Payment Conditions

1. All group or individual programs include: classes and course materials. Your accommodation type needs to be informed when you fill out your enrollment form. If you chose “home stay accommodation”, the address of the homestay will be provided 7 days prior to the commencement of the course.

2. The student will need to make a USD100 non-refundable deposit in order to secure enrollment. Full payment must be made on the first day of classes (after the student is settled in a host family and has completed the first day of classes).

Please note that this deposit will be deducted from your total, should you choose to pay the balance upon arrival.

The school accepts cash (American Dollars / Euros / Brazilian Reais). IMPORTANT: The school offers a 10% discount on all prices for payments in cash (Dollars, Euros or Brazilian Reais). To qualify to this discount, you need to enroll 1 month prior to the start of your course. And also pay for the period you originally enrolled in.
We offer a 5% discount if enrollment takes places less than 1 month to the start of the course.

Classes and Groups

1. If the student enrolls for a group class and there are no other students of his level are starting on the same date, the student will be offered to do individual classes. In this case, the student will pay the individual course price.
Alternatively, if the student doesn’t want to spend more money than originally planned, he or she will be offered 10 individual classes instead of 15 group classes. For every 3 group lessons, the student will do 2 private lessons.

Also, if the student enrolled for 5 weeks of group instruction (i.e. a group that started with 4 students), but after 4 weeks of instruction, the group is left with one student, this student will do 10 individual lessons in his last week.
Students should know that this sometimes happens, especially in low season, and often times it’s difficult for us to know when this will happen beforehand. Most of the time, we have to rely on the placement test given to students on the first days of classes to determine if a group can be formed or if it will be more productive for students to study individually.
Teachers work very hard to maximize the amount of learning you can take in while you are here, and also to ensure your satisfaction. Your satisfaction level will be measured weekly. So feel free to share your thoughts with us.

2. Group classes have a maximum of 5 students.

What happens if a student decides to change the course type or lenght after arriving?

Here are two examples to illustrate two common situations:

1. Students enrolled in a particular course can change their course type or lenght while they are taking this course. For instance, a student is enrolled for a 4 week group course, but after 2 weeks of group classes decides to change to private classes, this is possible given that we have availability of teachers/classrooms. The same happens with a student that started studying mornings only, but halfway through the course decides to take additional afternoon private classes. We will try to be as flexible as we can be to meet students needs and expectations, but it’s important to notice that the school needs at least one week notice to make any type of change in a student’s course.

2. Another example, for a different situation: A student enrolled for a 4 week intensive group course, and on his first day at the school decides to take only morning classes. The school won’t be able to cancel the afternoon classes on this first week, but will be able to cancel the afternoon classes for the remaining three weeks.

When to Arrive at Homestays

1. Students should plan to arrive on the Sunday before their course starts and departure on the Saturday after it finishes. If the student needs to arrive in Florianópolis one or two days earlier than theSunday prior to the commencement of the course, this can be arranged depending on availability. The last day at the home stay is always a Saturday. If the student needs to stay one more day beyond the scheduled departure day, this can also be arranged depending on availability. However, the maximum number of days the student can stay at their home stay after the course is finished is 2 days. Regular days cost USD30 each. Extra days cost USD40 each.

The school courses cost the same all year round, but homestays have a slightly higher rate during high season. In the second half of December, January and February, rates are: regular days USD35 and extra days USD45, each.

Postponements and Cancellations

1. Students may be permitted to change details of their reservations or postpone their start dates, provided that this is received no later than 7 days prior to the commencement of the course. Notification of such changes or postponements must be made in writing to Step1 Idiomas. A charge of USD50 is made if any change is requested within 7 days to the start of the course.

2. In case the student needs to cancel the course for any reason, we ask him/her to do it 14 days prior to the commencement of the course. No refund shall be given thereafter.

Insurance

1. The company does not accept any liability for any injury, damage, loss, additional expenses or inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond our control. Students should take all necessary insurance arrangements (sickness, loss of baggage, curtailment of the trip) in their country of origin.

Travel Documents

1. Students themselves must arrange, prior to departure, all necessary travel documents in connection with their travel abroad i.e. valid passport, valid visa (if required), driver’s license, green card.

2. Any costs, damages or other charges arising from cancellation or curtailment due to a student’s failure to comply with the above shall be the sole responsibility of the student.

Behavioral Expectations

1. Students are expected to behave in a generally courteous and polite manner. The illegal use of drugs or rude or inconsiderate behavior, alcohol abuse, or alcoholic consumption by minors, is not considered acceptable. Step1 Idiomas reserve the right to refuse to serve and/or terminate the participation in the course as well as occupancy in accommodation of any person who behaves in an abusive or inconsiderate manner towards others, or who fails to comply with the rules and regulations of the school. The company further reserves the right to send home, without escort and without refund, any participant who violates the terms of this article. The return trip will be at the expense of the participant.

Class hours:
Classes start at 9:00 am and finish at 12:15 pm (morning period)
Classes start at 1:00 pm and finish at 4:15 pm (afternoon period)