Language School Policies
On this page:
Event Registration Policy
Group Classes & Intensive Registration Policy | Waitlist Policy | Withdrawal Policy
Snow Days
Private Classes Registration Policy
TEF Registration Policy
Placement test
- Placement tests are required if the person who wants to take French classes has studied French before:
- at another institution (High School, Middle School, community college, university or any other language school in the US or abroad: Berlitz, USDA, FSI, etc...)
- at any other Alliance Francaise, including the Alliance Francaise de Washington, if it has been more than a year since the potential student's last class.
Registration Policy
- All students are required to be members of the Alliance Française. Tuition costs do not include the membership fee or books.
- Discounts can be accumulated for early registration or double registration (two or more courses for the same student during the same session or two of more family members taking courses during the same session).
- Classes will only be opened with a minimum of five students.
- All classes, except where otherwise indicated, are for adults only (age 18 and up).
- Classes are not pro-rated. In the case of late registration, the price for the entire session is due.
- Classes run the whole length of the session (8 weeks) unless otherwise indicated.
- Make-ups for missed classes are not permitted: students keep in touch with their teachers via email.
- Payment: Payment including membership and books (if any) must be made in full at time of registration, by credit card (VISA/MC), check, or cash. Please note that bounced checks result in an additional fee of $25.
Waitlist Policy
- If the class you wish to register for is full, you may opt to place yourself on the waitlist. You will need to enter your credit card information to get on the waitlist, whether your register online or whether you register on the phone with a member of our staff. We will only use the credit card information to charge the tuition fee if and only if you eventually acquire a spot in the requested class.
- While you are on the waitlist, you may not attend the class for which you are waitlisted, so please do not show up for class. Only registered students are allowed to attend their class.
- If a spot opens for you in the class, we will contact you by email and/or phone, at which point you will have 24 hours maximum to confirm whether you are still interested in registering for the class. If we do not have your confirmation after 24 hours, we will call the next person on the waitlist.
- If you are offered the spot in the class after the term has already started, the class price remains the same, i.e. it will not be discounted for missed classes, as per our policy of not pro-rating classes.
- The waitlist period ends after the first two weeks of the session are over. Afterwards, we do not call students on the waitlist anymore, even if spots open up in their requested classes.
- If you put yourself on the waitlist through our website and you are not a member of the Alliance française, our e-commerce system will require you to buy the membership to the Alliance française, as required of registered students. Therefore, if you are still on the waitlist when the waitlist period ends and had bought a membership for that reason, you will have the option of canceling that membership and obtaining a refund for it.
- All persons who were on a waitlist and did not get a spot in the class, automatically receive an email when the Alliance Francaise opens a new registration period, on or about the starting day of registration.
Withdrawal Policy
Group Classes
All cancellations must be received in writing in the form of an email or letter (postmark establishing the date of the request). Please state the course code, the number of classes attended and the reason for the cancellation. Refunds will be processed within 3 weeks according to the following policy:
- Cancellation notified in writing before the end of the first week of the session (before Sunday, 11:59pm): Students will be refunded the cost of the course minus $25 per class attended or not, the membership fee and a $30 administrative fee.
- Cancellation notified in writing after the first week (before Sunday 11:59am): No refunds will be given.
- If a student registers after the session has begun, he or she may withdraw upon written notification and receive a refund according to the "Week 1 withdrawal" rules, if and only if the notification is sent within a week of the enrollment date.
Intensive Classes
- Cancellation notified in writing before the first day of the course: Students will be refunded the cost of the course minus the membership fee and a $30 administrative fee.
- Cancellation notified in writing during the first week of classes: Students will be refunded half the cost of the course minus $25 per class attended, the membership fee and a $30 administrative fee.
- Cancellation notified in writing after the last day of the first week: No refunds will be given.
Because of our nonprofit status, our commitment to keeping tuition costs down, and our responsibility to our teachers, fees cannot be refunded or transferred to another person or to private lessons.
Credits towards another session will generally be dealt with according to the timeframe of the refund policy hereabove mentioned but will be examined on a case-by-case basis.
Books are not returnable nor refundable, except if they were not picked up.
The Alliance Française reserves the right to cancel a class if enrollment is insufficient ; in this case, a NEW student may indicate his or her choice as to whether he or she wants the newly acquired membership refunded.
Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, please call 202 234 7911 by 9 am for morning and early afternoon classes, and by 4 pm for evening classes. A special announcement will be recorded if the Alliance is closed and the classes postponed. The same announcement will be posted on our website.
Private & corporate classes students should check with their teacher.
Private Classes Policy
Payment must be made in full at the time of registration.
Private courses tuition is not refundable and not transferable to group classes or to another student.
A minimum purchase of 5 hours is required.
Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel a lesson, please contact the teacher directly 24 hours in advance or you will be charged for a one-hour lesson.
Membership to the Alliance Française is required of all Alliance Française students, including private lessons students.
In the event of inclement weather, students should check with their teacher for potential cancellation.
Library Membership Agreement
I am responsible for the items I borrow. If borrowed items are damaged or lost, I will purchase a new copy for the library. I understand that borrowing privileges are suspended if I have an outstanding fee of $10 or more.
Policy on Late Returns
By signing below, I agree to pay late fees in the amount of 15 cents per item, per day, for books and audiocisual materials, and $1 per day for new DVDs.
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