Professional Ethics Scenarios

1. During a tutoring session, S begins badmouthing the professor. In some ways, you agree with S.

2. One of your current professors in teaching a freshman-level class. This professor knows you are tutoring S, a student in that class, and confidentially lets you know that S has no chance to pass.

3. You and S have been working together for over an hour, and the center is about to close. S asks if the two of you could go to the library and work a while longer.

4. You and S met several times earlier in the semester. Then out of nowhere you get an email begging to meet on Sunday evening before S takes a test on Monday.

5. You’ve met with S1 and S2 several times during the first seven weeks of class. Now they confess that they’ve stopped going to class because “you explain it better.”

6. S talks a lot about how the professor teaches and interacts in the class. It sounds clear that the professor’s accent and ability to communicate in English are causing S’s problems.

7. S is a lot of fun to work with and you have several interests in common. The more time you spend with S, the more you realize that you are probably perfect for each other.

8. You are willing to tutor small groups of students, so you have scheduled to work with S1 and S2 every Monday and Thursday. They are roommates and friends, but S2 understands the material much better than S1 and is starting to do a lot of S1’s work.

9. S asked a lot of good questions during the session this morning. But now, looking back you think you may have given S some misleading information.

10. Working with S all semester has been a pleasure, and now you’re meeting for the last time. You’re surprised when S hands you a gift.