Course registration and payment

Reservations that are cancelled earlier than 4 working days before the start of a course can be made free of charge (e.g. Monday for a course that starts on Friday, Wednesday for a course that starts on Tuesday the following week).

If you cancel later than 4 working days before the start of the course, a fee of 20 € will be charged.

The entire course fee will be charged if you cancel after the course has started. Participants who fail to show will be charged the entire course fee. The cancellation fee can only be waived upon presentation of a medical certificate. The minimum payment will be 20 €, even if the course fee is lower.

You can cancel your reservation online

• opistopalvelut.fi/vaasa (Choose  > Omat tiedot>)

Or you can cancel by phone:

• Customer service 0400 868 110 and 040 614 8628

Alma Adult Education Centre is a non-profit organisation. Course fees are based on the number of lessons and the costs of implementation. Each course prices can be found at: https://opistopalvelut.fi/vaasa/index.php?&l=en

It is easy to pay for your place on a course via your online bank when registering. Alternatively, we will send an invoice approximately 2-3 weeks after the course starts. When you participate in only one term of a full-year course, then the full-year fee is adjusted according to the length of the course. We refund any course fees paid if the course is cancelled due to a lack of participants.

You cannot pay for your course via an online payment system,

1.  if you are entitled to a discount (unemployed, student). The course fee is invoiced after the course starts.
2. if you use a specified means of payment such as Tyky or Smartum vouchers or gift cards

You can currently pay with exercise and culture vouchers at the following info points after you have received  the invoice:

• Citizen Services (Kansalaisinfo), Tammipiha, Teräksenkuja 1, Vaasa
• Citizen Services in Vähäkyrö, Vähänkyröntie 11.
  • Tyky+ voucher
  • Smartum exercise and culture voucher
  • Smartumpay online payment at Citizen Services Vaasa (Kansalaisinfo, Tammipiha, Teräksenkuja 1) or  Public Services Vähäkyrö (Yhteispalvelupiste, Vähänkyröntie 11) after you have received an invoice.
  • ePassi online payment. During payment you will see text reference ”Vaasan Kansalaisopisto Alma/kulttuuri”.
  • Edenred card.
  • Adult Education Centre gift card (Note! With a gift card you can only pay at Alma’s office, Kirkkopuistikko 15)

Pensioners and seniors

The discount is already included in the course price. If the discount is included in the course price, it will be stated in the course description.

Are you unemployed or a student?

• Anybody unemployed is granted a 50% discount on course fees, provided that an unemployment certificate is presented no later than one week after the start of the course. Otherwise, the entire course fee will be charged.
• Students at universities and colleges are granted a 10% discount on course fees. The student card should be presented within a week after the course has started, otherwise the entire course fee will be charged.

Presentation of a certificate or the student card can be done as follows:

• The certificate or the student card can be presented at the Alma Adult Education Centre’s office (Raastuvankatu 31, 2nd floor
• or a screenshot of the certificate or the student card can be sent to the address alma@edu.vaasa.fi

Note! If you are entitled to a discount, you cannot pay for your course via an online payment system. The course fee is invoiced by post. Discounts are not granted in arrears after the invoice has been sent.

Kaikukortti

With the Kaikukortti card, you can attend one (1) Alma courses free of charge during the 2024–2025 academic year  (applies to new course registrations). With the card you will also receive a 50 percent discount on individual tuition.

You can get a Kaikukortti card if

• you are a client of a social welfare and healthcare unit involved in the Vaasa Kaikukortti network
• your financial situation is tight and you cannot afford to participate in a course
• you are at least 16 years old.

Kaikukortti is not valid for the following

• basic art education
• qualification courses (e.g. skipper and guide courses)
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI)
• course material fees.

Do the following

• Reserve a course place at opistopalvelut.fi/vaasa or by telephone: 0400 868 110/040 198 1261 (in Finnish), 040 629 9133 (in Swedish).
• Show your Kaikukortti card at Alma’s information desk, Raastuvankatu 31, before the start of the course. Be prepared to prove your identity.

Note!

• If you do not show the card, we will charge the normal course fee.
• By registering for a course, you accept our general cancellation policy. If you register for a course and do not cancel the course in accordance with our cancellation policy, we will consider that you have not exercised your right to a free course and your course place will be given to somebody else.
• The Kaikukortti card allows access to a course only if there are places available.

Read more about Kaikukortti! (in Finnish)

Certificates for the current academic year’s courses are available on request. A fee of 15 € / certificate will be charged for certificates from previous academic years. Certificates can be ordered from

• Alma’s office at Raastuvankatu 31 (on designated form)
• by e-mail: alma@edu.vaasa.fi
• or by telephone: Service Secretary Pia Rantaniemi, 040 6194692, Mon–Thu from 10:00–14:00