Guidelines For Departmental Tutoring
These guidelines are intended to assist departments as they develop or work on the tutoring services that they provide. The College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) tutoring website has more detailed information on the mission, goals and services of the program.
Recruiting and Selecting Tutors
Recruitment and selection: The College of Arts and Sciences Tutoring Program recruits and employs only current NU students based on their academic achievements and/or expertise on a subject(s) they plan to tutor (final grade A- or A). During the academic year, each faculty member is encouraged to recommend students who they believe will be excellent tutors on the subject(s) they teach. The student, in-turn, is encouraged by the faculty to apply for a tutoring position at the tutoring center of the respective CAS academic department by filling out a Peer Tutor Application (modify as needed). In addition to the application, the student should submit two recommendations. One recommendation from the faculty member whose course they plan to tutor and the other from their academic advisor. When the Tutoring Center receives a student’s application, including the two recommendations, a file is created under each student’s name. The selection process is very rigorous. The best candidates to become CAS tutors are highly dependable, have excellent communication skills, strong recommendations from faculty, an interest in working one-on-one or in small groups with their peers, and a solid command of the course material. The screening process considers both the student’s study habits as well as his/her academic achievements. All CAS tutors are interviewed by the program director/supervisor. CAS tutors must maintain at least a 3.00 QPA.
Faculty involvement: Faculty involvement is essential for the success and development of the CAS Tutoring Program. We rely on each instructor’s cooperation for the collection of syllabus, valuable handouts, past tests, weekly assignments, sample test problems and their solutions, past term papers, or any other material they see fit. All information collected for each course we tutor is kept in a binder at the tutoring center to be used as references by the tutors. If a faculty member has his/her course on Blackboard he/she may consider giving guess access to the tutors offering tutoring services in a particular course and forgo the binder root. Faculty may also contribute any books, computer software, and videos to be used as references by both the tutors and the students. Throughout the academic year, we rely on our faculty for recruiting and selecting new tutors. We also rely on faculty to lend their time and use their expertise by offering training sessions and guidance to peer tutors. The faculty members may invite the tutors to their classes to promote the tutoring services and/or to offer in–class tutoring.
Hiring and Paying Tutors
All CAS tutor positions are paid positions and should be posted by each tutoring center on the NU student employment website. Qualified applicants apply and get hired by each tutoring center through the student employment website. In order to provide uniform standards across all CAS tutoring centers we recommend the following tutor payrates:
- Peer Tutor in Training (no prior peer tutor experience in college level) $9.00-$9.50.
- Peer Tutor (at least 2 years peer tutor experience in college level) $9.50-$10.00.
- Peer Tutor Coordinator (peer tutor in supervisory position) $10.00-$10.50.
- Tutor (graduate student working as tutor) $10.50-$13.00.
Qualified tutors awarded Federal Work Study (FWS) should be encouraged to use it for tutoring. Current NU students pay raises should be based on performance and/or attending tutor training sessions. All hired tutors must have a current W-4 and an I-9 in file with the student employment office, in order for a time sheet to be created on their behalf. Each week each tutor submits his timesheet on the student employment website and their supervisor must review and submitted online in order for the tutor to get paid. Tutors paychecks are issued weekly. Please note that full time students working in campus are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week.
Training Tutors
At the beginning of each semester, the central College Tutoring Center runs mandatory orientations and training sessions for all tutors in the College. During this session, there is a review of the policies and procedures of the Center, a general training component, and an identification of tutors’ availability. Follow up training sessions take place throughout the semester. Tutors will have the opportunity to participate in tutor training design in accordance to College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) guidelines, and consequently qualify for any of the three levels of CRLA certification. Participation in CRLA training is voluntary. A tutor evaluation should be prepared by the tutor’s supervisor at the end of each semester. We also recommend regular feedback sessions (once a month).
Supervising Tutors
Departments are responsible for making sure that their tutors attend a training session, which is offered on a regular basis by the CAS central Tutoring Center. Departments are also responsible to ensure that their tutors keep their appointments or walk-in hours and that their students are satisfied with their tutoring. Periodic review of the sign-up sheets and evaluations (below under data collection) can be useful as with the ongoing assessment of tutors. Should a tutor not show up for three consecutive sessions (appointment or walk-in hours) without a legitimate excuse, the tutor should be dismissed.
