How Nimbus helped the StFX Student Union deliver a safer, more effective program

Nimbus began working with the St. FX Student Union in the Fall of 2019 to assist in streamlining their tutoring platform. Representatives of the Student Union say the system has made it much easier for the tutors to connect with their clients. Rather than having to track the various communication methods and messaging systems that clutter up modern life, both tutors and students knew exactly how to get in contact with each other through the app. The platform also allows the administrators of the program to set up specific sites approved for tutoring – increasing the safety for both students and tutors. Finally, since they are now able to track what subjects students are requesting, the tutoring program knows which subjects they need to recruit tutors for, better supporting their students.

Here, we spoke to a representative of the student union to see how Nimbus is fitting into their tutoring program.

When did the St. FX Student Union start using Nimbus?

We implemented the system in November.

What made you look for a platform like Nimbus?

We were struggling a lot with our past system for peer tutoring and a lot of tutors sounded very frustrated to us. It wasn’t really accurate. And so, when Nimbus came to us suggesting them as a peer tutoring app, we began to look into other options and ended up going with Nimbus because we thought they were the best option.

What sorts of barriers were you experiencing with your tutoring program before implementing Nimbus?

I couldn’t speak to all of the barriers, but from what I’ve understood from listening to students, the main barrier was the technology and getting in contact with their own tutor. Rather than the apps facilitating all of it, which it does now, they would have to ask and email each other and a lot of other barriers to entry. The vetting system was complicated, and the software in general was pretty dated.

What were you looking for in this sort of app?

[When] we started looking, we began to realize that what we were looking for is an app that facilitated everything: messaging, calendar invites, the whole ten yards.

Like a one stop shop – so students don’t have to navigate away from the app in order to get this sorted out?

Exactly. A lot of tutors, what I found, were using their Facebook messaging for some students, emails for other students. They would have trouble remembering where they were meeting up.

How did Nimbus help your tutoring program?

We’re still in the midst of really making it go, but so far the safety of [the program] because all of it’s in house and we get to pick the locations that tutors tutor at. The fact that we’re able to now monitor how many happen, where we need more tutors, or what subjects we need more tutors for and things – that’s really excellent. It organized it, to give you a short answer.

So, it helped you not just with scheduling but also to kind of streamline the entire program?

Yeah, absolutely.

Is there anything else that you’d like us to know about Nimbus or how you’re implementing it?

Everybody that I’ve worked with in Nimbus and in the implementation process have been incredible to work with. And the speed at which Ben and Will work at, also, how they’ve helped us in our marketing troubles and creating marketing materials and creating classroom announcements scripts has been superb. From a customer service perspective, they’ve been absolutely great to work with.