Tutor FAQ
Answers to the questions tutors ask us most often, drawn from real applicant conversations.
Application & Qualifications
How do I become a tutor with Bridge Point Scholars?
Click "Apply Now" or sign up with a tutor account. The application is a short multi-step form (personal info, education, subjects, bio). You also upload a government ID and a degree or credential, and we need both before we can review the application. Your Police Certificate of Character and profile photo can follow later from your tutor dashboard, before your first session. We welcome new tutors in waves and prioritize the subjects with the most student demand, so timing varies by subject. Your application stays active, and we will be in touch by email as we open capacity for your subjects.
Am I an employee of Bridge Point Scholars?
No. All Bridge Point tutors are engaged as independent contractors, not employees. You set your own availability, deliver sessions through our platform under a service agreement, and remain responsible for your own taxes, insurance, and statutory obligations. Bridge Point does not withhold taxes, pay NIS contributions on your behalf, or provide employee benefits.
What qualifications do I need?
We have no fixed minimum and no specific institution requirement. Approval is per subject and is judged on the strength of the documentation you upload (transcripts, exam slips, degree certificates). When more applicants apply for the same subject than we can take, the strongest documented results win the seat.
Can I tutor while I am still finishing my degree?
Yes. Upload your latest unofficial transcript plus a current enrolment letter. Subject approval is based on the documentation you submit, so the stronger the transcript, the better your odds for each subject you list.
Do I need a UWI degree?
No. We have no university requirement. We have approved tutors from across the Caribbean and beyond. What matters is the documentation you can show for the specific subject(s) you want to teach.
I have already graduated from university. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Recent graduates and experienced graduates are both welcome, and so are current students. There is no upper limit on how long ago you finished. Upload your degree certificate or transcript and apply for the subjects you can document.
I applied but have not heard back. Did I do something wrong?
Almost certainly not. We recruit in waves and prioritize the subjects where we currently have the most student demand. If your subject is well covered for the moment, your application waits in the active pool until we open capacity for it, and we reach out then. Silence is about subject timing, not a judgement on your application. Make sure your government ID and a degree or credential are uploaded from your dashboard, since we cannot review an application until both are on file. If anything has changed or you want to add a subject, email operations@bridgepointscholars.com.
I am online-only, based outside Saint Lucia. Do I still need a Police Certificate of Character?
Yes. The Police Certificate of Character is required from your country of residence, regardless of whether you tutor online or in-person, regardless of which Caribbean territory you are based in. Obtain it from your local police authority. We accept PDF, JPG, or PNG. It must be dated within 6 months of submission and is renewed annually.
What is the async alignment questionnaire, and what does it ask?
If a live Alignment Call is impractical for your application window, we invite you to complete an async version instead. It is 8 prompts on the tutor dashboard: a 2-3 minute on-camera mini-teach video in your strongest subject, a real student story, an error-spotting walkthrough at your level, an "about you", a first-session plan, three platform features you would lean on, an explanation of how you would use one of them, and whether you have attended a tutor info session. Allow about 45 minutes. The video is required; the rest you can save and come back to.
I had a technical issue and could not finish the async questionnaire in 2 business days. What do I do?
Email operations@bridgepointscholars.com inside the original 2-business-day window and tell us what happened. We grant reasonable extensions, and technical issues are never held against you. If the in-app video upload will not cooperate, you can send the demo clip by WhatsApp or to recruitment@bridgepointscholars.com and finish the text answers in the form.
I want to add more subjects after I already applied.
You can. Upload the additional credentials for the new subject(s) from your tutor dashboard, or email operations@bridgepointscholars.com. Each subject is approved individually based on the supporting documentation you provide.
How do I know if my documents actually uploaded? What does "Pending Review" mean?
If you see the document listed on your tutor dashboard with a status next to it, the upload succeeded. "Pending Review" means the file is in the queue for the recruitment team to verify; nothing more is needed from you until we either approve it or write back asking for a clearer copy. "Verified" means it has been accepted. If a document does not appear at all after upload, try a different browser or device and re-upload.
I picked the wrong modality (online vs in-person) on my application. Can I change it?
Yes. You can edit the modality from your application page in your tutor dashboard up until the application is locked for review. If it is already locked, email operations@bridgepointscholars.com with what you would like to change and we will update it on our side.
I already have a student account. Can I switch to tutoring with the same email?
No. Tutor accounts and student accounts are separate by design. Create a new tutor account with a different email address and apply through that one. We do not merge the two.
How do I delete my tutor account?
Email operations@bridgepointscholars.com from the address on file and ask us to delete the account. We will remove your profile, documents, and personal data, keeping only the minimal records required by law (e.g. any payouts already issued). Allow up to 7 business days.
Pay & Payments
How much do tutors earn?
