Contracts with students/parents

[joyfulmusic]

last year's school season, between snow and sickness and trips to disneyworld, slashed the hell out of my income.  So I'm going to have a firmer contract this year.  I was wondering what most of you do.  I have been paid at the beginning of the month for the month.  However, I have let people deduct in the following month if they missed a lesson.  This used to work and create positive relationship for my business.  But last year I paid the price.  How many of you have tried semester payment, for instance, and giving a discount of say 10% for that?  I as thinking of allowing for two cancellations per semester and after that you cancel you lose.  What do you do?  Also the number of people cancelling in the summer went up too.  Am feeling like a sailing ship without a wind.

[m19834]

Not only do I not give discounts for missed lessons, I also do not generally do "makeup" lessons -- why ?  Because for one, attendance is generally a lot more consistent this way and that consistency is better for the student.  Also, if you give "them" an inch, they will certainly take you for all you've got !  What I have done is allow them to swap lessons with each other, and they are the ones who arrange the swap.  That has worked okay, but there are still problems with that, too.  I do know that no matter what your policies are, there will be people who don't end up bothering to take them seriously or who are specifically looking to go against them.  The only way that does not happen is if you accept a particular "type" of student.

Along the lines of what I just said, if parents are under the impression that they are paying for something "extra" or rather, "un-needed" in their child's life, they will never feel the responsibility to stick by an agreement with you.  People who think of piano lessons in this way are the ones who do not take learning the craft seriously and as essential to their lives.  Now, I am not trying to say that everybody in the world should see piano lessons as essential to their lives (that is a different subject), but when it comes to my studio and to my own income, that is most definitely the student I would like to invest my time and energy into.  And, I will admit, with those students, I feel more willing to reschedule a lesson here or there should something have come up that prevented them from coming to a lesson, because I know that they actually don't want to miss lessons and generally make them a priority in their life !

[joyfulmusic]

Thanks Karli  I needed that.

Carol

[musicrebel4u]

                
                               Piano Studio of....
            Enrollment Application                              
2100 - 2101

Name _________________________________Birth Date___________ Age_____

Public (Private) School______________________________ Grade_______

Address_______________________________________________________

Phone#-s_(cell) ______________________________________________
                                 
E-mail Address (please, print)_____________________________________

There is an annual registration fee for each child of $500 (non-refundable).

_____________________1. Private Lessons      (30 minutes a week)
$1000.00
_____________2 Private Lessons      (45 minutes a week)
$1500.00
_____________3. Private Lessons          (60 minutes a week)
$2000.00    
                

            The lessons scheduled 6 days a week.

Payment for music lessons is to be paid on the last lesson of the month for the month ahead

If you do not show up for your scheduled lesson,  you lose the lesson/money paid and there is no makeups

To reschedule a lesson, please, call 555-555-555  24 hrs in advance

Date_________                    Signature ________________

Date and time of your preference_______________________________

[joyfulmusic]

thanks.  You remind to just have business in mind when drawing it up.  Seems I've been a bit too nice to my own detriment.  For three years running I've had a waiting list.

[keypeg]

Perhaps I am an exception.  Contracts and rules do not engender respect, or cause me to value something.  I value it because I value it.  Punishment of lost lessons, or even being dropped, to not create respect.  They create fear and nervosity.   Respect, for those capable of respecting, comes when a teacher is competent and diligent.  Some people do not care for what they are learning, and they will not have respect for what should be respected regardless of a teacher's behaviour or abilities.  They will be the ones that must be induced to pay and to attend: but that is obedience and compliance, not cherishing or respecting.

Poverty exists, and people who are dedicated and burning to learn exist.  You want to bet that if they can get a hold of an instrument and enter your studio, if you are a good teacher, they will respect you, your teaching, and cherish what is offered.  Your price and your stringent rules will have nothing to do with it ---  except maybe scare and intimidate them.

I know of a person who skipped meals in order to be able to afford lessons.  Then she could not anymore, and in private correspondence I witnessed her anguish - hours of daily practicing, trying not to lose her skills, afraid of trying a cheaper teacher who would probably ruin her.  And I mean anguish.

I also heard from a teacher friend who somehow found out that her student was skipping meals, after the student almost fainted on her - a well prepared student who progressed well, so on all counts the dedication was there.  Since he kept his poverty a secret should did not want to embarrass him by lowering her fees as though he were a charity case.

Please be aware, teachers, that such dedicated students exist, and they are unlikely to even make it to your studios.  If they do, they won't let you know of their situation - they'll be the prepared ones who pay on time.  If they suddenly can't and payment is late, it means that they really, really can't.  it kills them.

