Payment
Taxes are not withheld from payments made to independent contractors. You are responsible for paying whatever taxes you owe (i.e., Federal, State, Local) using the federal tax form 1099 issued to you when you file your taxes. A 1099 reflecting all the income paid the previous year will be mailed out to the address listed in your account by January 31st, provided you have generated $600 or more in revenue for the calendar year. If you generate less than $600 in revenue as an individual, a Corporation or Limited Liability Company, no 1099 will be issued. The mailing address for your 1099 form can only be updated by sending an email to [email protected] and does not change when you change your personal profile information on the TutorPlace platform.
The rate in your welcome email is recommended in order to maximize your opportunities and keep you competitive with other instructors. Please keep in mind that this may be changed for specific students and can be negotiated on a per student or project basis.
If you would prefer to change your rate in our system to something else, please reach out to the Tutor Relations director or any staff member you are in contact with and we are happy to do this for you (Keep in mind that increasing your base rate may limit the amount of opportunities you receive).
Payment is sent out via direct deposit on the 5th of each month for all sessions you have submitted. If tutoring sessions have not been submitted correctly there may be a delay.
Please log on to TutorPlace to access the following:
- Add/update your direct deposit information
- View your pay stubs (pay stubs will NOT be mailed). Pay stubs only appear 2-3 days after your payment is sent out.
- Add/update your personal information
- Contact [email protected] if you have any issues with payroll.
Getting Started
- As outlined in your “welcome email”, we recommend the following steps to get ready for tutoring jobs Sign the Tutoring Contract Agreement (This includes a W-9 tax form, ID card, Direct Deposit Form)
- Log in to the TutorPlace platform to review your contact information and review your profile – tutors with professional pictures and bios get the most jobs (directions linked here) – Your login to the platform has been sent in a separate email. You can also visit the TutorPlace platform and click “forgot password” if you can’t find your login credentials.
- Set your availability (walk through video coming soon): Once logged into TutorPlace, go to the top right corner > Click Your name > My account > Click Availability > Click and drag to create one block of availability. We recommend opening one large block of time to show your availability rather than smaller blocks because it indicates more potential hours that you could be scheduled.
- Once you have completed the steps above, we recommend the following steps:
- Learn how to submit sessions after a student is assigned (walk through video coming soon!)
- Familiarize yourself with Lesson Space
- Review the Tutor Guide/FAQs
Review the Tutor Me Education informational video
- Please note that the directions below are for the “TutorPlace” interface. If you were onboarded after 11/01/21, then this should be your default. If you were part of our platform before then, please skip to the last bullet point in this section.
- In the top right corner > Click Your name > My account > Click Availability > Click on the calendar and drag to adjust the times; we recommend creating one chunk of availability so that you may be scheduled for any times during that block.
- Please ensure the timezone matches your location. On TutorPlace, this can be done by clicking your name in the top right corner and selecting your time zone (under your picture). The ‘company default’ is Pacific Time (PST).
- Once set, to see your availability displayed in your Oases calendar, go to your account > settings (next to availability) and enable ‘show availability’ (it will show as green instead of red).
- If you did not receive a login link, you can visit the TutorPlace platform and click “forgot password”. If you can’t find your login credentials or need a new one sent to you, please contact the Tutor Relations Director at the same email where you received your welcome information. You will need this to log in.
Tutor Profile
You should complete your online profile before receiving tutoring opportunities and your profile appearing for clients who post jobs. Begin by visiting https://secure.tutormeeducation.com/ and if you cannot remember your password, please reset your password by clicking the “Forgot Password” link on the login page. If you still cannot
login after resetting your password, contact the Tutor Relations Director.
Once you have logged in, press the down arrow next to the avatar located at the top right and select “My Account”.
From there, please complete the following in order to set up your profile:
- Make sure all of your personal information and availability to tutor clients is correct. Your primary and secondary addresses will be used to determine how far away you are from potential students, while your availability for both the primary and secondary addresses will be used to alert you to tutoring project opportunities near those locations.
- Fill in your information in the appropriate sections.
- Write a compelling Bio to attract new students.
- Upload an appropriate and professional profile picture. You can drag and drop an image from your computer or press Select an Image to browse your files on your computer or device. From there you can crop and upload.
If you have issues saving your information on the site, feel free to email us the text or picture you would like added to your profile.