Data Collection and Reporting at the End of Each Semester
For walk-in services a daily sign-up sheet (e.g. a spreadsheet with time slots) should be filled out to include but not be limited to: the date, the tutor(s) name(s), the student’s name and NU ID, the student’s major and academic status (Freshmen, Sophomore, Middler, Junior, Senior), the student’s instructor, the course name and number, and a brief description of what the student needs help with. During the semester, daily sign-up sheet are simply collected and filed, but may be referred to as necessary. For one-on-one tutoring services a sign-up form should be completed by both the tutee and the tutor for each tutoring appointment (Appendix B). Sign-up forms are also collected and filed daily under each student’s name.
In order to prepare a comprehensive report of all CAS tutoring services, at the end of each semester, the Director of the CAS Tutoring Center will request a summary of tutoring activities in each department that runs its own tutoring services. As much as possible, departments should be able to report on such things as types of tutoring offered, money spent on tutoring, numbers of appointments or drop-in hours, etc.
Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability
Each tutoring center should submit an end of the semester report to account for spending. This will also be required by each tutoring center requesting a supplemental budget. The report should include but not limited to: the type of services provided (walk-ins, one-on-one by appointment, group, recitations, supplemental instruction etc), number of tutoring appointments by type of service, dollars spend delivering each service, number of students served, students’ majors, tutoring appointment by instructor, course and course number, and number of appointments by tutor. Also identify the hours of tutoring performed by work study tutors. In addition identify the number of online requests vs. the requests in person.
Student Access to Tutoring Services and Space
The Arts and Sciences (CAS) academic departments can offer a variety of tutoring services such as walk-ins, one-on-one by appointment, group tutoring, recitations, and supplemental instruction. Tutoring services should be accessible to all NU students taking CAS courses. Tutoring should not be offered on a walk-in basis only. Whenever possible, departments should also offer one-on-one appointments and other forms of tutoring to best service the students’ different learning styles.
Departmental tutoring areas should be centrally located and easily found both in the department and on the department’s website. Ideally, a department tutoring area should also have a name. Students should be able to access a tutoring by dropping in or by setting up appointments via the department’s website. By establishing a generic tutoring email addresses the person responsible for departmental tutoring can manage the appointment process on-line. The students should also be able to contact each department’s tutoring center via the phone, with phone contact information easy to find on the web. Setting up appointments via the web is the most convenient way for the students to access tutoring services and also provides time for the tutors to prepare themselves for their sessions.
In a situation where a department does not have space to designate for its tutoring services, tutors and tutees can meet for the first time in the department office to exchange contact information so that they can arrange a time and place to meet outside of the department. If this is the case, the meeting place must be in a public area on campus (i.e. Snell Library, Curry Student Center, etc.) that is conducive to tutoring. If a department has no space to designate for tutoring, walk-in tutoring is not possible.
Tutoring Models
There are several kinds of tutoring models that departments may want to offer. These are summarized in detail on the CAS Tutoring website at www.castutoring.neu.edu. Departments will need to determine which models they will be able to offer and are encouraged to contact Tina Kondopoulos (x7670) for assistance.
Basic Guidelines and Expectations for Students to Schedule and Cancel Appointments
Scheduling Tutoring Appointments:- While faculty often recommend tutoring to their students, it is always the student’s responsibility to schedule the tutoring appointment.
- One-on-one tutoring appointments may be requested by undergraduate students and scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.
- Walk-in tutoring appointments are also available on a drop-in basis and do not need to be scheduled in advance. Tutoring appointments are scheduled on a first-come-first-served basis.
- Tutoring appointments can last up to an hour. Students may typically have up to two one-hour tutoring appointments per week.
- Regular appointments between tutors and tutees may be arranged to be held on an ongoing basis and at a mutually agreed upon location.
Canceling Tutoring Appointments:
- Students should be told that if they need to cancel a tutoring appointment, they should do so no less than 24 hours before the appointment.
- A student can cancel a tutoring appointment in-person, via the phone, or by filling in the online cancellation form.
- If the student cancels or fails to show up for a scheduled tutoring appointment for three consecutive times or on a systematic basis without a legitimate excuse (medical emergency) the student will not be allowed to use the CAS tutoring services for the remainder of the academic semester.
Student Evaluations of their Tutors:
- Each tutee is required to fill out an evaluation form after each tutoring appointment (See website under assessment).
- Completed evaluations are submitted to the departmental tutoring contact people.
