Registration video for courses at Kuopio’s Adult Education Centre. On this video you can orientate yourself with registration and cancellation for courses.
Kuopio Adult Education Centre’s courses are intended for students over 16 years of age, unless otherwise stated. Students 16 and under are welcome to take our child and youth courses. The courses are suited for students who can work independently.
Courses are taught in Finnish and each lesson is 45 minutes long unless otherwise stated in the course information. Keep your contact information up to date. We will notify course changes and cancellations by text message or email.
The Adult Education Centre does not provide accident insurance for its students, so please provide your own insurance.
In addition to face-to-face teaching, we also use other teaching methods: online teaching, distance teaching, multimodal teaching, and small group teaching. When registering for online/multimodal teaching, the student must provide their email address.
Local education (Lähiopetus)
• Teaching takes place in the classroom at regularly scheduled times.
Online teaching independent of time and place (Ajasta ja paikasta riippumaton verkko-opetus)
• Lessons can be held at different times.
• Courses can be found online in the online education (verkko-opetuksen) section.
• “Online course/teaching” (verkkokurssi/-opetus) is mentioned in the course name.
Real-time distance learning (Reaaliaikainen etäopetus)
• Teaching is carried out normally, at a certain time, but outside of a classroom. (On Zoom, for example.)
• Courses can be found online in the online education (verkko-opetus) section.
• “Real-time distance learning" (reaaliaikainen etäopetus) is mentioned in the course name.
Multimodal teaching (Monimuoto-opetus)
• The course can consist of both local and remote teaching or a combination of real-time and time-independent online teaching.
• Multimodal courses can be found in the course catalog in both the regular and online sections, depending on the type of teaching.
• "Multimodal" (monimuoto) is mentioned in the course name.
Simultaneous local and distance education (Samanaikainen lähi- ja etäopetus)
• Students can participate in the course either in class or remotely.
• Courses can be found online in their regular sections.
• Simultaneous local and distance education (samanaikainen lähi- ja etäopetus) is mentioned in the course name.
Small group teaching (Pienryhmäopetus)
• The minimum and maximum number of students in the course are smaller than in other courses.
Pair and individual tuition (Pari- ja yksilöopetus)
• The Centre offers courses for individuals or pairs in languages or music, for example. More information can be found in the course description.
Skill levels are marked with numbers after the course names. (For example: Finnish 1 or Finnish 2.)
Duplicate courses have the same content but are taught at different times; they are marked with the alphabet A–Ö. (For example: Spring Woodworking A or Spring Woodworking B.)
Students can receive a participation certificate when they complete their semester at the Centre. Certificates can be ordered from the customer service department. The participation certificate for the current academic year is €5/course/semester. Certificates from previous academic years are €10/€20. Certificates needed for applying to an educational institution will cost schoolchildren a maximum of €15. The person making the certificate request pays for the certificates ordered.
Upper education credits can be completed in specific courses. The opportunity to earn credits is explained in each applicable course’s information. Credits completed in these courses are registered in the Oma opintopolku system, where students can view and share the results themselves. If you need credits from any other courses, you must contact the department head responsible for course planning before the course begins to prepare a personal study plan. You will also need to inform the course teacher at the beginning of the course. Enrolment requires regular participation in the course and approved progress in your studies. One or more courses can form a credit unit. A certificate of credits written by the Centre costs €10.
The Centre's premises, teaching arrangements and studies have been made as accessible as possible. If you think that accessibility has not been properly implemented in your course, please contact the teacher or the department head responsible for course planning. If a student needs an assistant, they must provide their own. Assistants do not have to pay course fees. If an assistant is needed for a course, then the department head responsible for course planning must be informed no later than 6 days before the start of the course. More information about accessibility can be found on the Centre's website: kansalaisopisto.kuopio.fi
You can register for Kuopio Adult Education Centre’s courses online 24/7 at uusi.opistopalvelut.fi/kuopio, by phone at 017 184 711 or by contacting Customer Service during its opening hours. (Customer Service is available in English.) By registering, you agree to pay the course fee. If the course is full, you can register to be put on the waiting list. You can also look for duplicate courses online or ask Customer Service for further assistance. If you have registered for a course where the skill level is not suitable, you can call Customer Service and transfer to a course of a different level, so long as there is space in the course.
The following information is required for registration
• Course number/name
• Student's name and identification number
• Contact information (address, phone number and/or email address)
• To register a person under the age of 18, the guardian's phone number, identification number and all other information mentioned above are required
• A student’s educational background and employment status (required for Statistics Finland)
Please note when registering
Course teachers cannot register students. For courses that last the entire academic year, you must register separately for autumn and spring. The courses are billed separately. You will receive information about joining the course immediately in your e-mail; however, there will be no further notification when the course begins. Courses do not have free trial sessions; by registering you agree to pay the course fee. Guardians for those under 18 are responsible for registration, course and material fees, as well as compliance with cancellation conditions. When registering, you must enter the billing information (payer/guardian information) if the payer is someone other than the course participant. You can only register another person for the course by providing your own billing information. In joint courses for children and adults, registration is accepted when both are registered. If the course is full, you can register to be put on a waiting list. The Centre will notify those on the waiting list who have gotten a place in the course in first-come first-served order. If we can't reach you, we'll call the next person in line.