The majority of students come from comfortable incomes - and by comfortable I mean that they can buy shoes, decent clothes, have an acceptable roof over their heads.  They would be more likely to take what they have for granted, including your lessons.  Knowing of these others, every time I read these suspicious, almost hostile or defensive attitudes toward students, who will take advantage of you, not respect you, must be induced by strict rules to take you seriously - even if it is true most of the time - the harsh tone creates a little hurt somewhere inside.  It is almost like a lack of trust.

[musicrebel4u]

thanks.  You remind to just have business in mind when drawing it up.  Seems I've been a bit too nice to my own detriment.  For three years running I've had a waiting list.

People have to value not only your skills, but your time too.

[m19834]

The majority of students come from comfortable incomes - and by comfortable I mean that they can buy shoes, decent clothes, have an acceptable roof over their heads.  They would be more likely to take what they have for granted, including your lessons.  Knowing of these others, every time I read these suspicious, almost hostile or defensive attitudes toward students, who will take advantage of you, not respect you, must be induced by strict rules to take you seriously - even if it is true most of the time - the harsh tone creates a little hurt somewhere inside.  It is almost like a lack of trust.

Keypeg, sometimes it is very unclear to me just where you are coming from and what are your intentions.  In this regard, I aim to not take personally your post here because it is in some ways quite silly.  While I do "get" your attitude here, let me just say that there are some teachers whom are so dedicated to their job and to their teaching that they themselves will skip meals and they will be the ones sitting there day after day while, yes, many, many times a student will just not show up.  It is not I that I am aiming to have students take seriously by having some basic structure to my studio, it is they themselves that need to be taken seriously.  And, having a basic structure to a studio is non-negotiable, period.  That is the *starting* point !

On a more personal note, I was raised in a family that could not afford lessons.  I do offer scholarships to people who truly cannot afford lessons PROVIDED they are dedicated to what they do.  You bet I don't trust most people !  Experience has taught me this !  I am not talking about living in some fantasy land where I lay out the "rules" and "regulations" on a whim.  They exist because they are needed.  I have a personal friend who teaches and hasn't purchased clothes of her own for years, hasn't purchased shoes, doesn't go on vacations, while she has watched students tell her they can't afford to pay full price for lessons, only to go off vacationing to Mexico with the entire family.  Sorry, but if there are people whom are going to pull that card of poverty and so on, please !  There are some very talented, dedicated teachers in the world.  If they are going to be giving discounts to students, then the teachers themselves should be getting discounts in life !  Who is making sure they can buy food and clothes and shoes and pay the mortgage ?   Perhaps they should all just be on welfare !

I am not denying that there are students whom truly cannot afford lessons, but those whom truly cannot afford it (as in, it's not just a matter of foregoing vacation or cancelling their satelite TV) are actually far and few between.  For most families it is a matter of priorities.

[keypeg]

Karli, I agree with rules and policies.  I have a home business of my own and I have exactly the same struggles.  I am working as a professional with years of study behind me, and because I don't have an office and a secretary I am not taken seriously.  In addition, people who may have a smattering of a second language think they are translators too, underbid me, work for exploitive agencies that pull the wool over their clients' eyes, and the result is that the market has been drying up for years.  We are fighting to have our profession recognized, be paid what we are worth, "client education" etc. etc. etc.

I am in full agreement that policies must exist, and they must be implemented.  And that a lot of ignorance exists at the "client base" - whether they be students or translation customers.  If you do not know enough about the profession, you are likely to not appreciate what you are getting.

However - I may be mistaken by what I am seeing - I get an impression that all students are seen as not appreciating lessons, their teachers, and do not value them, and that there is a bad attitude.  I hate to be seen that way.  But above all, I have the impression much of the time that students are seen as always having the means.  I have the feeling that some teachers do not imagine a scenario where a student might not be able to afford lessons, or barely can.  I read teachers saying that the student should stop going to restaurants, or stop having vacations in foreign countries - I know that there are students who cannot afford any of those things, and are skimping on necessities.  I want to do no more than for teachers to know that some students are poor.  I do not want them to lower their rates, or change their policies - just know that some students are poor.  It is the picture of the spoiled rich student who has all this affluence that bothers me.  There is no victimhood implied.  There is no thought whatsoever that teacher's rates should be lowered - most are underpaid.  In fact, that's why I stick to translation, even though I am a certified and trained teacher and could do more private teaching if I chose.

