Question 1

Withdrawals and Refunds

Accepted Answer

There are no refunds for classes or workshops

If you need to withdraw from a class for any reason, we offer credit toward a future session or a transfer to another class. No refunds will be offered.

Before your first class: If you withdraw at least 24 hours before your first class, you will receive full credit.

After that: Any class held before we receive your withdrawal notice, whether you attended or not, is deducted from your credit. A class that takes place less than 24 hours after we receive your notice is also deducted.

Withdrawals must be made in writing to afsf@afsf.com. Credit is good for 1 year, and then it expires. Credit is applied automatically at checkout when you are logged in to your AFSF account, and can be used toward classes, memberships, and workshops.

In the case of a class cancelled by AFSF, and only in this case, a refund is offered.

Question 2

Enrollment Policies

Accepted Answer

Tuition and fees must be paid in full at the time of registration.

Acceptable forms of payment are check, money order (payable to Alliance Française de San Francisco), or credit or debit card. When a student's employer pays course fees, an authorization letter from the employer is required.

Enrollment: Registrations are accepted in the order received until the class is declared full (maximum of 14 students).

Last day to enroll: Registration closes at the end of the fourth week of each 8-week session.

Age requirements:

Adult classes: Students must be 18 or older.
Teen classes: Students must be 13 to 17 years old. Students who are 18 and still in high school are also welcome.
Kids classes: Students must be 5 to 12 years old.
Learn and Play classes: For children ages 3 to 5, who attend together with a parent or guardian.

Some classes may have different age requirements, as stated in the class description. If you have questions about which class is right for your child, please contact us.

Question 3

Mandatory Membership

Accepted Answer

A valid one-year Individual Membership with the Alliance Française de San Francisco is required to register for a group or private class and for certain events and workshops. Membership benefits include borrowing privileges with our large multimedia library and our online library, Culturethèque, as well as discounts to certain Alliance events. Please note that memberships are nonrefundable and nontransferable.

Question 4

Placement Test

Accepted Answer

Non-beginner students who have not previously studied at the Alliance Française must take a free online placement test before enrolling.

Question 5

Transfers

Accepted Answer

If a class's coursework is unexpectedly too difficult or too easy for you, we will do our best to transfer you to another class in the same session, space allowing. Your original payment will be converted into credit, which we will apply toward the new class. If the new class is more expensive, you will be required to pay the difference. If it is less expensive, we will issue the difference as a credit to your account. If you transfer into an online class after the session has started, recordings of classes held before you joined will not be provided. No refunds will be offered.

Question 6

Prorated Pricing

Accepted Answer

Prorated prices are not discounts: they reflect class time you will not receive. Discounts cannot be applied to a prorated price. Prorated prices apply in two situations.

Late start

If you register after the session has started, the price is prorated based on the number of classes already held. If the prorated price doesn't appear when you register on our website, please contact our front desk before paying and we will apply it for you. For online classes, recordings of classes held before you registered are not provided, since the prorated price does not include them. Registration closes at the end of the fourth week of the session.

Partial attendance

Online classes: Prorated pricing is not available. Every class is recorded, and the recording is shared with students within one business day, so you won't miss any of the material.

In-person classes: If you know before registering that you will miss one or more classes, please contact our front desk first. We will check whether another section would work for you, such as the online version of the same level. If no other section fits your schedule, we can prorate the price for the class meetings you will miss. The limit depends on how many times your class meets during the session:

Classes with 8 class meetings: up to 3 missed class meetings
Classes with 7 class meetings: up to 2 missed class meetings
Classes with 6 class meetings: 1 missed class meeting
Classes with 4 or 5 class meetings: prorated pricing is not available

Question 7

Missed Classes/Make-Up Policy

Accepted Answer

We cannot provide make-up classes for classes you miss. A missed class is forfeited. However, online classes are recorded so you can catch up; see Privacy & Class Recordings below. If you are enrolled in an in-person class and would like to attend the online version of your class for a week while you are traveling, we may be able to accommodate the request, as long as the online class is not full. Contact us a few days beforehand so we can coordinate. AFSF does not offer credit for missed classes after registration. This is different from withdrawing from a class; see Withdrawals and Refunds above.

