Tutor.Com Response to Foundation for California Community Colleges Rfp # Cb 14-001 Online Tutoring Services to the California Community Colleges System
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TUTOR.COM RESPONSE TO FOUNDATION FOR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES RFP # CB 14-001 ONLINE TUTORING SERVICES TO THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES SYSTEM Tutor.com 555 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 November 11, 2014 Kevin Donalds, CFO | (646) 619-8248 | [email protected] Response to Foundation for California Community Colleges RFP # CB 14-001 – Online Tutoring Services to the CCC System EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The California Community Colleges (CCC) Online “While searching for an online tutoring Education Initiative (OEI) will pilot online tutoring for program for students we considered many the upcoming 2015 Spring, Summer, and Fall terms potential programs, but none were as across selected C-ID online courses. In this proposal, advanced or provided the level of superior Tutor.com will demonstrate our capabilities to fulfill customer service that Tutor.com all the goals sought by the OEI and to work in demonstrated.” Stephanie Staffey, M.A. partnership with the pilot colleges in this strategic Director of Advising endeavor. And, we will abide by the terms and Post University conditions provided in the RFP. We provide a full understanding of our qualifications and experience to pilot the required Full, Blended, and Buy-In models of online tutoring aligning with the scope of work. Evaluators will learn that Tutor.com is the only learning services partner that helps faculty and administrators tackle students’ challenges in two very critical ways: . By providing students with targeted, personalized tutoring from expert tutors whenever and wherever they need it, and . By providing OEI and administrators, faculty and support staff with actionable, diagnostic data about student challenges so that a college’s student success eco-system can intervene in time to make a difference. Through our support, students become engaged and succeed in their classes. The logical outcomes of our services are increased completion rates and persistence to graduation. This is on point for the strategic aim of the OEI in increasing the number of graduates and four-year transfers throughout the CCC. As a partner to the largest online programs in the world, we have proven that superior online learning is in our DNA, as evidenced in Sections 4.1.G and 4.1.H. With more than 3,300 tutors, the OEI will obtain full expert coverage from Bachelor’s level and above tutors qualified to serve as tutors for Tutor.com. OEI students will find an easy-to-use and accessible technology that won the 2014 SIIA CODiE award for Best Personalized Post Secondary Learning Solution. This platform and our tutors deliver a positive student experience most evidenced by an average wait time in 2014 less than two minutes (more than 1.2 million sessions to date) and a student satisfaction rating of better than 95 percent, year after year. The targeted instruction our tutors deliver is in line with research on effective tutoring best practices, as discussed in section 4.5. We will also highlight the efficacy of our online tutoring measured through an independent study conducted by Noel-Levitz. This ongoing research is showing significant benefits for both students and the institutions in terms of achievement and persistence and we highlight these results in section 4.1 We believe that the OEI will achieve the effectiveness of student support services it seeks by selecting Tutor.com, and we discuss how we meet all requirements throughout this response. Based on experiences with our clients, we also present a sound fee structure that more than pays for itself through increased persistence. Page | 1 Response to Foundation for California Community Colleges RFP # CB 14-001 – Online Tutoring Services to the CCC System TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i 4.1 Performance History ............................................................................................................ 1 4.1.A Provide recent outcomes of tutoring services provided, preferably a comparable large-scale online tutoring project: (a) subjects tutored; (b) student satisfaction; (c) faculty and college satisfaction; (d) other. .............................................................................................. 2 4.1.B Provide a description of the process for delivering reports on actual wait times and turnaround times. ....................................................................................................................... 3 4.1.C Provide what the expected wait times will be for on-demand tutoring and the turnaround times for essay reviews............................................................................................ 3 4.1.D Describe the recourse and penalty for failing to meet service levels as self-reported and identified in the RFP. ............................................................................................................ 3 4.1.E Provide a description of the process for handling tutor evaluations and complaints from students. ............................................................................................................................. 4 4.1.F Provide evidence of three years’ experience with other colleges/consortia in the delivery of online tutoring services, including Community College Districts and/or systems. .. 4 4.1.G Provide at least two references from clients of similar size, structure, and complexity in the following format: (1) Contact Person; (2) Contact Title; (3) Institution; (4) Mailing Address; (5) Telephone number; and (6) Email address ............................................................. 5 Reference #1 ............................................................................................................................... 5 Reference #2 ............................................................................................................................... 5 4.1.H Additionally name at least two other higher education institutions that have been clients in the following format: (1) Contact Person; (2) Contact Title; (3) Institution; (4) Mailing Address; (5) Telephone number; and (6) Email address ................................................ 6 Reference #3 ............................................................................................................................... 6 Reference #4 ............................................................................................................................... 6 Reference #5 ............................................................................................................................... 7 4.1.I Describe the vendor’s vision for meeting the mission of California Community Colleges, particularly as related to online education and the OEI. ............................................................ 7 4.2 Subjects and Features .......................................................................................................... 9 4.2.A Describe how the vendor will provide essay review services as specified, on up to a 24/7 basis. ................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2.B Describe how the vendor will provide synchronous tutoring services. ..................... 10 4.2.C Describe how the vendor will provide asynchronous tutoring in courses offered in the consortium pilot and beyond. ............................................................................................. 11 4.2.D Describe how the vendor will allow students to …: ................................................... 12 4.2.D.1 Student Access to Synchronous Tutoring ........................................................... 12 4.2.D.2 Scheduling of Future Online Synchronous Tutoring Sessions ............................. 13 Page | i Response to Foundation for California Community Colleges RFP # CB 14-001 – Online Tutoring Services to the CCC System 4.2.D.3 Expected Turnaround Time for One or Multiple Questions (Asynchronous Tutoring) ............................................................................................................................. 13 4.2.D.4 Upload Paper and Turnaround Time ................................................................... 13 4.2.D.5 Requesting Specific Tutors .................................................................................. 13 4.2.D.6 Limitation of Service Usage According to Client Requirements ......................... 13 4.2.D.7 Queue System for High Traffic Times and/or Busy Tutors .................................. 13 4.2.D.8 Access to Collaboration Tools ............................................................................. 14 4.2.D.9 Scheduling Small Groups and Working Collaboratively with a Tutor ................. 14 4.2.D.10 Small Group Engagement with Other Students in Same Course of Study .......... 15 4.2.D.11 On-Demand Access to Archives of Synchronous Tutoring Sessions ................... 15 4.2.D.12 On-Demand Access to Archives of Asynchronous Interactions .......................... 15 4.2.D.13 Access to Tutor Evaluation and Complaint Forms .............................................. 15 4.2.D.14 Access to Technical Support for the Tutoring Platform ...................................... 15 4.2.E How the Vendor