italki expects that teachers will responsibly attend lessons at the scheduled time. Students appreciate teachers who can help them maintain a reliable and consistent study schedule.
Teachers can control their availability by editing:
- The availability calendar
- Their availability status
Teachers (or students) who cannot attend a lesson should take responsibility to communicate as soon as possible ahead of time to reschedule or come to some agreement with the student.
Missed Attendance
Though it is unusual, if a teacher did not attend a scheduled lesson and didn't give prior notice, then the student can
- report a problem with the lesson,
- state the reason as "The teacher didn't attend and didn't give prior notice",
- and ask to reschedule, refund, or transfer the credits according to these instructions: My teacher did not show up for / missed our scheduled lesson, what do I do?
Missed attendance will negatively affect "Attendance Rate", which can be viewed on the teacher profile.
We understand that teachers are online professionals who honor their time commitments, but that sometimes unexpected problems or miscommunication can happen.
So, we have created the following policies to manage missed attendance.
These policies apply when a lesson problem is reported as "The teacher did not attend the lesson".
They do not apply to lessons canceled in advance, lessons where a different problem reason was reported, etc.
italki Teacher Attendance Policy
Missed Attendance Report: Within one day (according to UTC time), the teacher did not attend at least one scheduled lesson. A teacher starts off with 0 missed attendance reports.
Examples:
- In 1 day (UTC time), a teacher did not attend 1 scheduled lesson (1 report )
- In 1 day (UTC time), a teacher did not attend five scheduled lessons (1 report)
- In 1 day (UTC time), a teacher did not attend 1 scheduled lesson, and then the next day (UTC time), the teacher did not attend 5 scheduled lessons (2 reports)
For each report, italki will send a message to the teacher. If the reports continue or if the teacher does not respond, then the teacher's profile will be disabled until we can verify that the teacher is able to manage their profile and attend scheduled lessons (see reminder and warning notices below).
What if there is a mistake or emergency?
Teachers who believe they received a report or warning in error or disagree with the report should contact italki support at teacherhelp@italki.com to explain the situation, explain that they will be able to reliably attend future lessons, and request for the report to be removed.
Example: If a teacher has received a warning after the 2nd report but gives an acceptable reason why they were unable to attend the lessons and explains that they will be able to consistently attend future lessons, then italki staff can restore the teacher's profile, remove the warning, and remove the 2nd report from the teacher's record.
After 30 days of perfect attendance (100% attendance rate), a teacher's "reports" will be cleared back to 0.
Example:
A teacher has received a 3rd report, but then organizes their schedule to attend 100% of lessons for 30 days. This teacher's reports are cleared back to 0, and any future expired lesson reports will begin again with the 1st report (a reminder).
1st report: Reminder
- italki sends a reminder email and message notice to the teacher.
- Teacher profile will be temporarily hidden from the "Find a Teacher List" until the teacher responds to the notice (current students and upcoming lessons will not be affected).
- To appeal the report: If the teacher believes this report is in error, then they should write to italki support with an acceptable reason, relevant proof and explain that they will be able to continue attending lessons. italki support can restore the teacher's profile and remove the report at their discretion.
- Otherwise, the teacher can acknowledge the missed attendance and indicate that they are prepared to continue attending scheduled lessons by clicking the link in the email. This will prove the teacher is active and also restore the teacher profile to the "Find a Teacher List."
If there is something preventing the teacher from attending lessons, it is important for us to know about it and see what we can do to help.
2nd report: First Warning
- italki sends a first warning email and message notice to the teacher.
- Teacher profile will be hidden from "Find a Teacher List". Teacher profile availability status is set to "Not Looking for New Students" (current students and upcoming lessons are not affected).
- To appeal the report: If the teacher believes this report is in error, then they should write to italki support with an acceptable reason, relevant proof and explain that they will be able to continue attending lessons. italki support can restore the teacher's profile and remove the report at their discretion.
- Otherwise, the teacher's profile will remain hidden for 7 days, after which the teacher can reset their own status to "Looking for New Students" again if they wish and are able to continue attending lessons.
3rd report: Final Warning
- italki sends a final warning email and message notice to the teacher.
- Teacher profile will be hidden from "Find a Teacher List"
- Students will NOT be able to request lessons from the teacher's profile for 30 days (upcoming lessons will not be affected).
- Teacher Wallet will be frozen for 30 days.
- italki staff may cancel upcoming lessons later on if the teacher's account appears inactive and the teacher does not respond to messages.
- To appeal the report: If the teacher believes this report is in error, then they should write to italki support with an acceptable reason, relevant proof and explain that they will be able to continue attending lessons. italki support can restore the teacher's profile and remove the report at their discretion.
4th report: Teacher Profile Deactivation
- Teacher Profile is deactivated (profile information is still saved in italki)
- Teacher Wallet is frozen
- Upcoming lessons are canceled and refunded to students
- italki sends an email and message notice to the teacher.
- To appeal the report: If the teacher believes this report is in error, then they should write to italki support with an acceptable reason and explain that they will be able to continue attending lessons. italki support can restore the teacher's profile and remove the report at their discretion. However, canceled lessons cannot be restored. Students will need to request them again.
- To recover information or access Teacher Wallet: If the teacher is not able to continue teaching, but needs information or Teacher Wallet access, the teacher should contact italki support to explain the situation and request information or payment. italki support will handle each situation on a case-by-case basis.
How can I avoid getting a missed attendance report?
Go to all your lessons!
In order to make sure that students are only booking times when you are able to attend lessons, make sure to keep your availability updated.
You can manage and update your availability with your:
- Availability calendar
- Availability status
If you know you will be "away" and not able to accept new lessons, you can also:
- Set your Lessons as "unavailable"
If you think you may need to reschedule a lesson, be sure to discuss it with the student as soon as possible and reschedule the lesson or reach your own agreement. Please avoid doing this unless it is really necessary, since students will expect their teacher to be available at the scheduled lesson time.
Consistent lessons set a good example for students. After all, consistency and "showing up" reliably are some of the most important things for language learning.
We have these policies in hopes of making it easier for students and teachers to know what to expect on italki. Let us know if you have any concerns about this. It’s important for us to understand how we can prevent lessons from expiring, improve communication, and provide a good experience for italki students and teachers.
If you receive a report that you disagree with, be sure to contact our support team at teacherhelp@italki.com
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