Paying for tuition whilst at university

[queriesqueries]

A question for the academics/university administrators

What are opinions on paying for private tuition as an undergraduate student?

A relative has got in touch, who is studying first year medicine. He wanted to know if I knew someone or could help myself, with him in completing a first assignment (for reference, I work in a relevant area).

The family can be a bit difficult in general, so I tried to send a diplomatic reply. I said I can't help and don't know anyone who could, but there should be loads of support from library services/personal tutor/student groups. I did also include a list of general tips for academic searching and writing because I felt a bit mean.

But now I don't know if I should explicitly say do not pay for tuition? I've had a look online and it appears to be really unclear if this is academic misconduct or not. Obviously you cannot pay someone to write an assignment for you, but I'm not sure what the opinion is if you're paying for advice and feedback? I'm guessing private tutoring for an exam would be ok?

FWIW he's a good person, who has had real difficulties in life and got into medicine under an extenuating circumstances pathway. From how the family talk I get the impression they like to pay to get him extra support (e.g., tutors throughout school) but I think this may have contributed to a bit of dependence.

To add, English is not his first language, so is an extra area he needs support with, and the family experience of higher education is all within their home country where their may be different attitudes to this kind of thing, which is why I want to make sure I give him good advice.

There are sites like www.mytutor.co.uk where you can find tutors including university level.
My dd found an A-level tutor through this site and the tutor was at medical school at the time.

he should be speaking to his tutors first, and accessing support at the university/ in his department. I’d be nervous if he is needing private tuition for his first assignment - it’s a long road ahead for a medical student. It could be considered academic misconduct if he passes another’s work as his own

My niece was brought up abroad, so technically English is her second language. Whilst she's obviously fantastic speaking English, writing it down is more challenging, especially with regards to her grammar. She's very academic and submits papers to journals etc now, but she has a company who read through it on her behalf and check it's all grammatically correct etc before submitting it, but they also have of knowledge in her chosen area (neuroscience, of all things!) so they will point out if she's written something completely inaccurate with the turn of phrase she's used etc. I found for her the company she used and they're classed as an 'academic proofreading' service - it's quite a common thing apparently.
She also used this same company when submitting her dissertation and also for her PHD thesis too. She was at a top university, but her tutor there wasn't much use in all honesty.
It is quite an expensive service if you're going to use it regularly, but they work with a lot of students from overseas and fill in where often the universities seem to be falling short these days.
I hope this helps a bit! I'd describe it as 'arms length support' and more guidance than actually doing the work for them/with them, but it isn't uncommon.

Paying for tutoring help has become very normal for those who can afford it, including at university and beyond. I'm a tutor and it's not at all uncommon for university students or even graduate professionals to want a few sessions when preparing for a project, exam or assignment. Most proper professional private tutors are going to advise on planning, structuring, content and editing rather than doing the work for them - although I know there are plenty of people who make their money that way too.

It sounds like what he needs is study skills or some input on English for academic purposes, rather than on his subject. He should be able to ask for help where he's struggling with the subject matter from the institution he's studying with. He has a lot of exams to get through and needs to be able to do this on his own.