Our policies are designed to make things more organized and efficient for both the school and our students. These policies must be signed by all of our families when they first begin lessons with us.
Starting January 1st, 2025, DCAM has transitioned to a monthly billing system, which will be our default billing method moving forward. Under this new system, students will be billed on the 1st of each month for all lessons scheduled during that month. This change is meant to streamline our billing process and help our families better manage their budgets with smaller, predictable monthly payments. Payments will be processed automatically using a credit card on file and all students are required to provide their card details to facilitate this process.
Here are a few important points regarding our Monthly Billing Plan:
Our PAYG Plan is an alternative to the Monthly Billing Plan. This plan has a higher per-lesson rate (+$3.00 per lesson) but offers the flexibility to stop lessons at any time. Students on this plan are required to pay for a final/late-cancellation lesson and are then billed one lesson at a time for each scheduled lesson. PAYG students are expected to attend a minimum of one lesson every two weeks (official holidays/school breaks/DCAM-approved vacations excepted). If a PAYG student fails to attend their lesson for two consecutive weeks, DCAM reserves the right to discontinue their lessons and free up their timeslot for other students. All payments for PAYG lessons must be received prior to the lesson taking place.
All new students are subject to a one-time registration fee of $20.00. For families with multiple members registering for lessons, the first family member will incur the full registration fee of $20.00, and each additional family member will be charged a reduced fee of $10.00. These fees also apply to returning students who have been inactive for more than three consecutive weeks during a regular school year (DCAM-approved vacations excepted).
Students (including PAYG students) who are unable to attend their regularly-scheduled lesson for any reason must inform DCAM admin via email by the following cut-off times:
These cut-off times help ensure that we have sufficient time to notify teachers of any changes to their schedule. If a student misses a lesson without providing timely notice, that lesson is considered forfeited and the teacher will be paid for their time. When timely notice is provided, a make-up lesson will be arranged for the student (see #5).
To cancel a lesson, parents/students must send an email to info@dacapomusic.ca. Only emailed cancellations are considered valid.
Make-up lessons can only be arranged if timely cancellation notice is provided to DCAM admin (see #4), or in exceptional emergency situations which will be evaluated by the managing director on a case-by-case basis. Make-up lessons will be scheduled for a different day and time from the student's regular lesson timeslot and usually with a different teacher. It is the student's responsibility to keep track of any outstanding makeup lessons and to schedule them with the school admin. All make-up lessons must be completed by the end of the calendar year and cannot be carried over into the following calendar year.
DCAM will be closed on statutory holidays and official school breaks (except summer break, which is optional) and these days will not be included in your billing.
It is the student's responsibility to arrive on time for their lessons. Teachers are not obligated to extend lesson time for a late student as they typically have another student scheduled right after. If a teacher is late for whatever reason, the time missed will be added to the student's future lesson.
Students planning to be away for three to four consecutive weeks during the regular school year must provide a minimum one-week notice to DCAM and complete a "Lesson Hold" form indicating their planned return date. This allows DCAM to put the student's lessons on hold and pause their lesson billing until their return. Students will also be given the option to reserve their lesson timeslot for a fee, as detailed in the "Lesson Hold" form. Without a reserved timeslot, DCAM cannot guarantee its availability upon their return.
If a student returns later than the indicated date, the missed lesson is subject to our regular "missed lessons" policy (see #4). DCAM can accommodate up to four consecutive weeks of absence during the regular school year. Students absent for more than four consecutive weeks will be deemed inactive, subject to the registration fee (#3) upon their return, and will most likely lose their former timeslot.
Students enrolled in the Monthly Billing Plan are required to pay via credit card. Payments will be processed automatically using the credit card on file. Students on the PAYG (Pay-As-You-Go) Plan have the flexibility to pay using credit card, debit card, e-transfer, or cash. Payments for PAYG lessons must be made prior to the lesson taking place.
If a student's regular teacher is absent for any reason, a substitute teacher will be provided. The same applies if the teacher is on vacation. If a substitute teacher is unavailable, the student's lesson will be rescheduled to a later date.
Students on the Monthly Billing Plan wishing to withdraw from lessons must notify DCAM via email by the 15th of the preceding month to avoid being billed for the following month. For example, to avoid being billed for lessons on the 1st of the upcoming month, the withdrawal notice must be received by the 15th of the current month (at the latest). Failure to provide timely notice will result in the student being charged for the next month of lessons. Students who fail to provide timely cancellation notice and no longer wish to continue lessons will have their remaining lessons credited. Any credited lessons must be completed within two years from the date of withdrawal, after which they will expire.
Students on the PAYG Plan must notify DCAM admin of their intention to discontinue lessons before or on the day of their final lesson.