Every year at the end of summer, music teachers take stock of their returning students, interview new ones, and fit students into an ever-shrinking number of available lesson slots. The functionality of Music Teacher’s Helper allows you to divide students into headings for Waiting List, Active Students, and Former Students.
However, I’ve found that a student’s path from initial contact to full studio registration can be more complex. This year I’ve devised several more categories in order to more efficiently track students at every stage in their path through my studio.
Here are the categories you can use:
1. Uncontacted. These are the students you’ve either received referrals for or who have contacted you. The people on this list are the ones you need to call or email for the first time.
2. To Meet. These are students you’ve contacted and would like to get together for an initial interview.
3. Undecided. After an initial meeting, many students (or their parents) still aren’t ready to commit. These students are to be followed up at a later date. Eventually they’ll either be registered, dropped from your studio list, or placed on the waiting list.
4. Waiting List. If your studio is completely full, these are the students to be notified if openings come available.
5. Returning/Unconfirmed. Many students intend to register for the next year but are late confirming their return to your studio.
6. Registered. These are the students who have committed to your studio, have paid, and have set a time. Registered students get first dibs on your studio schedule. If you teach at more than one location or work for more than one employer, you should make a separate Registered list for each one.
7. Former students. The final resting place of students on your lists.
Lists 1-4 should correspond to students on your MTH Waiting List. Depending on how you run your studio, the students on the Returning/Unconfirmed list will be on either your Active Students or Waiting List category. Registered students should always be on your Active Students list and should be removed from it as soon as they withdraw.
This system requires an extra level of organization on top of your MTH account, but it should clarify the status of each student as you move into the critical late August – early September registration period. You can easily implement this system using sticky notes, a whiteboard, a notebook, or a spreadsheet.
How do these registration stages work for your studio? What other categories would you recommend?
Lists, lists — I love lists. This is a good list of lists, so to speak. I especially love that you are talking sticky notes, notepads and manual writing implements. Preferably of many colors! Aie yai yai — my brain is swirling with all of this. Each late summer/early fall, as I contend with all the layers of things to do, match up, integrate and finalize, I think that scheduling students for the year is the hardest, most complex thing I do all year. I yearn for a computer program to do the work — but I still think the human brain is the only tool that can do it right.
Great list! I recommend yet another category: Confirmed – these are the ones that have registered, paid their registration fees, you know will definitely be back, have confirmed a time slot, but will not start until a certain time. I have many of these, as I allow my students to take summer break if they choose to. So far I put them on the active list, so every month the MTH automatically generates a fee for them, but they are not actually taking lessons yet and it is a hassle to delete their fees manually. If I put these onto the waiting list, then the problem is that their time slots (which I am committed to giving them) do not show up in the calendar, and I have to manually remember which times are available and which are not – also a pain! So, I think your post is excellent, and I hope MTH will consider adding more categories to make our lives even easier! MTH programmers – are you reading this?
I have just made a blog about learning to sing and wanted to see what else is on the internet. Your blog is a great resource for teachers and anyone needing to keep track of any systems. I like your idea of colored sticky notes and wish I had thought of that for a study I am doing at the moment-it makes sense and so much easier that my methods! Thank you.