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Booking & session scheduling

A complete guide to 1-on-1 session bookings on Tuition.in — tutors set weekly availability, students request slots, and both parties get real-time notifications throughout.

Students · Tutors10 min read

How bookings work

The booking system on Tuition.in is designed for 1-on-1 private sessions between a student and a tutor. It is separate from group live-course batches — those use the class calendar.

  1. The tutor publishes their weekly recurring availability (e.g. Mon 10:00–11:00).
  2. A student finds the tutor, picks an open slot, and submits a booking request.
  3. The tutor receives a real-time notification and either confirms or cancels the request.
  4. Once confirmed, the tutor adds a video meeting link (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.).
  5. Both parties can join directly from their dashboard 5 minutes before the session starts.

Setting your availability (tutors)

Before students can book you, you must publish at least one recurring time slot.

  1. Go to Dashboard → Availability (/dashboard/tutor/availability).
  2. In the Add Time Slot panel on the left, choose a day of week, start time, and end time. Slots are in 30-minute increments between 06:00 and 22:00.
  3. Click Add Slot. The slot immediately appears in the weekly grid on the right.
  4. Repeat for every day and time you are available.
  5. To remove a slot, click the button next to it in the grid.
Slots repeat weekly
Availability slots are recurring — they repeat every week automatically. A student can only request a slot that is in your published availability and has no existing pending or confirmed booking for that day/time.
No availability = no bookings
Students cannot book you if you have no published slots. Make sure your availability is up to date. You can add or remove slots at any time; existing confirmed bookings are not affected.

Requesting a session (students)

  1. Browse tutors at /tutors and open the tutor's profile page.
  2. In the Book a Session widget, select a date from the calendar. Only dates with open slots are selectable.
  3. Choose an available time slot from the dropdown (slots already booked are hidden).
  4. Optionally add a note to the tutor — e.g. which topic you want to cover.
  5. Click Request Session. The tutor is notified instantly.

After submitting, the booking appears in Dashboard → My Bookings with status Pending.

No payment at booking time
Session booking is currently a request-based flow — payment (if applicable) is handled separately. The booking system records the session; pricing is agreed between student and tutor.

Confirming & managing bookings (tutors)

Open Dashboard → Bookings to see all incoming requests and confirmed sessions.

  • Confirm — Accepts the request. The student is notified in real time. Status changes to Confirmed.
  • Cancel — Declines or cancels the session. The student is notified. Status changes to Cancelled.
  • Complete — Mark a past session as completed. Status becomes Completed.
  • No Show — Mark a student who did not attend. Status becomes No Show.
Real-time notifications
Every status change triggers a real-time notification to the other party via the bell icon. You don't need to refresh the page — updates arrive automatically.

After confirming a booking, add the video meeting URL so the student can join:

  1. In the bookings list, find the confirmed session and click the meeting link field.
  2. Paste your Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or any video URL.
  3. Save — the student sees the Join Now button appear on their bookings page.
Add the link before the session
The student cannot join without a meeting link. Add it at least a few minutes before the scheduled start time.

Joining a session

The Join Now button becomes active 5 minutes before the scheduled start time and remains active until the end time. Both the student and tutor can click it from their respective booking dashboards.

Booking statuses

StatusMeaningWho can set it
PendingRequest submitted, awaiting tutor responseSystem (on booking creation)
ConfirmedTutor accepted the sessionTutor
CancelledSession cancelled by either partyTutor or Student
CompletedSession took place successfullyTutor
No ShowStudent did not attend the confirmed sessionTutor

Cancellations

  • Either the tutor or the student can cancel a Pending or Confirmed booking.
  • The other party is notified immediately via in-platform notification.
  • A Cancelled booking cannot be reinstated — a new booking request must be submitted.
  • Tutors: cancelling a booking does not remove the recurring availability slot — future bookings for that time are still possible.

FAQ

Can a student book multiple sessions in one go?
No — each booking is a single session. Submit separate requests for each date/time.

Can I set a different rate per session?
Session pricing is currently outside the booking flow. Agree on the rate with the student separately (e.g. via the inbox).

What happens if I add a new availability slot while bookings are open?
New slots appear immediately for students to book. Existing bookings are not affected.

Can I see which slots are already taken?
Yes — the Bookings dashboard lists all pending/confirmed bookings with their dates and times.


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