Music Conservatory - Private Lesson Policies

The Music Conservatory offers private lessons on all major instruments and voice including: piano, guitar, voice, violin, viola, cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, french horn,  trombone, tuba, and percussion]. Our private lesson programs are programs run continuously year round and are organized into two fifteen-week semesters, fall & spring, plus an eight-week summer session.

Tuition for private lessons is charged by the semester. It may be paid in full, or for no additional cost, in three installments. The installment plan allows for payment of full semester tuition in thirds at five-week intervals during the fifteen-week fall and spring semesters and in halves at four-week intervals during the eight-week summer session. Regardless of payment plan chosen, parents and students should understand their minimum financial committment to run through the end of each semester. See below under Early Withdrawal for penalties for withdrawing early.

A $20 application fee, per student, is applied to all our private lesson programs. This fee is payable with the initial payment at the time of enrollment and again every August, if one continues re-enrolling.

The Music Conservatory accepts enrollment in its private lesson programs by the semester, however, if space is available, enrollment is accepted in private lessons on a weekly basis within each semester. Please contact the Music Conservatory at [706] 641-5124 for information on mid-semester enrollment.  

Three Convenient Ways to Pay:

1. By Phone - To pay using a VISA or MasterCard, call the Music Conservatory at 706-641-5124 during hours of 11a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

2. In Person - Tuition payments may be made in person during regular business hours of 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday though Friday at the Music Conservatory. Please phone 706-641-5124 for directions.

3. By Mail - Make all checks payable to: COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY and send to:

Music Conservatory
Schwob School of Music
Columbus State University
900 Broadway
Columbus, GA 31901

Please notify us of changes to your contact infomation,

Refunds

If you are forced to withdraw from a class or private lessons, please notify the Music Conservatory as soon as possible. The phone number for the Music Conservatory is [706] 641-5124.

• If you withdraw before 5:00 pm at least three business days prior to the class or private lessons start date, a full refund will be issued, minus a $20 processing fee.
• If you withdraw from a class or private lessons within the period of the three-business-days before the class or private lessons begin, you will receive a 50% refund.
• No refunds will be given after a class or private lessons begin.

Late Fees

A late fee of $25 will be accessed all tuition payments which are received two weeks after the date due. Click here for a calendar which includes a complete listing of all tution due dates throughour the year.

Missed Lessons

Students are allowed only one make-up lesson per semester during fall and spring semesters and then only when notification of the absence has been provided to the private lesson teacher adequately in advance. Adequate advanced notification is defined as notifying the teacher of an absence at least twenty-four hours prior to the time of the regularly scheduled lesson.

In the event that an ongoing conflict with one’s regular lesson time develops during a semester, one’s instructor should be contacted immediately to discuss permanently changing the regular lesson to a more suitable time.

Please also note that make-up lessons can not be scheduled for group lessons regardless of notification and make-up lessons will not be scheduled for other make-up lessons, regardless of advance notification.

Recognizing the need for vacation time during the summer, we have included ample time for make up sessions for lessons missed due to summer vacations. 

If ever a Music Conservatory teacher has to reschedule a lesson an attempt shall be made to provide parents with adequate advance notification and a make-up lesson will be given for any and all lessons which are missed by the instructor. All such make-up lessons will be scheduled at mutually agreeable times.

Early Withdrawal

The Music Conservatory accepts enrollment in its private lesson program only by the semester. No refunds of any kind shall be provided for those who withdraw from lessons before the end of the current semester. Furthermore, while the Music Conservatory does provide an installment plan for tuition payments, this is done only as a convenience for parents and does not in any way reduce or eliminate one's financial commitment to private lessons through the end of each semester. Students who discontinue lessons prior to the end of a semester will be charged for the entire semester,

Subject to teacher availability, students are accepted into the Music Conservatory private lessons program at various intervals during the semester. In such cases, parents and students are required to make a financial commitment to lessons from the point they enter lessons through the end of that semester.

As a courtesey to our instructors, the Music Conservatory office, [706] 641-5124, does request notification in case of early withdrawal from lessons. Simply ceasing to attend lessons does not constitute notice of withdrawal.

Practice

It has been our experience that students who practice are consistently (in almost all cases) students who make good progress, enjoy their study, and become good musicians. Students who do not develop good practice habits are, without exception, students who do not make good progress and are forced to withdraw from the program. For this reason, all students are expected to practice everyday!!

Since practice is a matter of "mind spent" rather than "time spent", students are encouraged to place emphasis on accomplishment instead of actual practice time. Periodically, however, teachers should receive a practice report, so that an adjustment can be made if needed.

Parent Conferences

Communication between parents, teacher and student is always important to successful study. At various times during the year conferences will be held either by phone or in person, but parents are urged to contact the teacher if questions arise at any time.

Waiting Room

In order to cut down on traffic and noise in the hallways and for safety reasons, all students and parents are required to wait in the waiting room (Room 2605) on the second floor of the RiverCenter until time for classes or lessons.

How to Contact Us

The Music Conservatory has its own telephone line. If you should need to reach us for any  reason, our phone number is [706] 641-5124. It is also the intention of all Music Conservatory teachers to share contact information with all their students at the time they phone to schedule lessons. If your teacher forgets to do this, please ask them for it and if this information is ever lost, please feel free to ask for it again. The Music Conservatory office will pass along messages to instructors but there is often a considerable time delay in messages getting out to instructors. So, especially in the case of a lesson cancellation where it is critical to provide teachers with 24-hours notification, parents are required to contact teachers directly.

Parking

Students are requested to enter the building through the main entrance to the Schwob School of Music is visible from the corner of 9th Street and Broadway. Free parking with a two-hour limit is available on the streets surrounding all sides of the RiverCenter, but parking spaces next to the RiverCenter on Broadway or 9th Street are closest to the entrance of the Music School. For a small fee, those who wish may also park in the city-owned parking garage which is located on Broadway directly across the street from the RiverCenter. Regardless of the time entered there is no charge for parking in the garage for those who leave the garage after 6:00 pm.

Summer Study

The length of break between the close of lessons in the spring and the beginning of lessons in the fall is far too long, especially for younger children. For this reason, we feel our eight-week summer session is a real necessity and we encourage all students to enroll for the summer term. Not only is summer an excellent time to move ahead in all areas, it also makes progress possible in the fall without extensive review.

Recognizing the need for vacation time in the summer, additional time has been included in our summer schedule for make-up sessions. If summer camp or your family’s vacation falls during the Music Conservatory’s eight week summer session, please call us to discuss options for summer make-ups which would allow your child to continue their study during the summer.

Evaluation

At the end of each semester you will be asked to complete a formal written evaluation of the lessons and the instructor. If you wish to speak to someone before the term ends you may contact the Music Conservatory at [706] 641-5142.

Inclement Weather School Closings

The Music Conservatory typically follows the lead of Columbus State University for closings due to inclement weather. However, since most of the Music Conservatory's classes and lessons occur in the afternoon or evening hours and on a separate campus in downtown Columbus at the RiverCenter it is sometimes possible for the Music Conservatory to remain open as long as the building and access to it are deemed safe. Information regarding closing of the Music Conservatory will be placed on the Music Conservatory's voice-mail greeting at [706] 641-5124 by 12 noon on the day of any closing. Classes or lessons cancelled due to the official closings of the Music Conservatory will be rescheduled.