Spoken English Practice – Cancellations, No Shows and Time Off Policy

This document is part of the new hire orientation at Spoken English Practice. All new teachers should familiarize themselves with our guidelines on cancellations, no shows and time off.

Our goal is to design policies that are reasonable to both teachers and students, and are easy to understand and follow. We want to create a environment where teaching English is fun, easy and rewarding.

For easier presentation, we have structured this document in a question and answer format.

 

What is the class cancellation policy of Spoken English Practice?

The student must inform the teacher at least 24 hours in advance if they wish to cancel a class. E.g. If the class is starting at 9AM EST Monday, the student should inform the teacher via a Skype text message before 9AM EST Sunday.

Missed classes without 24 hour notice will result in the loss of a class. The teacher will mark the class as a completed class.

This cancellation policy is communicated when students enroll for classes. Here’s the link https://www.spokenenglishpractice.com/class-cancellation-policy/

 

Today my student did not show up to class and did not inform me. What should I do?

After you have added your regular greeting message (“Hi, this is your teacher Adam, I’m ready to start the class”), and tried calling the student and got no response, you should give the student 10 minutes to show up to class.

If the student has still not responded after 10 minutes of waiting you can say “Seems like you are not joining the class today. I have to count this class as a completed class as you have not given any notice. Here’s a link to the class cancellation policy https://www.spokenenglishpractice.com/class-cancellation-policy/”

This way, you are making it abundantly clear to the student that missed classes without 24 hour notice will be counted as completed classes.

On the timesheet, add a comment saying “No show” , when you bill. You will be paid for the no show.

 

What if the student had an emergency?

If the student had an emergency and if this is the first time the student missed the class without notice, you can offer the student the time they missed free of charge.

E.g. you can add 10 extra minutes free of charge to 3 lessons to make up 30 minutes. Or you can add 30 minutes after a regular 30 minutes class free of charge. Free of charge means you do not enter this time on the timesheet.

Be very clear that the student can only use 1 emergency no show during a 20 lesson course.

 

The student sends a message saying he wants to cancel 23 hours before the class start time. What should I do?

The policy is 24 hour notice but most teachers will allow this. Tell the student you need at least 24 hour notice in the future or you will count the class as completed.

 

The student sends a message 24 hours before class start time asking whether you can reschedule the class to 1 hour later than regular start time. What should I do?

You have 2 options here:

a.) If the new suggested time is ok with you, you can respond “sure, that is fine with me” and have the class.

b.) If the new suggested time does not work for you, you can respond “Sorry, that time does not work for me. We can cancel the class since you are informing me 24 hours before class start time and continue from <day of the next class>

 

How can I minimize class cancellations overall?

Be very clear in the first class about these rules. Show that you are fair but will enforce these rules strictly.

When a no show happens without notice, make sure you add on Skype the cancellation policy link as mentioned above. https://www.spokenenglishpractice.com/class-cancellation-policy/

Important- Documenting on Skype by clearly communicating this with the student critical, especially if the student decided to challenge the class count later.

 

Do most teachers follow this policy strictly or can we be more flexible?

Most teachers understand that there are certain situations where student cannot give 24 hour plus notice.

E.g. If you have a student who is regularly attending classes but misses 1 class due to a child falling sick last minute.

We expect and encourage teachers to use good judgment and build a long-term relationship with the student. The ultimate goal is to help the student improve their English speaking ability so that they will keep coming back and refer you to friends.

 

What if I’m fine with students cancelling classes without giving any notice? I’m online anyway…And I feel more students re-enroll for classes with me and refer me to their friends because I’m flexible with the cancellation policy.

This is completely up to the teacher. However if you take this route, you must be consistent.

 

I have clearly communicated the cancellation policy but I’m still getting no shows. What should I do?

Just keep communicating clearly with the student per the directions given in this document. No Shows/cancellations are part of most appointment-based services (doctors appointments, gym classes, open houses, oil changes, tax preparation etc.), and you have to understand this is unavoidable.

 

Can a student drop me and get a new teacher for strictly enforcing the cancellation policy?

They cannot directly. However, we give students the flexibility to change teachers so they could request a teacher change without giving a specific reason.