Microsoft Student Plus Tutor.com Equals Greater Opportunity for Academic Success

Microsoft Education chooses Tutor.com as its provider of on-demand tutoring.

REDMOND, Wash., and NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. and Tutor.com today announced a strategic alliance that will provide on-demand tutoring to students who purchase Microsoft® Student with Encarta® Premium 2008, the recently launched homework productivity suite of software designed to help students complete assignments and excel in difficult subjects such as math, science and foreign languages.

Customers who purchase Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008 at popular retailers or online will receive 75 minutes of free live online, one-to-one tutoring from Tutor.com — approximately equivalent to four on-demand tutoring sessions with a professional tutor.

“We believe Tutor.com provides an excellent complementary educational resource to Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008,” said Dave Brooks, product manager for the Microsoft Education Products Group at Microsoft. “Sometimes students require help that only a live, on-demand expert is capable of providing, and this alliance will give students an increased opportunity for academic success overall.”

Traditional in-person tutoring services as well as online tutoring companies often require families to schedule appointments in advance with the same tutor at the same time each week. Students who use Tutor.com services are empowered to get help on demand from a network of more than 1,300 professional tutors located across the U.S. and Canada as well as bilingual tutors from Latin America.

Access to a live professional tutor “right now” is a powerful tool when combined with the rich multimedia content of Encarta Premium and the homework tools, templates and tutorials found in Microsoft Student 2008.

“We are pleased to announce Microsoft Corp. as one of the first among many alliances we’re forming with like-minded education companies that are providing students with the help they need to succeed in school,” said George Cigale, the founder and CEO of Tutor.com. “Through sales of educational products such as Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008 and other similar programs, Tutor.com expects to give away a million dollars of on-demand tutoring this fall to ensure that students can experience the power of having a professional tutor available the minute they need help.”