Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Issues with registration/administrative fee

Just a footnote: teachers who charge below actual costs, whether due to spousal income or for other reasons, are actually engaged in hobby teaching, and all teaching generated revenue is taxable; there are no deductions permitted. I'm guessing that in our community, 75% or more of piano teachers are hobbyists; their tuition most certainly doesn't reflect the real cost of teaching.

As far as Keystring's point, as I understand it, institutions could just as well charge one blanket level tuition, which includes all the administrative costs of enrolling students, etc. They choose to charge separately for academic/non-academic costs because they can generally enhance overall revenue by doing so.

This thread is coming to an end, but I never meant they charge below cost. They just absorb the little costs that Morodiene is talking about into their regular lesson fees.

Well, these are not 'little' costs in my book. They add up over the course of the year and there's nothing wrong with wanting to separate them out from how we decide what our hourly rate is. You may not want to do that, and that's fine. We don't all have to run our businesses the same.

As Morodiene has suggested, this is hardly a right or wrong issue. Different teachers just do business differently.

I have considered such a registration/materials/activities /whatever-the-heck-fee, but so far I have resisted. I figure my business costs are part of what I charge for tuition, and fees sound too bureaucratic. That's just me and my present studio.

John does it a bit differently. Morodiene is starting her school. I respect them both, and as the kids say, "Whatever."

Fortunately, most of these teachers are incompetent and not members of any association. The problem (for the rest of us teachers) arises when some of these hobby teachers are actually good at teaching. There is a good teacher in LA who will actually teach for free.

Where does my tuition go?

I was reading this famous post by Wendy and decide that I will set my tuition fees to cover everything she said in the post. That includes recital fees, books, incentive, book keeping, administration fee.....That also means I won't collect registration fees or recital fees or activities fees (whatever you call it)

Of course we all do not need to run our business the same, but I like to make everything easy since my studio is called "Easy Piano Studio"

Have anyone of you deal with the billing system of our health care? They make is so complicated with all the hard to understand billing code and is not consumer friendly at all.

Just saying....

I have considered including these extra expenses (such as described in Wendy's article) in the monthly tuition fee (or quarterly, as I have changed my tuition schedule). I just think that parents who have never enrolled their kids in piano (and therefore aren't educated about what've involved in piano lessons) will just look at the monthly fee and compare it to what other teachers charge and decide to go with the cheaper teacher. Maybe it's something psychological but I think saying you charge $100 per month with a $---- enrollment fee that covers ----(and list all the things) looks more reasonable to the average parent.

It's something I've pondered for quite a while....

I must not be understanding what you want the fee to cover.

organizing recitals/performance opportunities, (for me this is $140 per term or zero depending where I hold the recital.

billing/collections, (I have no costs here. I ask for cheques in advance of the first week of the month.)

scheduling, etc. - administrative stuff.(I simply consider this part of the joy of teaching. Often a scheduling inquiry can lead to a conversation about progress. It's a valuable means of communicating with parents.)

activities (If I have a small studio recital, I just absorb the cost of fruit juices and cookies.)

So I think we're talking apples and oranges here, Morodiene.

Here's what my annual enrollment fee covers that tuition does NOT cover:

Office supplies (printer/copy machine ink, paper, pens, folders, dry erase markers... that list can be endless)
Carpet cleaning of studio 2x per year
Piano tuning
Stickers, treasure box 'treats', trophies and other incentives
New computer software (billing/accounting software, Finale notepad, etc...)
Upgrading studio equipment (rhythm instruments, any new furniture, keyboards, new pedal extender, string cover for my grand, new duet bench)
Dues for professional memberships (MTAC, Guild, ECMMA)
Convention attendance (it doesn't pay for all my expenses but does help to offset some)
Recital programs or fees
Pizza parties, ice cream parties, refreshments for events
Christmas or end-of-year gifts for students

*I know I'm missing some stuff....

What some say is covered by an enrollment fee, others say is simply covered by tuition. It's all income, whatever you brand it.

Yes, but I would guess most teachers don't actually figure in all the potential expenses that come up, when setting their tuition rates.

How does one run a business without calculating expenses before setting prices?

By becoming a "hobby" teacher.

I understand what you are saying, but I still want to stress strongly what I see as "professional". First and foremost, the teacher has to have skills and knowledge to impart, and know how to bring them across. In other words, he or she has to be able to teach effectively, and make the effort to do so consistently.

A teacher who knows how to make money and run a business is not, in my view, a professional teacher due to that fact. The person may know very little and have few skills, but have a good business sense. Conversely, a teacher may be excellent at teaching, but have a poor understanding of teaching. That teacher in my view is not a "hobby teacher" - just a poor businessperson.

Of course someone who teaches excellently but can't run a business won't last long, but might be able to keep on teaching if the family income is carried by a spouse. So they could run it like a "hobby teacher" -- maybe only teaching part time, charging less than everyone else. In the sense of how they run their business, it's like a hobbyist.

In every profession, not just music teaching, one must know the subject matter. It is a given. What is usually overlooked, especially in the arts, is how to connect with the student. Obviously, this is not more important than the subject matter, but it isn't less important, either. Make no mistake about it, if you cannot connect with the student, all your brilliance and training is for naught. You're no more effective than the teacher with only a high school education.

The business leg of the tripod is rather odd. An artist who cannot manage his personal affairs or run his business is soon out in the cold. What good is that?

All three elements of teaching are needed: knowing the subject matter, knowing how to teach (connecting with the student), and knowing how to run a business. I think we're on the same page.