Um no not that. My workout partner who has about zero training experience is lifting the balls of his feet up while squating. I know he has other form problems to work on. But we will address them one at a time. Now, I know what to do when your heels come off the ground while squating. However what is the cause and what could help him out with this problem? Thanks. 
It could be a number of things. First I would encourage him to look up and try not to lean forward as much as possible, as this is the number one cause I have seen. Secondly I would suggest that you tell him to make sure his chest is out, which should be made easy if he is taking a nice deep breath before descending into his squat. Thirdly I would tell him to focus more on pushing off on the balls of his feet, maybe he should lighten the weight until his form is perfect.
Possible causes:
Not sitting back enough (could be weak hamstrings, could just be bad technique)
Tight achilles tendon/calves (stretch these see if it helps)
Usually it’s caused by someone who’s attempting to keep their hips, shoulders and feet in line rather than allowing their hips to move nice and far back. This may just be bad technique or it could be an issue with hamstring strenght.
The first thing I would try is get them box squatting, but rather than actually setting any weight on the box just have them touch and go, it often gives them the confidence to sit back more. After they’ve got that dialed remove the box and see if it’s fixed the problem.
STU
Well bad form is a huge part. Ever see a kangaroo try to squat mid epileptic seizure after smoking some crack?
Had him doing some unweighted box squats already.
Good suggestions guys. Thanks. I’ll give them a shot.
Even without the box, just the instruction to “sit back like there’s a chair waaaay behind you” may fix a lot of the problems. Try it with no bar first, then add the bar.
Dan
That was without a bar. Thanks guys.