Honorarium and class fees

Seems like the problem of fees-that-aren’t-really-fees to try to improve attendance and hedge against attendees-who-aren’t-really-attendees resulting in people not receiving honorariums for small classes that should’ve made… and a few other such fringe cases, would easily be solved by adding some sort of “waiting list” functionality to events.

goes to fork calendar from github/dallas-makerspace

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I agree. In the long run, those who work to benefit others, reap satisfaction and self-worth.

Unless all you get is where is my check :heavy_dollar_sign: :wink:

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In a late-night bull session with Kris @Kriskat30 and Chandra, that subject came up between discussions about 80s music and road trips to national landmarks. Your name and the Babylock were specifically mentioned. We had no real solution except maybe reduce the three student requirement for small hands-on required classes.

Edit: I have further thoughts on this. Any attempts to impose a fine or temporary blockage from registering for classes as a result of not showing up for a reservation is problematic.

Consider this case: I took the airbrush class Friday night. Only two students showed up. The instructor taught the class (thanks Rio!) but did not bother taking roll. Would that have been a mark against me and the other student as a no-show?

Stuff happens in life. The system should have mercy on instructors who cannot make a class. Likewise for students.

Edit: Likewise for students.

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The wear and tear for the class itself is minimal provided the cost for consumables was covered.

I oppose a tax for the use of the classrooms if that is where this is going.

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Agree with you about committees supporting themselves by teaching classes unless they go too far in mandating required training for that purpose. The effect is reduced access.

The problem prompting the original post is the inability of the honorarium auditors to see where the money is going.

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I might be wrong, but I think @Tapper is suggesting a discontinuation of all but the most equitable of fees.

You may want to talk about that with Colson (I think that is his name. He hangs around in Digital Media, Electronics and the Common Room.) He is wanting to do the same thing. We had a discussion about that a couple of days ago. He thinks that it would be very simple, I explained some complexities which are not obvious.

Maybe start a new thread or call a meeting for discussion.

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It will be difficult to implement an equitable variable fee system. Consider the case of an unemployed non-member…

That is true, I forgot that non-members can take classes!

I’m employed on an educators salary. I specifically didn’t contribute to other makerspaces, craft guild, oil and cotton etc. BECAUSE the fees are exorbitant for what they’re offering and a profit model and because they make making inaccessible. If DMS behaved like those I would be out too. I can be a profit pony way closer to the house. I have a studio. Two of them. I wanted a community. The entire premise of reasonable fees and teaching to belong was the biggest reason I joint and commute 2x as far on a tollway to belong.

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Agree. If the chair thinks is necessary/popular enough to warrant it…especially with recurring programs there should be an exception that can be made somehow. It’s kinda jacked that someone like @John_Marlow could teach multiple times in a month with nothing to show for it because he’s not doing a class that can be done properly en masse.

Pssst… That account is used by Chris. She is awesome.

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Doh! Sorry. Still learning folks

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I’m seldom less than completely plain spoken about what I think, or suggest. or intend to act upon. Right now, I’m merely participating in a discussion, and reading the thoughtful comments of several members opining about policy, and adding a few thoughts of my own.

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I’m still thinking something along the lines of a “rolling honorarium” could be good for such situations. This, and when people do a lot of 1-on-1 teaching, like Tom does with the lift, it seems to me the honorarium could still apply. For example, let’s say after you “accumulate” 10 students total on a “rolling honorarium” class, it pays out. That would mean you’d have to teach 10 students 1-on-1, or 3 classes of 3 (plus one), etc. but it would reward the people who do this (and I think we have a lot of them).
Tons of problems with that idea, too, I’m sure, but inside MY head it seems like a workable solution for some of these situations.

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I remember teaching my first candle making class. I had accumulated a lot of my own materials. In fact, I had gotten carried away with collecting old, used candles from thrift stores, and soon I had way too many of them. I reasoned that I could teach candle making classes to make some use of everything I had, without throwing it all away. But my main interest was to create relationships with people in our crafting community.

I intended to teach this class without a materials fee. But instead, when I submitted my request for approval, I was encouraged to charge a fee. At first, I was mildly offended by the suggestion. I struggled with it for a day or two, asking the other teachers for their opinion. Everyone claimed that charging a fee greatly reduced no-shows.

This eventually made some sense to me, so I scheduled the class with a 5 dollar fee. It was far better attended than I had anticipated, and everyone I talked to said I charged way too little.

But, despite all this positive feedback, it felt wrong. It wasn’t that I was morally opposed to charging a fee. It’s just that it wasn’t my intention. I didn’t want to charge a fee because I wanted to get more out of the experience. For me, the fee cheapened that experience. It became a monetary transaction instead of a social transaction. And after the class was over, instead of thinking about the different people I met, I began thinking about increasing my fee, all while calculating in my head, just exactly how much I’d earn for each class I taught.

The system we created, not only encouraged me to charge a fee, but motivated me to charge even more, despite my original intentions. The motivation I had at first was one of prudence, community, and altruism. The motivation I had later was what I can only describe as modest greed.

In consideration of this reflection, I’d submit that charging fees (both large and small), has solved one problem while creating another. And I’m not sure if everyone is open to discussing this candidly.

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Yep, I looked at Craft Guild and immediately decided I’d never take classes there. I definitely don’t want DMS to become Craft Guild but I use it as an example of what a bargain DMS is.

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We’ll have to see whether a way can be found to manage something like that.

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On the note of confuzzlement regarding class fees…I created a $5 class and was told by that chair I shoulda kept it free. So the second time I made a free class and was then told by a different chair that I should have charged to cover materials.

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