Friday, November 30, 2007

ESL Student Cancellation Policy

As a self-employed ESL tutor, I have a 24-hour notice cancellation policy. I require that all my students either email or call me at least 24 hours in advance if they are going to miss one of our regularly scheduled ESL lessons. If they don't give me the required notice, they are required to pay for the scheduled lesson.

The way I enforce this policy is by having ESL students pay a deposit at our first lesson. I hold the deposit until our very last class together, or I use it if a student misses a lesson without giving me notice.

In all the years I've been teaching, I think there have only been one or two students who I've had to enforce this policy with. One of my students actually gave very short notice several times and he was aware of what he was doing and paid for the missed classes. I think it was easier for him since his company paid for his lessons. I actually can't remember any other ESL students missing classes without notice who didn't have a really good reason for missing class.

Although I set it up as a strict policy, I do make exceptions when the student has a good reason for not giving notice (e.g., a sick child, a car breaking down, etc.).

I also don't charge students for missing a class when they are sick. I actually prefer that sick students not come to class. The amount of money I'm out for that one class is small compared to the amount I'd lose if I caught a virus from a sick student.

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