Tutor Resource

Tutoring Caps for Part-time Employee Tutors and Mentors Who Tutor – FAQ
Last Updated June 2020

What is a cap?
A cap is a limit on the number of hours that tutors can schedule and work per day and per week. There
are also limits on the number of hours one can schedule in advance when the schedule opens each
week.

Why do we have caps on the number of hours we can work?

Tutor.com creates caps for a variety of reasons:

 Provide an opportunity for as many tutors as possible to gain hours on the schedule.
o If tutors could schedule as many hours as they wanted when the schedule first opens, there would be
tutors who would not have access to hours. In order to provide an opportunity for as many tutors as
possible to schedule tutoring hours, we cap or limit the number of hours any one tutor can schedule
when the schedule first opens each week.

 Adjust to usage.
o As usage rises and falls at various points of the year, we adjust the advance scheduling caps again to
provide opportunities to schedule for as many tutors as possible.

 Accommodate state requirements.

o Some states require employees to take rest breaks and/or meal breaks at certain points in the day. As
tutors select the timing and the number of hours they work each day, this can be a challenging
requirement to meet. Caps are put in place to allow us to adjust to those requirements.

Are all tutors capped?

Advance scheduling caps apply to all tutors. Daily and weekly caps on both scheduling and usage apply only to some
Part-Time Employee tutors and Mentors who tutor.

Caps for Mentors are addressed in the Mentor Manual. When mentors tutor, they are
governed by the part-time employee tutor caps.

What type of tutoring work is subject to being capped?

All paid time - in-session both scheduled and as a floating tutor; all wait time while on the on-demand schedule; time
spent in asynchronous sessions; time spent in scheduled appointment sessions; and any additional approved work a
tutor may perform for the company.

What are the different kinds of caps?

Advance Scheduling Caps.
All tutors and mentors who tutor are allowed a certain number of hours to schedule when the schedule
first opens on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday depending on the tutor’s status and assigned scheduling
day. These caps vary according to tutor status (New Tutor, Intermediate, Advanced, or Master Tutor) and are adjusted
periodically throughout the year depending upon the staffing needs of the company.

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.

www.tutor.com  110 E 42nd St, Suite 700, New York, NY 10017

Tutor Resource
This cap limits the number of hours that can be booked during that first scheduling opportunity for the following week,
when the schedule opens at 12pm ET.

Daily and Weekly Caps:

These are limits on the number of hours some tutors may schedule and work each day and within the 7-
day period from Sunday through Saturday.

Hard and soft caps:

Although some part-time employee tutors are limited to a number of hours they can schedule per day and per week,
there is a grace period built into that limit to allow tutors time to complete sessions.
What this means is that a tutor may be limited to schedule for example, 5 hours per day If the tutor achieves that 5
hour mark and is still in session, they have another 30-60 minutes to complete the active session.

Once the session has been completed, or if the tutor was not in session when s/he reached the end of the scheduled
hour, the tutor is moved to unavailable status.

A soft cap is a message that appears in the classroom to let the tutor know about 30-60 minutes in advance of reaching
their daily or weekly hard cap that the cap is approaching. This message is provided to allow the tutor to adjust time in
session appropriately. Tutors will receive this message when they are in session.

A hard cap is an action. When a tutor reaches the daily or weekly hard cap, the system will display a message in the
classroom and will end the session if the tutor is in session. The tutor will be placed in Unavailable status. The tutor
may not return to Available status until the daily or weekly cap has expired.

If a tutor reaches his/her weekly cap and scheduled hours remain on the on-demand schedule, those hours will be
automatically removed so that other tutors may reserve that time.

How are the caps arrived at?

Advance scheduling caps are determined based upon projected usage for a given week or season.

Daily and weekly caps are determined according to rest and/or meal break requirements for those states which have
such requirements and by a cap of 28 hours per week for part-time work.

Will the caps change?

Advance scheduling caps change as usage changes. They tend to be lower during the summer months and holidays and
higher during peak usage times.

As for PTE state caps, we examine our requirements every year. Tutors should assume that the daily and weekly caps
will not change unless state requirements change or if the tutor moves to a different state.

What if I get a low rating because the system has ended a session?
Tutor.com does everything in its power to educate tutors on the caps. It is important to keep in mind that when you
reach your hard cap for the day or the week, the system will end your session. None of us wants to see a session end
abruptly as this could in fact cause an unacceptable student experience.
Tutors need to pay attention to their caps and adjust their acceptance of sessions and work in sessions to avoid having
sessions end abruptly which could result in unhappy students and low ratings.

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.

www.tutor.com  110 E 42nd St, Suite 700, New York, NY 10017

Tutor Resource
Will the caps affect my ability to earn the monthly performance incentive?
Those incentives are based on the number of in-session hours conducted each month and the percent of rated sessions
rated 5. The weekly cap for part-time employee tutors has been expanded slightly and in many cases the daily cap has
also been expanded. Even for tutors who are subject to a more restrictive daily or weekly cap, it is still possible to
achieve the goal for hours of in-session time per month.

How can I confirm what my caps are?

If it is not apparent when scheduling or working your hours, tutors can always inquire with Tutor Support regarding any
daily or weekly caps.

How do caps work with Asynchronous sessions that could last 20, 35, 50 or 80 minutes?
For tutors who tutor Asynchronous sessions, the system will monitor the tutor’s time remaining until any applicable
hard cap is reached. If the tutor does not have sufficient time to complete an asynchronous session, the system will not
deliver that request to the tutor. The tutor must be at least the max session length + 5 minutes away from the cap to be
served the session. For example, if a tutor has only 20 minutes remaining before reaching his/her hard cap for the day
or week, the system will not present a twenty minute or any other asynchronous session to that tutor. If the tutor has
35 minutes remaining, the system could match that tutor with a 20 minute asynchronous session.

How do caps work with Scheduled Sessions by Appointment?

The way scheduled sessions are handled depends upon when the tutor scheduled the appointment.

Appointment Scheduled Prior to Booking Hours on On-demand Schedule:

If the tutor booked the scheduled session appointment before scheduling hours on the on-demand schedule, they
system will not allow the tutor to book that same hour on-demand. For example, if the tutor booked an appointment
for a scheduled session on Thursday, March 15 at 10am, the on-demand schedule will not show the 10am hour on 3/15
as Open.

Appointment Booked After Hours Scheduled on On-Demand Schedule

If, however, the scheduled session appointment is booked after the tutor has scheduled on-demand hours, the system
will allow that appointment to be booked and the tutor will need to manage his/her hours so as not to reach the daily
or weekly cap prior to that scheduled session. If the tutor does reach the cap prior to the scheduled appointment
time, the tutor will need to cancel the scheduled appointment with the student; however, we prefer that tutors remove
on-demand hours rather than cancel any already-scheduled appointments.

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.

www.tutor.com  110 E 42nd St, Suite 700, New York, NY 10017