You earn 70% of the per-student session price for each student in your session. Two tiers per subject: a standard tier (in-person, non-Scholar) and an online or Scholar tier priced 20% lower. The 70/30 split applies to whichever tier the session is booked at. Example: a Secondary CSEC group of 4 at the standard tier pays you XCD$84/hr; the same group at the online or Scholar tier pays XCD$67.20/hr. The 15% solo surcharge goes to the platform. Your per-student rate is the same on solo and group bookings.
How do I get paid?
Direct bank transfer to the account you specify on the Bank Account Information Form, completed during onboarding inside the platform. PayPal is not currently supported as a payout option. You do not submit invoices; the platform calculates earnings automatically.
Where do I submit my bank or payment information?
During onboarding, your tutor dashboard surfaces the Bank Account Information Form as a checklist item. Open it, fill in account name, bank, branch/SWIFT, and account number, and submit. You can update it later from the same place if your bank details change. We never accept bank details by email or chat.
How often do I get paid?
Monthly. Payouts are processed within 10 business days of the end of each calendar month, covering completed sessions delivered during the preceding month.
I tutor from outside Saint Lucia. How does payment work for me?
Most of our tutors are based across the Caribbean and beyond, not in Saint Lucia. The Bank Account Information Form accepts international accounts. Tutors based in the OECS are paid in XCD; tutors elsewhere are paid in USD by international transfer to the account on the form. We are still refining the FX and timing details for non-XCD payouts and will share specifics before your first payout. Submit the form during onboarding either way and we will hold it.
Where does my banking information live?
The Bank Account Information Form is stored encrypted in our system. Access is restricted to admin and finance staff. It is never shared with students, parents, or other tutors.
Scheduling & Bookings
Can I set my own schedule?
Yes. You set your own availability through the tutor dashboard. Post the windows that work for you (any length: a 9 AM to 1 PM block, an evening block, whatever fits), and students book inside them. Remaining time inside a window stays open for other bookings or extensions.
Is there a minimum weekly commitment or quota?
No. No minimum hours, no required days, no quota. Some tutors post a few hours per week; some post twenty. Minimum session length is 60 minutes; everything else is up to you. Building credibility with families correlates with availability, so consistency helps, but the cadence is yours.
Do I coordinate session times directly with families?
No. Scheduling is platform-managed. You post your available windows on the platform, students see them on your profile, and they book inside them. No back-and-forth with families, no shared calendar links. The platform handles confirmation, payment, Google Meet link generation, reminders, and the join window automatically.
I signed up with a non-Google email (Outlook, Yahoo, or a school or work address). Can I still join sessions?
Our live sessions run on Google Meet, which needs a Google account to join. If you registered with a non-Google address (for example Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, or a university or work email that is not Google-based), email operations@bridgepointscholars.com with the Gmail or Google Workspace address you want to use and we switch your Bridge Point login to it. Your application, approval, and onboarding progress all carry over, and you then sign in with the Google address and the same password. A personal Gmail is free to create at accounts.google.com if you do not already have one.
When I post an availability window, do I pick the subject or does the student?
The student picks the subject when they book. Your availability is one calendar shared across every subject you have been approved to teach. A family browsing a window on your profile chooses any of your approved subjects at booking time; you do not pre-assign a slot to "Maths" or "Biology". This is why subject approval matters: only approved subjects show up as bookable options inside your windows.
How does session matching work?
Two ways. (1) Post available windows: students browse and book directly, instant confirmation. (2) Students post requests for a specific time/subject: if you match, you are notified and can accept. First tutor to accept wins.
How many students will I start with?
It depends on visibility. Strong applications, complete profiles, and the Free First Session offer tend to grow fastest. We do not assign students to tutors against their preference.
Can I offer a free first session as an introduction?
Yes. We have a built-in Free First Session feature. Opt in on your profile and pick a length (30, 45, or 60 minutes). One-on-one, unpaid (your fit-finding investment), and each tutor-student pair can redeem it once. Families see a badge on your profile and can book it directly.
Can a session be extended if a student needs more time?
Yes. Students can request extensions in 15, 30, 45, or 60-minute increments, up to 60 minutes beyond the original length. Pricing is pro-rated and billed automatically to the family's saved card. The remaining time inside your posted availability window must be free for the extension to land.
What happens if a family cancels last-minute?
24h+ notice: full refund to the family. Under 24h, or no-show: the family is billed in full and you still get paid. If you need to cancel, give as much notice as possible; emergency cancellations under 24h should be flagged to admin immediately.
When does tutoring actually begin?
First paid sessions begin at the July 26, 2026 launch. CSEC and primary go live first; CAPE follows in August 2026. The platform is built and ready, so complete onboarding now and you will be ready for bookings from day one.
Sessions, Tools & Student Information
What information do I get about a student before the first session?
You see the student's diagnostic results by topic, per-topic mastery, current focus areas, the active study plan, notes from prior tutors in the same subject, assignment history with status and score, and any session goals the student has flagged ahead of time. We call this the Cross-Tutor Subject Record. It follows the student across tutors per subject for a 90-day rolling window since the last session.
