Registration Information
Selecting Classes
- Review the Schedule List to view class options by day, by grade, and by time.
- Read the full Class Description, for day(s), times, recommended grade range, and prerequisites (for some)
- Read class descriptions carefully to see whether the class meets one day or two days per week.
- Check to see if one of those class meetings is held Hybrid with one virtual sessions (High School Biology, Physical Science, and Physics) or entirely Online (“Psychology: Case Studies in Neuropsychology and Cognition” and “Creating and Curating a Personal, Digital Portfolio”)
- Check class descriptions to see if the class is one that is held at an Offsite Location (Swimming, ballet, Nature Quest, Outdoor Survivor, and Natural Leaders) and make sure you have the mid-day transportation to the location.
- Review whether the class is quarter-long (generally 7-8 weeks), semester-long (13-16 weeks), or year-long (30 weeks).
- Contact Compass with specific class questions.
Preparing for Registration
- Set up a Family Profile if you do not already have one.
- Make sure that all information in your Profile is up-to-date, most importantly, that you have updated you child(ren)’s grade for the upcoming school year.
- Make sure you can log in. Reset password if you do not have a record of it.
- Confirm that any credits you expect are in your Family Profile so you can use this at check-out. Current year credits expire May 31, 2023.
- Review the current academic year Calendar.
- Review all Compass Policies, in particular age/grade placement, class withdrawals and refunds.
- For high school classes, read the Compass High School Program overview.
Time to Register
- Log in to your Family Profile before registering.
- Confirm you have selected the correct Class Section and Grade Level. Some classes are offered at different times for different grades, and some classes are offered on different days, all with the same name.
- Registration for Lunch-N-Learn sessions are listed on a different page, but will add to your same cart for check-out.
- Registration for quarter-long blocks of Private Lessons are listed on a different page, but will add to your same cart for check-out.
- Please note that as classes become full, a Wait List is created. Please add your child’s name to the wait list if you are interested in the course, as openings sometimes become available. You will not be asked to pay anything to be on the wait list. Closed classes with a wait list are displayed alphabetically on the list below after open classes. Read the FAQs about Wait Listed classes.
Checking Out
- Complete the check-out process within 15 minutes to secure your child(ren)’s seats in a class, otherwise, contact Compass to provide a credit card number.
- If you have a Compass Credit on file, have that number to use at check-out. Refunds will not be issued for people who forgot to apply their credit.
- Remember that PayPal is Compass’s credit card processor. You do not have to pay with PayPal or have a PayPal account to check out. You can elect to pay by credit card as a “guest” through PayPal.
- Remember that Administrative Fees are added to each class at checkout as follows: $6.00 for quarter-long classes; $12.00 for semester-long classes; $24.00 for year-long classes.
- Personal checks may be mailed to: Compass Homeschool Program, 520 Herndon Parkway, Suite D, Herndon, VA 20170.
Waitlist FAQs
What does the “Join Wait List” button mean?
The “Join Wait List” button indicates that a class is full and has reached its maximum enrollment. Additional students cannot enroll in the class unless an enrolled student withdraws from the class.
How many people are on the Wait List?
The “Join Wait List” button does not indicate how many students, if any, are waiting for an opening in the class. In some cases, joining the wait list may put your child first on the list to be contacted if a space becomes available. In most cases there are 2-5 students on the wait list, but popular courses may have 8-10. If you would like to know how many students are on a wait list, please contact the administrator.
What are my child’s chances of getting in a wait listed class?
It is difficult to know what the chances are of being able to place a student from the wait list in a class. The administrator can make a judgment based on the number of students on the waitlist and the payment status of the enrolled students. If your have an alternate or back-up class choice for your child, you are encouraged to register for that class now, and will have an opportunity to switch out of it if the waitlisted class becomes available. Signing up for another class, does not change your position on the waitlist.
How soon will I know if my child gets in his/her wait listed class?
Depending on how early you placed your child’s name on the wait list and how many students are ahead of him/her, it could be weeks or months before you hear anything about the wait list. Many changes, such as a job relocation or a last minute decision to enroll in traditional school, occur just weeks or days before the start of a new quarter. Therefore a wait listed family might not hear until a short time before classes are scheduled to begin. In order to finalize your family’s schedule, you are encouraged to register for an alternate or back-up class now, and will have an opportunity to switch out of it if the waitlisted class becomes available. Signing up for another class, does not change your position on the waitlist.
When there are multiple students on the wait list, how do you pick who is offered an open spot?
When you add your child’s name to the wait list, he/she is added to the database with a date and time stamp. When a space becomes available in a class, it is offered to students on the wait list by e-mail in the order in which they were added to the wait list.
Do I have to pay for a wait listed class?
No, you do not have to pay any fees for a wait listed class unless a space opens and you decide to enroll your child in the class.
I put my child’s name on the wait list during the early registration discount period. Will I still get the savings if a space becomes available at the last minute?
Yes, if you added your child’s name to the wait list when the early discount was in effect, you will only pay the discounted amount if a space becomes available.
If I register my child for another class and a space becomes available in his first-choice, wait listed class, will I have to pay the class change/withdrawal fee?
No, if a space becomes available in a wait listed class, and your child is enrolled in an alternate or second choice class in the same hour, you will not be asked the pay the $25.00 class change/withdrawal fee. However you would be asked to pay any difference in the cost of the class. Conversely, if the wait listed class costs less than the registered class, you would receive a refund for difference.
Is there anything I can do to bump my child ahead on the wait list?
No, there is nothing that can be done to “bump” a student to the front of the wait list line. The best approach is for a family to select and register for an alternate, back-up class choice
Can I go talk to the instructor and ask him/her to add my student.
No, Families are requested not to ask the instructors to add “just one more” student, even if the student has had the teacher for other classes. Our instructors want to make families happy and will often say ‘yes’ out-of-turn because they do not have access to the waitlist. There are cases when will still will not be able to add your child, even if you have spoken to the instructor.
Registration Errors
When checking out, I accidentally entered my son’s name instead of my daughter’s name. What should I do?
No problem! The important thing is that your family has a space reserved in the class. Contact Compass to have us change the name on the registration for you.
When registering, I accidentally chose the Tuesday class section when we needed the Wednesday class section. Can I swap these?
No problem! As long as the preferred class section has an opening, we can move your child into the class you wanted. Contact Compass to have us make the change in your registration.
When checking out, I accidentally registered for the same class twice (or paid for the same transaction twice). Can I get a refund?
Contact Compass if you have duplicate registrations or duplicate payments. As long as we can see that the errors were made back-to-back by the payee, we can process a refund, less 4%, since the credit card processor will not return the transaction fee for Compass. As an example, if a payee accidentally pays for two of the same class at $150.00, they can be refunded $144.00.