Your Tutor Bio is incredibly important to marketing yourself to potential clients and will be publicly displayed to clients. This will be through our platform. Not all tutors are posted on the TutorMeEducation.com website, but that does not mean clients cannot find you. Potential clients largely base their tutor selection decision on your tutor profile and will be reading your Tutor Bio.
While the content of your Tutor Bio is up to you, a strong bio answers the following questions and adheres to the following principles:
- Why are you passionate about helping students?
- Describe your experience working with students.
- Where did you get your education?
- What degree(s) have you attained? What degree(s) are you working toward?
- What subjects do you tutor?
- What is your favorite subject(s) to tutor, and why?
- How would you describe your teaching philosophy and your tutoring style?
- What interests you outside of academia?
- Your experience 1:1 and/or with groups of students
- Does NOT include your first or last name, test scores, or G.P.A in this section (there are other sections for this).
- Does NOT include salutations, such as “Hi, my name is…”
The more thoughtful and thorough you are in writing your TutorBio, the more likely it is that clients will want to work with you. It is a chance for you to market your tutoring services. Here is a sample Tutor Bio that receives a lot of attention from customers:
With nearly 1,000 hours of formal teaching experience, my tutoring guarantees positive results! Every student whom I’ve tutored has significantly increased in their grades and even motivation in school! My style is unique, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and extremely patient! My students have varied in motivation, maturity, personality, and even temperament.
They come from all walks of life. My versatile personality finds a way to relate to each of them individually.
In addition to this, I have spent the last year private tutoring high school students in Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics and SAT materials. I have also successfully tutored 3 college graduates, preparing for the MCAT and higher level post-bac. programs. I have much experience teaching students on both the one-on-one and group level and have taught students
varying in subjects. I believe that my experiences have equipped me to be a versatile and competitive candidate as a tutor. Alongside previous teaching experiences, I have much experience with leadership, public speaking, and demonstrate a unique enthusiasm for learning.
Furthermore, I have a passion for the arts and sciences which is reflected in my degrees and success from Johns Hopkins. As a student, I discovered the value of learning and grew an enthusiasm for whatever subject I was studying. As a result, my passion for science and learning aids my teaching in the classroom as I can excite my students for the material. Therefore, I believe that my interpersonal, leadership, public speaking abilities, and enthusiasm equip me with the skills I need to qualify for and be a successful instructor.
Finally, my SAT scores were Math: 680, Verbal: 610, and writing: 680. My MCAT score was a 34: 10 verbal, 12 Physical Sciences, and 12 Biological Sciences. I believe that I have definitely refined and improved these skills since high school due to my fruitful experiences at Hopkins. My students have started in the mid 20s and have eventually scored 30-33 with my help! I have many hobbies and interests, but some of them include playing the drums, cycling the beautiful bay area, playing the piano, going to the movies, and playing badminton!! I even love to rock climb and go hiking too! I’m very laid back but I make sure to get work done! My personality is one of my greatest strengths and my students agree that my persona allows them to feel comfortable and not intimidated. I make sure to help my students feel confident. That is key.
Your profile picture is an important part in marketing yourself to potential clients, although it is not required. Profiles without a picture typically get minimal attention. In order to present yourself in the most professional way and attract the most students, we recommend the photograph that you upload should adhere to the following best practices:
You should be the only person in the photograph.
You should be professionally attired.
The photograph should be set against a nondescript background, such as a plain wall or an uncluttered outdoor setting.
The photograph should represent you as a personable professional.
Yes. It is important that you keep your profile current so that you continue to receive information about students that you are eligible to tutor, although it is not required. Periodically check the following areas of your profile:
Availability
Addresses
Contact Information
Direct deposit information
Tutor Bio
Tutoring Location, Materials, & More
Clients that you connect with through the Tutor Me Education platform will request to meet in-person, online, or a combination of the two. You will know the proposed meeting location requested by the client and student before you agree to work with them and you will have the opportunity to accept or decline the project.
In-person students will normally want to meet in their home, but some will prefer to meet in another location such as a library, coffee shop, or book store.
Online students will usually suggest the Lesson Space Online Tutoring Platform. Be sure you are familiar with the platform that the student requests before agreeing to help them in order to eliminate technical difficulties.
