When parents and students sign up for a class with VAI, they are agreeing to abide by all of VAI's policies when they sign the registration form. The following are VAI's current policies and are subject to change at any time.

Registration and Tuition Payment Policy

• Five weeks before the start of each new semester, information is emailed and/or mailed out about upcoming classes. Registration begins at that time (sign-up for our email newsletter to receive updates about upcoming classes).
• Tuition is due by the first day of class each semester. If needed, we do offer a payment plan as follows: Tuition can be divided into two payments. The first half of the full tuition must be paid when registering for classes. The second half is due by the fifth week of classes.
• Registration is on a first come, first served basis and classes fill up quickly. Registration ends by the third week of classes. See the registration page to learn more about how to register for classes.
• Every student, both new and old, are required to register each semester with a new registration form. This ensures that contact information is up-to-date in our records, while also clearly indicating intention to enroll a child in a class.
• The complete tuition balance is due by the fifth week of classes. An email and/or mailed invoice will be sent out for any remaining unpaid account balance after the fifth week of any semester.
• After the eighth week of each semester we will finalize all accounts. This means if there is any outstanding balance by the seventh week of classes we will give you a call and/or mail a FINAL NOTICE and the Tuition Late Fee Policy (see below) will go into affect. This will help us to keep all our accounts up-to-date.
• Currently the only method of payment is in person (by check, cash, or money order) or by mail (check or money order). We hope to have an online payment method available soon.
• Under special circumstances we can offer an individualized payment plan on a case-by-case basis. A different payment plan other than the one listed above must be approved.


Tuition Late Payment Policy

A $20 late fee will be applied to accounts with any outstanding balance beyond the 7th week of Fall, Winter and Spring semesters and a hold will be placed on any account that has an outstanding balance until the balance in paid in full (This means an account with an account hold will not be allowed to register for any new class until the account balance is paid in full). Tuition is due by the first day of classes for all Summer workshops. This same $20 late fee and account hold will be applied for all Summer workshop account balances that are outstanding beyond the first week of any Summer class.

Missed Classes Policy

Missed classes are generally not made up or reimbursed. During Spring and Summer terms we understand that vacations, etc. may interfere with normal class scheduling. Upon registering for spring and summer terms, it is possible to subtract the cost of days that will be missed from the overall cost of tuition; however, a schedule of the specific classes that will be missed must be given to the administrative office by the end of the first week of classes. This policy does not apply to Fall and Winter semesters, however, written appeals maybe addressed to the Executive Director for review for special circumstances.

Refund Policy

The cancellation of class registration and a refund request must be done in writing. Refunds are calculated from the date a notification is received, not from the last day of attendance. A 10% processing fee is charged on all refunds.
• 100% of tuition may be refunded up to one working day before the class meets for the first time.
• A portion of tuition may be refunded up to one working day before the class meets for the fifth time. This refund will be prorated according to the number of classes left in the term from the time the notification is received. The 10% processing fee will be subtracted from the total amount of the refund.
• No refund is available after the date the class meets for the fifth time.

Holidays Observed Policy

VAI observes the following holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Classes that fall on any of these holidays will be made up in some way (how classes are made up is decided on a case-by-case basis).

Bounced Check Policy

A fee of $20 is charged for all bounced checks.

Liability Policy

While every precaution is taken to ensure the safety of your child, VAI is not responsible for injury, damage to or loss of property during, before, or after class, at the school, at off site locations, or in transit.

Classroom Climate Policy

VAI's classes are highly stimulating, creative environments for the purpose of focused artistic and creative learning. Every part of a class is organized to enable students to expand their creativity and skills. While students do find a creative peer group, these classes are not intended as playtime or a social hour. Some of the values that students must abide by include:
• Punctuality - be on time to class, students who are late disrupt the class.
• Respect - show respect to other students and faculty by being quiet during work time.
• Listening - listen carefully and follow instructions.
• Participation - participate in class activities in a positive manner.
Students showing a lack of respect for other students or staff may be asked to call their parents to come pick them up. Parents are asked not to go into the classrooms while students are in session; this disrupts the focus of a class. The faculty is responsible for instruction only. Administrative questions are answered in the office. Early release of any student must be cleared with the administrative office.

Parent Guild Policy

As a non-profit organization, VAI relies on volunteers to help make it the dynamic learning experience that it is. The Guild is the group of volunteers that meet these needs. When a child enrolls in a class, their parents automatically become Guild members. Members contribute 4 hours per semester serving in various ways, such as: driving for field trips, cleaning, making phone calls, modeling for a class, fund-raising, helping with student art shows, etc. $50 may be substituted for each semester's time commitment. For more information about volunteering see: Volunteer Opportunities.

Student Artwork Ownership Agreement Policy

Many students donate artwork to Visual Art Institute for its permanent collection or for fundraising purposes. The student work that is donated is designated as such; otherwise all artwork belongs to the individual student that produced it.

 

The above policies supersede VAI's current and previous policies, printed, published, or listed elsewhere. (This page last updated: May 26, 2010)