Enrolment Policy

The Board of Cork City Music College (CCMC) has put in place the following enrolment policy, and we would ask you to read it carefully.  This is in place to safeguard the future of the College and the Music Outreach Programme for all our students, and is not negotiable.  Cork City Music College is a registered charity and is a non-profit organisation (Charity Number 14265/20046057).

General Information: There are TWO semesters in the academic year.

Semester 1: 11 September 2023 - 21 January 2024

Semester 2: 22 January 2024 - 2 June 2024

Enrolment: To enrol for class, please book online at www.ccmc.ie.  All applications must be submitted with a €50 non-refundable, non-transferrable deposit; otherwise a place will not be reserved.  Deposits will be deducted from the second semester fees.

1. All fees must be paid by the due dates.  Students whose fees are unpaid will not be admitted to class, and the College cannot be responsible for these students.
2. The closing date for payment of first-semester fees is September 4th.
3. After September 4th, places will not be held unless full fees are paid.  If fees are not paid, places will be re-allocated to new applicants and deposits will NOT be returned after this date.

 

Tuition: Lessons missed by students will not be made up.  As a courtesy to the teacher, we ask that the College be notified (ideally at least 24 hours) before class time if a student is to be absent.  If a teacher is unable to teach, a suitable substitute teacher may be appointed by the College.  In situations where this is not possible, classes will be made up during the next available date as arranged by the individual teachers.  Allocation of teachers or changes of teachers will be determined by the College.  It is the student’s responsibility to make her/himself available for theory class if s/he wishes to attend such a class.  Students must ensure that they bring all necessary materials to class each week as directed by their teacher(s).  Instruments and materials required for class are not included in the tuition fee.

While most tuition in the College is conducted in -person, we can facilitate the option of online tuition or blended learning. Blended tuition is a combination of traditional classroom-based tuition combined with online tuition through video conferencing software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.  Blended learning can be also very useful in scenarios where students or teachers are unwell and due to their symptoms, it would be inadvisable to interact with other people.

In extreme circumstances and situations beyond the control of CCMC, where a particular College centre is closed for health and safety reasons, we will continue our tuition online where possible.  We will not be in a position to offer refunds to students who do not wish to avail of these online classes.

Illness: We kindly ask that all students, teachers, and parents of the College do not attend class/college centres while unwell with symptoms including a fever, cough, sore throat, stomach upset, etc.

Supervision: Teachers are not responsible for students outside their classroom time.  It is imperative that students arrive to class exactly at the time prescribed by the College and leave the building immediately at the end of class; students are not allowed to loiter in any premises used by CCMC.  Parents/guardians of CCMC students are asked not to enter the building in which lessons are conducted.  Parents/guardians of Music Bug Club students will be asked to sign a declaration ensuring that they will collect their children immediately at the end of class.

Students with Special Needs: CCMC welcomes applications from all students with an interest in music.  Our teachers work closely with parents/guardians of all children in order to provide the best musical education possible.  Although CCMC teachers are not trained specifically to work with students with special needs, in so far as is practicable for everyone involved, CCMC works hard in conjunction with students, teachers and parents/guardians to meet the individual needs of all its students.

Conduct: In the interest of safety, students and their caregivers are required to conduct themselves in an orderly and respectful manner before, during and after class, and on all College premises. All interactions between students, parents/guardians and staff must be done with courtesy, respect and dignity. CCMC reserves the right to discontinue tuition due to the student’s/ caregiver’s continued breach of discipline.

Injury to students: The Board of Management (BOM), directors, or teachers of the college cannot be held responsible for injury to any student caused by the student’s own negligence or disregard of the regulations and Enrolment Policy, or by such negligence or disregard on the part of any student or students.

Discontinuance: In extreme cases, CCMC reserves the right to dismiss and cease a student’s tuition due to behavioural/disciplinary issues of a student/parent/guardian, non-payment of fees, and non-compliance of the regulations and Enrolment Policy.

Cancellations and Refunds: Fees are paid in advance for the duration of a semester.  No refunds, full or partial, are given except in exceptional circumstances determined by Cork City Music College.

Deposits: To ensure places are secured for September, a €50 non-refundable, non-transferrable deposit is required per booking.  Deposits are deducted from the second semester fee.  Deposits will be returned in the event that a class does not proceed due to insufficient enrolment.

Board of Directors: CCMC has a voluntary board of directors.  Parents of students, or students over the age of 18 are invited to join the Board of Directors.  Please contact the office if you are interested.

Advertising/Photo Release Policy: We may use your photo for promotional use on our website, social media or in promotional materials (such as brochures that we mail out to prospective students).  We will always seek your consent in using these photos except when a publicly accessible concert is on and a student is performing.  However, if you object to us using a picture of you at a concert or performance just inform us and we will, normally, immediately remove it.  The use of photographs/videos taken by third parties at any public CCMC events are not under the control of Cork City Music College.

