Thread: Who uses pre-payment methods for classes?

OK...yet another questions from me ,r:;

My students can currently pay for a half-term up front, which means that they get preference should the class become oversubscribed (obv) and they get a small discount.

However - I don't feel this system is working particularly well. The main reason is that a lot of my students work irregular shift patterns - they attend as often as they can around work commitments, but will hardly ever be able to attend all the classes in one half-term/term in a row.

For this reason I'm thinking about experimenting with pre-payment cards - people pay for (e.g.) 10 classes in advance, get a discount, get preference in case of full classes, and can spread those classes out around their work commitments. But...I need to put some sort of expiry date on these classes, and am not sure how to work this out.

I'd really appreciate some input from other people who do this - how do you find it works, how do you decide the time limit, etc? Do you also offer other pre-payment options?

Thanks in advance...again!

My employers do! One asks for 6 weeks in advance, 12 the other.
I think the time has come when teachers really can't afford drop-in..after all you have to pay the rent every week and turn up every week.You can not avoid paying your expenses and insurances so you cannot cope with weeks when 2 students come instead of 20.
Obviously you can come to some arrangement with shift workers. But you have to be careful people don't try to swing it for other reasons.
The other point being if you are serious about the dance and or exercise it should be regular...every week.

I am a student, not an instructor, but just thought I would let you know how payments are handled here. We pay a certain dollar figure for a ten week session and from that the instructor is paid a specific dollar amount per student. If a student misses a week or two that is their problem. When you sign up, you make that commitment to attend for those weeks and the instructor receives her money irregardless of whether you are there or not. I would think that drop-ins or card punches would be more difficult to control attendance. When one pays upfront for ten weeks, (or whatever your weekly session is), they are more apt to try to attend each week. I understand that work commitments, vacation time, sickness, etc., can "get in the way" of attending each week but that is not the instructor's problem. The student can make arrangements with the instructor for a private lesson (which she pays for) or just try to get caught up at the next class. My instructor does a review of what was taught the week(s) before and then moves on to the new lesson. She does not do a full teach of what was taught the following week(s) - just a review and that is very helpful.

As a student, I do feel, just as lizajuk mentioned, that if you are serious about dance and exercise, it should be regular....every week. Drop-ins do not obtain the same teachings each week that regular students do and it can be quite frustrating to the students who attend on a regular basis when those that have missed class want a full teach of something that was taught in the past week(s) when they were not there. It just holds those students back and when they have come to class each week, it just doesn't seem fair to hold them back for those who are not able to commit.

All of my classes, including private lessons, are done on a pre-payment basis for 6-week sessions. I don't have the patience or inclination to teach drop-ins, and because dance is my sole source of income, I need to know how much money I'll have coming in from session to session.

If I did do a punch card system, I probably would have them expire within 2 weeks of the session length - in other words, my usual session length is 6 weeks, so I'd have the cards expire in 8 weeks.

all of my weekly classes are pre-payment via bank transfer (for a series of ten weeks). i'll give people a reduction, sometimes and only if the class is not full if they know beforehand they will only be able to make the first or last half for job reasons or so

also, i allow them to make up for missed sessions by taking one of our parallel classes (in the same or lower level IF available)

yes, sometimes people with irregular working hours grumble, but i just cant cater for everyone and this is the only way i can run the school, it's madness enough as it is; and i have chosen not to have drop ins. might change in future, we'll see...

I offer a few options for my ongoing weekly classes, including a pre-paid option.
Drop-in: $15
5-class card: $62 (expires after 7 weeks)
10-class card: $110 (expires after 12 weeks)

Cards are non-transferable and non-refundable. If there is a holiday break and learners have outstanding classes on their cards, I 'freeze them', so obviously they don't lose their classes. I have a sign-in sheet, students sign in next to their name and they can clearly see how many classes they have left and when the expiration date is.

It works well for me and (most importantly!) seems to work well for my students.

all pay the first of each month.with night classes 4 nights a week, and a catch all, cardio saturdays 11am, they have opps for make ups.if they dont go to a make up, oh well!
the private day students pay monthly or weekly.

