Tutoring Ethics Policy

Ethics can be challenging for students to navigate with the increase in online courses and group projects. My goal as a tutor is not only to help students to master material, but to reduce test-taking anxiety, and to guide students through the ethics of research and education that they will soon face as professional young adults.

In addition to following the National Tutoring Association’s Code of Ethics, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s Code of Ethics for Educators, and any academic integrity policies of the organizations and institutions of my students, I follow the below policies:

Section I. Ungraded Assignments

1. “Ungraded assignments” are not in any way directly responsible for a student’s grade or application outcome.
2. Ungraded assignments include but are not limited to:
   1. Lesson/lecture material
   2. Review material
   3. Study guides
   4. Practice problems
   5. Textbook examples
3. All ungraded assignments may be worked on together during tutoring sessions, or example problems may be generated and/or reviewed offline.

Section II. Graded Assignments

1. “Graded assignments” include anything that is turned in for a score, either in a classroom setting or as part of an application submission. 
2. Graded assignments include but are not limited to:
   1. Numerically scored assignments (percentage or point based)
   2. Letter graded assignments
   3. Pass/fail assignments
   4. Completion based assignments
   5. Any material submitted for consideration on an application
3. Homework assignments
   1. Homework, practice problems, etc. may be worked on together during tutoring sessions. 
   2. Assignments may be reviewed offline before submission, but any necessary changes must be made directly by the student. 
   3. All submissions must be entirely in the students own words/work.
4. Open-ended assignments
   1. Essays, projects, etc. may be outlined, reviewed, and edited together and/or offline.
   2. All content must be the student’s original, unplagiarized work. Tutoring time will be focused on ideation, research/writing process improvement, and refinement; the student is responsible for any research and writing necessary. 
5. Take-home or online assessments
   1. Any timed, individual assessment (e.g. quizzes, tests, or exams) will not be covered while the assessment is open for (re)submission. 
   2. Once an exam is turned in and cannot be modified/resubmitted, students can review test problems and solutions during tutoring sessions. If untimed test corrections are offered for extra credit after the exam has been graded, guidelines in Section II, Item 3 (Homework) apply.
   3. Exceptions (e.g. open exams) will only be considered if the instructor specifically and explicitly states that the exam is open-book and open-resource, including gathering input from others outside of the class. Written documentation which clearly captures the above requirements will be required.
   4. If a teacher/professor provides copies of old tests or sample questions to help prepare for an upcoming exam, see the policies in Section I.

Section III. Group Tutoring

1. In addition to complying with all policies in Section I and II, each student must submit unique work for individual assignments in his/her own words.
2. For group assignments, each student will take ownership of specific sections as defined on a pre-determined group agreement and/or rubric where possible.

I, Caitlyn Caggia, reserve the right at any time to refuse to cover any assignment or coursework due to ethical concerns.