Sound Studios Olympia, General Studio Policy 2022-2023
By enrolling with SSO you have agreed to the following policies. This agreement is with adult (18+) students and the parent/guardians of minor (17-) students, and Sound Studios Olympia.
Once enrolled at SSO you are on a month-to-month agreement with SSO. Although we will prorate the first month if you start part way through the month, we will only bill in full month intervals after that. Discontinuing halfway through a month does not grant you a discount or refund.
For the purposes of this policy, “tuition” refers to the amount charged to reserve a timeslot with an instructor, and not for the lessons themselves.
Part I
Tuition: Invoices for lessons will be sent out on or around the 15th of every month and the payment for that bill will be due no later than the 27th of the same month, in prepayment for lessons coming up the following month. Canceling lessons, even far in advance, does not constitute a deletion of the charges for individual lessons. Instead, SSO offers make up lessons to be scheduled with the instructor.
Late fee: There is an automatic $20 late fee assessed to all unpaid invoices. This fee cannot be waived or deleted once charged.
Multiple Months: Families can opt to pay multiple months at a time.
Admin/Registration fee: There is an annual fee of $60 to be enrolled in lessons at SSO. This fee may also be $18 per quarter (any 3 month block) or $8 per month. This fee is nonrefundable once paid.
Part II
Attendance: Students are expected to attend every lesson. It is understood that families have other things to do and worry about, and that lessons will need to be canceled on occasion. Progress with the instructor will be best accomplished with consistent attendance.
Canceling Lessons: Please give SSO at least 24 hours’ notice for any absence. Please cancel all lessons through the online calendar and not by emailing or calling the instructor. 24 hours’ notice or more will grant you a make-up lesson automatically. Less than 24 hours’ notice but more than 1 will grant a make-up lesson for emergencies and scheduling problems that were not foreseeable. Reasons such as vacations or non-emergencies which were foreseeable will not be granted a make-up lesson if SSO receives less than 24 hours’ notice. Less than 1 hour and a make-up lesson is not offered. Failure to show up at your lesson without any notice will not be given a make-up lesson.
Part IIIA
Discontinuing lessons: Please give SSO 2 weeks’ notice if you plan to discontinue lessons. This will coincide approximately with when the invoices are sent out.
Part IIIB
Make-up lessons and discontinuation: Make-up lessons may not be applied to months after the student has unenrolled. A student is considered no longer enrolled at SSO if payment for monthly lessons discontinue. In short, a student may not save up 4 make-up lessons, quit in May and then have 4 lessons in June. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Part IV
Participation: SSO offers performance opportunities throughout the year and students are invited to participate in all of them. Some are more demanding than others, but there are 2 large recital events each year that everyone can participate in, regardless of level of ability. Please consider participating, since we learn music to share it. Recitals are free to participate in for all students at SSO. Students must be currently registered in order to participate.
Part V
Parent and Guardian participation: Parents are invited to sit in lessons for their students. We prefer parents to at least stay in the building during the lesson. Parents have the right to walk into the lesson without knocking during your student’s lesson, no exception. Parents may contact Shawn R. Meloy directly with any concerns that may arise with any teacher using the email address info@ssoly.org.
Part VI
Summer Schedules: As mentioned at the beginning of this policy, all students are on a month-to-month agreement with SSO and are billed monthly for the reservation of the timeslot you occupy. This means that if you decide to discontinue then you will lose your spot. Teachers and SSO cannot offer to hold any timeslots which are not paid for. This includes summertime. If you would like to take time off over the summer to accommodate vacations and travelling, you may unenroll and then re-enroll if you wish, however you will lose your timeslot and another student may be moved into it. What we suggest instead is that you cancel the lessons you will miss as early as you can, and then schedule make-up lessons with your teacher over the course of a couple of months. This way you will not lose your spot and you will receive all the lessons that were planned on.
Shawn R. Meloy, President Sound Studios Olympia