Happy Minds School of Music (HMSM) Policies

 

Monthly Membership

• The membership fee (Tuition) will be a fixed monthly fee. No adjustments will be made to the monthly fee if an additional lesson falls on the 5th of the month, if a lesson falls on a public holiday when the school is closed, or if there were one or more cancellations in the previous month.

• At HMSM, we operate as a regular school, meaning an annual registration fee is charged in September and prorated after December to secure your reservation for the whole school year.

• Students are welcome to enroll in lessons anytime during the academic year. Annual tuition costs will be paid in monthly installments. By commencing instruction in the month, you enroll, each student is assured a minimum number of lessons before the conclusion of the academic calendar.

• TUITION IS FOR ENROLLMENT NOT ATTENDANCE OF LESSONS - If you miss a lesson, you must still pay tuition but there are opportunities for makeup lessons.

• The lesson credits are predetermined for the entire academic year, accounting for variations in the number of weeks per month. While certain months may have five weeks, this is offset by months with only three weeks. There are no additional charges for holidays or school closures, as the monthly tuition does not encompass scheduled breaks. Consequently, there is no need to arrange make-up lessons for days when the school is not in session.

• Any lessons beyond the 40-week curriculum will be billed at the same rate and can be scheduled based on the instructor's availability.

• Books or other learning materials will be billed and paid separately by the end of each month.

       5% on the second sibling’s monthly tuition

       5% on the second instrumental learning

 

Payment Policies

• Acceptable payment is made using a credit card only with Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card.

• All membership fees are paid through the automatic payment setup. No cash allowed.

• The parent or the student’s account will be automatically set up for a recurring credit card charge on 1st of every month.

• No adjustment to monthly tuition will be made or credits/refunds given for student cancellation of lessons.

• Payment must be received on or before your first lesson of every month.

• If payment is not received on the 15th of each month, a late payment penalty fee of $15 will be charged to the customer's account.

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Cancellation

• Any cancellation must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled lesson online at your account or via email to info@happymindsschoolofmusic.com. Phone or text is not valid.

• Each membership is limited to not more than two rescheduled change per month.

• If you need to self-reschedule your lesson, you can do so as long as it's done at least 24 hours before the scheduled time.

• Please be aware that any rescheduling request must be made 24 hours before the scheduled time – any requests made after this will result in the lesson being forfeited or a $25 fee for reclamation. To prevent this, please ensure all classes are scheduled through our online system or email 24 hours before the lesson begins. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that the student's regular instructor will teach the rescheduled class.

• There will be no refunds, makeups, or saved credits for the student's cancellation without a rescheduling solution.

• There are no carryover credits after the expiration date of your membership.

• If the student needs to cancel their lesson on the same day it is scheduled, NO MAKE UP lesson will be provided, and there will be no exception.

• The makeup lesson is only available if the school cannot provide a substitute instructor for your regular class.

• If you’ve missed the make-up lesson reserved by your primary instructor, you can attend the school’s group make up lessons, or reschedule the lesson with another available instructor. 

• If your membership has remaining credits upon termination, please use it within 30 days after termination email has received.

 

 

Inactive Account

• To stop automatic payment, a request to freeze/stop the account must be submitted to the school in writing 15 days in advance of 1st day of the next month. 10% of your monthly membership fee will be held if you would like to reserve your current lesson spot during the freeze period.

 

 

Late Arrival to Lessons

• Students are expected to arrive on time for their scheduled lessons.

• Please send us a message or email if you will be late for the lesson.

• Students who arrive up to 15 minutes late will be counted as a late cancellation; the late cancellation fee of $25 will be charged if a make-up lesson is required.

• Students who arrive up to 15 minutes late to their lessons will not be given extra time beyond their scheduled end time. This is done to maintain the schedule of other students who have arrived on time for their lessons.

• If a student arrives 15 minutes past the scheduled start time for a lesson, the instructor retains the discretionary authority to determine whether to proceed with remaining session. The lesson either forfeited or $25 will be charged if a make-up lesson is required.

• No make-up lesson, refund, or additional lesson time will be given to compensate for the shortened lesson due to late arrivals, except when the shortened lesson is due to the late arrival of the instructor.

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No-Show

• Student attendance is considered a “no-show” if a student is more than 15 minutes late for their scheduled lesson or fails to attend a scheduled lesson without cancellation notice.