What information about students stays private?
AI tutor chat transcripts, Writing Corner drafts and raw submission text, qualitative tutor feedback strings, data from other subjects, and other tutors' performance ratings are not shared in the Cross-Tutor Subject Record.
Do tutors usually work with the same students over time?
Yes. The platform is built for continuity. After the first session, families may rebook the same tutor week after week for the same subject. The session timeline carries the topics covered plus the next focus areas you flag, so you pick up where the last session ended. No caps on how long you can work with a student.
Do I need to provide my own materials?
No. Bridge Point provides built-in content mapped to the current CSEC syllabus: a question bank of thousands of authentic past-paper questions, study guides per subject covering every topic, and diagnostic and practice flows organised by CXC topic and sub-topic. 21 CSEC subjects today; CAPE launching in August. You can supplement with your own notes, examples, or analogies, but you do not need to design supplementary material yourself.
A student has foundational gaps below their current level. Can I go back to basics?
Yes. The content bank covers the full primary curriculum, so a Form 4 student who needs to revisit Standard 4 fractions can do that inside the same platform. Per-topic mastery decays over time, so older material is treated as legitimate work, not "off-syllabus," and the student earns XP for closing the gap.
How does Bridge Point measure student progress?
Per-topic mastery is tracked automatically using a Bayesian estimate combining diagnostic results, practice attempts, and assignment scores. It decays over time if a topic is not revisited. Students see a visual Mastery Map (a skill tree colour-coded by mastery), and you see the same view for each of your students plus a session timeline.
How do tutors get feedback on their teaching?
Three places: completed-session reviews from families (admin-moderated before publication), the per-session notes you write feed forward to the family and to subsequent tutors, and the earnings/sessions dashboard in your tutor portal shows your delivered hours and any pending issues.
Can I send the student resources or messages outside of sessions?
Through the platform, yes. You can assign homework, practice questions, and assignments, all logged. We are also building a scoped, monitored messaging inbox between tutors and the family or adult learner so async notes and links have a record. Off-platform contact (private WhatsApp, personal email, etc.) is not allowed, both for safeguarding and so the work is reviewable.
Is there a tutorial on how the platform features work together?
Yes. The Tutor Academy course (6 short modules completed after approval and before your first session) walks through the classroom tools and how they fit a session. Inside the platform there is a built-in Site Help chat (Julie) that answers day-to-day questions from a help library specific to tutors. Each subject toolbox also has its own quick-help inside the tools themselves.
Training, Support & Standards
Is there training before my first session?
Yes. You complete the Tutor Academy course after approval and before your first session: 6 modules, each a curated video plus a multiple-choice knowledge check (90% to pass, unlimited retakes). It covers tutoring practice, working with younger learners, safeguarding, and platform tool usage. Required before your first session, not a launch-day blocker, so you complete it on your own time.
Where do I find the next tutor info session?
Upcoming dates are listed inside the async questionnaire (Q8 shows them) and inside your tutor dashboard once you have applied. We run a short live walk-through of the platform every 1-2 weeks. If you cannot find a date, email operations@bridgepointscholars.com and we will send the next Google Meet link directly.
When do I get access to the classroom tools (AI Tutor, Writing Corner, SBA Helper, etc.)?
Tutor access to the classroom tools opens once your application is approved and you have started Tutor Academy. Before approval you will see the application status page and the Site Help chat; the full subject toolboxes appear after approval and are scoped to the subjects you have been approved to teach. During the application stage, the questionnaire prompt that asks you to pick three favourite features is asking about features as described in the Platform Features section of the homepage and the Tutor FAQ, not features you need to log into and try first.
How are tutors supported in the first few weeks?
Tutor Academy gives you the playbook before you start. The Cross-Tutor Subject Record means you never start a student from scratch, even if you are the first tutor they see. The Free First Session lets you do a low-pressure fit meeting. For anything that needs a human, email operations@bridgepointscholars.com.
Is there a tutor-to-tutor forum or peer chat?
Not at launch. Your support channels are: operations@bridgepointscholars.com for anything that needs a human, the Tutor Academy training modules, and the in-app Site Help (Julie) chat for day-to-day "how do I" questions. If you want something specific from a peer-sharing space later, write to operations and tell us what would help.
A student is being disruptive. What can I do?
Report it to admin through the platform. We investigate and intervene where appropriate. A behaviour report from you does not by itself affect your tutor rating; ratings are admin-moderated before publication, so unfair ones can be flagged and removed.
What quality do your strongest tutors share?
Patience plus diagnostic curiosity. The patience to let the student arrive at the next step instead of supplying it, and the curiosity to figure out why a particular explanation is not landing rather than just trying a different one. The strongest tutors treat "this isn't working" as data about the student's mental model, not as a signal to push harder.
I have a question this FAQ does not cover.
Email operations@bridgepointscholars.com. Include your application status and any screenshots if it is a platform issue. We aim to respond within one business day.
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