The Director of the Music School has the responsibility and authority to administer the school's programs, monitor its academic and disciplinary policies, and supervise the admission and continued registration of its students.

The following policies and procedures of the Music School have been established in order to assist quality and continuity of study. All students are required to abide by them.

• General Policies
• Registration
• Missed Lessons
• Payment
• Refunds
• Discounts
• Tuition Assistance

General Policies

1. Students enrolling for individual lessons should not be studying with another individual instructor on the same instrument.
2. Students and/or parents have the responsibility of communicating with their teacher if an instructional, scheduling, or other problem arises. If the problem cannot be solved, the student and/or parent should contact the school office.
3. Students taking individual lessons who wish to change teachers must first notify and/or discuss a problem with their current teacher, make an effort to mutually resolve any problems, and receive approval of the Music School Director.
4. Because faculty teaching is tightly scheduled, students must make every effort to be on time for all lessons and classes. In deference to subsequent students and classes, all lessons/classes will end at the scheduled time. Faculty will wait for a student for one-third of the scheduled lesson time; students are asked to do the same in the event of a teacher's late arrival.
5. To best serve the musical needs of its students, the Music School reserves the right to dismiss any student because of lack of interest or progress, frequent unexcused absences (three or more consecutive lessons), frequent tardiness, disruptive behavior, delinquency in payment of tuition, and/or failure to abide by policies by students or parents.
6. In order to ensure that student performance and audition experiences are positive and educational for each student, the Music School recommends that students registered for individual lessons at the school consult with and receive approval from their individual lesson teacher prior to initiating these activities.
7. Students and parents agree to accept faculty and administrative decisions regarding financial aid, scholarships, evaluations, awards, and applications of policies made under the published policies and procedures of the school.
8. The school Director and the Dean of the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts are, respectively, the ultimate authority regarding decisions made under the published policies and procedures of the school, unless the provisions of the specific policy of Webster University delegates authority elsewhere.
9. An appeal for a decision regarding instruction should be directed to the Office of the Director of the Community Music School of Webster University. The appeal will be reviewed by the Director and the Dean of the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts.

The Music School reserves the right to modify or cancel any class, lesson, or course due to insufficient enrollment or instrumentation or extenuating circumstances.

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Registration

1. All students are charged a $25 non-refundable registration fee every academic year, due each Fall Semester thereafter.
2. To give returning class/individual lesson students preference on a teacher's schedule, statements are mailed prior to the beginning of each semester to those whose accounts are in good standing. The non-refundable registration fee (if applicable) and a minimum payment secure registration for the following semester. Students must consult directly with their teachers regarding specific lesson times. Students are not considered to be registered and teachers are not paid until the process above is completed. (Any returning student with an outstanding balance cannot be registered for subsequent semesters, and their place on a teacher's schedule cannot be guaranteed.)
3. Students in orchestras and ensembles should refer to the orchestras and ensembles audition information booklet for registration information.

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Missed Lessons

1. Regular attendance at lessons, classes, and rehearsals is expected. Students are charged for all lessons, classes and ensembles for which they register, including those missed due to student absence.
2. As a courtesy to your teacher/instructor, please notify your location office in advance of any absence.
3. For individual lessons:
   1. Since an individual instructor has reserved a weekly teaching time for a student, any missed lesson due to student absence will not be made up, and there will be no refund/credit of tuition.
   2. Exceptions to this policy are made only due to student absence for religious observances. In these cases, only one lesson per semester will be made up, and notification must be given to teacher at least one week in advance.
4. For classes/rehearsals: Classes or rehearsals missed due to student absence will not be rescheduled and there will be no refund/credit of tuition.
5. Students who are unable to attend lessons or classes due to a long-term (3 or more consecutive weeks) physical problem will receive a credit or refund for lessons or classes missed.
6. In the event the instructor cancels a lesson or class, a make-up lesson will be offered at a mutually convenient time. An individual lesson teacher is required to offer two reasonable make-up date alternatives.
7. If a student cancels an agreed-upon make-up lesson, it will not be rescheduled.
8. If lessons/classes/ensembles have been suspended because tuition payment is delinquent, no make-up lessons will be given.

If lessons and classes are canceled due to inclement weather, announcements will be made on KSDK Channel 5 TV, KMOX 1120 AM radio, www.ksdk.com, and www.stltoday.com. Every effort will be made to avoid canceling lessons and classes due to bad weather. When inclement weather or any other unforeseeable circumstances force the closing of the school for safety considerations, classes, lessons and rehearsals will not be made up and no reimbursement will be made.

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Payment

1. Statements are mailed the first full week of each month. Students/parents my elect to pay the balance in full OR make regular monthly payments. Payments must be received each month in order to attend lessons/classes/rehearsals.
2. Payments may be made by check or money order made payable to the Community Music School. Payment may also be made by MasterCard, VISA, or Discover Card.
3. Monthly Payment Plan: Those selecting the monthly payment plan will be charged a monthly interest rate of 1.5%.  Payments and due dates are as follows:

4. Failure to maintain the scheduled monthly payments will result in cancellation of lessons/classes/rehearsals.
5. There is a $25 fee for each returned check. If a check is returned, reimbursement must be made by money order or cash.
6. Tuition must be paid in full before students may register for the following semester. Members of orchestras or ensembles who have not paid tuition in full by the end of the previous academic year will not be given the opportunity to audition until payment is received.
7. The Community Music School reserves the right to require those students with a history of delinquent payments to go into a pre-payment status, in which the student must pay IN FULL for the entire semester before registration can take place.

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Refunds

1. Tuition is fully refunded if the student withdraws before the first lesson or class, with the exception of non-refundable registration fee and camp deposits.
2. If students withdraw by the end of the sixth semester week during fall or spring semester or by the end of the second semester week during summer semester, they receive a refund or credit for the remaining lessons, minus a two-lesson surcharge. There are NO REFUNDS for withdrawal thereafter.
3. Request for withdrawal from individual, orchestra, or ensemble instruction must be submitted in writing to the School Office at 470 E. Lockwood Ave. This request should be submitted by the parent or adult student to the School Office and must be received two weeks before the final lesson.

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Discounts

1. When two or more from the same immediate family (brother, sister, mother, father) register for individual lessons in the same semester, a family discount is available. A discount of 10 percent is applied to all individual lessons except the one with the highest tuition charge, with no further discount for any reason.
2. When an individual student registers for individual instruction for more than one instrument during a semester, a 10-percent second instrument discount is applied to all but the highest tuition charge. 

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Tuition Assistance

1. Tuition assistance is available to cover partial tuition expense at the Webster Groves, Strauss Center, and University City locations for students demonstrating financial need. To receive tuition assistance, students or their parents must complete a tuition assistance application and submit current proof of income (as specified on the application).
2. Tuition assistance is not retroactive; students must pay for any lessons or classes attended before a tuition assistance award is granted.
3. Students/families who qualify for tuition assistance and who are also awarded a scholarship must choose between the two.Also, no further discounts may apply.

The Monticello College Foundation, the National Flute Association, and the After Hours Community Band provide a portion of the tuition assistance available.

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