SS/PPS 07.07 - Student-Funded Tutoring

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University is committed to supporting student learning through quality tutoring.

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

   1. The Texas State University System (TSUS) Rules and Regulations list certain restrictions limiting the conditions under which instructional employees of Texas State University may accept pay from students for extra instruction or teaching of students registered with the university.

   2. Texas State has developed procedures and restrictions concerning student-funded tutoring.

   3. This document outlines the procedures that should be followed when students hire tutors who are instructional employees of Texas State or when students request names of qualified tutors from the Tutor Referral Service at the Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC), faculty, or staff members in the Division of Student Success.

2. INSTRUCTIONAL EMPLOYEES AS TUTORS

   1. “Faculty members shall not, without approval of the president, or designee, collect from students any fees or charges to be expended for component purposes or sell to students books, notes, materials, or supplies. Faculty of the rank of lecturer or above, and other instructional personnel as designated by the component [university] president, may not accept pay from students for extra instruction or teaching of students registered in the component,” TSUS Rules and Regulations, Chapter V, Section 4.85, effective September 1, 1980.

   2. “With prior written approval of the president, or designee, instructional employees below the rank of lecturer may accept pay from students for extra-class instruction or coaching, but only in courses or sections of courses with which they have no instructional connection. The faculty handbook of the component [university] shall specify the procedure for approval at the component level,” TSUS Rules and Regulations, Chapter V, Section 4.85, effective September 1, 1980.

   3. Department chairs are authorized to give the required written approval to instructional employees below the rank of lecturer.

3. PROCEDURES FOR TUTOR REFERRAL SERVICES

   1. To assure compliance with procedures, tutor referral services within the Division of Student Success are coordinated by SLAC staff through a tutor referral service.

   2. Faculty and staff members in the Division of Student Success who receive requests for referrals to tutors should refer those making such requests to SLAC’s tutor referral service.

   3. SLAC will supervise the tutor referral service and conduct annual evaluations of individual tutor performance and the program as a whole.

   4. To be considered for employment through the tutor referral service, applicants must:

      1. submit an online tutor application;

      2. express a commitment to the program and an interest in people;

      3. maintain an overall 3.0 grade point average with a grade of “B” or higher in courses they wish to tutor;

      4. correctly answer a minimum of 70 percent of the questions asked on a diagnostic, content-mastery, faculty-approved test in the subject area they wish to tutor;

      5. provide at least one faculty reference via the online reference form in each subject area if the prospective tutor is a student; and

      6. provide at least one professional reference via the online reference form relevant to the academic subject area if the prospective tutor is a professional person.

   5. A person cannot work as a private tutor for Texas State students and be employed as a SLAC lab tutor at the same time. A person hired as a SLAC lab tutor receives compensation from the university for tutoring Texas State students, whereas private tutors directly charge the students they tutor. To hold both positions at SLAC would be a conflict of interest.

   6. Instructional employees tutoring through SLAC will provide a copy of the written approval mentioned in Section 02.02 for their SLAC personnel file prior to receiving authorization to tutor.

   7. Eligible veterans and dependents receiving veterans’ educational assistance are entitled to reimbursement of tutoring expenses if the appropriate department chair certifies in writing the student’s need for tutoring assistance to pass the course. Reimbursement forms are available at the Veterans’ Affairs Office on campus.

   8. During each long-term semester, SLAC will routinely evaluate tutors’ performance using an electronic survey questionnaire and will make appropriate judgments about their continuation of employment.

   9. Each semester, SLAC will compile and maintain records that indicate the number of tutoring requests and referrals by academic course and private tutor.

4. REVIEWER OF THIS PPS

   1. Reviewer of this PPS includes the following:

      Position	Date
      Director, Student Learning Assistance Center	April 1 ENY

5. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

   This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State Student Success policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

   Director, Student Learning Assistance Center; senior reviewer of this PPS

   Vice President for Student Success