Program Policies

Participation & Completion

Participation Requirements: Full participation in The New Commons involves:

  1. Reading the complete text(s) by the assigned dates;

  2. Attending each session and participating to the best of your ability;

  3. Scheduling and joining Office Hour conversations.

Certificate of Completion: If you fulfill the above Participation Requirements, you will receive the Certificate of Completion. If you do not meet these requirements, we may decline to issue the certificate. As an independent program, the certificate is non-accredited.

Absences: You are expected to attend all scheduled sessions. However, we understand that life happens! Up to one absence is permitted with advance notice and approval, only in the case of an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, family emergencies). Please reach out—we will be happy to work with you.

Generative AI: It should come as no surprise that the use of Generative AI is not permitted. We are enthusiastically interested in facilitating your authentic, deep reading experience: what was exciting, challenging, weird, confusing, or illuminating to you as you read the book. Only when you have had your own moments of discovery can we work toward meaningful collective discovery as a cohort. We celebrate our humanness (sometimes reading is hard!), recognize our own limitations, and encourage you to  say, “I don’t know.” We’ll talk more about all this at the beginning of our first session.

Secondary Sources: You are welcome to use secondary sources to deepen your understanding of the text before each session. Preferably, start with the introduction and any footnotes within the book itself. Wikipedia and SparkNotes, as well as study guides, are absolutely acceptable, but don’t use them to replace the reading itself! When searching online, we recommend adding “-ai” to your search, which will lead you to more reliable and human-written sources. A good practice is to always keep track of which sources you used, especially if they helped you develop an argument or opinion that you want to bring to session.

​​Audiobooks: Listening to a book is acceptable! Please just take notes as you go to jot down page numbers for key passages you want to remember, as the discussion will require us to flip through the book and refer to those page numbers again.

Payment & Financial

Payment: Full tuition is due within seven (7) days of acceptance, which reserves your student’s spot in the cohort. The payment is due via a unique Squarespace link that will be sent to the Parent or Guardian upon acceptance, and will appear as to “Lauren Frey LLC.” You can see more details on payments on the FAQ Page.

Refund Policy: If there is a cancellation more than three (3) weeks before the cohort start date, tuition will be refunded, minus a $250 administrative fee. If the cancellation occurs within three (3) weeks of the cohort start date, no refund will be issued. 

Withdrawal: If your student withdraws or is removed from the cohort for any reason (such as behavioral concerns), tuition is non-refundable. However, in cases of extenuating circumstances, we welcome Parents or Guardians to contact Lauren to discuss options.

Non-Parent/Guardian Payment: If you are a student and it is not your Parent or Guardian who is paying for your cohort membership in The New Commons, but someone else—this is just fine! Please make note of this in your application.

Enrollment & Conduct

Parent/Guardian Communication: We sincerely welcome questions and concerns throughout the process—we’re here to support you and your student as much as we can. We expect Parents/Guardians to always communicate in a respectful manner. We know this is unlikely, but any kind of verbal harassment (via email or in a meeting) will result in a warning. If it is a serious offense, it may immediately result in the student being unable to participate in their cohort, without a refund.

Parent/Guardian Support: By enrolling your student in a cohort at The New Commons, the parent/guardian agrees to support our Philosophy, Program Structure, and these Program Policies. You agree to encourage your student's full participation and help them complete the reading and attend sessions to the best of your ability.

Agreement to Terms: By enrolling in The New Commons, both Student and Parent/Guardian agree to these Program Policies. Please read them carefully, explore our FAQ, and don’t hesitate to Contact us with any questions!

Forced Majeure: If The New Commons must cancel a cohort for reasons within our control, Parents or Guardians will receive a full refund. If cohorts are suspended due to extraordinary circumstances, including natural disasters, war, government action, or public health emergencies, and we cannot resume operations due to such events, tuition is non-refundable.