I'm the same as Galatea, Artemisia, et al. in thinking this is an idea that just wouldn't work for me.

Yes, people often have to miss a couple of classes, but their space was reserved, I was there to teach them and deserve to be paid for my time. If someone becomes seriously ill, they can talk to me and I'll often give credits toward the next session. If they know they'll miss a class or two that's a decision for them to make -- reserve a space for the session or skip it. It's not for me to absorb a loss every time a student misses a class.

i allow makeups in parallel classes (only available to beginners) or lower-level or drills class.

Sometimes you miss a class or two and it can't be helped, but if you want a spot for the session, you have to reserve a spot FOR THE SESSION. I can't 'sell' your spot to someone else for just one or two missed classes.

It only sounds harsh until you remember that nearly ALL classes work this way. Parks & rec classes, community college classes, swim lessons for your child, etc.

But then, for me each session is a definite unit of information. It would do a person no good at all to show up in the 5th week of one my sessions, they'd be completely lost. So I don't do drop ins at all.

AND I sometimes have issues with my classes being completely filled up. I'd hate for someone to drive 30 minutes to a class thinking they're going to use their card for a drop in and discover there's no room.

If you have room for 25 students and 20 pay for the session and 10 want to buy cards, what would you do?

(of course if you teach in a giant space, don't mind teaching large classes, and use lesson plans that don't build on each other week by week YMMV. I know LOTS of people teach on a drop in basis and make it work.)

Zahra and Jenna do it this way:

$15 drop in
second class same night (two in a row) $5
10 class card $110 to be used within 30 days
Unlimited card $200 for 30 days.

Most people do some sort of card. I know that when I was taking 11 classes a week, that was my choice. Once I get some things settled again, I am going back to that.

{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by laura 2

All of my classes, including private lessons, are done on a pre-payment basis for 6-week sessions.

If I did do a punch card system, I probably would have them expire within 2 weeks of the session length - in other words, my usual session length is 6 weeks, so I'd have the cards expire in 8 weeks.

Ditto.

Deborah

A few more things to add to my post above. I completely understand the pre-pay by session only option, especially from a business perspective. In my region there are quite a few belly dance teachers, and to the best of my knowledge a majority of us offer a drop-in rate. In my experience almost all dance classes--all styles, all studios--in my town offer drop in as well as more cost effective session rates. A drop-in rate is very much the norm of the dance class culture here.

That said, almost all of my students do buy class cards, so I have a financial commitment from the majority...I know I can cover my rent and expenses. I have several students who attend every week but pay drop-in rates for their own reasons, and I am glad to offer them a chance to attend regularly without a significant financial outlay at one time. For my beginner classes, I try to have the best of both worlds. I teach in a 5-week cycle, and recommend students start at the beginning of a cycle. Drop-in rates are still available for beginners, but most go for a whole session.

It works quite well for my business and my area.

well, i've had the luxury of years of sold out sessions, so drop ins just dont work for that, as the class is more or less full each term. i have been thinking of offering a drop in drills class, but only if there is enough interest for it

Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to say that my way is better in any sense of the word.

Just that it works better for me and my students, in my studio, with my way of teaching.

I was just presenting aspects of that POV to be be considered by the OP. Not championing it.

Originally Posted by artemisia_danst

well, i've had the luxury of years of sold out sessions, so drop ins just dont work for that, as the class is more or less full each term. i have been thinking of offering a drop in drills class, but only if there is enough interest for it

I'm thinking of opening up my drills class to drop-ins, but I have nightmares of 30 students showing up where I only have room for 20.

Or the teacher showing up week after week to an empty space or a single student and having to pay her with no revenue coming in!

Thanks everyone for these suggestions and info.

I've actually thought about going hardline on no drop-ins, but the *local culture* of dance classes is of drop-ins, and I'd rather offer that level of flexibility to students. I'm also concerned about excluding people on low incomes who can't afford to stump up for a 6-week or 12-week chunk.

In terms of practicalities - Lauren, I completely understand what you say about your lesson plans building on one another - mine do too. I also encourage students to start at the beginning of a session, but some just want to start part-way through, and I don't think it hurts established students to spend a few extra minutes recapping essentials (as long as it doesn't happen too often).

