Our
Policies
Inclusion Policy
PVWW welcomes writers of all genres, backgrounds, races, colors, national or ethnic origins, ages, religions, disabilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, ability levels, and veteran statuses. We prohibit all discrimination against and harassment of any instructor or student on the basis of any of the above.
Accessibility
We do everything we can to accommodate students who need extra assistance. As almost all of our classes and workshops are virtual, if we are alerted to your needs before the workshop, we can let the instructor know and things like closed captioning can be used during Zoom lectures and/or extra breaks can be taken if needed. While we are not able to offer assistance outside of a class, such as typing services or direct computer or tech support, please let us know if you need extra help, and we will do our best to help.
Requirements for Attendance
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For all virtual PVWW workshops, all participants must be comfortable attending a Zoom event, including muting and unmuting themselves, turning on and off their cameras, using and checking the "chat" box, and adjusting their own device's audio so that they can hear. We can and often do give a very quick Zoom orientation at the start of each class, though we do not provide private tech assistance to attendees. We suggest you get help from a friend or family member before the start of your workshop if you are new to Zoom and virtual classes.
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For multi-week courses, all participants must be comfortable with basic computer use, including frequent emailing and attaching of documents. If you are not comfortable with this, we recommend seeking help from friends, family, local libraries, or universities before applying or signing up for a course.
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For multi-week workshops or workshops that require handing in or distributing your work, all participants must be able to type up and correctly format all work related to the class. If you need help with this, we recommend seeking out friends, family, local libraries or universities, or investigating certain voice-recognition software before applying or signing up.
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All participants in any workshop must agree to uphold an attitude of support, kindness, and respect toward all classmates, instructors, and any/all writing shared in the workshop. If any participant (or their writing) is deemed by the instructor to violate this "good faith" agreement, they may be asked to leave the group and not issued a refund.
Class and Workshop Policies
Payment and Gift Certificates
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Payment is due in full before arriving at any class or course (virtually or in person). We do not consider you registered in any class or workshop unless and until we receive full payment.
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We do not allow payment in multiple installments except in rare occasions if arranged separately.
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Gift Certificates: If you'd like to redeem a gift certificate, proceed as if you are purchasing the class or course, then enter the code on the Gift Certificate to receive credit. Gift certificates do not expire and can be used directly by the recipient at any time, for a workshop or class of equal value, or applied to a workshop of greater value.
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If you enroll in a class by using a gift certificate, you are still subject to the normal refund policies regarding reimbursement if/when you were to withdraw.
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If you have any trouble paying via our website, please get in touch with Joy at joy@pioneervalleywriters.org.
Refunds and Credit
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If you withdraw from a workshop TEN DAYS OR MORE before the start of the class: You'll receive full credit toward another workshop of equal value OR a full refund (minus 10%, a transaction fee that is non-refundable and that we would otherwise be charged).
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If you withdraw from a workshop nine days before the start of the class up until 48 hours before: You'll receive a refund minus 20%.
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If you withdraw from a workshop less than 48 hours before the start of a class or after the class has begun: We cannot offer any credit or refund.
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If you are absent on the day of your workshop or drop out mid-session, we are unable to offer any kind of refund or credit.
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Unforeseen Circumstances/Emergencies During Multi-Week Workshops: If there is an unforeseen emergency (such as instructor illness or medical leave) that causes the workshop to end mid-session, all students will be refunded a pro-rated amount based on the number of classes left that will be canceled.
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To withdraw and receive a partial refund according to the above policies, please get in touch with Joy at joy@pioneervalleywriters.org
Class Cancellations
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If a class or workshop is canceled or rescheduled due to circumstances outside our control (ie. weather, instructor illness, other emergency, etc.) all enrolled participants will have the option of either receiving a full refund (without a service or transaction fee applied) or credit toward another PVWW class of equal value.
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If circumstances outside our control (i.e. weather, instructor illness, emergency, etc.) require that a particular day (or days) in a multi-week workshop be canceled, PVWW and the instructor will make sure that the missed class is rescheduled at a time that works best for as many participants as possible. We are unable to offer any type of refund to those who cannot attend the rescheduled class(es).
Consulting, Coaching, & Editing Policies
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If you'd like to change the date of a coaching or editing session after the session has been purchased, you must notify your editor / coach of this change at least 48 hours in advance. Last-minute (under 48 hours) changes to scheduled coaching sessions will be treated as cancellations and are not subject to refund or rescheduling.
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Refunds for unused editing / coaching sessions are available only if work with coach / editor has not yet begun (this includes any time spent by editor on pages sent to them in advance of the session) and must be requested within two weeks of purchase. If refund is requested within two weeks of purchase and no part of the coaching / editing package or session has been used (including no work done by coach / editor), we will issue a full refund, minus a 10% transaction fee (this is a non-refundable fee that we would otherwise be charged). If you request a refund after two weeks from the date of purchase and/or after work with/by coach or editor has begun, we cannot offer any credit or refund.
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If you are absent on the day of a scheduled session, cancel the session less than 48 hours before, or miss it for any reason, we are unable to offer any kind of refund, credit, or rescheduling.
Disputes and Problems
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If any disputes, problems, offensive content, or issues arise within the workshop or class setting, our goal is to resolve tensions in as professional and helpful a manner as possible. As writers tackling often-difficult subjects, we cannot fully control the topics that may come up in workshops. However, we aim to establish a safe and open space for communication and discussion of any issue that may arise. If you do not feel safe discussing an issue in the group, please reach out to your instructor, or to Joy Baglio (Founder/Director), whose contact information is at the bottom of this page.
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Any student who behaves in a loud, unruly, and/or disrespectful manner to any other student(s) and/or instructor(s) will be asked to leave and will not be entitled to a refund. This includes but is not limited to derogatory or discriminatory language, harassment, inappropriateness, threats, and/or undermining the group or instructor. Any student writing that is deemed by the instructor to be hateful, bigoted, and/or in promotion of racism, violence, or other form of discrimination will not be tolerated, and the writer of said work may be asked to leave the group.