GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Enrolment
On the Internet, from the 1st of March of every year for the beginning of the academic year in next September.
Enrolment is definitive upon reception of the confirmation e-mail. Signature by the parents is required for minor students.
Students are enrolled for the entire academic year.
We accept enrolments all year-round as long as we have vacancies left.
Singing Tree Vocal Academy reserves the right to cancel a class if the minimum number of students (6) has not been reached. In case a class is cancelled, it shall be refunded entirely.

Registrations and requests
All administrative procedures must be carried out in written form by email at: academy@singing-tree.com or by sending mail at ‘Académie Vocale Singing Tree, avenue de Tivoli 19 bis, 1007 Lausanne’.

Enrolment renewal
Enrolments are not renewed automatically from one year to the next. Students – or their respective parents – must renew their enrolment before the 30th of April for the start of the school year in September.

Cancellation
Cancelling is free until the 30th of June. Past this limit, cancellation incur a charge of respectively CHF 100 for collective classes and CHF 250 for private tuition.
From the 2nd of September, tuition fees are due in full. Any cancellation must be notified in written form by emailing academy@singing-tree.com or by sending mail ‘Académie Vocale Singing Tree, avenue de Tivoli 19 bis, 1007 Lausanne’.
Notifying teachers about cancellations shall not be taken into consideration.

Leaving the course during the year
The Board shall grant abatements for just motives (such as relocating abroad, change in the family’s status). An abatement will be granted upon presentation of a medical certificate in case of extended sickness or of an accident leading to the student not being able to come back in class. If the motives are considered valid, only the tuition fees provided will charged. Where necessary, payments shall be refunded within a period of 3 months. Requests to leave the course must be done in writing either by email at academy@singing-tree.com or by sending a letter at ‘Académie Vocale Singing Tree, avenue de Tivoli 19 bis, 1007 Lausanne’.

Calendar
Teachings are taking place from September to end of June.
Schedules for private tuition are set on a common agreement between the teacher and the student.
Camps and masterclasses are organised during autumn, winter, Easter and summer holidays upon enrolment.

Holidays
Singing Tree Vocal Academy follows the school calendar of the canton of Vaud and takes account school holidays and official public holidays (see the “Holidays” tab on our website).
Weekly classes are not scheduled during school holidays and the official public holidays of the Municipality of Lausanne, with the exception of training courses and masterclasses.

Trial lesson
It is possible to do a trial lesson at any moment during the year before subscribing to an annual enrolment.

Non-attendance and late arrival
Any absence must be notified as soon as possible to the teacher. Missed lessons are neither replaced nor refunded.
The Academy shall have the possibility to consider any unjustified absences from the student for more than four consecutive weeks as a voluntary and therefore as a definitive termination of enrolment. In this case, the balance of the ongoing year’s fees is due.
Teachers are not bound to allow in their class any student arriving late and without written proof. Past a quarter of hour, the student shall not be allowed in class.

Misconduct
Singing Tree Vocal Academy reserves the right to terminate the enrolment and expel a student for reasons of repeated lack of discipline, rudeness to teachers or other students, gross misconduct, theft of teaching equipment, non-payment of tuition fees. Tuition fees shall not be refunded in case a student is expelled for the aforementioned reasons.

Class attendance
Students are expected to arrive in advance before the beginning of classes with their educational equipment and the appropriate outfit.

Accident and civil liability insurance
Each participant must be personally covered by a Swiss accident and civil liability insurance.

Minor students
An authorization is required for parents who agree to let their child go back home unaccompanied.

Absence of a teacher
Should a teacher be absent, classes shall be replaced, and students shall be notified in advance. Teachers can give two individual lessons per student and per year in the form of a video call.

