Guidelines for Tutees

I. Eligibility

  1. To qualify for free tutoring from a CLS Tutor, you must be a Yale College (undergraduate) student enrolled in a language class.

II. Hours

  1. Once you have been approved to meet with a CLS Tutor, you may meet with that tutor as many times and as frequently as you and your tutor agree is needed, up to a total of ten hours over the course of the semester.
  2. If it becomes clear, after you have begun tutoring, that ten hours is not going to be enough, you may request more time with the tutor. (A typical extension is five additional hours.) The Tutoring Program Coordinator will contact your tutor and you when you are approaching ten hours of tutoring to determine whether additional tutoring hours would be appropriate.

III. Professional Nature of Tutoring Relationship

Students and tutors are expected to treat the tutoring relationship seriously and with an appropriate sense of professionalism.

  1. Confidentiality. Your tutor will keep the content of your tutoring sessions confidential and will obtain your permission before discussing your tutoring with anyone other than your instructor and the Tutoring Program Coordinator.
  2. Conflict of Interest. You should not be tutored by someone with whom you have any other relationship, personal or professional, to avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest. You should notify the tutoring program coordinator if your assigned tutor is also your friend, your TF, your freshman counselor, etc., as this risks interference with your tutoring progress from outside the tutoring environment. This should be avoided from the outset.
  3. Location and Safety. You and your tutor should select a location for your tutoring sessions that reflects the professional nature of the tutoring arrangement. Avoid tutoring in dorm rooms or suites, private homes or apartments, and inappropriate off-campus locations. Good venues include the library, study rooms at the Center for Language Study (370 Temple Street), or coffee shops on or adjacent to campus. Also take personal safety into consideration when deciding where to meet. If you meet at night, take advantage of campus walking escort service and shuttle services as you would for any nighttime activity on or near campus. (For additional safety information, consult Yale's Public Safety website and the University's Statement on Sexual Harassment.)

IV. Communications

  1. As soon as you are assigned a tutor, you should contact your tutor promptly to arrange your first meeting.
  2. If you cannot make a scheduled tutoring session, be sure to notify your tutor ahead of time. A missed session will be deducted from your allotted number of tutoring hours.
  3. If you have any questions or concerns about your tutoring, be sure to speak with the tutoring program coordinator, who is available to help you.