Become a Tutor
While tutoring is probably one of the more challenging jobs on campus, we believe that it is also one of the most rewarding! Tutors are needed every new academic year in many introductory and 100-level courses in MATH, PHY, CHM, ENGR, ECO and BUS. While hours are extremely flexible, tutors should be willing to tutor for a minimum of four (4) hours per week and to commit to a semester-long experience.
Tutor Qualifications
Lehigh's tutors are a select group of undergraduate and graduate students who are chosen for their ability to assist their peers academically and for their strong interpersonal and communication skills. Tutors are recommended by faculty and undergo training offered by the Center. Other qualifications include:
- successful completion of at least one semester at Lehigh*
- a cumulative GPA of 2.8 and a B+ or better in the course*
- strong communication and interpersonal skills
- excellent time management and study skills
- a desire to help peers
*We do hire new graduate students; they should have completed equivalent coursework at their undergraduate institutions or more advanced coursework at the graduate level. We ask that graduate students provide us with a copy of their undergraduate transcripts.
Tutor EXPECTATIONS
Lehigh's tutors are expected to make a commitment to tutoring for the length of the semester. They will be asked to follow all Center procedures and to keep the hourly limitations we've put in place for tutoring. Tutors will be expected to attend/complete training, communicate with tutees in a timely manner, complete all necessary paperwork, be professional, maintain confidentiality, and adhere to Lehigh's policies regarding academic integrity. It is the role of Lehigh's tutors to help their peers become successful, independent learners.
Position Information -- Group vs. Individual
The majority of our tutoring is offered in small groups consisting of about 6-8 students that meet on a regular weekly basis. Individual, or 1-on-1 tutoring, is offered only in the following situations: 1) for most CSE courses 2) for some language courses (French, JPNS, etc) 3) for courses with a low demand for tutoring 4) for students who have time conflicts and cannot attend one of our groups and 4) for students with referrals from a faculty member or academic support staff member.
The large majority of our tutors work as group tutors, but we do hire individual tutors for our CSE and language courses. We do occasionally need individual tutors for courses that are typically tutored in groups -- Math, CHM, Physics, Eco, etc. -- so we may hire a few tutors who are looking to tutor individually in these subjects. When we have a need for individual tutors, sometimes our group tutors will agree to meet with an individual student or two in addition to their group commitments. So, while many tutors will only tutor groups, some will tutor both groups and individuals, and just a few will only tutor individually.
Our frequently tutored courses sheet (below) indicates which courses are typically tutored in group format.
If you have questions about group tutors, individual tutors,
courses for which we need tutors, or opportunities for fall 2012,
please contact Kelly Grim at kag3@lehigh.edu.
Hiring INFORMATION
Students who are looking to be a peer tutor, must complete a tutor
application and professor recommendation form and submit both to the
Center for Academic Success, UC 4th floor. A member
of our Center staff will contact you to arrange your 30-min interview
with the Center Director. Applicants will be evaluated based on
academic performance, the application, the faculty recommendation and
the interview. Please note that hiring decisions are also based on the
anticipated demand for tutoring and our need for tutors in the subject
areas for which the applicant is looking to tutor.
- Tutor Application (fill-in) (word doc)
- You can print this application and complete it by hand OR you can type in your answers and save the document to your computer or disk. (Note: You WILL be able to save the completed application to your computer or disk, and therefore can email your completed application as an attachment to kag3@lehigh.edu.)
- Professor
Recommendation Form (pdf)
- You must print this form and complete the top portion by hand
before giving it to your professor. Your professor can give the
completed form back to you or can submit the form via campus
mail to the Center Director.
- In lieu of the professor recommendation form, we will
accept an email from your professor stating that she/he feels
you are competent to tutor in the subject.
- Your application will not be considered complete until we have received the recommendation form or email from your faculty member!
- You must print this form and complete the top portion by hand
before giving it to your professor. Your professor can give the
completed form back to you or can submit the form via campus
mail to the Center Director.
If you are chosen to join our staff....
- You will be sent an official welcome letter, added to the Center's
Course Site for Peer Tutors and asked to review the policies
outlined in the Tutor Handbook.
- You will be asked to complete a mandatory orientation program
prior to beginning tutoring.
- If you have never worked on campus before or if it has been more
than six months since your last pay check from the University, you
must complete I-9
and W-4
forms for the payroll office.
- You will need a U.S. passport or a social security card in order
to complete the I-9 form, so please make arrangements to have one
of these documents on campus with you.
- All International Students need to visit the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) in Coxe Lab to fill out payroll forms.
You may be placed on our wait list….
Because we don’t know how many tutors we need for a given semester
(the number of tutors we hire depends largely upon the demand for
tutoring), we expect that we will have to place a number of tutor
candidates on our wait list. Being placed on our wait list means that
while we would like to give you the opportunity to tutor with us, we
cannot guarantee you a position on our staff until we’re certain that
we have a need for additional tutors. The Center Director will remain
in contact with you to let you know of your status.
The Center is an equal opportunity
employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color,
disability, gender, gender identity, marital status, national or
ethnic origin, race, religion,
sexual orientation, or veteran status.