Time-Tabling: The timetable is compiled over the summer, and students are informed of their times in August.  New and late applicants will be allocated times as vacancies arise, and will be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis.  Educational considerations take precedence in grouping the classes.  While CCMC will try to facilitate students’ requests regarding times of classes, CCMC cannot guarantee to be able to do so on all occasions.

Examinations:  Music exams are held in May/June at CCMC in Coláiste Éamann Rís and other venues in the city depending on the examining board.  Exams can also be undertaken before Christmas and Easter.  Examining boards used by CCMC are the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), Trinity College London (TCL), The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), London College of Music (LCM), and Rockschool.  CCMC holds in-house examinations in early June. Please note that in the case of external examining boards, CCMC does not arrange the timetabling.  Therefore, it is advised that, at the time of applying for external exams, students should notify the CCMC Exam Co-ordinator of any dates/times that may cause conflict.  However, there is no guarantee that the examining body will be able to cater for candidate’s requests.

Exam Applications/Fees: Exam entries must be made, with correct payment, through the College office using forms supplied by CCMC teachers.  Entries are governed by the rules of the relevant examining board.  No entries can be accepted after the official closing dates as set by CCMC.  Exam applications will not be accepted from candidates whose CCMC tuition fees are in arrears.

Accompanists in Exams: In cases where an examining board requires candidates to use an accompanist, CCMC will endeavour to organise an accompanist if the candidate so requires and indicates this on their exam application form.  However, the accompanist’s fee is the responsibility of the candidate and must be paid directly to the accompanist before the examination date.

Communications with CCMC: Communication from the CCMC office will generally be made by email including invoicing, CCMC newsletter, notification of events etc.  Ensure you have added info@ccmc.ie to your safe list of email addresses to avoid our emails being sent to spam or junk folders.  Please ensure the office has your most up-to-date contact details including email address, postal address, and mobile phone numbers.  CCMC also uses Facebook to keep parents/students abreast of current college news, exam closing dates and other important events.  Please refer to our Privacy Policy available at www.ccmc.ie.

Communications Between CCMC Teachers & Parents/Students: The main method of communication between CCMC teachers and parents/students is via Lesson Notes or emails through mymusicstaff.com. It is imperative that parents/students ensure that they have received their log in details at the beginning of term and are able to access the portal. The mymusicstaff log-in portal can be accessed from the home-page of the College website at www.ccmc.ie. Please contact Nicola in the office if you have not received your log-in details.

If a student or parent/guardian of a student wishes to discuss progress or any other relevant issue with a teacher, this can be arranged at a time convenient for both the teacher and parent concerned.

Formation and Continuation of Classes: The Board of Directors reserves the right to refuse to open any class or course, the enrolment for which is, in its opinion, insufficient.  All fees will be refunded in such an event.  Regarding group instrumental classes, please note that where the number of students per class alters post enrolment, fees and/or class lengths may change in accordance with our Schedule of Fees on the CCMC website/brochure.  We recommend that advanced students register for 40-minute classes.

Policies: By registering for classes, students/parents/guardians are deemed to have agreed with our Enrolment Policy and other CCMC policies available on our website at www.ccmc.ie.  CCMC may require parents/guardians of students under 18 years of age to sign documents concerning child protection.

Calendar: Please consult the College calendar available on our website/brochure for CCMC holidays and closures, etc.  Please note that classes that fall on public holidays will be rearranged with the exception of St. Patrick’s Holiday.

Methods of Payment (Closing date for first payment: 4th September 2023):

All bookings require a €50 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit to secure a place.

Deposits will be deducted from second semester fees.

First semester payment due before 4th September 2023.

Second semester payment (less deposit) due before 12^th January 2024.

The balance is to be paid by one of the following methods:

1. Through the online mymusicstaff portal on our website www.ccmc.ie:

Please contact the office if you do not receive your log-in information.

2. Two Instalments by bank transfer:

Please contact the office to obtain our bank account details.

1. Standing Order:

This is paid in FIVE instalments: the first instalment must be paid directly into our bank account before 4th September 2023.  The remaining four instalments are to be paid by standing order over FOUR months, commencing on or before October 1st 2023.  Payment by standing order is available to students who commence tuition in the first semester only, and is subject to a surcharge of €5 per enrolment.  Overdue payments of instalment will incur a late fee. If a payment is overdue by a week it will incur a €10 charge and this fee will increase by €5 a week thereafter.

CCMC teachers do not accept payments.  For the transparency and safeguarding of our staff, we cannot accept payments by cash or cheque.  If you require assistance in making payment please contact Nicola in the office by phone/email.

The Cork City Music College Enrolment Policy is updated on a regular basis and thus the Enrolment Policy found on our website at www.ccmc.ie will supersede all other CCMC Enrolment Policies in our printed documents/brochures.