I think that offering a discount on pre-pay options gives an incentive to those that can afford it or know they can make a commitment. And I think that a card system would be most flexible (and therefore there would be *greater* takeup!). I would give precedence in classes to people who had taken a pre-pay option. Monica and tahiradancer - thanks for the details of those card systems and expiry dates.

Much thinking for me to do - thanks again all!

Whatever you do, I would beware of pic-a-mixing a system. If you allow one a drop in, you'll get others coming up with a good reason why they should b excluded from a course system.
When I was self-employed I sold a block of 5 lessons and these had to be taken say within 8 weeks. You have to work out the economics and frankly I would only go with the course system. of the teachers locally one has a course system, two have drop-ins and guess who has the fuller classes?

Deelybopper/Liza: I think you make good points. I think there is a culture of drop-in classes, as most people seem to come along for a bit of fun. When I first started I tried the pay for a short course/term thing and people ran for the door.......l;, maybe that was from me....
I do think there's an attitude adjustment to get people to understand what you're doing if they don't take it so seriously.


Deely, how about having a higher drop-in rate, a student/unemployed rate and a pre-payment option that is lower than the drop-in rate?

We don't do drop-ins in technique classes until Intermediate level. At the beginning, five years ago, yes we did it because everyone else did but then realized that drop-in students dropped in an average of once every 2.5 weeks and then expected to be brought up to the same level as the students who attended every week. Very stressful for the teacher and for the regular students who were committed to learning to dance so the heck with it. It may have cost us students, but that's okay - we cannot offer that service and stay sane :) As far as making up classes, we offer several beginner and adv beginner classes each week so if someone misses class on Monday, come on Tuesday.
Drill classes ARE drop-in. Some slack IS cut for someone who breaks a leg, has a major family emergency, etc.

Well - I'm already predominantly drop-in, and there's no way I'm going to say 'pay for the course or on yer bike' as I would probably lose 75% of students.

I already offer a discounted rate for people who pay for a block of classes - but I wanted to offer a pre-payment option for people who have to work shifts, etc (quite a lot of my students). For those students paying for an x-week block doesn't make sense if they know they can't make a couple of those weeks - but a punch card system with a sensible expiry date might well suit them better. I'm going to trial it and see.

..g.:

Originally Posted by deelybopper

Well - I'm already predominantly drop-in, and there's no way I'm going to say 'pay for the course or on yer bike' as I would probably lose 75% of students.

..g.:

That's what I thought back when almost half my student base were paying casual, but when I switched to a pay-by-the-term system most of them kept coming. I offer one trial class (not free, and only if the course hasn't booked out with full-fee students, as they can't reserve trial places), then full term payment is required. I do allow a minimum of 7 out of 10 weeks to be paid, and offer make-up classes, to provide some flexibility. And if people go on hols for half the term, I do make special arrangements around that if they ask.

I figure I lose some students by not offering pay-as-you-go, but I don't really want those students. It's like offering free trial classes - it seems to mostly attract people who don't want to pay for classes. I would rather have conditions that attract committed, paying students, like offering discounts for early 10 week payments.

But it's horses for courses. Payment preferences and lifestyle can vary a lot across locations, and you also have to do what suits your own teaching and admin preferences. It sounds like class cards are a good option for you.

I just wanted to update this thread with my 'punchcard' trial.

I started it at the beginning of this term, and so far have pretty much doubled prepayments. Granted, in the Foundation level (where there is generally less commitment anyway) this is an increase from 3 to 6 students, but in the Improvers level it's an increase of 4 to 9 students. I still have drop-ins and I'll continue to cater for them, but the flexible card system is working well.

One other thing I've done with this is to roll the dates forward every week. So, you can pay for your 6 week card, but it will be valid for 8 weeks from that date (not including breaks between sessions). This means that people who miss the first couple of weeks of a session (for whatever reason) can still take advantage of the discount, and I still get improved cashflow. So, it seems to work well.

Obviously, one swallow doesn't make a summer, so I'll see how this goes longer term, but just wanted to say thanks again for all the advice and info offered...g.: