FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Admissions

ONCE WE SUBMIT OUR APPLICATION, HOW WILL WE KNOW THAT OUR STUDENT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED?

Once the applications are in, the tutors will read/review each of them.  In some cases we may request an interview before a final decision is made.

MY CHILD IS ACADEMICALLY ADVANCED, MAY WE START EARLY?

Our experience has been that students get far more out of their classes if they do NOT begin early.

HOW DO WE PAY FOR COURSES?

The Schaeffer Study Center is not a school.  Each of its tutors works as an independent contractor – hired by the parents to teach/tutor their children.  Parents may write checks to Schaeffer Study Center for course tuition.  The tuition may be paid in one check for the whole year or divided up into two, four, eight or ten payments.  If you choose to break the payments up, you will need to submit them as post-dated checks (dated for the first day of the month) before classes begin in August.

WE CHANGED OUR MIND, WILL OUR TUITION BE REFUNDED?

Because the teachers make plans for the following year based on enrollment, please understand that you are making a commitment to the teachers when you sign up for their classes. For this reason, checks, once written are non-refundable UNLESS the class is not taught.

WHAT IF THE CLASS DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH STUDENTS OR IS CANCELLED? WILL OUR TUITION BE REFUNDED? 

If the class is not taught, your checks will be returned to you. (So far this has only happened when the class enrollment hasn’t met minimums – often we won’t know for sure until registrations are complete.  If a class looks if-y, we will keep you posted.)
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HOW DO I MAKE SURE MY STUDENT IS GUARANTEED A SPACE IN SPECIFIC CLASS?

We are not able to hold students a space in a class until the tuition and fees.
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Courses

HOW OFTEN DO CLASSES MEET?

Our tutorial classes meet on Wednesdays for 32 weeks, beginning in mid August and ending in early May.
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WHAT IS THE HUMANITIES BLOCK? WHY IS HISTORY/ART HISTORY/LITERATURE REQUIRED?

The Schaeffer Study Center is set up a little differently from other tutorial programs. We are attempting to move chronologically through history (Ancient – Modern times) in a way that integrates the history, literature and art of each time period. Each of the four Humanities Blocks are made of an hour-long class in each of the three areas which work together as a unit.
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CAN WE JUST REGISTER FOR A SCIENCE COURSE AT FSSC?

Students who only want to take one of the science courses, arts courses or Bible courses will be considered if there is space in the class after those who are taking the Humanities Block have registered.
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HOW MUCH TIME CAN WE EXPECT TO SPEND ON COURSEWORK OUTSIDE OF WEDNESDAY CLASSES?

On average, our students should expect to spend 4 to 6 hours per class per week at home to complete assignments for these classes.
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WHAT INVOLVEMENT IS EXPECTED OF THE PARENTS?

• Stay involved with your student academically. Read as many of your students’ texts/assignments as you can. Ask questions and encourage your student to talk about the ideas and content of their courses with you.
• Be an active part of our group. Encourage tutors. Pray for them. Pray for the students and families in our group. Come to lunch!
• Set up a plan every Thursday for the next week’s work. Some students benefit from a weekly calendar of assignments broken down into 4 or 5 days of class work listed by subject.
• Check the testing schedule for each class. Parents are often expected to administer tests according to the directions provided by tutors.
• Make it a habit to check your email daily for announcements.

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Auditing

WHAT DOES AUDITING A CLASS MEAN?

At Schaeffer, auditing a class means that the student attends the classes regularly, and does the reading assignments for the class.  Auditing students are encouraged to participate in class discussions. Students will get copies of all handouts and a copy of the syllabus, and students should have copies of the texts required for the class.

An auditing student is not expected to turn in written assignments or take quizzes or tests.  And, the tutor is not expecting to read or grade written assignments from a student.

It is always best to discuss expectations with the tutor at the beginning of the course.
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WHAT CLASSES CAN BE AUDITED?

Classes that work best for auditing are lecture classes.  Discussion classes will also work IF AND ONLY IF the student is committed to doing all the reading and participating in the discussions.  Usually, auditing will work in a large discussion class if the student just wants to sit in and “absorb” general information about the assignments.

Auditing is not a good fit for small classes, especially small discussion classes, where a student is not committed to preparing for the class each week.  In these small classes, participation is key to the effectiveness of the class as a whole.

The tutors have the right to limit the number of auditing students in a given class.  It the tutor tells you that they don’t think auditing would make sense for their particular class, you are welcome to discuss it, but in the end please respect his or her decision.
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WHEN DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO AUDIT?

Auditing makes sense

• when parents want students exposed to the information, but concerned that they have all they can handle
• when parents feel that a student’s special needs academically require alternative assignments or alternative measure of evaluation/grading.

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WHAT ARE THE FEES FOR AUDITING?

As the tutor still has to prepare their material and present it in class each week, the fee for an audited course is the same as taking a course for credit.
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IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONVERT AN AUDIT TO CREDIT?

The short answer is, yes.  If a tutor has been kind enough to reduced or waived tuition, the standard fees would need to be paid before the change could be made unless other arrangements are specifically made with the tutor.

The longer answer:

Here at Schaeffer, tutors will give you their assessment of your student’s work.  As the primary teacher, you assign the final grade.  It is your responsibility to factor the tutor’s assessment into your own estimation of your student’s progress when you assign a final grade for the course, but the final determination is yours.*   If you feel that your student should get academic credit for a course, that is your call.

Tutors will assume that auditing students will not be turning assignments in to them, and so will not expect to give the student a grade at the end of the grading period.  If you would like your student’s work to be graded at some point, just talk to the tutor.

*Our only request is this: should your assessment radically differ from the tutor’s assessment, please be careful not to undermine either the tutor’s authority over his or her class or your student’s respect for the tutor.   [Saying “I know Mr/s Tutor flunked you for this course, but I know that you have done (whatever it is) outside of the class, and I feel that you should have credit for it.” is great. Saying, “Your tutor is an idiot and this assessment is not worth the paper it’s printed on!” is not so great.  At that point, it would be obvious that the problem was not just a grading problem.]
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CAN WE SWITCH FROM CREDIT TO AUDIT?

Assuming that a tutor feels the class is suitable for auditing, a one-time switch is generally possible.   It is up to the individual tutor to make that call.  If the tutor does not feel that the class is one that can be effectively audited, and the family elects to drop the course rather than continue to take it for credit, there will not be a tuition refund.

If you would like to change your student’s status from credit to audit, you must clear it with the tutor first.
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