Tuition fees
Tuition fees must be settled within 30 days after the invoice has been sent. Should the payment period fail to be met, the entirety of the invoice is due within 30 days. Invoices up to CHF 500 are to be paid in a single instalment. Invoices between CHF 501 and CHF 3500 can be settled in 3 instalments.
Payment of the tuition fees is to be done through bank transfer or online with a debit card.
In case of a change of guarantor, the invoice shall be sent to the new guarantor only after both parties (former and newer guarantors) have sanctioned it.
In case no payment despite reminders, the invoice shall be transferred to the litigation service. The Board reserves the right to put on hold the classes of a student whose tuition fees have not been settled.
Equipment acquisition expenditure (workbooks, photocopies, etc.) is to be borne by the student.
For students enrolling during the year, tuition fees are adjusted to the date they begin their course.
Tuition fees are set at CHF 80. The amount takes account of school holidays and official public holidays, during which the administration office is closed.

Family discount
The children of a same family who are enrolled at the Academy may benefit from the following preferential conditions: -15% from two minor children and -5% per extra minor child (-20% for 3 children, -25% for 4 children, etc.).
The family discount rate can be modified up to the 2nd of September of the ongoing year. Past this threshold, the rate’s modification shall be done on the invoice of the latest-enrolled child.

Right to image and intellectual property
Singing Tree Vocal Academy can use sound recordings or take group pictures or portraits of students (photos, videos) that have been taken during classes and events of the institution and on which the guarantor or the student may appear. These pictures will possibly be used in leaflets, posters and/or on the website and on social media for informational and promotional purposes. It must be noted that Singing Tree Vocal Academy shall make every effort to only use illustrative pictures or of groups of students. The concerned student’s parent or legal guardian therefore gives Singing Tree Vocal Academy the authorization to use the picture or the sound recording thereof in compliance with this clause and, in case the student has the necessary maturity, with his or her agreement and upon consultation. Should he or she refuse images or videos to be shared, and for any request to access, amend or delete a photograph or a video, the guarantor or the adult student must notify it in written form by emailing academy@singing-tree.com or by sending mail to ‘Académie Vocale Singing Tree, avenue de Tivoli 19 bis, 1007 Lausanne’.

Upon admission, students and the respective legal guardians of minor students grant Singing Tree Vocal Academy their copyright and their neighbouring rights relative to the performance and recording of works as part of classes and of any other activity carried out by the institution.

Specific provisions
In case of a serious health or political crisis leading the canton’s or the confederation’s authorities to order that schools be closed down, the classes provided on-site by Singing Tree Vocal Academy shall be replaced by online classes. If any emergency arrises at Singing Tree Vocal Academy that forces the premises to close, oneline teaching shall replace on-site classes. As Singing Tree Vocal Academy would do anything in its power to maintain the continuity of teaching, no compensation shall be granted.

Enrolling in training courses and masterclasses
Students are enrolled for the duration of the training course or of the masterclass.
The Academy reserves the right to cancel a training course or a masterclass should the minimum number of students (7) not be met.
In case of cancellation, said events shall be entirely refunded.
Enrolment comes into effect upon written confirmation by the Academy and upon reception of the training course or of the masterclass’s balance.

Tuition fees and payment
Payment is to be carried out in full upon enrolment, on our website or by way of a bank transfer.
The enrolment tax amounts CHF 30 is included in price. This tax guarantees your place as part of said training course or masterclass.
The prices of training courses and masterclasses are subject to an annual readjustment which comes into force the next school year.

Cancellations
It is possible to cancel one’s enrolment in a training course or masterclass, under the following conditions:
a) Before the training course begins, in which case cancellation shall incur the loss of the CHF 30 tuition fees;
b) From the first day of the training course or masterclass, the balance thereof is due.
c) Force majeure: should the enrolled student not be able to follow the training course as a consequence of force majeure with due recognition (such as an accident), the enrolment is cancelled. He or she must therefore justify in writing and as soon as possible his or her inability to follow the training. If force majeure is deemed valid, only the provision of actually taught classes is due proportionally in time to the contract’s expected value. Where necessary, overpayments shall be refunded within a period of 2 weeks.

Specific conditions for students with a lesson card
Subscriptions to 10 lessons and subscriptions to 5 lessons
Subscriptions must be paid before lessons start.
Subscriptions are valid for a period of 12 months running from the payment of tuition fees.
They can be renewed without any limit.

Cancellation
Teachers must be notified of cancellations at least 24 hours in advance.
A lesson cancelled less than 24 hours ahead shall be deducted from the card.