You should meet with your in-person students at their home or an alternative agreed upon location. You can always work with the student and meet in another mutually agreed upon location if needed. In order to protect yourself and, separately, Tutor Me Education, the following safety policies are in place (as referenced in the Independent Contractor Agreement and Customer Terms of Use).
If you are meeting in the student’s home, an adult chaperone must be present for all tutoring sessions for students who are under the age of 18.
You should never meet with students at your own home.
You should never drive your clients or students anywhere.
There are many free online resources that tutors can utilize with their students. Here are just a few examples of some websites that you could use:
https://www.ixl.com – Free 30-day subscription
https://quizizz.com – Free subscriptionn
https://kahoot.com – Free subscriptionn
https://www.socrative.com/ – Free subscriptionn
Wikipedia – Free encyclopedia with a plethora of information on academic subjects.
YouTube – Video portal with video lessons on almost all academic subjects.
Khan Academy – Offers practice exercises and instructional videos for a variety of subjects, especially Math and Science. Lessons are self-paced and can identify a student’s strengths and areas for improvement.
4tests – Provides free, online practice exams for students including sample SAT/ACT tests.
Discovery Education – Students can play interactive games, watch videos, or see math problems solved step-by-step using WebMath. Site also hosts challenges and contests for students.
Duolingo – Students can practice foreign language skills and vocabulary building by completing mini-lessons delivered in a game setting.
GCFLearnFree – This site features self-paced tutorials for Reading, Math, and Technology. The lessons and videos focus on essential skills and are designed to be mini-lessons that a student can complete at their own pace.
Learners TV – Contains thousands of downloadable video lectures, science animations, and online tests for a wide range of subjects.
Gooru Learning – Create and share collections of free K-12 web resources to personalize learning.
Math-Drill – Has thousands of free math worksheets covering skills ranging from addition and subtraction up to algebra and geometry.
When you receive information on a tutoring opportunity you can reply back to the email or click the “Reject Tutoring Job” link. If you want to ask a question in addition to expressing interest in the tutoring opportunity, just reply back to the email.
To show interest in accepting the job:
Please reply back to the email with a note outlining when you are available for tutoring sessions within the student’s availability and information about why you would like to work with the student.
Please know that if you select this response, you are agreeing to work with this student and should hold a spot for them in your schedule for the next 24-hours while placement is finalized. It is not fair to a student for you to accept a tutoring job and not work with them until their goals are met.
To request more information:
If you are interested in working with the student but cannot fulfill the assignment based upon the information included in the email — express your interest or ask a question without committing to take the job.
Reply back to the email and explain any hesitations you have – perhaps you are available at different times or cannot meet at the location specified but can meet somewhere else. Sometimes you will just have a question that you need answered before wanting to be considered for that job.
You will receive an answer to your question and have the opportunity to respond again with the same choices.
To decline the job:
Click the “Reject Tutoring Job” link in the email.
You are never penalized for declining a potential student. Please reply as soon as possible when you are accepting or declining the student.
You will be asked to confirm your availability for an opportunity before being confirmed for a tutoring job. The student may ask additional questions regarding your tutoring experience, long term availability, or comfortability with the material. If you have been accepted for a tutoring job, you will receive a confirmation email with all the details and the student will be assigned to you. If you are not emailed a clear confirmation with the details, the student has not been assigned to you yet and may be reviewing other options. If you are confirmed for a tutoring job, you will receive a clear email and the student will appear under your “students” tab in your dashboard. If you do not receive any information in an email after being confirmed for a tutoring job, please log into your tutor profile to view the client’s contact information or contact Tutor Me Education. There may be additional acknowledgements required before the tutoring opportunity is confirmed.
Getting Matched
- Generally speaking, the student/school/parent creates a job outlining what they’re looking for and what their specific needs may be. The job is systematically sent to the best possible tutors whose areas of expertise line up with that specific project’s needs. Sometimes this is sent to multiple tutors at once if the student wants to get started right away. This is when the tutors have a chance to respond and confirm if they are interested/available, why they’d be a great match for the student, and any logistical information the job may be asking for. Tutors may also decline the job if
they are not interested. - From here, the student either accepts the tutor right away, or there may be a delay due to a bit of a back-and-forth if the client wants to review multiple profiles from which to choose. Sometimes new job opportunities may be presented by an email or phone call to see if you’re interested and available to work with a particular student. Once you’re assigned, you will receive a clear confirmation via email and are provided with all needed information to make contact with the client and to get started.
