Enrollment Agreement

Introduction

The purpose of this page is to familiarize you with Dakota Music Academy LLC’s policies and procedures. This enrollment agreement is between you the student or parent, hereby referred to as member and Dakota Music Academy LLC, hereby referred to as DMA. Please read each section which pertains to your student. In order to complete enrollment, members are required to acknowledge acceptance to all sections of this page which pertain to you and accept and agree to all policies and procedures established by DMA. The information in this document will be updated regularly, you will be notified when ever this agreement is updated.

Acceptance Clause

By becoming a member of Dakota Music Academy LLC, which includes registering for lessons, paying tuition, and attending lessons, you hereby accept that you have read and agree to abide by all of the policies, procedures, and rules that are outlined in this Enrollment Agreement. By continuing your enrollment after receiving notice of changes made to this Enrollment Agreement, you hereby accept that you have read and agree to all revisions, deletions, or additions to any policies, procedures, and rules as outlined in the new revised version of this Enrollment Agreement. All members will always be made aware of revisions that are made to this document and can give their consent to adhere to the new agreement by remaining enrolled in the Academy.

Registration, Deposit, and Tuition Payment

To enroll in the Academy members must pay a $20 registration fee. Billed tuition does not begin until the month of the first scheduled lesson or rehearsal. The registration fee is non-refundable, even if you do not end up taking lessons at DMA for any reason. Monthly tuition is non-refundable, unless DMA has to cancel a lesson and is unable to supply a reasonable substitute teacher or a make-up credit. If you enroll in lessons midway through the month, your first months tuition will be pro-rated.

All members will receive an invoice for monthly tuition sent to the e-mail that they provide during registration. We use stripe to process all of our credit/debit card payments online. Cash and check payments are only accepted if they are in the exact amount of your invoice, checks should be made out to Dakota Music Academy. A 5% late fee will be assessed for any tuition that is not paid in full, 5 days after the invoice is sent via e-mail. If the invoice is not paid in full by the next billing cycle, your enrollment may be discontinued immediately. Should DMA be at fault for a bank transfer or card processing issue, the issue will be resolved in a timely manner and no extra fee’s will be applied to your bill.

Changing Membership Levels

Members are welcome to upgrade or downgrade their enrollment plan at any time. Enrollment changes will go into affect for the next month only and tuition will be adjusted on the next months invoice. Headliner Silver and Headliner Gold students are only eligible to adjust their enrollment plan prior to starting their studies each semester. In order to change your enrollment status please speak with our concierge at the front desk or DMA’s president.

Discontinued Enrollment

Students will remain enrolled in the Academy continuously until an application for discontinued enrollment is submitted by the member. If you desire to discontinue enrollment at any time for any reason, you may do so by filling out the discontinued enrollment agreement at our front desk, prior to the final month of study you wish to be scheduled for; if you choose to discontinue immediately (in the middle of a month), you will still be billed for the next final month of study regardless of whether you attend the lessons or not. Should you choose to rejoin DMA at any time, you will be required to go through the enrollment process as described in the “Registration, Deposit, and Tuition Payment” section of this page.

Curricular Materials, Books, and Sheet music

Students will be occasionally required to purchase instructional materials – sheet music, method books, flashcards, books w/CD, etc. – as needed based upon the student’s musical progress and at the teacher’s and/or DMA’s discretion. You are free to purchase these items from any retailer that you choose, as long as the material is the exact match to what the teacher has assigned the member. DMA will always provide you a suggested retailer that we know sells the correct product. If you accidentally purchase the wrong material (including the wrong version, voicing, or arrangement) and our teaching staff asks you to correct the mistake, DMA will not be responsible for paying any type of compensation for your mistaken purchase and you will still be required to purchase the correct material.

