Revising My Studio Guide

Warning:  This post might seem a little rambling and/or disjointed, but I'm finding that the process of writing this post is very helpful for me in refining my studio guide.

I used to have a studio policy, but since I've started posting it on my Music Teacher's Helper website and their tab says "Studio Guide", I've started leaning towards that name instead.  For one thing, a policy is a list of rules and penalties or an explanation of procedures.  I want the main document about my studio to be more than that.  By calling it a guide, it makes it feel more user friendly (yes, I do love that term.)  It's more like saying, "Here are the ways to succeed in my studio," rather than the "Do this or else" feeling of a policy.  Hopefully, it's not so user friendly that students see it as suggestions rather than the way things work in my studio.

Another reason I am leaning towards a Studio Guide is the length of my current document (9 pages of 12pt).  It really is a small book and the word "guide" just seems more appropriate for that.  (Yes, I know some government policies and legal documents can be BIG books, but stay with me here.)  My studio guide is much longer than the guides/policies of many of my colleagues, but I want my students and their parents to be able to find complete answers quickly and easily.  I've also been teaching in a high school setting for many years and I've seen a lot of problems when things were not spelled out in detail.

My studio guide is divided into sections with headings in bold and then short paragraphs or bullet points explaining the things I want them to know.  For example, under the Tuition heading, you will find all the information about the quarterly cost of lessons for each length of lessons.  You will also see the due dates, information on how to pay online, how to address checks, my mailing address, and penalties for not paying in a timely fashion.

As it stands right now, my studio guide includes these sections:

• Concurrent study with another teacher (I don't allow it.)
• Communication (Please tell me if you have problems or if something we are trying doesn't work. This also includes all the ways to contact me and how they will receive communications from me.  
• Website (How to use it.)
• Tuitions Payments and Lesson Scheduling
• Your Lessons Will Include...
• Practicing
• Attendance Policy
• Health
• Supplies Needed
• Use of the Lending Library
• Repertoire and Technique (What kinds of songs you'll be singing and why.)
• Studio Classes, Recitals, and Workshops (Extra learning opportunities covered by your tuition and no you don't get a refund if you don't come.)
• Solo/Ensemble Contest and Other Performance Opportunities
• Accompanist Fees

As you can see, just the bullet points of the sections is a lot of information, but I think it is essential information that is important for students and parents to know from the very beginning.  

Every year I revise my policy/guide and I will be revising all the way until the school starts this year.  If you are interested in seeing last year's documents, you can click on the Studio Guide tab at www.jeanninerobinett.com.  Check back in mid-September to see the full new and improved version.  The past couple of years, I have deleted whole sections, replacing them with a note about which document in the File Area to view for more information.

• My section on practicing is much shorter than it used to be, but students and parents are referred to the document in the File Area to get more information on practicing effectively.  
• I used to include a section about my expectations of where students should be before a performance (when they should be memorized, polished, etc.).  This year, I decided that all the other documents I have in the file area should give them the info they need.  I deleted this section from the guide and just included this statement, "I reserve the right to cancel the performance of any student who is not adequately prepared. The student will still be responsible for any non-refundable fees associated with that performance."
  
  
  

Every year, I also add or tweak a few items to make them clearer.  Additions and changes for this year include:

• A very clear statement that outside of lessons I will communicate with them mostly through email and that students and parents need to check email frequently and will be responsible for any information that is sent.  
• Clearer language regarding quarter payments since somehow 3 different families thought that the payment they made at the beginning of the year covered all year.   
• I've also made a change this year to quarterly payments for all students that want a regular lesson time.  Other students can sign up when I have openings and pay a per lesson fee.  There is a big section explaining how this will work.  I'm hoping to cut it down a little bit before I publish.  
• Information about accompanist fees.  I want students to know up front that extra performances and recordings will require not only an investment of their time, but an investment of their money as well.  
• Tips for using my website more effectively, including how to get new user names and passwords and a video to walk them through the website.  
• This year I also added a few bullet points before the main body of the guide.  These give short answers to the most frequently asked questions and refer people to full guide for more details. These are this year's bullet points (and yes, I do know people for whom this would stand alone as a policy, but if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm much more wordy than most people.)
• Contact me through the website at www.jeanninerobinett.com
• All parents and students must have email accounts and check them frequently for messages from me. 
• All parents and students should have usernames and passwords for the website. 
• Quarterly tuition is due prior to the first date of each new quarter (with the exception of 1st quarter.) Read below for other pricing and details on how to pay. 
• When it is necessary to cancel lessons, student must do so on the website 48 hours in advance or they still have to pay for that time. 
• Students will be asked to purchase music. Be sure and check the box on your Policy Signature form that lets me know how much money you can spend. 
• The cost of studio classes, recitals, and some workshops are included in your tuition, but will not be refunded if you choose not to attend. All other events will have additional entrance and/or accompanist fees. 

Because the document changes every year, each fall when school starts, I require every student to fill out a new policy signature form basically saying that they have read, understood, and agree to abide by everything in the studio guide.  That signature form also gets revisions each year.  This year, I am stealing an idea from the choir department. On their handbook signature forms, they ask students to list all the concert dates.  So this year, on my policy signature form I am asking students write in all the tuition due dates.

Lastly, I want to let you know about a feature that I just figured out last year.  When you set up your website pages in MTH, you can set up parent pages and create drop down lists.  So if you click on Studio Guide, you will get my last year's studio policy for non-EVHS students.  But if you hover over Studio Guide, you will see a drop down list that includes the summer addendum, last year's EVHS policy,  and the policy signature form, plus a file about lesson formats that incorporate more theory or tai chi.  This year, because of the changes to lesson scheduling and tuition, I will just do one studio guide which will make things even clearer for students and parents.

I used this same feature to create a drop-down list under registration.  If a student has already had lessons with me, my MTH registration form reminds them not to fill it out again.  In early August, a form will be added to the drop down list for students who are planning to return in the fall.  The other document in the drop down list is a form required by the school for EVHS students.

Tell me about your studio policies/guides.  You're also welcome to tell me that mine is so long and busy that no one will actually read it.  That's fine.  I don't really care if they read it or not, but I will hold them accountable for everything in it, and I will not accept, "but you didn't tell me," as an excuse.