- As stated in the welcome email and agreement, you are an independent contractor on our platform and there is no guaranteed number of hours available; we also do not require you to work any minimum number of hours as you are your own boss! We encourage you to work with other online tutoring platforms to increase the opportunities available to you.
Our general recommendations include:
- Make sure that your profile bio and picture are professional, approachable, confident, and friendly. These are client-facing and essentially constitute a first impression.
- Respond to any tutor requests as promptly and thoroughly as you can; a tutor request is not a confirmation but a query to see who will be the best fit. Any questions you may have about coursework or scheduling can also be addressed in the response. Please be sure to let us know if your availability matches or what schedule may work for you!
- Consider lowering your base rate to maximize the number of opportunities available
- Once you have been assigned a student, please note that our most successful tutors are those who reach out to the client/student right away and keep an open line of communication, following up regularly. The sooner tutoring services start the more likely you are to receive positive feedback. Positive feedback may improve your internal rating on the platform.
- Any “no-shows” or too many rescheduled appointments may result in a lower internal rating which will limit the number of opportunities available to you.
New Students & Tutoring Opportunities
There are several things that you can do to get more opportunities on your list:
- Deliver an outstanding customer experience demonstrated through high session ratings, a large number of sessions per customer, a quick response rate to opportunities and rapid scheduling of tutoring sessions.
- Become online certified. Adding online opportunities will dramatically increase the number of students that appear on your list because it does not require that the student be in your geographic area. Click this demo to familiarize yourself with LessonSpace and all of its features. Email a director to request a time to schedule your online certification test in which you will provide a 3 minute lesson through LessonSpace. Tutors with microphone issues, internet issues, and
camera issues will automatically be rejected. - Increase the distance that you are willing to travel. Opportunities for in-person tutoring are based on the geographic distance marked in your profile. The wider the radius, the greater the chance of a good customer fit.
Refer to “How can I increase my chances of being matched with a student?” under the Getting Matched section.
Preparing for sessions
- Sessions may take place online or in-person depending on the request.
- For online tutoring, we have integrated LessonSpace onto our platform at no cost to you. We strongly recommend watching the tutorials and familiarizing yourself with LessonSpace through the following links. Tutors who have mastered online tutoring through LessonSpace typically have more effective and engaging sessions which leads to better feedback from students and more job opportunities.
- Getting started with LessonSpace
- Space Features
- Space Management
- Becoming an Expert Teacher
- Troubleshooting
You do not need to create a separate Lesson Space account as it is currently integrated into TutorPlace. Once assigned a student, you can generate a meeting link with LessonSpace by clicking the calendar to create a session. There will be a “student link” that you may click to send to the student and we recommend doing so at least 24 hours prior to the session start time.
We strongly recommend using LessonSpace as it is integrated with our platform. We also recommend using LessonSpace because of its great features like the whiteboard to draw out equations or pictures. You can also generate a meeting invite link in advance of the session. Please refer to the LessonSpace tutorials to familiarize yourself with the system.
Feel free to test out Lesson Space here by clicking ‘open test space’
Cancellations
- As a general rule, we suggest logging every cancellation and labeling it in the notes with details about what happened. Please specify in your notes if you are requesting to charge the client for the cancellation or not. The more detail you include in your notes, the more information available to justify your request. We recommend requesting compensation for the second, last-minute or no-show cancellation for one hour at your hourly rate. This is only if the cancellation is last-minute or the student did not show up to the session.
- If you have a specific cancellation policy, you will need to make sure that is clearly expressed via email when agreeing to take on the project.
Not confirmed session: The student/family never stated that they will be at the session. This session should not be logged into Oases.
Cancelation: The student/family notified that they cannot attend the session without sufficient advance notice. This session should be logged into Oases with notes about what happened and whether or not you want to bill the client for the session.
No show: Session was confirmed and the student did not show. Please log the session in Oases. This session should be logged into Oases with notes about what happened and whether or not you want to bill the client for the session. In the student notes,
specify when the session was confirmed and any other relevant information. The more detail you include in your notes, the more information available to justify your request.
