1. For reprint permissions and information, please send your inquiry to: Tutors@athletics.utexas.edu.

2. What is Tutoring?
 Tutors are a vital part of the academic support system our
office provides for student-athletes. Tutors supplement
classroom instruction by clarifying concepts that students
need help with or don’t understand.

3. Responsibilities of a Tutor
 Tutors should:
 Help students identify their academic strengths and needs in a
particular subject area
 Cultivate an efficient study environment that is based on a
safe, supportive, and professional relationship
 Listen to students’ questions and concerns
 Communicate with the students’ academic counselor(s)
 Help students recognize how to successfully manage the
workload in a college course
 Understand that it is a semester-long commitment

4. Qualities of a Good Tutor
 Integrity
 Patience
 Flexibility/Adaptability
 Professionalism
 Organization
 Proficiency in field of study
 Ability to assess academic
performance
 Creativity
 Honesty

5. Tutor Guidelines
1) Tutors should be punctual, organized, and able to communicate
effectively with students and counselors.
2) Tutors should never allow their political, social, educational, sexual,
racial or philosophical beliefs to interfere with the tutor-student
relationship.
3) Tutors and students will only meet in the Moncrief-Bible Academic
Center (also known as the Pride Academic Center). Tutors and
students may not communicate outside of study hall via phone,
text, email or social networking sites under any circumstances.
4) Only tutors who have been trained in the UT Athletics Writing
Program may assist student-athletes with their writing
assignments.

6. Types of Tutoring
 Individual/One-on-One
 A tutor generally meets with a student for an hour. Prior
approval from a student’s counselor is required for sessions less
than an hour or longer than one hour.
 Group
 A tutor meets with a group of students in the same course to
review key material and clarify concepts, generally prior to an
exam.
 Walk-in
 Walk-in tutors are available during scheduled blocks of time to
provide brief, immediate support to students who need quick
clarification or assistance.

7. Setting an Appointment
 The Tutor Coordinator will assign students to you based on your
availability. Therefore, it is very important to update your schedule
with the Tutor Coordinator on a regular basis.
 If your expertise and availability match with a student’s needs, the
Tutor Coordinator will contact you via GradesFirst, email, or phone.
 Please respond if you cannot attend an appointment as soon as
possible.
 Be sure to clarify with the Tutor Coordinator or counselor whether the
appointment is a one-time session or a standing appointment.
 Students and tutors may NOT change or schedule follow-up
appointments without approval from the student’s academic
counselor.

8. Appointment is Set,
Now What?
 Arrive on time and know your student’s name!
 Check in with the monitor at the front desk with your UT ID.
 If this is your first appointment, let the monitor know who you are
meeting with and wait for the student on the couches by the elevator.
 “No Show” Policy
 If the student is more than 5 minutes late, inform the student’s counselor
(during work hours) or the “Counselor on Duty” (in the evenings).
 If the student is more than 20 minutes late, you should claim one hour on
your timesheet and indicate that the student was a “No Show.”
 Email the student’s counselor and the Tutor Coordinator.

9. What a Tutoring Session
Should Look Like
 Start by setting goals for the session. What are the student and the
tutor going to accomplish in the set amount of time?
 Accomplish goals. Review assignments, papers and/or notes.
Compile questions for the student to ask his or her professor or TA
if necessary.
 End by reviewing what was accomplished during the session. If it
is a standing appointment, discuss the day, time, and place of the
next appointment as well as what the student will have completed
by the next appointment.
 Submit a tutor report through GradesFirst before leaving the
Moncrief-Bible Academic Center.

10. GradesFirst
GradesFirst is the online system
used for monitoring and reporting
tutor information. Tutors will
receive an informative packet
during orientation that will fully
outline the program. The image
depicts part of the home screen
where tutors set their availability.

11. …GradesFirst
As appointments are scheduled by the tutor coordinator, tutors will receive
automated emails from GradesFirst, but can also check the tutor home screen as
well as the calendar (seen below) for upcoming appointments.

12. …GradesFirst (reports)
Reports are used to evaluate the sessions as well as for payroll purposes. All tutors will submit
tutor reports through GradesFirst. Below is an example of the tutor report format illustrating
the information that tutors will be asked to provide. Please be thorough with comments.

13. “I’ve got nothing
to work on.”
 Recognize that’s probably not true
 Review syllabus, book, notes
 Ask student what the past couple of lectures have addressed
 Help student make note cards
 Make up practice quizzes/exams
 Sometimes your session is scheduled immediately after a
student’s test when they haven’t had any new material in
class. This would be a good time to preview the new
material with the student.

14. Canceling a Tutor Session
 If you must cancel an appointment, it is your responsibility
to notify the Tutor Coordinator at least 24 hours in advance
by email and every effort must be made to reschedule if
necessary.
 After 3 missed appointments, the Tutor Coordinator and the
Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete
Services will be forced to reevaluate a tutor’s employment.
Additionally, a tutor session canceled with less than 24
hours notice will be considered a missed appointment.

15. Mandatory Meetings
 Orientation
 All tutors are required to attend an orientation and training
meeting. (For most tutors, this occurs at the beginning of each
semester.) This meeting covers policies and procedures and
incorporates learning workshops to improve your tutoring skills
and better prepare you for working with student-athletes.
 Monthly Meetings
 These requisite meetings serve as additional training. Issues are
addressed as they arise within the academic center, the University
as a whole and even the NCAA.
 The schedule of the meetings will be given to you at the start of
the fall and spring semesters so that you can plan ahead. There
are no meetings during summer sessions.

