

Higher Education, Academic Success, Tutoring Programmes, Faculty Engagement.