Tutoring policies & privacy

Last updated September 2026. Questions: groundworkacademics@gmail.com

1. PAYMENT

Single sessions are paid before the session. Monthly plans (4 sessions) are paid before the first session of the plan.
We accept Interac e-Transfer to groundworkacademics@gmail.com (auto-deposit) and credit card by invoice.
A receipt is sent for every payment.
Prices for continuing students are guaranteed for the school year. Founding-family rates are locked until 30 June 2027.

More than 24 hours' notice: free reschedule, or credit toward a future session.
Less than 24 hours' notice: the session is charged. We allow one courtesy late cancellation per term for illness or emergencies.
Monthly-plan sessions should be used within 6 weeks of purchase. Unused sessions can be extended if you let us know.

Sessions end at the scheduled time so the next student isn't affected. If we're running late, we'll make up the time.
After 15 minutes without contact, the session is treated as a no-show.

If a tutor must cancel, you choose a free makeup session or a full refund for that session. We'll always give as much notice as possible.

Groups run with at least 3 registered students. If a group doesn't fill, you get a full refund or can switch to private sessions.
Missed group sessions aren't refunded, but session notes and practice sets are shared.
Bootcamps: full refund up to 7 days before the start date. After that, a credit toward other tutoring.

Unused prepaid sessions are refundable on request, less any discount received on sessions already used (sessions used are recalculated at the single-session rate).

Sessions run on Google Meet (link in the calendar invite). Please use a laptop or tablet with a camera and a quiet space, and have a pencil and paper ready.
If a technical problem on our side cuts a session short, we make up the time.

In-person sessions run Thursday–Sunday in Calgary, either at a public location we agree on in advance (café, community space; no extra charge) or at your home ($15 travel fee).
At your home: for students under 18, a parent or guardian must be home for the whole session, and we'll work in a common area such as the kitchen or dining table.
At a public location: we meet in an open, visible area. For students under 18, a parent or guardian confirms the location and arranges drop-off and pick-up. We don't use library meeting rooms for paid sessions.

We expect respect in both directions. We may end a session early and speak with a parent if behaviour makes tutoring impossible.

Parents of students under 18 get a short update after every session. We contact parents and students through the contact details on the intake form, and we don't use private messaging with a minor outside those channels.
For students 18 and older, we share updates with parents only with the student's permission.

We collect only what we need to tutor well (contact details, course information, notes on progress). It's stored in a password-protected Google account with 2-step verification, never sold, and shared only with the student's tutor. You can ask to see or delete your information at any time. Privacy contact: Winjoy Tiop, groundworkacademics@gmail.com.

We teach students how to do their work. We don't do it for them. We won't complete or write graded assignments, take-home tests, labs or online quizzes, and we won't help during any live or timed assessment. We're happy to review similar practice questions and explain concepts.

We'll work through homework concepts using similar examples, then the student completes the actual homework themselves.

Sessions aren't recorded by default. Recording (for example, for a student's own review) requires consent from the student and, for minors, a parent. Recordings are deleted after 30 days. Group bootcamp recordings, if made, show the tutor's screen only.

All tutors hold a current police information check with vulnerable sector search.
Online: parents are welcome to sit in, and the parent receives every calendar invite.
In person: at home, a parent or guardian must be present; in public, sessions happen in open, visible areas and a parent or guardian knows the location. We never transport students.
No social-media connections or private messaging between tutors and students under 18.
Any safety concern is reported to the parent, and to authorities where the law requires it.

Although our founders have medical training, we don't provide medical advice or health assessments as part of tutoring.

Booking a session means you agree to these policies. Questions: groundworkacademics@gmail.com.