Meet our tutors and advisors
Here at the University of Stirling, we have a dedicated team committed to your academic success. Contact the Student Learning Services by email: ask@stir.ac.uk.
Dr Rhea Swinson Fitzpatrick
Head of Student Learning Services
Rhea’s background is rooted in developing and supporting educational opportunities in the USA, Ireland, Scotland, and the Middle East. Her career includes community education, international development education as well as working as an academic teaching research methods, history and academic skills to undergraduates. She also developed and taught the Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at Bahrain Polytechnic. With a History BA, a Masters in Community Development and a Doctor of Education, Rhea is committed to capacity building for students of all backgrounds and at all stages in their educational journey.
As a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, her role as Head of Student Learning Services at the University of Stirling, includes providing strategic and operational oversight of the service while also providing tutorial support, staff development and input into institutional projects and policies. Her teaching and learning interests include educational transitions, learning development, and critical pedagogy.
Dr Jamie Macpherson
Academic Skills Adviser
Jamie earned a BA (Hons) in History (Stirling University), an MSc (Edinburgh University), a PhD in eighteenth century history (Stirling University), a PgCLTHE (2022) and is presently completing an MEd at Glasgow University. Jamie was appointed as an Academic Skills Adviser in August 2021 and later as a Faculty Academic Skills Advisor for the Arts and Humanities in 2022.
Jamie recently published a monograph in eighteenth century history, The Friendships of John Adams: The Art of Politics (Routledge: New York, 2024). This study examined the friendship network of John Adams, the leading political writer, Founding Father, second US President and influential diplomat c.1774-1801.
Jamie's current role rests on supporting student progression and retention, enhancing metacognition and developing resources to improve disciplinary identities. Jamie works with students from all years and levels of studies, hosting embedded sessions for undergraduates, postgraduates and a series of PhD workshops hosted through the Institute for Advanced Studies. Jamie is currently the named contact for the faculty of Arts and Humanities for the Student Learning Services. He is presently redeveloping the SLS's Canvas site. Jamie is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a RET Fellow at Glasgow University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Dr Jeff Meadowcroft
Academic Skills Adviser
Jeff earned a BA (Hons) in Modern History from the University of Leicester in 2004, before going on to complete an MPhil in Central and East European Studies (2005) and a PhD in nineteenth and early twentieth century Russian Labour History (2011) at the University of Glasgow. Jeff has previously taught and coordinated modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Social Sciences, Politics, Management and Academic Skills at Glasgow International College, as well as teaching at the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Leicester.
Across his career, Jeff has contributed to research projects on Student Voice, Academic Literacies, Team Teaching and Learning Technologies. His current role focuses on supporting and enhancing academic skills provision within the Stirling Business School. Jeff also supports the Health Sciences faculty, assisting with the Nursing programme with embedded resources.
David Tiseo
Academic Skills Tutor/Faculty Academic Skills Adviser
David has worked for Student Learning Services for two years. As well as this role within SLS, he also works within Accessibility and Inclusion as a Study Skills Tutor, Personal Learning Assistant and Proof Reader. As a Study Skills Tutor he works one-to-one with students with learning difficulties and disabilities; having this experience of knowing how to personalise tutorials and communicate with students with a variety of needs has really helped in SLS. Likewise, as a Personal Learning Assistant, David gets to attend classes with students, getting the opportunity as a ‘fly on the wall’ to appreciate what the learning environment at the University of Stirling is for students in practise – an insight that has proven truly beneficial in his SLS work. In David's role as an Academic Skills Adviser, he works with the Health Science faculty to support the Nursing cohort. David’s background is in creative writing, with a BA in Scriptwriting for Film and TV from Bournemouth University.