Online Tutoring Guidelines

Online tutoring provides access to tutoring to all students including regional students and to those who cannot attend regular tutoring hours or obtain an appointment. As with one-to-one on-campus tutoring, online tutoring is completely free and available to all UNBC students.

You may submit papers for review at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Students can also attach their essays to their query to obtain more detailed and tailored answers for specific areas of concern (for instance, is there a strong thesis, does the essay flow logically etc.).  Papers reviewed by tutors will have comments inserted into the documents, but these comments will be inserted in Microsoft Word format and may not be visible with other word processors. You can log onto the tutoring site any time of the day or night and upload a draft of your paper or retrieve one that has been reviewed by a tutor. 

Important: To ensure students' receive a timely response, online tutors will only provide comments, feedback, and/or answers for a maximum of 3 questions or topics that the students list as areas of concern.

What Tutors DO:

  • Read a student’s paper and make suggestions regarding grammar, style, usage, and academic writing requirements.
  • Go over the instructor’s assignment with the student to make sure the student understands what needs to be done.
  • Make critical comments on portions of the text (generally the first page for early drafts).
  • Advise the student regarding appropriate use of research materials.

What Tutors WILL NOT do:

  • Grade a student’s paper, or suggest a grade.
  • Write a student’s paper.
  • Rewrite any portions of a student’s paper.
  • Assess the level of a student’s learning or understanding of the course material (tutors are writing specialists and may not be familiar with the content of a particular course).
  • Provide assistance with take-home or distance exams without written permission from the instructor.  (It is the student's responsibility to ensure they follow their instructor's guidelines, and the regulations and policies of the University.)