About Tuition – for those who would like more information:
At Austin Piano School we believe that piano education should be accessible to all children, and we do our best at Austin Piano School to offer a high-quality program at an affordable cost. Part of that involves keeping our costs low by streamlining administrative tasks so we can focus on music instruction, rather than paperwork.
How is Tuition Determined?
We take the total cost of one year’s worth of materials, 38 weeks of classes and 2 recitals and have calculated it to be $1020. We then divide that amount by 12 months to arrive at an average monthly cost of $85.
(For comparison, a survey of nearby studios shows tuition rates from $120 to $148 per month for group classes.)
When a student registers for classes, usually in August, we set up automatic invoicing for $85 each month, and we are done. Upon receiving that first invoice, parents can set up automatic payments, and they are done! The last invoice of the academic year is sent in July.
Why not charge per class?
Depending on the month, there could be anywhere from one to five classes per month. If we were to charge tuition per class, we would have to manually change and re-send hundreds of invoices each month. This is not only very time-consuming, but lends itself to billing errors, which require even more time to resolve. Parents would be confused about what each month’s invoice amount would be. We would have to hire an extra employee just to edit, send and monitor invoicing. Even something as simple as not charging tuition for one month would require going into the system, individually cancelling all the recurring invoices, and then setting them all back up again the following month. Using the monthly average is far easier and more accurate, and more predictable for family budgets.
What about July?
Some parents question the July invoice, as in July we are wrapping up the year with our last class and a week of recitals. Some are happy to attend the class and the recital, but think that month should be tuition-free. Yet teachers are still working and need to be paid, studio rent is still due, and recitals are extremely time-consuming and expensive to produce. We do not charge a separate recital fee like other studios. The cost is, again, built into the annual tuition, divided into 12 months. Not paying the July invoice also means you would not be paying the full tuition for the year, and is grounds for dismissal from the program.
What about discontinuing classes?
Discontinuing classes is as simple as sending an email, giving 30 days notice. But you must send an email. If you just stop coming to class, we have no idea if you are quitting, are having health issues, have been out of town, etc. Invoices will continue to be sent until we receive an email notifying us of your intention to quit.
I hope this adequately clarifies our policies regarding Tuition and Discontinuing Classes.
Thanks for reading!
Last modified: July 2020
At Austin Piano School we believe that piano education should be accessible to all children, and we do our best at Austin Piano School to offer a high-quality program at an affordable cost. Part of that involves keeping our costs low by streamlining administrative tasks so we can focus on music instruction, rather than paperwork.
How is Tuition Determined?
We take the total cost of one year’s worth of materials, 38 weeks of classes and 2 recitals and have calculated it to be $1020. We then divide that amount by 12 months to arrive at an average monthly cost of $85.
(For comparison, a survey of nearby studios shows tuition rates from $120 to $148 per month for group classes.)
When a student registers for classes, usually in August, we set up automatic invoicing for $85 each month, and we are done. Upon receiving that first invoice, parents can set up automatic payments, and they are done! The last invoice of the academic year is sent in July.
Why not charge per class?
Depending on the month, there could be anywhere from one to five classes per month. If we were to charge tuition per class, we would have to manually change and re-send hundreds of invoices each month. This is not only very time-consuming, but lends itself to billing errors, which require even more time to resolve. Parents would be confused about what each month’s invoice amount would be. We would have to hire an extra employee just to edit, send and monitor invoicing. Even something as simple as not charging tuition for one month would require going into the system, individually cancelling all the recurring invoices, and then setting them all back up again the following month. Using the monthly average is far easier and more accurate, and more predictable for family budgets.
What about July?
Some parents question the July invoice, as in July we are wrapping up the year with our last class and a week of recitals. Some are happy to attend the class and the recital, but think that month should be tuition-free. Yet teachers are still working and need to be paid, studio rent is still due, and recitals are extremely time-consuming and expensive to produce. We do not charge a separate recital fee like other studios. The cost is, again, built into the annual tuition, divided into 12 months. Not paying the July invoice also means you would not be paying the full tuition for the year, and is grounds for dismissal from the program.
What about discontinuing classes?
Discontinuing classes is as simple as sending an email, giving 30 days notice. But you must send an email. If you just stop coming to class, we have no idea if you are quitting, are having health issues, have been out of town, etc. Invoices will continue to be sent until we receive an email notifying us of your intention to quit.
I hope this adequately clarifies our policies regarding Tuition and Discontinuing Classes.
Thanks for reading!
Last modified: July 2020
