In June 2023, Outschool announced a new product enhancement to make 1-on-1 learning better for families and educators. After a successful rollout test with a beta group of 10% of Outschool educators, our product team successfully rolled out the new 1-on-1 format to all individual educators and families in August 2023.
Please note that the following information is specific to 1-on-1 classes and individual educators only. Group and Flex classes are not affected by this change. Changes to 1-on-1 tutoring for organizations will begin rolling out in September 2023.
In this article, we’re addressing your questions and expanding on how we can work together to make the greatest positive impact on the Outschool community. Let’s start with the new format and break down additional FAQs you may have.
Why did Outschool make the change?
The goal behind the new 1-on-1 format was to address the most common concerns heard by parents and educators regarding 1-on-1 classes. Outschool classes were originally designed for group meetings and not for 1-on-1.
Over the years, educators have hacked the group class format to make it work for 1-on-1. While this may have worked for some in the short term, we wanted to make 1-on-1 classes more streamlined and easier for everyone.
The new class format is a result of many hours of user and industry research. At Outschool, we are confident that the changes will not only accelerate our tutoring categories, one of our fastest-growing areas of the marketplace but also increase discoverability for families while making classroom scheduling and management easier for educators.
Benefits to the 1-on-1 changes for educators
When addressing the most common concerns, Outschool looked at the following areas as opportunities that would have the most significant impact:
- Offer multiple classes at once without canceling others when a learner registers for your 1-on-1 class since it removes your availability from the calendar.
- Spend your time efficiently by reducing the time spent communicating with families about schedule changes.
- Enable greater flexibility when families enroll, making tutoring more approachable to new families.
The availability calendar
The availability calendar allows you to set the times when you are available. Sharing a broad range of available times lets families pick a time convenient for them within your schedule.
Parents will see and book the times that you shared in the calendar. However, parents won’t be able to see or book times that conflict with existing meeting times created for your other classes.
Now, you can add as much availability as possible to increase your chance of bookings without worrying about remembering to go back in and make changes so as to avoid double-booking.
Scheduling
On the Availability page, scroll down to the calendar and pick the day or month you would like to make yourself available for bookings.
Once the pop-up appears, you will see two options for your availability. You can choose to create a one-time availability block (“Edit Date”) or a block that recurs weekly (e.g. “Edit all Mondays”).
To specify recurring availability, you can select “Edit all [day of the week],” which lets you set your recurring availability for the selected day of the week, starting with the current week. Please note that you cannot set a recurring schedule that starts on a date beyond next week.
To override your recurring hours, pick one or more days (to select multiple days, click and drag across dates) and choose the “Edit Date” option.
If you want to create a private meeting time for a specific learner, you can do so by scrolling to the bottom of the Availability page and clicking the Create a Private Meeting Time button.
Private listings are currently only one-time links. Outschool is creating a way to allow private links to be recurring meeting links. (Additional details will be provided as changes roll out.)
If you would like to send a private meeting that meets more than once, you will want to take the following steps:
- Send the family a private link. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of the Availability page and clicking “Create a Private Meeting Time.”
- Once the learner enrolls in the class and you’ve communicated with the family that this class will meet more than the scheduled one time, you can go to “Add More Meetings” where you can add recurring meetings.
How parents can book with you
Once you create a new class or migrate an existing class using the 1-on-1 format, it will be live on Outschool and visible to all parents. Parents may begin enrolling using new availability tools to create their preferred class schedules immediately!
Depending on how you set up your availability, parents can now register their learners to meet with you 1-on-1 based on when you have the time. Parents will have an option to enroll one time or on a recurring basis (default option). However, the recurring option will only be available if you have recurring availability in the calendar. We anticipate that this update will help to eliminate back-and-forth dialogue about scheduling and make it easier for parents to book while they are searching.
How to reschedule a 1-on-1 meeting
You can reschedule a meeting by going to the learner page within the class and selecting the date you want to reschedule or cancel. When you reschedule the meeting the new meeting time is sent to parents for approval/acceptance. The family has three days to accept the meeting before that time is released from the educator’s calendar.
Also, parents can directly reschedule meetings similarly, and those do not require educator approval. Educators will receive an email alerting them of a schedule change. Parents can only reschedule to a time that the educator has open/available in their calendar.
1-on-1 cancellations and refunds
At Outschool, our happiness guarantee is important in keeping families happy and returning for more classes, but this should not be a loss to educators. Continue reading to find out more about the types of scenarios you may run into and how to handle each one:
Scenario 1: A family canceled in less than 24 hours. You canceled the class, but it automatically refunded the family.
If a parent asks to cancel a class within 24 hours of the start, suggest that they reschedule for another time during the week. If a cancellation is required, the parent should cancel the class on their end. Please consider and understand Outschool’s class-specific refund policies and how they will affect you when canceling within the 24-hour window.
Scenario 2: A family enrolls and then decides they no longer want to continue and asks for a refund.
Families can cancel and reschedule future meeting dates from the list of upcoming meetings. According to our guidelines for 1-on-1 Classes for Parents:
- Families can reschedule if they’re eligible for a full refund (up to 48 hours before the meeting).
