Policies & Code of Conduct

Membership

• As a membership organization, we require that all students in our language classes (group and private) be members of AFW.
  
• If your annual membership is to expire during a session of class for which you register, we will require that you renew and pay for your membership at the time of registration.
  
• Tuition does not include membership fee.
  

Registration Policy

• Tuition for a class does not include the annual membership fee or the cost of books. It doesn't  include your annual access to virtual classrooms either.
• Group classes require a minimum number of students.  If the minimum number of required enrolled students is not met, AFW may cancel the class or combine the class with another similar class.  
• Private classes are available, tailor-made to fit the student’s choice of time and content, however once the schedule has been arranged prior to starting a series of lessons, it cannot be modified.  Private classes are offered in packages with a fixed number of hours.  When purchasing a longer package of lessons schedule over a period of several months, students can schedule breaks in advance if they know they will be unavailable on some weeks due to prior commitments.
•  Tuition is not prorated for an enrollment after the term has begun.  The student will have the option of making up the missed class(es) by attending a similar class over the remainder of the term.
  
• Adult classes are for 18 year-olds and up.
  
• Toddler classes require the presence of an adult parent or caregiver.
  
• AFW reserves the right to dismiss any student whose behavior is inappropriate or disruptive to the learning environment, AFW’s premises, or to other students and/or AFW staff. If AFW receives such a complaint from a teacher, staff and/or fellow students about a student, a meeting will be called with that student, or for any student under 18 years of age, with that student’s parent or guardian, to notify him or her of the complaint and to request a change if and when warranted. If after that warning, the student continues to be disruptive, the student will be dismissed.
  

Payment

• Membership fee must be paid in full before or at the 1st class.
  
• Tuition, Books and annual access to Apolearn for a GROUP class may be paid in full before or at the 1st class.
  
• Tuition packages for a PRIVATE class must be paid in full in advance of the first class.  
  
• Payments may be made by check, cash, or credit card.
  
• A $25 fee will be applied to any bounced check.
  

Withdrawal & Refunds

• Tuition for a group class is non-refundable unless a student provides us with written notice that he or she intends to withdraw from a class.
  • Written notice must be received by AFW:
    • 7 days before the first scheduled class for a 100% refund of tuition paid, less a $100 administrative fee
    • in the week before the first scheduled class for a 50% refund of tuition paid, less a $100 administrative fee
    • on or after the date on which the first scheduled class has taken place, no refunds will be given
  • Written notice can be submitted to AFW:
    • by e-mail at info@afwestchesterny.org (effective upon receipt)
    • by mail (the USPS postmark will be the effective date)
    • Notice cannot be made by telephone.
• Refunds will be processed by check within 3 weeks of the effective date of the notice of withdrawal.
  
• The following are not refundable:
  • Membership fees
  • Book costs for books that have been already picked up
  • Tuition payments made for private classes
  • Gift certificates
  • Tickets to cultural events

Children and Teenagers Under Age 18

• Drop-Offs for Under Age 18: unaccompanied minors are prohibited from using the elevator on their own.  This means that parents or other responsible adults must accompany students under the age of 18 into the building and up to the AFW receptionist or teacher.  Failure to do so may result in AFW being fined.  AFW may charge a fee of $25 for the first time a minor is dropped-off unaccompanied by a responsible adult, and $50 for the second such time.  Such fees will be required to be paid before the student attends the next scheduled activity.  If a minor is dropped off unaccompanied a third time, AFW may require the student to withdraw from registered activities without refund.
• Pickups for Under Age 18:  AFW expects that all children and teenagers under the age of 18 will be picked up by a responsible adult promptly at the end of the scheduled activity.  AFW incurs cost to pay staff (receptionists and teachers alike) to wait with any unaccompanied minors who are awaiting pickup.  AFW may charge a fee of $25 for each 15 minutes of late pickup for the first time a minor is picked-up late, and $50 for each 15 minutes of late pickup for the second such time.  Such fees will be required to be paid before the student attends the next scheduled activity.  If a late pickup occurs a third time, AFW may require the student to withdraw from registered activities without refund.

Cancellation & Missed Classes

• AFW reserves the right to cancel courses, adjust curriculum or change instructors at any time before or during a session if deemed necessary.
  
• If your group class is cancelled before the first class (typically in the event of insufficient enrollment), you will be given the option to transfer to another course or to have your tuition refunded in full.
  
• There are no refunds or credits for group classes not attended. Make-ups for missed group classes are permitted only if the class instructor agrees.
  
• Private lessons cannot be rescheduled once the original schedule has been agreed upon. In case there is an emergency preventing you from attending your scheduled lesson, you must notify AFW by leaving a message in your private virtual classroom on Apolearn, at least 24 hours before the scheduled lesson.  Private lessons that are missed or rescheduled within the 24 hours prior to the scheduled class will be charged the full class rate.
  

Closings & Holidays

• In the event of inclement weather, all students (group and private) are expected to check AFW’s website to ascertain whether the class will be held as scheduled or postponed and rescheduled for another date or time.
  
• AFW closes for the following holidays:
  • Memorial Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving Day (and the Friday and Saturday immediately following)
  • Winter Break (including the Christmas and New Year Holidays)
  • Summer Break (last 2 weeks in July and first 2 weeks in August)

Privacy Policy

• This describes our policies and practices as they relate to your personal information and how it is used by AFW. Our primary goal is to respect your privacy and safety online. Our web site uses a number of technologies and record-keeping methods to provide you with easy and safe browsing at www.afwestchesterny.org.
  
• What information do you collect about me when I visit afwestchesterny.org?
  

IP Addresses: AFW stores the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer when you visit our site. We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server to administer our website, and to gather broad demographic information.

• How does Alliance Française du Westchester use cookies?
  

A cookie is a very tiny test file that is created on our Web server and stored on your local hard drive. Like many organizations, AFW uses cookies to store information like user ID and personalization preferences. Our cookie is written based only on information that you supply to us – it cannot search your local computer and send us information about you and your machine. If you remain uncertain about cookies on the Internet but trust AFW cookies, you can set your Web browser to warn you before accepting cookies. In this way, you can selectively approve or deny cookies.

• What does Alliance Française du Westchester do with my information?
  

AFW uses information collected voluntarily from customers to keep them informed of announcements, course listings and events available from AFW. We may periodically send our members a variety of topical e-mails relating to AFW events and services. If you, as a customer, at any time wish to not receive additional e-mails from AFW, you can let us know in several ways:

1. Respond to an e-mail from AFW and include UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject. Your name will be immediately removed from the mailing list.
   
2. e-mail info@afwestchesterny.org and provide your e-mail address and request no further e-mail contact.
   
3. Call us at (914) 681-8735 and ask to be removed from the e-mail list.
   

AFW often uses cookies to identify which areas of our site are most appealing to visitors. In such cases, we are counting the pages that a cookie visits. We have the ability to review the frequency of words and phrases that are used to search throughout our site.

If you should have any other questions regarding the policy, please e-mail us at info@afwestchesterny.org.

CODE OF CONDUCT CODE OF CONDUCT