KP

Amicably

[m19834]

However - I may be mistaken by what I am seeing - I get an impression that all students are seen as not appreciating lessons, their teachers, and do not value them, and that there is a bad attitude.  I hate to be seen that way.  But above all, I have the impression much of the time that students are seen as always having the means.  I have the feeling that some teachers do not imagine a scenario where a student might not be able to afford lessons, or barely can.  I read teachers saying that the student should stop going to restaurants, or stop having vacations in foreign countries - I know that there are students who cannot afford any of those things, and are skimping on necessities.  I want to do no more than for teachers to know that some students are poor.  I do not want them to lower their rates, or change their policies - just know that some students are poor.  It is the picture of the spoiled rich student who has all this affluence that bothers me.  There is no victimhood implied.  There is no thought whatsoever that teacher's rates should be lowered - most are underpaid.  In fact, that's why I stick to translation, even though I am a certified and trained teacher and could do more private teaching if I chose.

KP

Amicably

Well, treating all teachers as though they do not already understand this and have only one main impression of students is doing the very same things to them as you say you are trying to gaurd against for the sake of the students.  If nothing else, I just aim to point out that there are some teachers who know very well what it is like to be "poor" student, and they may also know very well what it is like to be a "poor" teacher.  It can be students whom assume that the teacher is not undrestanding their "situation" or whom believe that teachers are not "in it" for the right reasons who form mistrust in teachers.  It all works both ways.

[keypeg]

Karli, please accept my apologies for the impression that I have left.  That was not my intention.  I do often get the impression generally speaking that it is assumed that all students are well off and can easily afford their lessons but simply have a bad attitude.  If anyone has such a belief, that is whom I was addressing.  I don't know if I have ever seen the possibility of student poverty being addressed, and that is what left me with that impression.

I can't know what is actually happening in the profession, and how all of you are being treated by students and parents.  But I should actually be more sensitive to it at my end because I see attitudes as a freelancer which is causing resentment, as well as calls for tightening up our policies at our end, in our forums. 

More to the point, in almost every one-on-one teaching situation I have faced parents who tried to barter, showed up late, used me as a babysitter - yeah, heck, I forgot about all that.  Go for it.   

KP

[joyfulmusic]

It's so interesting the emotions that come up around money.  When I first started out full time teaching, i used to give people a break on the price if they seemed poor.  A couple of times I gave talented people free lessons.  In all cases the respect was not there for the value of what i was giving.  I gave lessons to a little girl who didn't have a piano but had to practice at church.  Her mother didn't keep it up.  Oftentimes, if people are poor it is because they don't have good life skills every which way.

I have not trouble whatsoever charging $40 for a half hour lesson.  i get fabulous results from my students.  I have over 40 years experience and I'm worth it. 

I think it is precisely when you get to the emotionality of the family where you are providing the service that it's a sticky swamp.

[allthumbs]

I started to teach last September after retirement. Prior to starting, I talked with quite a few teachers that I knew.

I asked them what was one of the biggest mistakes they made and what caused them the most headaches. Without exception, the answer was that of re-scheduling missed lessons and the strain it caused them on a personal level, especially time-wise.

I also did extensive research on the Internet and perused quite a few studio policies posted there.

As a result, I set up a studio policy consisting of what I thought were 'best practices'.

I decided that tuition would be charged based on 4 lessons per month - 12 months per year. The same tuition fee is applied to each month regardless of the number of scheduled lessons that fell in that month. With a fixed lesson day, some months would have 5, some 4 and others only 3 lessons that would fall within the month.

As I did not consider myself a baby-sitter, I didn't charge an hourly rate per se, but calculated tuition based on semesters (September-December; January-April; May-August). Post-dated cheques were collected prior to each semester and those parents who wished to pay cash; I collected the entire amount for the semester as well.

You may have noticed that in basing my tuition on 4 lessons per month for the 12 months in a year amounted to 48 lessons a year. As there are 52 weeks in a year, the other 4 weeks are when the studio is closed - 2 weeks during the Christmas break and 2 weeks during the Easter break. My income is not effected here because of the way I set up the schedule.

With regard to missed lessons, I advised my parents/students that paid tuition reserved them their lesson time slot to use or not use. I also advised them that any missed lessons would not be re-scheduled, except in the case of a serious illness or injury that would require them to miss more than two weeks in a row. In such a case of a long term illness or injury, I would suspend their lessons for the duration and return their tuition, unless they wanted to keep their reserved lesson time slot secure.

Also should students decide to take the summer off (not a good idea from a teaching/learning standpoint), I would advise them that they would be forfeiting their time slot. New students starting lessons or any students taking the summer session would be able to take over that slot.