Online payment
When registering online, you may immediately pay the course fee via online banking. You may also pay for a course that entitles you to employee benefits online with ePass or Smartum. If you are entitled to a discount or want to pay with other employee benefits, do not pay online. You must always contact Customer Service about discounts and other employee benefit payments before paying, either by phone or in person at the customer service desk. You must contact Customer Service no later than September 20, 2022, for the fall semester and January 20, 2023, for the spring semester (or no later than the day the course starts). Employee benefits or other discounts will not be accepted after those dates. After contacting us, we can, upon request, send a payment link to your e-mail for online payment, which will include any discounts and/or employee benefits. If the linked course fee has not been paid by the due date, we will send you an invoice. If the course you paid for online is cancelled by the Centre, we will contact you about a refund of the course fee paid via online bank or a refund of the ePassi/Smartum online fee (see Payment with an employment benefit, below). If you cancel your paid registration during the free cancellation period, contact Customer Service about the return/refund of the above-mentioned payments. To return the course fee paid via online bank, you must provide your bank account number.
Payment by invoice
We will send a paper invoice after the start of the course, if you do not pay online. Each course and participant are billed separately. The invoice will reflect proven discounts and payments made with employee benefits. You must always contact Customer Service about discounts and employee benefit payments, either by phone or by visiting the customer service desk. Failure to pay an invoice and/or not attending the course is not considered a cancellation and will not cancel the invoice. The Centre has no obligation to accept or refund payments made in violation of the payment conditions. A student attending a course who has not officially registered online or through Customer Service is still considered registered and will be invoiced for the entire course fee. Unpaid course fees are followed by a €5 payment reminder, after which the invoice goes to collection. Failure to pay the course fee causes the loss of the right to study.
Payment with an employment benefit
The employment benefits granted by the employer to their employees are personal and can be used for voluntary sports and cultural activities determined by the tax authority.
Employee benefits that can be used as payment:
• SmartumPay
• Smartum-verkkomaksu (Smartum online payment)
• Smartum -setelit (Smartum vouchers)
• Edenred-kortit (Edenred cards)
• Edenred-mobiilimaksu (Edenred mobile payment)
• Virikesetelit (Stimulus vouchers)
When registering online, you can pay the course fee online with ePassi or Smartum online payment.
When paying with other employment benefits, you must contact Customer Service no later than September 20, 2022, for the fall semester and January 20, 2023, for the spring semester (or no later than the day the course starts). You can pay both fall and spring course fees at the same time in the fall. Edenred, SmartumPay and ePassi mobile payments and ePassi phone number
identifiable payments are primarily accepted by phone. The Centre has no obligation to accept or refund payments made in violation of the payment conditions.
If the course is canceled or you cancel your place in the course during the free cancellation period, the fee paid with employee benefits will not be refunded. You can, however, transfer your employee benefits to another course. If the course is cancelled, we will contact you about the redistribution of your employee benefits. If you cancel your course place during the free cancellation period, contact Customer Service immediately for the redistribution of your employee benefit.
You can pay course fees with your employee benefits for the following subject areas (Note: fees for course materials, etc. cannot be paid for with employee benefits)
• kirjallisuus ja ilmaisutaito (Communication Skills, Drama and Literature)
• kielet (Languages)
• kuvataide (Visual Arts)
• kädentaidot (Handicrafts)
• kudonnan ohjaus (Weaving with Looms)
• liikunta (Exercise)
• tanssi (Dance)
• terveys ja hyvinvointi (osa kursseista) (Health and Wellbeing, certain courses)
• liikunnan ja tanssin kertaliput (Single ticket Exercise and Dance courses)
• musiikki (Music)
• lapset ja aikuiset yhdessä kursseilla aikuisen kurssimaksuosuuden (Child and parent courses, the adult portion of the fee)
You cannot pay course fees with your employee benefits for the following subject areas
• ihminen, ympäristö ja yhteiskunta (People, Environment and Society)
• kotitalous (Cooking and Home Economics)
• terveys ja hyvinvointi: mm. ensiapu ja muistikoulut (Health and Wellbeing, for example First Aid and Memory Improvement)
• tietotekniikka (Information Technology)
• kielitutkinnot (Language Degree Courses)
• tutkintoon johtavat koulutukset (Certification Courses)
• kokataan kotiin vietäväksi -ohjaus (Cook and Bake at Home)
• kurssien materiaali- tms. maksuja (Course Materials)
You must prove your right to a discount by contacting Customer Service no later than September 20, 2022, for the fall semester and January 20, 2023, for the spring semester (or no later than the day the course starts). After this, no discounts are granted. Only one discount per course is accepted. Discounts apply to the teaching portion of the course fee, not course materials or machine maintenance fees. No discounts are granted for individual and small group tuition. If the course text states "no discounts" (“ei alennuksia”), then the course does not qualify for any discounts. After accepting your right to a discount, we can send you a payment link to your email for online payment upon request. The Centre is under no obligation to accept certificates for the right to a discount delivered after the deadline. If you have registered for a course that has already started, immediately contact Customer Service if you are entitled to discounts.
