5 min read

New refund policy
New Refund Policy

New Refund Policy Announcement, effective November 17, 2020

Outschool is making some small changes to our refund policies in order to streamline the experience for teachers and parents. Our goal here is to clarify and streamline our already existing approach to refunds, so that we can reduce the amount of time everyone spends on administrative issues and instead focus on teaching and learning. We’ve not made any material changes to what already exists in our terms of service, but are providing real life examples so that both parents and teachers understand our refund policy, as well as run into fewer issues when they request refunds. For example, right now, parents have to send many emails to both support and teachers to get refunds, when it should be easier. At the same time, teachers have to field refund requests – and sometimes provide refunds – for issues outside their control, like a parent changing their schedule.

Since many refund requests come into our support team first, we have outlined a set of scenarios so that our support team can process refunds without needing to contact the teacher. Most refunds will be covered out of Outschool Funds via our Happiness Guarantee, but there are certain scenarios where the refund will be processed out of Teacher Pay. Read below for a list of these circumstances. All other refund requests that come into support will be processed out of Outschool Funds.

What is the change?

The following are the refund types that Outschool’s Support team will process directly, and share the cost with teachers 70/30%, upon request of the parents. If a teacher has already been paid, Outschool will request a return of 70% of the enrollment fee; Outschool will cover the remaining portion from the 30% service fee. We expect the funds to be returned within 7 days.:

↪ Your class didn’t occur as originally planned. Parents receive a prorated refund for any of the following situations:

  • You missed, cancelled, or attempted to reschedule a class time. In the event that the parent is unable to attend the rescheduled meeting, they can request a refund.
  • If a class starts more than 5 minutes late or ends more than 5 minutes early, parents can request a refund for the class meeting.
  • If part of a multiday class is rescheduled and the learner is unable to attend the rescheduled meeting(s), parents are refunded based on the number of meetings that were rescheduled.
  • If you do not teach the slated number of class meetings, parents receive a prorated refund.

What should teachers do (or not) differently?

↪ Teachers still have the autonomy to proactively provide refunds whenever you think it’s right, including in the cases above.

↪ If you are currently processing, or in communication with parents about processing refunds, please do complete those refunds.

↪ If families reach out to you to discuss refunds for other reasons than those listed above, feel free to direct them to https://outschool.com/help.

Why are we making these changes?

Shared expectations and clear process helps our marketplace! We have clear guidelines about teacher, learner, and buyer actions on the site to optimize the experience for everyone. We want the refund process to be straightforward, clear, and not time-consuming to either our parents or our teachers. We hope that this clear set of criteria, and our handling of refunds, will result in teachers having more time to focus on their classes and their learners.

Need a refresher on Outschool’s refund policies?

Outschool has a Happiness Guarantee, which ensures that all learners have a positive learning experience on the site. We offer both full and partial refunds, based on the context. For more information read about Outschool’s Happiness Guarantee here.

Did you know we have 3 types of refund policies? Here they are, summarized, with more information here.

⓵ Flexible. Full refund until the class begins, then a pro-rated refund based on the number of class meetings that have occurred. All flexible schedule classes use this policy.

⓶ Moderate. Full refund within 24 hours of purchase or up to a week in advance of the class, then a 75% refund within the first week of the class.

⓷ Limited. Full refund within 24 hours of purchase or up to a week in advance of the class.

We encourage teachers proactively provide refunds in the following scenarios:

✓ You cancelled a class meeting, missed a class meeting, or shortened a section, and you were unable to reschedule or transfer the learner

✓ You are running a specific teacher discount

✓ A learner had a poor experience in class, and you were at least partially responsible

✓ If a parent enrolls the wrong learner then wants to switch the enrollment, you should fully refund the incorrect enrollment once the correct learner is enrolled.

For more information, please visit the Refund Policies for Teachers for a complete overview.

We appreciate all that you do to ensure a positive learning experience for learners!

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