I have had no problems with students missing lessons and those that have missed a lesson know that that time is gone.

Have a look at an article I found on the Internet on the topic of 'Make-up Lessons from an Economist's Point of View' by Vicky Barham, PHD.

I hope this helps.


Kind regards,

allthumbs

[joyfulmusic]

Thanks, this is very helpful.  I especially like idea of getting out of the pay per hour mindset, because I am after all a mini music academy.  i so glad I brought this up here. 

[m19834]

It's so interesting the emotions that come up around money. 

Just because money and emotions are involved together does not mean that's what the emotions are about, nor is it the reason for it.  My problem with students who say they can't afford lessons and need a discount, then go on vacations to foreign countries while the teacher barely scrapes by, is more about how people prioritize their lives and expect others to fit into it.  That kind of thing is a matter of respect and awareness, and in that case, it is much better for the teacher to prioritize their life and expect others to follow (if others want what teachers have to offer), hence studio policies and enforcement of them.

Also, emotions may have more to do with 'opportunity' (or lack thereof) than with money itself -- though it may seem that the two are intertwined.

[allthumbs]

Just because money and emotions are involved together does not mean that's what the emotions are about, nor is it the reason for it.  My problem with students who say they can't afford lessons and need a discount, then go on vacations to foreign countries while the teacher barely scrapes by, is more about how people prioritize their lives and expect others to fit into it. 

Why would you offer a discount? Is your time not just as valuable for every student?

[Bob]

Having them pay up front in one lump sum for the semseter would probably work well.  You've got the money up front.  I'm guessing when they bail, they just don't care, whether they're losing out on that week's lesson money or what.  It's just not worth the effort to them.  But that way you've already got their money up front and they've already agreed to how that was spent, so if they change their minds later, then you've got the contract.  If you've got the contract, and they break it, then you have to go hunting after them pointing out that they already agreed and they owe you money -- Makes you looks like a jerk to some extent.

You could call it a discount, but why not just raise the price on the weekly lesson payments?  Just say everything has gone up to x-amount, but if you pay in advance for the whole semester, you get a percent discount, and surprise, surprise, that works out to what the lessons have already been.

I see lots of advantages to that semester idea.  You don't have to mess with all the money each week.  You know what you're probably doing for that period of time.  You probably end up with more dedicated students.  And you can always plug in those weeklies whenever you want to, even if you just feel like giving that extra lesson.  And if you charge more for that individual tailoring, it won't feel like people have taken as much advantage of you.  If they're wiling to pay up front for a whole semester/period of time like that and if they're wiling to pay a higher cost if they insist on paying each week.

[keypeg]

My problem with students who say they can't afford lessons and need a discount, then go on vacations to foreign countries while the teacher barely scrapes by, is more about how people prioritize their lives and expect others to fit into it. 

That is wrong, and it is also dishonest.  It is totally a wrong morality, if it can be called that, and one I cannot identify with.  It's where they prioritize what is important in terms of people or personal pleasure.  To me this is morality and ethics.  I'm sorry to hear this is happening.

[nyonyo]

I am assuming that you deal with children. I used to teach children.
It is very true, if we are flexible, the students will be much more flexible.
They will keep changing the lesson etc. My method is not to be flexible when I teach little kids. Everything should be structured. If I were late, I made up the time, but if they were late, I would not make up the lost time.

There are some parents who will take advantage of you kindness. The best is accumulate as many students as you can, and weed out the difficult ones. The last 5 years before I quit teaching, I only had the chosen students. They were talented, easy to deal, never give me headace. You can do the same if you do not really the money. If you need the money badly, you cannot be inflexible.

[a-sharp]

My policy states that I do not do "makeup lessons." I will *reschedule* a lesson if they give me 48 hrs notice.

now... I am much more flexible IRL, but, that is how it reads and if I have to stick to it, I do. and I have had to.

I also recently switched to providing a calendar showing which weeks my studio is closed (2 weeks over Xmas and New Year; 2 weeks in the summer and the couple of days before thanksgiving), and tuition for my on-going students pay a FLAT fee - the same every month, which is the same whether there are 4 or 5 weeks in the month. I had so many requests from parents to be able to pay me by automatic payement, and a couple of my colleagues said they started doing this with great success, that I decided to do it too. This will help with that fluctuation in income.

Of course - there will always be adults students, or others for whatever reason that are paying as they go - and those will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

And if they are going to be missing more than 2 weeks outside of when my studio is normally closed, we can adjust... I have a "vacation hold" fee for that.

[a-sharp]

(kinda like what allthumbs said - same idea...)

