Policies

Registration/Enrollment

Registration and Payment is a 2-part process. Please refer to the Registration page for details. A student is not enrolled until the process is completed and full-tiution has been paid.

Classes and camps for which enrollment is limited will be filled in the order registrations are received.

The UDCMS reserves the right to modify or cancel any class, lesson, or camp due to insufficient enrollment or extenuating circumstances.

Closures

If the University of Delaware closes, for inclement weather or other reasons, all UDCMS classes, lessons, and/or camps are canceled. In the case of inclement weather, private study students will be contacted by their individual teacher to reschedule lessons. Group classes and camps will be contacted via email.

Discounts

Sibling Discount: A five percent (5%) discount may be taken when two or more siblings are registered in separate classes, camps, or lessons per session.

Multiple Class Discount: A five percent (5%) may be taken if a student registers for more than one class or series of lessons per session.

UD Faculty/Staff/Student Discount: A five percent (5%) discount may be taken for current UD faculty, staff, their children, and UD students. The UD ID number must be entered on the registration form.

Senior Citizen Discount: A five percent (5%) discount may be taken by senior citizens aged 65 or older enrolled in classes or lessons.

NOTE: only 1 discount per student can be applied. Discounts cannot be combined with any other discount, coupon, or special rate. Discounts are not applied to Musical Theatre Camps.​​

Financial Aid

UDCMS will provide sliding-scale scholarships if financial need is present. Scholarships will only be provided for no more than one activity per child.

Aid funds are limited, so please be sure to apply early. For more information, visit the Financial Aid page.

Withdrawals and Refunds

Full refunds will be made if the UDCMS cancels any class/camp/lesson due to insufficient enrollment or teacher illness (for private study).

Any request to withdraw from classes or lessons must be made in writing to the UD Community Music School office via communitymusicschool@udel.edu. Nonattendance or verbal withdrawal to a CMS faculty or staff member does not constitute an official withdrawal. The date of withdrawal will be considered to be the date when written notice is received in the UDCMS office. Upon withdrawal, a full refund will be made only if written notification is received at least one week prior to the start of the first class or lesson, and four weeks prior to the start of summer camps. Note: Due to the cost of running the camps, refunds are not given​ for the Musical Theatre Camps.​

Once a CMS session has begun, refunds will only be made at the discretion of the CMS Direction in extreme cases involving serious illness, death, or relocation.

A ten dollar ($10) processing fee will be charged for all refunds.

Missed Classes and Lessons

Student Absence:

Private Study: If a student must miss a regularly scheduled lesson, twenty-four hours notice must be provided to the teacher. If twenty-four hours notice is provided, teachers will make up one lesson per semester.

Group Class: No make-ups are available if a student must miss a class.

Summer Camps: No refund is granted for missed days.

Tardiness: Private Study Instructors are not required to wait more than ten minutes for late students. Students that arrive later than ten minutes after the scheduled start of a lesson will be counted as unexcused.

Teacher Absence:

Any private study lesson missed as a result of a teacher’s absence will be made up. A substitute teacher may be provided in the case of teacher illness for lessons/classes, or the lesson/class will be made up at the end of the semester by the regular teacher.​

Instruments

Private Study students must provide their own instrument and have access to a practice instrument. For piano students, an acoustic piano is strongly recommended for practice. The University of Delaware does not rent or sell instruments, and the practice rooms in the Amy du Pont music building and Roselle Center for the Arts are for university music majors only.​

Non-Competition Clause

UDCMS Private Study instructors are prevented by contract from teaching any former UDCMS student in a private lesson capacity other than through UDCMS.

Safety

All UDCMS lessons and classes will take place on the University of Delaware campus typically in the Amy E. du Pont Music Building and the Roselle Center for the Arts.

To ensure your child’s safety, please be sure to pick them up promptly after class/lesson time. All minors must be dropped off and picked up directly to CMS Staff.

UDCMS faculty and staff do not supervise children waiting in hallways before and/or after classes/lessons. Children are under supervision during their instruction time only. Neither instructors nor administrators are responsible for supervising children outside of teaching time.

To continue to ensure your child’s safety, our policy is not to have teachers alone with students; however, in private study lessons, one teacher will be alone with one student in a music practice room. We ask parents to be involved in keeping their children safe in these situations. All practice rooms have windows in the doors, and parents are encouraged to peek in on lessons at random intervals and monitor your child’s behavior and comfort level with their teacher.

All CMS employees have completed the University's Protection of Minors compliances including a Criminal Background Check, Child Protection Registry clearance, and best-practice training.

Non-Discrimination Policy

UDCMS complies with all laws prohibiting discrimination in the conduct of its operations and programs. UDCMS admits students of any religion, race, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of religion, race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship programs or other school administered programs.

Receipts for Child Care Tax Credit

It is the responsibility of the participating family to maintain documentation for end-of-year tax records. UDCMS does not provide yearly itemized accounts of payments received. The University of Delaware Federal Tax ID is # 51-6000297.

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