No Refund/No Credit Explanation
Please note that there are no credits or refunds for any of our local and online classes (including camps and enrichment courses), regardless of the circumstance. We truly understand that life often brings on the unexpected and that we’re sometimes faced with situations we didn’t anticipate when enrolling in a class.
However, before we implemented this policy, there was quite a bit of chaos, since we deal with hundreds of kids (among all our programs) each session. So we’d like to explain why we have this policy, and why we’re not flexible when people want us to reconsider for their own personal, specific situation.
First, while it may not seem like a big deal to switch a child from one session to the next (i.e. the family wants a credit), it’s quite a different matter when there are a dozen or more who need to switch—and that’s very possible when dealing with hundreds of families per session.
For example, as soon as a child enrolls, we do several things on the administrative end. We file the paperwork, add the child’s information to the class lists, record and deposit the check, and so on. Yet for every credit or refund, we had to “undo” all of the above. That ended up taking more time than one may imagine.
But we also initiated our no refund/no credit policy primarily to ensure that families truly knew whether there was space in a class in an upcoming session.
Our classes are almost always filled to the absolute maximum. So with the no refund/no credit policy in place (and families having to pay part of their course fee at the time of enrollment), everyone now knows with certainty whether or not there is space in a class.
Prior to the policy, this is what often happened: We had to turn away families, telling them a class was full. Then (usually right before the class began), some spots opened up because families needed to switch sessions.
Since there were now available spots, we contacted those on the wait list. However, more times than not, there wasn’t enough time for those families to make it work as the program does require some planning to ensure there is time to implement it each week.
But these families were then frustrated—knowing that they had been turned away and now there was a spot. We understood that and pondered how we could prevent that from happening in the future.
Last, we schedule staff based on the number of kids enrolled in each class. So prior to our policy, we either had overstaffed classes (if several kids switched) or were put in a position to tell a staff member that we no longer needed him or her for that class. Neither was in our best interest.
So, we decided that the no refund/no credit policy served most people (when looking at the bigger picture) better than when we did not have this in place. We additionally ensure that all families are fully aware of this policy when they enroll by including that on the commitment form (which all parents are required to sign).
That being said, we always try to work with a family, thinking outside-the-box as to possible options for still doing the course (in spite of whatever obstacle has presented itself). But such options do not include a refund or credit.
In our years of experience of offering Brain Highways to families, the overwhelming majority understands and honors our no refund/no credit policy. On rare occasions, a few parents—despite knowing our policy and signing a commitment form—still expected us to refund or credit their money and actually became angry that we were not swayed by their demand for an exception.
In short, we’re probably not a good fit for a family who expects exceptions to established program policies since they’ll likely continue to have similar expectations when participating in the course. We do individualize within the program to best meet each child’s needs. However, we also hold families accountable for doing what is spelled out on the Commitment Form and Clarification and Policy handout since such accountability plays an integral role in the child’s success with the program.
Again, for the overwhelming majority, our expectations and polices present no problems.