Apparently I misunderstood. Thanks for clarifying.

Paying for a fixed number of lessons spread evenly over the year is totally fine but I've also heard some of the teachers here say that they would need payment for a month even if somebody gives them 3-4 months notice that they would be away that month (for some legitimate reason, that you are free to make a judgment about). I don't understand how that's fair. I understand wanting to keep your income fairly constant for a year but with a 3-4 month notice, you have that time freed up, can offer extra hours to those who need them, etc and make up for that income.. or choose to give up that $200-300 for the sake of being fair.

I took lessons with somebody in Vienna. In the beginning, it was at the conservatory where she taught. They charged a fixed monthly fee (for 4, one hour lessons). She ended up asking me to go 2-3 times a week and she would teach me whenever she could just because she had time in between other lessons. I'm not saying all teachers need to be like that (nobody expects that) but we do need a sense of justice, even though the goal of sustaining a fairly constant income for the year is also important. However, there needs to be a balance. A considerate teacher would have allowances in the policy for unpaid absences from class if sufficient notice is given and if the reason is legitimate enough. If I ever teach, I think I would have that in my policy. I'm not saying that everybody should.. its all ultimately up to the teacher.

Well, sort of; it's also up to the students being willing to agree to whatever that teacher is offering or not. Having a policy that not only is fair, but also LOOKS fair, is probably a good thing.

My studio is set up for equal payments from Sept. to June, and in the course of those months there will be five week months. But I charge based on a 4 week per month flat rate, so the extra "free" lesson that occurs about four times, is a credit toward absences. In the summer, students pay by the lessons. Things seem to work out well in this way, but I am always interested in hearing from other teachers how they run this aspect of their studios. The important thing is to make the policy clear and perhaps have it in writing...giving a copy to the student or parent and having them sign, where the teacher co-signs. Then hopefully there will not be a misunderstanding.

Shirley K
http://arioso7.wordpress.com

Do I think it is fair to pay for something and receive nothing in return?

The Answer is "yes."

I suspect, however, that how you're interpreting the cost of your lessons could be wrong.

Ask your teacher which of the following is true

1. The monthly fee I pay is based on the number of lessons I receive during the month?

2. The monthly fee I pay is based upon an annual fee, which is divided into 12 equal monthly installments and entitles me to ___ lessons per year.

When you can answer this question with certainty, you'll be able to tell if you are paying for something you're not getting.

When I took lessons I paid a monthly fee that was based on the number of lessons per year, and I never liked it. In December I paid full price and sometimes only got one lesson. There were also months when I got 5 lessons, but unless I kept detailed track of everything I was never sure I was getting a fair shake. Also, depending on when I terminated I could have been shorted or gotten a free lesson. I guess teachers want to even out their income stream, but I would much rather just pay for the actual lessons in a month. Paying in advance wasn't a problem, but paying even when lessons weren't forthcoming sort of was.

Look at it this way: you are paying tuition simply broken down into installments. No teachers I know charge a per lesson fee because teaching students involves so much more than the time you actually spend with the teacher.

As a paying adult student, I would have a problem with this. If I agreed to a contract with this rule written into it, then so be it. My teacher does not do this. This reminds me of a lady that used to baby sit my kids (daycare) out of her house. She was such a stickler when it came to the contract...as long as if the rules where in her favor. However, she would bend the rules if it would benefit her as well. It was always about her. One day she decided that she would take the week off and I still had to pay her, then I would have to find another baby sitter and pay them as well. I was outraged, but she said that other daycare centers do the same. This may be true but other (large) daycare centers would have substitutes to take her place. At the time I was paying a little over $300 a week! That would be $700 for the week I have to pay twice. I don't think so. I dropped her immediately. Anyway, I probably would not recommend charging adult students for lessons they don't get. This is always the problem with owning your own business, it always costs you money to leave your business for a week or two just to take a break. I come from a family of entrepreneurs so I've seen it first hand.

But in my case (and many other teachers), I DO guarantee a specific number of lessons for the tutition. For $X you get X lessons. There may be vacation weeks interspersed, but the number of lessons is actually what you are paying for. The monthly payment remains the same because you are paying for a block of lessons (in my case, 12 lessons), not a specific number of lessons per month.

As I said before, I dont mind paying all at once at the beginning of the month for the lessons I was going to be taking. Shoot, Id even pay for the lessons if I had to cancel at the last minute. But her policy said I would get 4 lessons a month at that rate and I wasnt getting 4 lessons when I was paying for 4 lessons when you factor in the 7 weeks of vacation. So I tried to rationalize it to mean that over the year Id get an average of 4 lessons a month; but, after factoring in the amount of vacation she was taking, I wasnt even averaging 4 lessons a month.

She was a really nice teacher and a nice person but when lessons were $400 a month, I cant afford to look the other way on that sort of stuff. And also I was used to paying for the lessons I got for the month.

This may not be a problem for the teacher who has only a handful of students, but it would be a bookkeeping nightmare for a larger studio.

I have 80+ students who pay monthly. To try and figure each month's tuition for each student based on the number of lessons for that particular month would be horrible. Some students will get their 'extra' 5th lesson in one month, some later on in the year.

Paying the same rate each month is really the way to go. Yes, I will get the inevitable question as to why "December has only two lessons but I'm paying the full rate", but I'd rather refer parents back to their signed studio policy than to have to answer every single month by virtually every single student "What's the amount I pay this month?".

Like anything, you should make sure you understand what you are paying for and make sure you get what you _do_ pay for.

If you do both of those things, fairness is guaranteed.

why would you charge for lessons if the student isnt actually getting lessons?

First of all, I need to note that 400$ seems a lot of money per month. She really must be a great teacher.

Regardless. I haven't been able to set 'monthly fees' with my studio just yet. Reason is simple: I'm quite new in teaching privately in Greece, so I take things slowly (basically because I'm not sure people will accept what some in here might find normal).

But I do intend for next season to try to explain as simple as I can the idea that I will be teaching the x amount of lessons throughout the year and thus this will equal to the xx ammount of money, which they will pay throughout each month.

Private tuition for many has the advantage of skipping lessons = skipping payment. (I'm talking about here in Greece). It doesn't apply to studios, conservatories, etc, but it applies to private tuition. and I'd like to change that, at least for me.

Dave, If your teacher miscalculated, or added more to her advantage (especially at 100$ per lesson!!!) this means that you should, at least, have a chat (apart from leaving her).

I've usually taken the break myself, though generally my teachers take the break too, only my theory teacher does not, and is willing to teach during the break if students want it.

Meri