Lesson Cancellation (make-up credits)

The goal of this policy is to create simplicity, consistency, and the best value for each of our members. Monthly tuition includes 5 free lessons throughout the year. This is to help create some flexibility for busy students while also creating a more consistent schedule for everyone else. That means you can miss up to 5 lessons throughout the year, for any reason, and still be enjoying the full value of your membership. If you are going to miss your lesson no action is required, but you may choose to inform the studio so your teacher may prepare for the following week's lesson appropriately. If a student falls ill the day of their lesson, then you should contact our main office by sending a detailed e-mail to info@dakotamusicacademy.com or call our office at 605-262-1700 and a make-up credit will be applied to your account. This credit may be used with your regular teacher or another teacher, but may only be scheduled during the teachers regularly scheduled hours. These make-up credits expire within 30 days, so you want to make sure and schedule these make-ups as quickly as possible. If no alternate teacher or times are available then you may receive a discount on your next months tuition. We trust all of our members to use this leniency responsibly and for serious illness or other unforeseen difficult situations that may arise only. Make-up credits are non-transferable and may only be turned into a refund or credit on the account at the sole discretion of DMA and per the regulations outlined on this page. If a student misses a make up lesson or must cancel it for any reason, the make-up credit will be forfeited.

Teacher Initiated Lesson Changes
Our teachers from time to time may need to cancel or reschedule a lesson. If a teacher initiates a lesson change, one of the following options will be used:

1. The teacher may reschedule your lesson for a different time that same week or a different time in the near future.

2. The teacher may have a substitute teacher come in and teach lessons.

3. The teacher may provide a pre-recorded video lesson or digital lesson handout with instructions for the student to work on.

If the teacher is unable to make-up the lesson using one of the options listed above, then a discount may be applied to the student’s next month tuition.

Inclement Weather

DMA does not follow any public or private school closing announcements. If travel to the academy is deemed unsafe by our staff or if a family does not want to make the trip in to the studio, an online lesson will be substituted in place of the in-person lesson. We will utilize the ZOOM platform for this. Students will be sent an invitation for a ZOOM lesson that corresponds to the students regular lesson day and time. If the student is unable or unwilling to attend the ZOOM lesson then the lesson will not be made up (remember there are 5 free lessons built into your tuition).

Recitals

Each semester a recital date and time is offered for our members. In the event that we have a large number of students, multiple dates and times may be offered. Members are not required to perform in a recital to remain enrolled in the Academy. If a member desires to perform in a recital, they must have studied music with DMA for at least one semester, prior to their first performance semester, otherwise special approval from the president will be required. The student is required to be enrolled through the end of DMA’s semester for participation in that semester’s recital(s), regardless of recital fee(s) paid. All tuition and any late fees, if applicable, must be paid and up to date for eligibility to perform. The registration fee for a recital is $15 and date/time placement are based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Performing members will be placed in their 2nd choice recital time (when applicable) if the 1st choice is full. Recital registrations received after the sign up deadline require an additional $10 late fee. All registration fees are non-refundable. Registration is not transferable to other student(s) or sibling(s). In the event the recitals are full at the time your registration is received, parent will be notified and recital registration(s) will be applied towards your upcoming tuition statement as a credit only.

If a member arrives to an incorrect/non-registered recital performance date/time/venue, the member may not be eligible to perform. Members who behave inappropriately at the venue will not be eligible to perform, at the sole discretion of any of DMA’s staff or the president. Venue seating may be limited, seating is available based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Seating marked “reserved” is for DMA staff only. Members dressed inappropriately may not be allowed to perform, at DMA’s sole discretion.

Some recitals may be ticketed events, depending on the venue and performance opportunity. If the recital is going to be a ticketed event, all members will be made aware prior to registering. All members who are registered to perform will receive two complimentary tickets to give to anyone they choose. Any other DMA members who wish to attend the event may purchase tickets at a special member rate; this rate may only be applied to purchases made by a member in person and is limited to 5 tickets per member.

Headliner Program

In order to enroll as a Headliner member, a student must have studied with DMA for at least one semester or receive special approval from the president. By enrolling in the Headliner program, you are committing to be with the ensemble for the duration of the semester as defined by DMA’s official calendar (Fall, Spring, or Summer semesters) and are expected to pay the monthly tuition throughout the duration of that semester. Should you decide to discontinue with an ensemble for any reason, before the scheduled end of a semester, you will still be billed for monthly tuition until the end of the semester. There are no tuition credits, refunds, or make-up classes/rehearsals for any student absences from an ensembles regularly scheduled rehearsal. Should an ensemble’s rehearsal be cancelled due to inclement weather or a teacher related issue, a make-up rehearsal date and time may be provided at the sole discretion of DMA. In most cases, if a teacher cannot attend a rehearsal, a substitute teacher will be provided.

