How to automate & prorate tuition fees

Olivier Rousseau
10 August 2023 2 min read

Both Kate and Brandon run dance studios with classes that are currently 80% full at the beginning of the session. Both have potential clients who wish to sign up after the class starts.

Which studio do you think has a higher profit margin?

Kate from Studio A
People come to her website ready to sign up, but see that the session is still full price even after a few classes have passed. Most people don’t even bother to call in the hopes to get a prorated price. She looses a few clients.

Brandon from Studio B
People come to his website ready to sign up, and the classes are automatically prorated, making it clear that new registrants won’t have to pay for the classes they missed. They sign up immediately at the prorated price, increasing his profit margins.

Brandon & Kate end up doing the same amount of work. But Brandon’s margins increase significantly by using an online registration software that automatically prorates tuition.

In this article, we will look at how to prorate tuition for classes, activities, or memberships and how to help fill those empty spots after your session has started

We’ll cover topics such as

  • What is tuition proration
  • How to create prorated payments for a class
  • How to automate prorated classes

 

Looking to create a registration form?
How to create a Dance registration form
How to create a Gymnastics registration form
How to create Swim lesson registration form

What is prorated tuition?

Prorating tuition means that you adjust the price of your classes based on the date of registration, ensuring that latecomers only pay for the remaining classes.

For example, a student enrolls 2 weeks late for an 8-week session that is priced at $160 for the entire session.

In this example, the studio owner could decide to offer a prorated price of $120 to compensate for the missed classes.

How do you calculate prorated class or tuition?

First, determine the total cost of the session, then divide it by the number of classes to determine the cost per class. If a student arrives late or misses a class, simply multiply the cost per class by the number of classes attended.

Activity Messenger is a class management software for swim schools, gymnastics clubs, dance studios and summer camps

How to prorate tuition

The thought of manually prorating your class tuition can be overwhelming.

That’s where an online registration platform like Activity Messenger comes in to fully automate the tuition proration process.

This helps you attract more students, increase your margins, but also simplify your administrative tasks.

The system calculates the discount based on the number of classes remaining and you have full control over prorated rules.

Example of prorated tuition for a class

From the student’s perspective, the process is transparent and straightforward. They see the number of classes remaining and the discounted price on the registration page in real time.

How to automate pro-rated classes

Once you’ve created a class, you’ll see an option to offer a prorated price. Set the toggle to ‘Yes’ and click on ‘Edit and Preview’.

From there you can customize your proration options. You can set the prorated discount per class, either as a fixed amount or as a percentage. For example, in our example we used a $15 reduction per class.

How to automate pro-rated classes

But what if you don’t want the price to drop below a certain amount?

No problem. You can set a minimum price to ensure that your classes remain profitable regardless of when a student enrolls.

The system will then apply these rules automatically. Before the first class, it charges the full price. But once the first, second, and third classes are completed, it applies the proportional discount.

The updated price goes live online immediately, automating the payment process at the right price based on the student’s enrollment date

Modern Online registration software that adapts to your needs

Online registration softwares such as IClassPro, JackRabbit or DanceStudioPro can have very strict framework you need to follow to push your programs online. You can’t personalize to the needs for your organization. You end up making compromise to fit the software requirements. Which is not ideal.

Activity Messenger allow you to tailor the way you offer activities, memberships, and camps to fit your specific needs and desires. Instead of forcing you to adapt, the platform is designed to align with the unique requirements of your organization, making the registration process more streamlined and efficient.

While Prorating tuition fees is one our  features, we’re well aware that you have other needs when it comes to managing your organization such as our very popular kids party booking automation and markekting tool

That’s why Activity Messenger offers many other features, such as online registrations, email marketing, bulk SMS, event ticket sale, end of session surveys and much more.

Written by Olivier Rousseau Olivier is a kids sports programs owner who has been operating for over a decade with locations in Montreal, Quebec city & Ottawa. He also helps Gymnastics Club, Swim Schools and Dance Studios streamline their operations. He is the co-founder of Activity Messenger an online registration platform for the sports & leisure industry.

Automate & prorate class tuition fees today!

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