Q: We are uncertain how to write our course cancellation blurb. We are currently experiencing a drop in CE sign-ups in the region along with a lot of last-minute signups. We want to encourage folks to sign up early to avoid the course being cancelled, however, due to the propensity of folks to wait until the last minute to sign up, we are kind of in a catch-22. Any thoughts or examples from other institutions on how to write the course cancellation blurb without sounding too stiff or legalistic? Our current blurb in our printed brochure reads as follows: Bow Valley College reserves the right to cancel programs or courses due to insufficient enrolment or other unexpected circumstances. Any courses cancelled by Bow Valley College will result in 100% refund with no administrative fees.
A: You are really looking at two different issues. One is how to let people know that you have the right to cancel classes. The other, which is really the more important issue is how to avoid having to cancel classes. Here are some recommendations:
1. Put a note on your table of contents pages, telling people that they should register early to avoid the likelihood that a class will cancel.
2. Offer an incentive for early registration. This is really like having two registration deadlines. People will often register early to get a discount or for whatever incentive you are offering. (A discount for early registration is probably the best). When you have an early registration discount, you will see a lot of people registering at the last minute before the discount period is over. This is a good way to get people to sign up.
3. Do not cancel a class until the day of the course or the day before the course. Too often, last minute registrations will turn a course with too few participants into a course that will make money. Cancelling too early means you forfeit the opportunity to allow courses to be successful. Ideally, you should determine the half-life of each course you offer. Know when you typically reach the halfway point in generating the number of registrations you need. If you are on track for getting enough registrations, you can wait until very close to the start date to cancel.
4. Don't cancel classes that will lose more money by cancelling than by offering the course. Too often, courses are cancelled because they are not "breaking even." You need to look at your course costs as costs for promotion and costs for production (typically production is teacher compensation). You have invested in promotion for each of your courses. This is called a sunk cost. You have spent this money up front. If you have enough registration income to pay your instructor cost, you should not cancel the course, even if you lose money. Why? Because you have already paid the promotion cost. You will not get this money back. By cancelling the course, you will still lose your entire promotion cost. If you offer the course, you will not lose any more money than if you cancel it, provided you generate enough money to pay your instructor. Offering a course in these circumstances has a lot of benefits.
First, you don't disappoint those who have signed up. If classes are cancelled too often, people may look elsewhere because they won't trust that the class will be held. Second, you don't disappoint your instructor, who may look elsewhere for opportunities if your organization consistently cancels courses. Third, sometimes a class that is close to getting enough enrollment will perform better the next time it is offered, so offering it even if the numbers are not where you would like can be a detriment to future registrations.
LERN has a publication called The Essentials which is free to members. This publication includes information on how to determine your "go/no-go" point as well as other tips about how to know when to cancel a course.