• A no-show - The lesson will be forfeited, and no makeup.

 

 

Appointment Reminders

• Appointment reminders are sent to the email address on file 24 hours before the scheduled lesson starts. The parent’s or legal guardian’s responsibility is to keep track of the student’s lesson schedule.

• Check email for lesson reminders. Please check the junk mail folder for the reminder emails if they do not show up in the email inbox.

• Please note that if you have not received a reminder for any reason, you can still access your account to check your appointments.

• The parent(s) or legal guardian’s responsible for keeping your account with up-to-date contact and credit.

• Card replacement information can be provided by notifying the school or updating on your account by paying the invoice with the new card.

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Lesson Duration

• Lessons are 30, 45 or 60 minutes in duration and are scheduled back-to-back from each other. It shall be understood that not 100% of the lesson duration will be devoted to teaching and that instructors may spend up to 5 to 10 minutes during and before the end of the lesson to add lesson notes and assignments to the student’s Music Journals.

• No Makeup credits, refunds, or additional lesson time will be given to the student if the instructor does not spend 100% of the lesson duration providing instructions.

• Sometimes, teachers need restroom and water breaks that can be a minute or two between lessons.

• Sometimes, instructors may, at their own discretion, choose to give the student a longer lesson than what is scheduled, at no additional cost to the student. The instructors are not obligated or expected to spend additional time with the student every time.

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The Substitute Instructor

• In the event, an instructor is absent, HMSM reserves the right to provide a substitute instructor for

teaching the lessons. HMSM is not required to notify parents or legal guardians of the change of instructor.

• HMSM reserves the right to change instructors for a private and group lesson at any time.

• Request to change instructor or for cancellation due to change of instructor will not be accepted. Failing to show up for the lesson due to change of instructor will be treated as “no-show” (see policy above for No-Show).

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Insufficient Class Enrollment/Cancellation

• If any group lessons or class has insufficient enrollment, HMSM reserves the right to cancel the class.

 

Inclement Weather

• If the school is closed due to inclement weather, the student will be given the option of taking the lesson remotely at home or be invited to attend special make-up group lessons. HMSM cannot guarantee that make-up private lessons will be taught by the student’s regular instructor.

• If the HMSM needs to close the school for inclement weather, we will post a message on HMSM Facebook page by 12 pm.

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Holiday Closures

• Please check HMSM yearly calendar for HMSM holiday/break closures. No make-up lessons are given for holiday closures. You will be notified in advance of any exceptions.

• Please plan your lessons in advance during the Holiday season.

 

Discontinue Lessons & Tuition Refund Policy

• To discontinue lessons at HMSM, written notification must be submitted via email to info@happymindsschoolofmusic.com a minimum of 15 days before the month that students wish to stop lessons, except newly enrolled students may discontinue lessons by canceling the first lesson 24 hours before the scheduled time. If notification to discontinue lessons is received less than 15 days before the end of the month, the lesson will stop at the end of the following month.

• Prior to the official termination of an account, it is imperative that any outstanding balance be settled in its entirety.

• Tuition payment will be fully refunded for newly enrolled students if cancellation is made before the first lesson.

• There is no refund on monthly tuition if the termination is made after your first lesson.

• There is no refund on monthly or yearly membership fees for the student’s reason for termination.

• The remaining lessons must be scheduled within 30 days after your termination date.

• No tuition refund will be given for failing to schedule remaining lessons before the expiration of the membership.

 

Marketing

• Any photographs, audio, or video recording of students or other family members on Happy Minds School of Music facilities or during HMSM events or other performance events may be used for promotional purposes, such as on the HMSM website, social media sites, or other publications.

• There is no compensation for the use of photographs, audio, and video recordings.

 

Declined Payment Fee

• There is a $30 fee for any returned checks, in addition to any additional bank charges we incur.

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Delinquent Accounts

Happy Minds School of Music reserves the right to suspend or discontinue instruction of any student with delinquent accounts. Accounts are considered delinquent if they have an outstanding account balance past due.

 

Dismissal of Student

• Happy Minds School of Music reserves the right to dismiss any student due to frequent absences, disciplinary problems, overdue tuition payments, and/or noncompliance with any of HMSM’s policies stated herein.

 

Policy Changes

• Happy Minds School of Music reserves the right to change its policies, tuition rates, fees, or waivers at any time.