1. Student cancellations:

• More than 12 hours
  • Students can cancel the lesson in the calendar up to 12 hours before the lesson is supposed to start and get their point back. They then can reschedule at their leisure.
• Less than 12 hours
  • If the student cancels the lesson in the calendar less than 12 hours before the lesson start time, they will lose their point.
    • Teachers will be paid for lessons that are canceled by the student less than 12 hours before the lesson is supposed to start.
    • Students are encouraged to cancel the lesson in the calendar even when they will lose their point. This is out of courtesy to the teacher and will allow another student to book that time with the teacher as the time slot will open.
      • If the teacher does get booked with another student, the teacher will be paid twice; once for the canceled lesson and once for the new lesson.
    • When the student cancels the lesson in the calendar, it will disappear from their calendar and the teacher's. This means that teacher does NOT have to fill out a lesson record. A lesson record only needs to be completed for lessons that appear in your teacher calendar.
    • Students can also unofficially cancel the lesson not in their calendar, but by letting the teacher know via Skype message or email. In this case, a lesson record will need to be completed because the lesson is in your teacher calendar!
      • Mark that the student did not attend the lesson at the bottom of the lesson record.
      • Do NOT cancel the lesson in the calendar for the student; if you do this, the student's point will automatically be refunded. Students should lose their point, not get a refund.
  • Making an exception: if the student has had some sort of emergency and you would like to refund their point, you can. Note that this is discouraged and you do NOT have to make an exception ever. If you do make an exception, use your discretion about whether you should be paid or not. We trust TEF teachers about deciding for themselves if they should be paid or not. There are two ways to cancel the lesson:
    1. You can cancel the lesson in the calendar. The student's point will automatically be refunded. No lesson record is needed (remember that lesson records are only for classes that appear in your schedule). You won't be paid.
    2. You can leave the lesson in your calendar and fill out a lesson record. Filling out a lesson record will allow you to give more explanation as there will be a record of what happens. If you just cancel the lesson in the calendar, no written record on the teacher's part will be made. Use your judgment. When filling out a lesson record in this circumstance, you should:
    • Mark the student "present."
    • Mark if you should be paid or not.
    • Choose to give the student a refund.

2. Teacher cancellations:

• It's not a last-minute cancellation. Here are the steps you should take (in this order):
  1. See if an alternative teacher is available to take the class. You can do this by:
     • Asking in the Skype teacher chat group.
     • Checking the calendar. Click on another teacher's icon and click on the specific day to see if that particular teacher is available.
  2. Contact the student ASAP. Apologize profusely and offer the lesson with alternative teacher (if applicable):
     • Contact the student via Skype message and email.
       • Use the contact button on the student's profile to send the email.
     • Example message to student:  "Dear [student's name]. Thank you for booking a lesson with me on [date]. Unfortunately, I can no longer teach at that time. I am very sorry! Would you be interested in taking the lesson with [alternative teacher's name]? You can also reschedule the lesson with me if you prefer. I am available [alternative dates]. I apologize again for any inconveniences caused! Take care."
  3. Wait for the student to respond. The student may directly cancel the lesson themselves since this is more than 12 hours before the lesson start time and they can get their point back. The student may ask you to cancel the lesson and rebook it with another teacher. If this is the case, you should cancel the lesson in your calendar. The alternative teacher should then book the lesson with the student in their (the teacher's) calendar. Please do not cancel the lesson with the student before talking to the student about it!
• It is a last-minute cancellation. Here are the steps you should take (in this order):
  1. Contact the student ASAP. Apologize profusely.
     • Contact the student via Skype message and email.
       • Use the contact button on the student's profile to send the email.
     • Example message to the student:  "Dear [student]." I am so very sorry, but I will not be able to do our lesson later today. An emergency has come up. I sincerely apologize for how last-minute it is and for any inconveniences caused! Your point will of course be refunded. Take care."
  2. Wait for the student to respond.
  3. Cancel the lesson in the calendar. Their point will automatically be refunded. Do not cancel the lesson without talking to the student first.