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Rules, penalties & ranking
What counts as a fault, how penalties work (lower search ranking, profile suspension), and how levels and badges lift your profile to the top of search.
⏱ 5 min read🗓 Updated 22/10/2026
Learners pay upfront and set aside time to study — so Zasu scores tutor reliability very strictly. This guide sums up every penalty currently in force.
What counts as a fault
| Situation | 1-on-1 lesson | Group class |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelling a lesson 8+ hours ahead | 1 fault | 0.5 fault |
| Cancelling / not teaching with less than 8 hours to go | Cannot cancel — you can only propose a new time; “Confirm I cannot teach this lesson” = 1 fault | 1 faults |
| Tutor no-show (only the learner attended) | 1 fault | 1.5 faults |
| Both sides absent | 1 fault | — |
| Time off / class pause declared ≥ 8 hours ahead | Already-booked 1-on-1 lessons must be handled yourself | 0 faults |
| Public holiday, cancelled by Zasu, class below minimum size | — | 0 faults |
| Rescheduling with ≥ 8 hours to go / learner agrees to move | 0 faults | — |
How penalties work
| Penalty | Rule |
|---|---|
| Review window | Last 30 days, 1-on-1 and group-class faults combined |
| Lower search ranking | −8% ranking score per fault, up to −40% — applied immediately |
| Disputes that end in a refund | −5% ranking score each within 90 days, up to −25% |
| Warning | Each time you cancel you get “⚠️ You just cancelled a lesson — This is cancellation or no-show number n in 30 days…” |
| Automatic profile suspension | From 5 faults in 30 days, or a fault rate of 20% or more once you have at least 10 completed paid lessons |
Off-platform dealings
- Do not exchange phone numbers, email, Zalo, Facebook… with learners, and do not accept payment directly. Chat, the whiteboard and lesson reports automatically block contact details.
- Teaching a learner you found through Zasu outside Zasu violates the Terms and can get your account locked. Off-platform lessons are not protected by Zasu if a dispute arises.
Levels, badges & search ranking
The order on the homepage and the Find tutors page follows the ranking score = (quality score + level score + badge score) × (1 − % penalty). The Tutor and Expert sides are ranked separately; scores are recalculated every morning at 9:00 and immediately when your level changes, your identity is verified or you cancel a lesson.
- Quality score (up to 100): star rating × 12 — confidence-weighted, with no reviews counted as 4.5★ and reviews from the last 90 days weighted double; lessons completed in the last 12 months (up to 30); share of learner messages answered within 24 hours (up to 10).
- Calendar not open (no bookable slot in the next 14 days): your profile is ranked at the bottom of the list — open your calendar and it moves back up right away.
- Ties are broken by: more reviews → more lessons in the last 30 days → daily rotation. The homepage reserves 2 spots for 🌱 New profiles with an open calendar.
| Level (Zasu assesses verified documents) | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 📚 Tutor — basic profile approved | 0 |
| 🎓 Professional tutor — teaching / professional degree verified | +7 points |
| 💎 Premium tutor — a verified achievement that meets the criteria (section 1.7) and verified identity — upgraded automatically | +15 points |
| ✔ ID verified — Zasu checks your ID document (section 1.8) | +3 points |
| Badge (calculated every morning) | Requirements | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Top tutor | ≥ 50 lessons · ≥ 4.8★ · response rate ≥ 90% · cancellations < 3% · active on ≥ 60 of the last 90 days | +12 points |
| ❤️ Student favorite | ≥ 10 reviews · ≥ 4.9★ · completion ≥ 95% · trial-to-regular conversion ≥ 50% | +8 points |
| 🔥 Popular | ≥ 5 lessons booked in 30 days | +3 points |
| ⚡ Quick responder | Message reply rate ≥ 95% | +2 points |
| 🌱 New | Profile less than 30 days old with fewer than 5 lessons | +2 points |
Related guides
Cancelling, rescheduling & learner no-showsReschedule or cancel when 8 hours or more remain, propose a new time when it's close to the lesson, report a learner no-show — and how each case affects you.Manage group classes & teach group sessionsTrack learners, cancel a session, pause or close a class, set and review homework per session, and enter the group classroom.
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