16. Compliance
 All UT employees are required to
complete certain compliance
training modules within the first 30
days of employment.
 To complete your required modules,
log on to UTDirect and select the
“My Job” tab at the top of the page;
the link for “Compliance Training”
will be under the “Working at UT”
category in the “Related Categories
and Services” box on the right.
If you have compliance-related
questions or concerns, please contact:
Athletics Compliance:
(512) 471-7285
Compliance@athletics.utexas.edu
Athletics Human Resources:
Rich Burns, Assistant Director
(512) 475-8040
Rich.Burns@athletics.utexas.edu

17. Academic Integrity
 As an employee of UT Athletics, you are expected to maintain
absolute integrity and scholastic honor. You may not, under any
circumstances, do work for a student-athlete.
 All students are required to complete assignments independently,
unless expressly authorized to work with others by the professor,
and must acknowledge the contributions of any and all sources to
their academic work.
 If you are aware of a student who has engaged in any form of
scholastic dishonesty—cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized
collaboration, etc.—you are obligated to notify your supervisor
immediately.
 Engagement in/collusion with scholastic dishonesty is grounds
for immediate termination of employment.

18. Plagiarism
(adapted from the UT Office of the Dean of Students website:
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_plagiarism.php)
 Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity. In simplest terms,
this occurs if you represent as your own work any material that was
obtained from another source, regardless of how or where you acquired
it.
 Using verbatim material without proper attribution constitutes the most
blatant form of plagiarism. Other types of material can also be
plagiarized, such as the idea or structure of someone else’s work.
 Plagiarism can be committed intentionally or unintentionally—
regardless, it’s still plagiarism!
 By merely changing a few words or rearranging words or sentences, you
are NOT paraphrasing. Making minor revisions to borrowed text is
plagiarism!
The University of Texas at Austin Office of the Dean of Students. (2010, 6/10). Retrieved
from http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sis/scholdis_plagiarism.php

19. Unethical Conduct(adapted from the UT Athletics Compliance Services “Tutor & Mentor Guide to NCAA Rules”)
 Unethical conduct by a student-athlete or a current or former institutional staff
member (e.g., coach, tutor, student manager) may include, but is not limited
to:
 Refusal to furnish information relevant to an investigation of a possible
violation of an NCAA regulation
 Knowing involvement in arranging for fraudulent academic credit or false
transcripts for a student-athlete
 Knowing involvement in offering or providing a student-athlete an improper
inducement or extra benefit or improper financial aid
 An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional
employee/representative to provide a student-athlete or the student-athletes’
relative or friend a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.
 Knowingly furnishing or knowingly influencing others to furnish the NCAA
or UT false or misleading information concerning a possible NCAA regulation
 Engagement in unethical conduct is grounds for immediate termination.

20. Knowledge of Use of Banned Drugs
(adapted from the UT Athletics Compliance Services “Tutor & Mentor Guide to NCAA Rules”)
 A member institution’s athletics department staff members or
others employed by the intercollegiate athletics program who
have knowledge of a student-athlete’s use at any time of a
substance on the list of banned drugs is obligated to report the
use.
 The following is the list of banned-drug classes:
 Stimulants
 Anabolic agents
 Substances banned for specific sports
 Diuretics and other masking agents
 Street drugs
 Peptide hormones and analogues
 Anti-estrogens
 Any knowledge of drug/substance use should be reported to
student services immediately!

21. Sports Wagering Activities
(adapted from the UT Athletics Compliance Services “Tutor & Mentor Guide to NCAA Rules”)
 Individuals shall not knowingly participate in sports
wagering or provide information to individuals involved in
or associated with any type of sports wagering activities
concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics
competition.
 In simple terms, as an employee of UT Athletics, you may
not bet on any sports under any circumstances.

22. Sexual Harassment
 It is the policy of the University of Texas at Austin to
provide an educational and working environment for its
students that is free from sex discrimination, sexual
harassment, and sexual misconduct by members of the UT
community, and by those who have business or educational
relationships with the University. Sex discrimination, sexual
harassment, and sexual misconduct in any form will not be
tolerated, and individuals who engage in such conduct will
be subject to disciplinary action. The University encourages
students, faculty, staff, and visitors to promptly report sex
discrimination, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct to
any University official, administrator or supervisor.
From Appendix D, “Policy on Sex Discrimination and Sexual
Harassment,” of the University of Texas at Austin General
Information Catalog, 2010-12

23. Know the Rules: Quick Summary
 Students are required to do their own work.
 No extra benefits—student athletes can’t give you anything,
and you can’t give them anything, including tickets, rides,
books or gift cards.
 You are prohibited from gambling on college, amateur or
professional sports.
 You are obligated to report any known or potential NCAA
violations immediately.
 All information regarding student-athletes’ grades, injuries,
etc. is strictly confidential.

24. Do
 Do ask questions
 Do have a positive attitude
 Do engage with your students
 Do build rapport with your students
 Do empathize with your students’ concerns
 Do encourage active studying
 Do maintain appropriate boundaries
 Do contact your students’ academic counselor(s) with any
concerns you may have.

25. Don’t
 Don’t be late or miss sessions without notifying the Tutor Coordinator ahead of time
 Don’t do your own work during tutoring hours
 Don’t discuss your students with anyone outside of the office
 Don’t enable counter-productive behavior/attitudes
 Don’t bring food into the study rooms
 Don’t wear revealing clothing or clothing with inappropriate messages
 Don’t communicate with your students outside of the tutoring session
 Don’t contact a student’s coach, professor, or TA
 Don’t use office resources for personal reasons without getting permission first

26. Remember Your Role
 Have fun, but keep it professional
 Lead by example
 Stay engaged
 Ask questions
 Communicate clearly and efficiently