- When canceling, families will see the refund eligibility and can choose to cancel one meeting or all future meetings in the recurring schedule.
- Families will continue to have access to the classroom even after canceling all future meetings.
Scenario 3: You are used to using a different refund policy and would like to change it for your listings.
For 1-on-1 classes, families may receive a full refund until 48 hours before each class or within 24 hours of purchase for the initial class purchase only. Please see this article for more information: Class-specific refund policies.
Are workarounds worth it?
We suggest not creating workarounds for 1-on-1 classes for several reasons.
Although creating a group class with two learners will stop your class from being limited by the new 1-on-1 standards, doing so may impact your search visibility. You may also run into an issue of 2 students registering for the same class before having the chance to make the course private.
Be aware that creating a workaround limits the platform features built to help you succeed. For example, with the new scheduling system, once a class time is booked, the time will be unavailable for others. Without this system in place, you risk double-booking a time and getting flagged when you have to cancel one of them.
FAQ
We’ve heard your questions and are working hard to address your concerns.
Q. How do educators get paid with the new 1-on-1 format?
A. The new format payout is similar to ongoing classes. Payments can take up to 14 days and paid out on Sunday. For example, if you teach on a Monday, the payout is sent on the Sunday following the week after your class.
Q. How does the new format affect charter and ESA enrollments?
A. Existing enrollments will not be affected. We’re working on adding support for the new format soon and hope to have it out this fall.
Q. How can I offer different pricing for families?
A. Right now, there isn’t an option to have a different price for different enrollments. Educators who want multiple pricing options should create separate listings, one for each price point and length.
Q. How does the scheduling work?
A. Parents can book in 15-minute increments. You can also specify the needed buffer time before each class. If you have a 45-minute class with a 15-minute buffer, that would set an entire hour. If they have a 40-minute class, 5 min buffer, that would set 45 minutes. We have heard your feedback regarding the shortcomings of the 15-minute increment limitation and will provide more options in the coming weeks.
Q. When will migration happen with organizations?
A. The initial release of the new 1-on-1 format is only available to independent educators. We’re working diligently to finalize this update for organizations, and we expect that update to start rolling out in September. We will communicate the exact timelines in the upcoming weeks.
Q. Why can’t educators create a 1-on 1 class that meets multiple times a week?
A. You can! As an educator, you get to decide how many times you recommend the 1-on-1 when you set up the class. Parents will see the number of meetings per week they are enrolling in during checkout. If you would like to work with a learner for a specific amount of time, we suggest you communicate the terms with the family before they register and agree on the meeting amounts. Please note that parents will see a Q&A with additional details on the class page and during checkout. It’s not enforced, so parents will book as they see fit. You are encouraged to keep an open dialogue with new families and set expectations around class scheduling.
Q. What happens if I use a workaround to avoid the migration?
A. As stated above, it is strongly recommended that educators do not use workarounds as that might impact the search visibility of classes, among other potential issues.
Q. What is the guidance for existing enrollments?
A. There is no action needed at this time. Existing enrollments will be migrated as-is.
Q. How does a family book a section?
A. With the new format, there are no more sections. Parents can find the time that works for them and choose if they would like to meet once or on a recurring basis.
Q. If I have a 1-on-1 class set up to meet 2 times per week. What happens if a parent only wants to meet once?
A. Use this opportunity to communicate with families and let them know why your curriculum or lessons require multiple weekly meetings. Parents may not know what the advantages are for meeting more than once, so take this time to highlight your expertise and outcomes teaching this way. If that doesn’t work, you can create a separate listing for a one-time or once-a-week meeting to share with the family.
Q. How do I know a family has booked a time on my calendar?
A. The class appears on your schedule once a parent books a time. If a 1-on-1 class has no public availability, we show it under the “By Request” tab.
Q. Why isn’t my class showing up on my schedule?
A. Since there are no sections for your 1-on-1 listings, classes will not show up on your schedule until a family has enrolled. With the new format, you set specific times when you are available, which families are able to choose from. For example, if you set your calendar so that you are available on Tuesdays from 1 – 5 p.m., your calendar will stay blank until a family chooses a time within that time frame. If a family books a meeting from 2 – 3 p.m., it will appear as a 2 – 3 p.m. session on your schedule.
Q. How do parents approve additional classes to the current schedule in the new 1-on-1 system?
A. Parents can accept via email link, or if they log into Outschool, they can go to the class meeting tab. From there, the parents will see the suggested times there and be able to accept or decline. We’re currently working on sharing the changes with the parents so that they understand the changes as well.
Q. Why can’t I schedule in 5-minute or 10-minute increments?
A. We’re hoping to add this to the platform in September. We will keep you updated.
Q. The family and I mutually canceled a class but now need to add it back in. I’m unable to add it because it meets at 10 after the hour. What do I do?
A. We hear your feedback and understand the inconvenience. Support for this concern is coming soon. For now, parents can reschedule using the 15-minute increments.
We’d love to have your input! For additional questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to migrationsupport@outschool.com.
