Tuition agency

A tuition agency is a commercial organisation which specialises in introducing tutors to students requiring help in the academic area. Tuition agencies exist largely due to the problems parents and students face in finding a specialist who can help them with the study of one or more specific subjects.

Introductory Agencies

Clients (usually parents) are sent a list of names of tutors who have pre-registered with the tuition agency and are then left to contact the names on the list to ascertain which tutors are available and then make their own contractual arrangements with the chosen tutors. At the same time, tutors are given the name and contact details of the client and are 'encouraged' to get their call in first.

The agency is remunerated by the tutor adding a fee to the amount they charge the client each lesson and then passing the agency fees back to the agency weekly or monthly as appropriate. The agency is legally obliged to state clearly its fee per lesson (or whatever other fee structure it operates to the client) in writing and at the commencement of lessons. Tutors who do this type of work are traditionally self-employed^{[citation needed]}. There are both full-time and part-time tutors. Part-time tutors usually consist of students who want to earn extra money while they are still schooling, such as undergraduates of universities.^{[citation needed]}

In Singapore, most of the tuition agencies charge tutors fifty per cent of their first month tuition fees as commission.^{[citation needed]}

Importance of Tuition Agencies

These are agencies which contract direct with the client to provide a service. The point of contact is between the client and the agency throughout the request and the agency is responsible for actually employing the tutor with all that employment entails.

From the agency's point of view, there is no longer any requirement to declare the fees charged by the agency (something which can cause friction with clients who do not appreciate the high cost of recruitment, vetting etc.) but they are now responsible for employee benefits due to the tutor.

The agency invoices the client either in arrears or in advance(usually half of the tutor's first month salary), the tutor will receive his salary in full for the rest of the months.

In Singapore, although tutor registration is generally free of charge, tutors will have to pay a percentage of his or her first month's tuition fee to the tuition agency as commission for referring to them students. Tutors will subsequently be paid the full month's tuition fees by their employers according to pre-arranged agreement. This varies from country to country.

Some agencies offer verification of their registered tutors' qualifications and credentials and in fact encourage their registered tutors to upload digital copies of their certificates and qualifications. In Singapore, it is customary for home tutors to verify their credentials.^{[citation needed]}