A partnership between UF and a tutoring service is offering UF students the chance to become tutors as a part-time job or volunteer opportunity.
Tutor Matching Service, which is already involved with over 150 schools nationwide, began training UF students about a month ago, and it is looking for K-12 students who need help in their academics. The tutoring service allows student tutors to set their own rates and maintain clients in Gainesville and anywhere in the country through online tutoring.
Tutor Matching Service keeps 5 percent of the profit, and another 5 percent is donated to UF’s Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars Program, but 90 percent of the money earned goes to the student, said Ethan Fieldman, the director of the program, who also founded Study Edge.
Katie Funk, the assistant director for the program, said GoBoard, a new online feature, will implement virtual tutoring, which will make it possible for UF student tutors to help anyone who lives outside Gainesville.
“It’s changing the way online tutoring looks and is making it more accessible,” she said. “As technology gets better, it’s something that will continue to grow.”
She said before the tutoring program, parents would typically look to Craigslist or contact UF for suggestions on tutors.
“This is a much more concrete way for parents to find tutors online,” she said. “When people get more comfortable with online tutoring, it will be a really valuable tool.”
Fieldman said UF students do not realize how valuable they are to the community.
“They are able to bring high-quality, low-cost tutoring to Gainesville and beyond,” he said.
Students are able to set their own rates, which usually fall between $15 to $20 per hour. Similar tutoring programs can cost between $75 to $90 per hour, he said.
Fieldman said it is a perfect job for college students because they are able to set their own schedules and work as much as they want.
Leslie Pendleton, the director of the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars Program, which gives scholarships to first-generation and low-income UF students, said the opportunities brought by the partnership add to the university’s resources for students.
“The angle is to really help the K-12 community,” Pendleton said. “But if students at UF want help, we will be there for them as well.”
