Registration policy and withdrawal

Payment
Payment of all fees must be made in full at the time of registration. If you don't pay for your class before it starts, we cannot garantee your place. We cannot accept partial payments. Payments cannot be done first day of class. Don't ive any payment to your teacher, as it may be seen as a conflict of interest,
Acceptable forms of payment are checks or money orders (payable to French Academy DC, VA, MD LLC - 5749 Governors Pond Cir, Alexandria VA 22310), Zelle (no fee), online (with credit card processing fees of 3.5%), and cash (with appointment only at certain locations).
A fine of $30 will be charged for bounced checks. When a student's employer pays course fees, an authorization letter from the employer is required. If an employer fails to pay the cost of a student's fees, the French Academy will require the student to pay the tuition prior to the first class.

In the event of late registration, tuition cannot be prorated.

For companies and businesses, wire payments are possible and payments via corporate credit cards with applicable fees.

Withdrawals & Refunds
Refunds for withdrawal from courses (adult group classes) must be requested 5 business days prior to the first day of class for regular adult group classes, 14 days for children group classes, and 8 weeks for Summer camps. Request must be submitted in writing via email at info (at) frenchacademy.us, or via mail to French Academy DC 5749 Governors Pond Circle Alexandria VA 22310. Letters sent by post need to arrive in our hands before the deadlines mentioned above. Requests cannot be made by phone, but you can send us a text or call to let us know you would like to request a refund. Absence from class does NOT constitute notice of withdrawal. An administrative fee of $30 will automatically be deducted from the refund amount. Please allow up to two weeks for refunds to be issued.
If you paid with card the processing fees of 3.5% will not be refunded.
If a class is cancelled on our end you will get a full refund (some third-party fees like credit card fees are not refundable).

Students have the responsibility to choose and register for a class at their proficiency level. In case you don't know your level of proficiency, to make sure you choose the right one, you can contact us (info at frenchacademy.us) for a short placement test. Once you started a class you may not be able to change for an other one, and a started class can not be refunded. If you don't have the required level, you will not be able to continue with this group. We cannot garanty a spot in another class.

In some cases you can observe one session before paying for a class. This is only possible for classes that have the required minimum of participants and that are not fully booked. Please contact us for confirmation.

Private lessons are not refundable and have an expiration date. Make sure you don't buy a big amount of hours if you are not sure you will be able to finish them (see below).

COVID-19
Classes may have to be held online to guarantee the safety of students and teachers in regard to COVID-19.
If your class cannot be held online and is cancelled, you will get a credit for a future class or a refund.

Private Lessons
- Private Lessons once purchased, must be used within a three month period (5-hour package), four month period (10-hour package), six months (15 hour package), or nine month period (25-hour package), or 10 months (30-hour package).
If you do intensive classes, meaning 3 hours or more per week, your expiration date is the number of hours you bought divided by your weekly amount of hours + 5 weeks.
For example, you scheduled 4 hours per week, and you bought 40 hours, you will have 15 weeks to complete your package.
- For a cancellation or a change of appointment, a notice must be received 24 hours before your class, by Friday before 4pm for a Monday class. Tuition fees once paid are not refundable.
-Private lessons may be exchanged for an online group class under the condition that there are spots available in the class. The rates are as followed: 10 private hours for a 24 hour group class; 6 private hours for a 12 hour class; and 5 hours for a 7.5 or a 5 hour workshop.
- In the event that an assigned instructor is not available, a substitute teacher can be provided, or a make up date will be scheduled. The French Academy reserves the right to change instructors if necessary.
- If the student is not able to keep the schedule that was first decided at the time of registration, it may be necessary to change teacher in order to schedule lessons differently. To keep a certain schedule, it is best if the students don't cancel or postpone too many classes.

Course Cancellations & Changes
The French Academy reserves the right to cancel classes and workshops, adjust curriculum, and to change teachers during courses if necessary without advanced notice. It is also possible that we have to push back the start of a class or slightly modify the time. Courses are typically modified or cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, unavailability of an instructor, or inability to schedule appropriate instructional space. If your course is cancelled, you will be noticed by email and given the option to transfer, to receive a credit, or to be fully refunded.
If your class is slightly mofidied (for ex a change of 30 minutes in the start time of your class), or your teacher changes, you cannot get a refund, as it is generally due to unforeseen circumstances, and the class is still happening.
In the event of severe weather conditions or instructor's sickness, classes might be cancelled. Make-up classes (for the whole group) will be scheduled and announced by email. No alternative make-up dates or refund will be offered for students who are unable to attend scheduled make-ups. Cancellations and make up classes will be announced via email. In case of multiple cancellations because of severe weather conditions, it might be impossible to make up for all the classes. Online classes can be offered for small adult group classes, instead of a in person group class.

Students who are enrolled in a class, may change to an other class, only if there is a spot in an other class of their choice. Generally we know if this is possible the day this class starts.

Make-up classes for students who missed a group class session
Students cannot substitute missed classes (a missed session of a group class) with an other session in other courses offered during the same course period or later. Any student enrolled in a group class can get a make-up class "private lesson" at our lowest hourly rate.
If the students prefer to catch up on their own, they will be able to work on the material, lesson plan and homework sent by the teacher.
In case students cannot come physically to the session, if they are able to do so and the teacher has the capability to do so in the room, they can also Skype/ Zoom in to the class, to follow the session. The quality of the sound and image may be poor.

Missed classes are not refundable.

Request to Repeat a Class
The French Academy reserves the right to request that a student repeat a course if it is deemed necessary before they are allowed to progress to a class at the next proficiency level.

Lost belongings
Students, families, and visitors should make sure to take their and their children’s belongings before leaving a French Academy's class. The French Academy is not responsible for any lost belongings.