- Report: #420823
Complaint Review: Educate Online - Sylvan Learning - Catapult Learning - Baltimore Maryland
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Educate Online - Sylvan Learning - Catapult Learning
506 S. Central Ave Baltimore, 21202 Maryland, U.S.A.
Phone:
866-619-3382
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Educate Online - Sylvan Learning - Catapult Learning Unfair business practices, unfair compensation practices Baltimore Maryland
I applied for this job and was hired in September, yet I was not put on the schedule for three months. I was provided with a contract stating that I would be compensated for any session that was cancelled within an hour of the scheduled time. I have been cancelled many times within that time frame yet I have not been paid for the inconvenience. I am required to login and create a message screen on the hour (and it takes at least 10 minutes to get into the session), and then I have to write learning outcome statements on each student in the session. There can be up to three students in a session and it takes about 5 minutes per student to write the outcome statements. We are only compensated for 65 minutes per session, even though it is a minimum of 75 minutes per worked session.
Often the icons don't come up for the sessions so that the teachers can log in. If the icon doesn't come up, you can't work, yet you are expected to call tech support on your personal time and try to have them get you into the session. Often, teachers receive cancellation notices and then the icon pops up for the session anyway. If you don't then work the session, you get written up. If you are even one minute late to log into a session, the system sends you a laid notice, and you are expected to disregard it. Then- you sometimes get a write up from a real person as an attachment. If you get one, there is no conversation, even via email, in which you are able to state your side of any issue, and there is no way to combat false information that can be written on the document.
If there is a tech issue and you are knocked off the session or can't hear, you are expected to log out and call tech support. Sometimes this can take well over the hour session. You don't get paid for any of this time, even if the tech issue is Sylvan's issue.
There are audio or tech issues in almost half of my sessions, and the students' parents often think that the teacher is causing them. These issues often cause students to be knocked off the session, not hear, the lessons don't load, the alignment is wrong so the students see something different than the teachers, or a lot of time is wasted while lessons load.
Jane
Canon City, Colorado
U.S.A.
Often the icons don't come up for the sessions so that the teachers can log in. If the icon doesn't come up, you can't work, yet you are expected to call tech support on your personal time and try to have them get you into the session. Often, teachers receive cancellation notices and then the icon pops up for the session anyway. If you don't then work the session, you get written up. If you are even one minute late to log into a session, the system sends you a laid notice, and you are expected to disregard it. Then- you sometimes get a write up from a real person as an attachment. If you get one, there is no conversation, even via email, in which you are able to state your side of any issue, and there is no way to combat false information that can be written on the document.
If there is a tech issue and you are knocked off the session or can't hear, you are expected to log out and call tech support. Sometimes this can take well over the hour session. You don't get paid for any of this time, even if the tech issue is Sylvan's issue.
There are audio or tech issues in almost half of my sessions, and the students' parents often think that the teacher is causing them. These issues often cause students to be knocked off the session, not hear, the lessons don't load, the alignment is wrong so the students see something different than the teachers, or a lot of time is wasted while lessons load.
Jane
Canon City, Colorado
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Educate Online Management Team
Baltimore,Maryland,
Educate Online in 2013
#2UPDATE Employee ..inside information
Sat, December 07, 2013
Hi Jane,
We have recently come across your review regarding your negative experience with Sylvan/Catapult several years ago. We appreciate your honest feedback about your part time work at our company and would like to share with you that we have a new administration in place and have addressed the issues you mention.
Since 2009, we have adjusted our scheduling and compensation structure. All part time faculty are now hired as per diem/seasonal at-will employees (no contracts). We now pay per session and not per hour, to fairly account for all the elements of a session - prep, lesson time, and learning outcome statements.
As a growing education technology company, we have relentlessly worked to improve our online learning environment including the technical issues during our sessions. Our ongoing goal is to always deliver the highest session quality to our hard-working teachers and students in an atmosphere conducive to improved academic performance. Unfortunately, technical disruptions occasionally arise during our sessions due to bandwidth issues. We sincerely apologize for the distress these issues had caused you.
We have been under new management since 2012 and are continuously working towards updating our technology. Should you work for our company presently or in the future, we are confident that you will encounter a vastly different experience. Please do not hesitate to contact us in either case.
Sincerely,
The Educate Online Managment Team