[lostinidlewonder]

I use to contract all my students, now I don't anymore. I find it a little impersonal to do it with students I have taught for many years but new students it is ok to start with. Also some of them would leave me if I didn't have flexible times. A lot of them will feel ripped off if they miss a lesson because of unexpected circumstances and get charged for the lesson. I had students in my early years of teaching leave me because they could not afford paying upfront or having 10 consecutive lessons in a row. I found I actually made more money by nabbing students who where genuine about learning piano but had difficult time restraints to deal with.

[m19834]

I found I actually made more money by nabbing students who where genuine about learning piano but had difficult time restraints to deal with.

That is interesting.  For me, with teaching being my primary source of income at this point, what is most important regarding tuition payments is that I make a consistent wage.  And, since I am also serious about two instruments and planning programs in each, I need my own practice and rehearsal time for each, and I must make sure my schedule is suitable for that, as well.  That means I can't be wagging my schedule around every which way because somebody would rather go to a slumber party an hour earlier and would like me to reschedule my entire week because of it (even the genuine students will do this if they don't think it's a big deal).  I guess the bottom line is that the individual teacher has to do what works best for them.

[lostinidlewonder]

It is a little more difficult to control your time table when people change times on you. I give all my students options for different times, however we have a normal day too which they usually keep most of the time. However some simply must change the time because of other commitments in their life, I found that I was losing students because of my need to set the time table in concrete. And many of these students I didn't want to lose, so I had to in the end be a little more flexible with times.

It is a different situation if you are doing 100% teaching and deal with 50+ students a week. I use to teach a great deal more however I found it strangled my own piano practice. So now I balance my own study with teaching which gives me flexibility with my timetables (also lets me keep the students, usually mature aged, who I would otherwise lose if we had a set time.)

I think at least giving some flexibility to your lessons is good, some teachers simply cannot do it because of the amount of lessons, however I think all teachers can make some time for the rare case your student can't make the lesson. I don't like the idea of simply saying, well it is your fault you cannot make it, you have signed contract to have lesson at this time, you cannot make it so I will take your money and see you next week. I think this is not a very nice way to deal with your customers. Always try to make time for them if they can't make the lesson, I think its our responsibility, but of course it always depends on our situations at to how flexible we can actually be.

i think if a student makes a habit of missing lessons you categorize them as casual lessons. I have a few students like this who I meet once a month at random times when they are free. Its good otherwise they would never have lessons, they need this type of service. Of course not all teachers have to take on this responsibility, but it is extra income and it does make you teach differently, leaving students with a longer path and then setting them on that way for a while then coming back to see how they went, you really try to teach them how to be more autodidactic.

[m19834]

I think at least giving some flexibility to your lessons is good, some teachers simply cannot do it because of the amount of lessons, however I think all teachers can make some time for the rare case your student can't make the lesson. I don't like the idea of simply saying, well it is your fault you cannot make it, you have signed contract to have lesson at this time, you cannot make it so I will take your money and see you next week. I think this is not a very nice way to deal with your customers. Always try to make time for them if they can't make the lesson, I think its our responsibility, but of course it always depends on our situations at to how flexible we can actually be.

To some extent I do agree.  It is obviously unrealistic to think that even the genuine students will never miss a lesson.  This is why I give them the option of swapping times with somebody else, that way they actually have quite a bit of flexibility, yet I get to keep my time-tables very stable.  What is interesting about that is that they are required to do all of the footwork in changing their lesson time, and that changes their perspective quite a bit, I think.  They may find that the other commitment isn't *quite* as interfering as they thought it was when they thought I would make up the difference.  There are very rare occasions when I have made exceptions and have just made time up for a student, but that is *very* *very* rare.

i think if a student makes a habit of missing lessons you categorize them as casual lessons. I have a few students like this who I meet once a month at random times when they are free. Its good otherwise they would never have lessons, they need this type of service. Of course not all teachers have to take on this responsibility, but it is extra income and it does make you teach differently, leaving students with a longer path and then setting them on that way for a while then coming back to see how they went, you really try to teach them how to be more autodidact.

If this format is suitable for the optimum learning for the student, and it works within the teacher's schedule, that's great !  However, this format is not going to truly help *most* of the students I have at this point.  They wouldn't get anywhere and they would be throwing their money away.  Aside from my own income and responsibilities to myself, I do feel a sense of responsibility to the students in setting something up for them that will truly serve their learning.  I can be flexible to some extent within all of that, but there are some students who are just not meant for my program, and there are other teachers who may very well appreciate them and those students may very well appreciate those teachers.  And, that is just fine with me .