Concert Performances

Each semester a concert date and time is scheduled for our Headliners, these shows may or may not coincide with our other recitals or performances. All students enrolled in these programs are expected to perform in this concert, please check that you are available for the performance date, prior to signing up for the Headliner program. If a student has missed more than three rehearsals with their band or three private lessons, without attending any make-up lessons, they may become ineligible to perform with their band and no tuition refund or credit will be provided. Students are required to be enrolled through the end of DMA’s semester for participation in that semester’s concert. There is no registration or fee required for these concerts, since all Headliner members are expected to perform. If a band member does not perform for any reason, there will be no tuition refund or credit provided.

Some concerts may be ticketed events, depending on the venue and performance opportunity. All Headliner members will receive two complimentary tickets to give to anyone they choose. Any other DMA members who wish to attend the event may purchase tickets at a special member rate; this rate may only be applied to purchases made by a member in person and is limited to 5 tickets per member.

Acceptable Performance Material

Sheet music, instructional method books, flashcards, books w/CD, and musical selections for study in a private lesson is all subject to the approval of the member’s teacher prior to study. Members are welcome to study any genre and type of music in private lessons, so long as it does not contain any excessively explicit material in the lyrical content. Any student desiring to perform in a DMA’s public events, either as a soloist or a Headliner member, must adhere to the following performance music regulations:

DMA’s public performances are family friendly events and performers are expected to exemplify this in appropriate lyrical content, performance dress, and behavior.
No performance may contain any explicit, crude, or overly sexualized content
Mild language and certain slang terms may be allowed at the sole discretion of the DMA’s staff with final approval being made by the president.
If a song is desired to be performed but a lyric might be called into question, the performer may be allowed to change the lyric to a less offensive one in order to allow the song to meet DMA’s performance regulations, at the sole discretion of DMA’s president.
All final decisions regarding musical selections, any disputed song lyrics, or necessary lyrical edits will be made by DMA’s president.

Photo and Video Disclaimer

By enrolling as a member in DMA, you agree that DMA, and any other entity or person working with DMA’s express permission, may photograph/video you during any class, lesson, rehearsal, and performance and that DMA, and any other entity or person working with DMA’s express permission, may use those photo(s) or video(s) within our websites, brochures, flyers, marketing, online marketing, and other promotional materials.

Instrument and Equipment Use

If a student intentionally or accidentally damages/destroys/defaces any of DMA’s instrument(s), equipment or property and that instrument, equipment, or property is therefore deemed unusable, in need of repair, or requiring replacement by DMA, the member whose fault it was, will be responsible to pay any reasonable fee(s) to DMA to repair or replace said instrument, equipment, or property. Members are only allowed to use DMA owned equipment with the express permission of their teacher or the president. Student’s should not touch any other academy member’s instrument or equipment for any reason, unless express permission has been granted by the instrument’s owner. DMA is not liable for any member’s personally owned instrument or equipment and will not pay any type of repair or replacement costs for any instrument(s) or equipment that DMA does not own.

Enrollment Discontinuation by Dakota Music Academy

DMA reserves the right to discontinue any member’s enrollment for unreadiness or behavioral problems and also reserves the right to discontinue a member’s enrollment due to a member’s or member’s family member’s verbal and/or written harassment, threatening remarks to staff or students, noncompliance with DMA policies and procedures, or teacher or student safety concerns at DMA’s sole discretion. Unused tuition may or may not be refunded to the member, at DMA’s sole discretion and depending on the severity of the situation.

Release of Liability

By completing your enrollment with DMA, you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to the entire Enrollment Agreement contained on this page and agree to adhere to all policies and procedures as described in this agreement. DMA reserves the right to update this Enrollment Agreement at any time. Should this agreement be altered for any reason you will be notified of the changes.