Session Setup and Billing
You can adjust the type of tutoring, length of session, and notes before submitting your session. Please note that any changes to sessions may affect the amount paid. If you have any issues creating or correcting an invoice, please contact the Tutor Director who assigned you for assistance.
If you accidentally selected the wrong client to bill and saved the tutoring session, you will need to delete that tutoring session and re-enter the correct one.
Logging Sessions
Sessions should be logged within 24 hours. Submitting sessions late may lead to delay or forfeit in payment and we want you to be compensated accordingly and on time.
To create your session on Tutor Place:
- Log into Oases (https://secure.tutormeeducation.com/) – if you don’t remember your password click “forgot password” or email the tutor relations director
- Click anywhere on the main calendar on the main landing page when you log in. You will see a pop up window that says “create a new session”
- Select the student. If you have not been assigned a student, please do not create a session!
- Schedule: Unless you have been instructed otherwise, please select **Not part of a schedule**
- Session Type: Please refer to the information provided to you via email when you were assigned the student. When in doubt, ask the scheduling director who assigned you the student.
- Location: Please select ‘in-home’ or ‘virtual,’ when in doubt, ask the scheduling director who assigned you the student.
- Select the session date and time that matches when the session will take place or, which date the session already occured
- Select duration, e.g. 1.5 hours. Please keep the session duration consistent with what was agreed upon for that student.
- Click “create session” —-For virtual sessions:
- Click the blue icon that looks like two people in the bottom left to send out the LessonSpace link to the student in advance of the session. On the left hand side you will see the teacher link; on the right hand side you will see the option to email the student or parent link. Please send the link well in advance of the session start time, we recommend at least 24 hours in advance of the session. Confirming that the client received the link prior to the session helps avoid technical difficulties at the top of the session.
- If you would like to access the LessonSpace platform for the session, please click “launch” on the left hand side under your name. If you need to re-send the meeting information, click “invite others” at the top of the screen within lesson space. Then you can copy and send the link.
- The main text area is where you will write the session note describing the student’s progress. The note should be logged within 24 hours of a session occurring. We recommend including a summary of the session, homework, etc. Please note this is client-facing, so the note should be appropriate for the student and/or their parents to read.
- To enter a private note only visible to Tutor Me Education staff, click the blue square with the pencil just above the green ‘close’ button (bottom left).
- Double check all information is correct. Click ‘close’ to save the information before the session occurs. Feel free to edit any information later on as needed. To delete the session entirely, click the trash icon at the top. Note: this cannot be done after the session has been submitted. If you intend to edit the session, click ‘close’ instead of ‘submit.’
- To upload any relevant files, click the blue icon all the way to the right just above the green ‘close’ button (bottom right).
- Once you have completed the note and are ready to submit the session, the most important step is to click “submit” at the top left. You will not be able to make any changes to the note after it has been submitted. The submit button will turn orange when you have successfully submitted the session. This is an important step because this is how tutors
bill for sessions. When sessions are not submitted correctly payments may be delayed. - Once the session has been submitted it will display as orange on the calendar. When you click on the session itself, it will open to display the information and say “submitted” in orange at the top left.
If you are using the standard interface, we recommend viewing the following video tutorial:
- Select “sessions”
- Select the correct program and location. This is provided via email when you are assigned the student
- Select “+ new” (in blue) for a new session.
- Select session type – when in doubt, select “pay-as-you-go.” A “program” student may be indicated on the email provided to you when assigned the student.
- Ensure date and time are correct.
- Select duration, e.g. 1.5 hours.
- Click the red “x” to the left of your student’s name to make it into a green check
- Duration should show up to the right of the student’s name to match what you entered. Hover over the initials at the top of the columns with your mouse to see what they mean, for example, “LA” for “language arts.” If it shows up under LA and it is not a language arts section, click on the times in the appropriate column and adjust to reflect session duration and set the non-relevant column to “0:00”
- Enter a student note. A student note must be logged within 24 hours of a session occurring. Please note this is client-facing, so the note should be appropriate for their guardian to read. Summarize the session, homework, etc. Click save.
- Double check all information is correct. The most important step: click submit and then save.
- To check if it’s submitted from the calendar view: You will then see your session turn orange on your calendar.
- To check if it’s submitted from the session view: Look toward the right of the screen under the “s” column. It will have a green check if it was submitted.
- If you cannot see your sessions, check that the program and location filters at the top are cleared.