Unemployed students are entitled to a 50% discount
Proof of unemployment can be given to Customer Service via the TE office's own electronic form or via an unemployment/layoff decision no later than September 20, 2022, for the fall semester and January 20, 2023, for the spring semester (or no later than the day the course starts). You can also send a certificate of unemployment by e-mail: kansalaisopisto.asiakaspalvelu@kuopio.fi
For deadline purposes, the time when the email has arrived in the Centre’s e-mail is used rather than when the email has been sent. Merely stating "unemployed" when registering online does not entitle you to a discount.
Study voucher discount
You can get a study voucher discount for courses marked with: "This course is a study voucher course" (“Tämä kurssi on opintosetelikurssi”). Pensioners who are not employed and immigrants who have a Residence Permit in Finland are eligible for the study voucher discount. The courses are either free or have a €10 discount and there is a €1 discount on the daily fee for the weaving looms. When registering, the right to a discount is declared by answering the additional question about the discount with "yes". If you are a pensioner under the age of 64, be prepared to prove your discount right when asked.
Sibling discount for children and young people under the age of 16
One full course payment for a student under the age of 16 entitles their siblings under the age of 16 to one 50% discount. To receive the discount, the guardian must notify Customer Service of the names of the siblings studying at the Centre no later than September 20, 2022, for the fall semester and January 20, 2023, for the spring semester (or no later than the day the course starts).
Liikkis Wellness Bracelet (Hyvinvointikortti) for children and young people from Kuopio under 20 years of age
The Liikkis Wellness Bracelet gives a €10 discount on course fees for child and youth courses organized in the urban and rural areas of Kuopio. To receive the discount, you must contact Customer Service no later than September 20, 2022, for the fall semester and January 20, 2023, for the spring semester (or no later than the day the course starts).
If the student wishes, they can cancel their place in a course either by e-mail, online, by phone or by contacting Customer Service. Cancellation cannot be made by the course teacher. Depending on the time of cancellation, cancellation is either free of charge or has a fee. Free cancellation ends 6 days before the start of the course, unless otherwise stated in the course information. If the last free cancellation day of the course is Friday - Monday or a public holiday, the cancellation must be done at Customer Service on the previous business day. After the free cancellation period, the student pays the course fee in full. The student also pays in full if they fail to attend the course. Free cancellation is possible if the place or time of the course changes significantly. A possible change of teacher or a course unsuitable for a student's skill level does not entitle the student to free cancellation.
Cancellation online at uusi.opistopalvelut.fi/kuopio
Online registration can be cancelled online during the free cancellation period. To cancel online, the following information is required: course number, phone number or email address and the registration ID you received when registering.
Cancellation by e-mail to kansalaisopisto.asiakaspalvelu@kuopio.fi
The student's name, phone number and the number and name of the cancelled course must be included in the email. For deadline purposes, the time when the email has arrived in the Centre’s e-mail is used rather than when the email has been sent. (The email can be sent in English.)
Cancellation by phone at 017 184 711
Cancellation by phone during the phone service's opening hours. (Service provided in English.)
Cancellation for health reasons
After the free cancellation period, cancelling a course place for health reasons requires contacting Customer Service. For the entire semester-long course, the classes held up to the time of cancellation and an office fee of €15 will be charged. If 50% of the course hours have been taken, the course fee will be charged in full.
Cancellation of a short course for health reasons must be done no later than the next weekday after the start of the course. If a material fee was included in the course fee it will be charged for the cancellation.
Courses will start if the minimum number of students for the course is met no later than 6 days before the start of the course. Enrolled students will be notified by text message or e-mail about the cancellation of the entire course and will be notified as soon as possible about a change or cancellation of an individual lesson. A cancellation of one lesson does not entitle you to a refund. Cancelled lessons will be rescheduled for later in the semester.
The Centre is not responsible for cancellations or changes in the teaching format due to reasons beyond the Centre's control.
Registration and cancellation conditions of Kuopio’s Adult Education Centre, 27 April 2022. Approved by Kuopio City's Welfare Promotion Board.