Tutoring at Northern College: How Do I Become A Peer Tutor?

How Do I Know if I Can Be a Tutor?

Ideally, we are looking for second or third year students who have a strong grasp of the knowledge in the course they are applying to be a tutor in. We may accept first year students if they are doing well in the class.

To qualify, you will need:

• a minimum of "B" average in the course you want to tutor in.
• a recommendation from your teacher.

Being a tutor also requires patience because everyone learns at different speeds and in different ways. A tutor needs to practice active listening in order to understand what the student if struggling with. Good communication skills are also important so you can explain the information and find ways to challenge the student to think about the material.

Other characteristics of a good tutor include:

• a positive outlook
• a desire to help others
• empathy
• understanding
• fairness
• open-mindedness
• initiative
• enthusiasm
• reliability
• punctuality
• dependability

What to Expect Being a Tutor

Tutors are not there to do the work for the students. If you feel you are being pressured to complete the work on a student’s behalf, please contact us for support.

As a tutor, you will sign a confidentiality agreement. This means that you don’t discuss any information about the students you tutor with others.

You are expected to keep an accurate log of your tutoring sessions and hours and submit them every two weeks. You will also be responsible for inputting your hours electronically.

If you cannot make a session, it is your responsibility to contact the student to reschedule. Give the student as much notice as possible because they may have other things they can do with that time. Cancelling last minute, unless it’s an emergency, is inconsiderate of your student’s time.

School emails will be used for communication between tutor and students. You are responsible for answering emails about scheduling meetings in a timely manner.

You are not responsible for providing sessions or responding to lengthy learning questions outside of the scheduled times. When you first meet with a student, let them know what sort of communication they can expect from you between sessions if they have learning related questions.

Tutors will meet with students in a public place; we recommend the library.

Sessions are limited to two hours per course for each student per week. You may tutor a student in different subjects, but no more than two hours for each subject in one week.

How to Become a Tutor

If you’re interested in becoming a tutor, contact your campus library technician. They will provide you with the forms to fill out. One of the forms requires the teacher for the subject you want to tutor in to sign off on your application.

To see what tutoring positions are currently available, check your campus library or Blackboard. You can still submit to be a tutor, even if there isn't a posting for the subject you want to tutor in.

Once you've completed the tutor forms, send them to your local campus library.

Timmins/Moosonee – libraryt@northern.on.ca

Haileybury – libraryh@northern.on.ca

Kirkland Lake – libraryk@northern.on.ca

Please remember that you are applying for a job. When you contact us via email, include a subject, greeting, and explanation of why you are emailing us.

We do not accept paper copies of the applications. If you print out the applications, you can scan it to your email at the library.

Once your application is received and your information added to the system, you will be contacted when a student in need of assistance matches with the subject(s) you are tutoring in.