Our values
Our mission
Our mission is to ensure every student has access to quality academic support.
We are proud to be a GIIRS impact rated enterprise, being held accountable for driving a strong social impact.
Our values
Our company is drastically different from other student support platforms and service providers in how we align incentives for all stakeholders involved: peer tutor, student learner, and university – allowing us to minimize costs and maximize impact.
“To teach is to learn twice” - Joseph Joubert
We focus on the dual benefit of tutoring and the power of peers. Research has proven that peer learning interactions serve as one of the most effective means of personal and professional development for all parties involved – not just for the student-learner but also for the peer who is leading the interaction.
By making peer support more impactful, accessible, engaging, and socially acceptable, we are activating learning communities that empower students to “pay it forward” by encouraging them to help one another before seeking external resources.
Core values
Accessibility
Whether it's helping enrich learning experiences or unlocking economic opportunities for students to advance themselves personally and professionally, technology can make a big difference when it's accessible to everyone. This begins with building a seamless and beautiful user experience across all platforms to meet every student where they are regardless of what they look like or where they come from.
Impact
The near-peer model is at the heart of our approach, with empathy and growth baked into the core – encouraging those who have “been there before” to lend a helping hand to those in need of learning assistance.
We do our very best to help every student, regardless of background, by providing access to the most relevant and impactful support possible. Whether it's connecting them with an on-campus peer that just took their class or facilitating an online interaction with a subject-matter expert, we ensure that no student is left unserved.
Safety & community
We are committed to fostering a safe and supportive community, centered on peer feedback and direct partnerships with universities and employers.
Today's educational ecosystems face an unprecedented set of challenges given the increased diversity of student populations and ever-evolving needs of the workforce. While the technology itself isn't the solution, when it's built right and combined with mutually beneficial partnerships, it has the potential to create a better, more equitable world in which everyone can learn and grow.
Our platform
Thousands of learning interactions have taken place through Knack's secure platform. Students who are seeking assistance can find and meet with verified campus peer tutors for in-person or online help. Knack Tutors are vetted and verified to have aced the exact courses they're offering assistance in. Sessions take place both one-on-one and in group settings, and facilitation of the interaction is handled entirely through our platform. Searching, matching, messaging, scheduling, tracking, and rating/reviewing – we handle the legwork so that our students can focus on the headwork.
For university partners
Knack allows postsecondary institutions to power and scale existing peer support programs and launch new initiatives.
Together, we activate and train qualified student leaders to serve as a proactive body of frontline campus support. These leadership experiences enable students to reflect on their work, make connections to future employment, and acquire 21st-century skills.
By focusing on growing peer support programming through a renewable “pay it forward” model that does not increase overhead and supplements existing initiatives, institutions are able to provide meaningful campus employment and service learning experiences for qualified students, while scaling support services for students in need.
When institutions partner with Knack, they unlock powerful learning data, drastically increase student engagement & development, lift retention/graduation rates, and drive the acquisition of career-ready credentials.
For Knack students
Research has proven that peer learning is significantly more effective for college students than professional tutoring, in both one-on-one and group settings. Knack takes it a step further by ensuring the highest level of relevancy when learning; our tutors are course-specific, having previously aced the exact course(s) they're offering help in. Knack Tutors are available at most hours of the day and sessions take place on-campus or online, making it super convenient to meet up and get help.
For Knack tutors
Knack provides the necessary tools and exposure for high-achieving students to launch, manage, and grow their personal business by helping their peers. Our goal is to help high-achieving students discover and deliver their “knack” for particular courses. Tutoring is by far one of the best jobs on campus and is rewarding in a multitude of ways. While earning money, helping peers in need, and having full autonomy over their work (as 1099 Independent Contractors), Knack Tutors are honing skills to better position themselves for post-graduate employment and educational opportunities.
Our guarantee
Below are our standards and procedures, which are designed to help keep our community safe, empower our users to hone their skills, and enable our tutors to offer services with more confidence and transparency.
Academic integrity
All Knack Tutors have agreed to their institution's honor code and uphold the highest standards of tutoring. No shortcuts here — all users vow to use the platform for legitimate learning. We are strong believers in the saying… “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Relevant & proficient tutors
We screen all Knack Tutors to ensure they're current students (or recent graduates) at the university where they are tutoring. We then ensure they've aced the exact course(s) they wish to tutor. This guarantees the highest level of relevance and proficiency. Currently, our tutors maintain an average satisfaction rating of 98%.
Community vetting
Students and tutors contribute detailed reviews that provide timely feedback on each session and aid the decision-making for future users. As an open marketplace, locations of interactions are mutually agreed upon between both parties. We suggest interactions take place on-campus and in public locations. Naturally, almost all sessions take place at campus libraries (common ground for students).
Immediate assistance & action
We work for you every step of the way. In the unusual event that a problem occurs, we are available to assist. Our Student Success team is on-call 24/7 to help via live chat in-app and online, and can also be reached via phone and/or text.
We hope to enable a physical community of students through our technology. Along this journey, we strive to listen closely to the feedback of our users. If we can do better, please let us know. Together, let's empower one another to be lifelong learners, sharing knowledge with and gaining insight from those around us.
Never stop learning,