Question 8

Teacher Absences

Accepted Answer

If your teacher is sick or unable to teach a class for any reason, the AFSF admin team will do its best to provide a substitute teacher. If we cannot find a substitute, your teacher will try to reschedule the class.

If you are unable to attend the rescheduled class, or if no rescheduled time is possble and the class is canceled, you may choose a credit or a refund for the class you missed. A refund is offered here only because the original class was cancelled by AFSF; it does not apply to classes you miss for your own reasons (see Missed Classes/Make-Up Policy above).

Question 9

Privacy & Class Recordings

Accepted Answer

Online classes are recorded so that students can review the material or catch up on a class they missed. Zoom notifies everyone in the class when a recording starts.

Who receives recordings: Recordings are shared with the students enrolled in that class, within one business day after the class. The recordings may also be shared with onsite AFSF students who are taking the same class level, or some students that join the class later. It can also be used by the AFSF pedagogical team for teacher training purposes.

How long they are kept: Each recording is available for 30 days after the class, and is then deleted.

Personal use only: Recordings are for your personal study. They may not be downloaded, shared, or reposted.

Question 10

Minimum Number of Students & Course Cancellations

Accepted Answer

How enrollment affects your class 6 or more students: The class runs at its full length. 3 to 5 students: The class runs for fewer total hours. For most classes, each class meeting is shorter (for example, a 2-hour class meets for 1.5 hours); 1-hour classes instead meet 2 fewer times (see the table below). Because the class is not cancelled, no refunds will be offered. 2 students: The class cannot run as a group class. We will offer to continue it as a semi-private lesson for an additional fee per student (see the table below). You can choose to continue at the full class length or at the shorter length. Or, you may receive a credit or refund instead. This is treated the same as a class cancelled by AFSF. 1 student: The class is cancelled, and you may choose a credit or refund. Classes may also be cancelled if a teacher becomes unavailable for the session and no replacement can be found. If your class is cancelled, we will notify you by phone or email, and you may transfer to another class, receive a credit, or receive a refund. A note on prorated pricing: Prorated students may count as less than one full student toward these numbers. For example, 2 students who each attend 4 of 8 classes, paying 50% of the price, may be counted as 1 student. This means a class with 6 students enrolled may still meet for a shorter time if some of those students are prorated. Class length for smaller groups Number of paying students 2-hour class 1.5-hour class 1-hour class 6 or more 2 hours per meeting16 hours total 1.5 hours per meeting12 hours total 1 hour per meeting8 hours total 3–5 1.5 hours per meeting12 hours total 1 hour per meeting8 hours total 1 hour per meeting, 2 fewer class meetings6 hours total 2Semi-private lesson rate Additional fee per student: $396 for 16 hours or $169 for 12 hours OR credit OR refund Additional fee per student: $297 for 12 hours or $112 for 8 hours OR credit OR refund Additional fee per student: $198 for 8 hours or $84 for 6 hours OR credit OR refund

Question 11

Onsite Information

Accepted Answer

Dogs and other pets are not allowed in our building, except certified service animals.

We have a bike rack located in our courtyard. Bicycles and scooters are not allowed in the building.

We do not have a parking lot. There is street parking, and a paid parking garage on our block.

Number of paying students	2-hour class	1.5-hour class	1-hour class
6 or more	2 hours per meeting 16 hours total	1.5 hours per meeting 12 hours total	1 hour per meeting 8 hours total
3–5	1.5 hours per meeting 12 hours total	1 hour per meeting 8 hours total	1 hour per meeting, 2 fewer class meetings 6 hours total
2 Semi-private lesson rate	Additional fee per student: $396 for 16 hours or $169 for 12 hours OR credit OR refund	Additional fee per student: $297 for 12 hours or $112 for 8 hours OR credit OR refund	Additional fee per student: $198 for 8 hours or $84 for 6 hours OR credit OR refund