Registration, payments and rules

To secure a place on a given course, you must pay the course fee.
Registration is always binding. Study right is binded to a certain course arranged in certain time.
It is not possible to transfer a paid course fee from one course to another.

• The course fee varies according to the extent of the study right, but never exceeds €15/credit.
• The fees are explained in course descriptions and payable immediately upon registration via your internet bank as part of the online registration process.
• Aalto University degree students pay the same fee as everyone else (with the exception of some summer courses of which mention will be made in the course description).
• The Open University course catalogue may include other Aalto University courses whose registration and fee policy might differ from Open University policy (for example free-of-charge FITech courses).
• In addition to the course fee, you may have to cover the costs of study materials, study books, supplies or access tokens.
• Students on the waiting list for the course must pay the fee only after they have been notified of a vacant place on the course and have accepted that place.

Grounds for course fees: the fees at the Open University are based on government decrees (1082/2009) and (1436/2014).

According to the act on the collection of taxes and fees (Laki verojen ja maksujen täytäntöönpanosta 706/2007), course fees are public receivables and as such distrainable without special measures.

From December 1, 2020 onward:

• Registration for the course is binding, and the course fee is not refundable. Cancellations due to illness will not entitle for a refund. It is not possible to transfer a paid course fee from one course to another.
• If the course format changes (e.g. from campus teaching to virtual teaching or vice versa), this will not entitle the student to a refund.
• If the course is cancelled (due to a lack of participants, for instance), you will be refunded the course fee in full by the Aalto University Open University.

When relevant, Aalto University Open University applies the same rules and guidelines to its students as are applied to the degree students of Aalto University. These rules and guidelines for the degree students are available at Student Guide.

Agreement

In registering for Open University studies the student agrees to abide by the rules of conduct of the Open University.

Protection of the rights of Open University students

The Universities Act (558/2009) provisions in sections 44 and 82 on the assessment of study attainments apply also to Open University students. They concern the student’s right to obtain information on assessment criteria, the right to see study attainments that have been assessed, and the right to apply — first to the teacher, then to the Academic Appeals Board— for a rectification of the assessment.

Open University students are entitled to modified arrangements within reason, for example, special arrangements may be made in teaching for cases of chronic illness or disability, as in accordance with the guidelines and procedures of the university for respective degree students when applicable. Access to special arrangements requires that the student has not repeatedly and without valid reason failed to use special arrangements granted to him or her in the past.

An Open University student who experiences problems related to teaching or in interacting with other students in group work, for example, should first contact the teacher of the course. An Open University student may who feels subjected to inappropriate behaviour in the teaching or who feels that his or her rights as a student are being inadequately protected may bring the matter to the attention of another Open University staff person [contact email address avoin(at)aalto.fi].

The right to a safe study environment and need for appropriate conduct

All students (degree students, exchange students, Open University students and others) have the right to a safe study environment and to be treated appropriately. Students shall be treated on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. Each student is responsible not only for his or her own actions, but also for the safety and pleasantness of the study environment. Students are to conduct themselves appropriately in the physical as well as the virtual learning environment. It is not permitted to act disruptively or inappropriately towards other students, teachers or staff. Students are to observe the study-related instructions and guidelines given by the Open University, individual teachers and administrative staff.

Read here what you can do if you encounter harassment or inappropriate treatment.

Cheating, plagiarism and other acts of fraud or deceit in studies are prohibited, see the Aalto University Code of Academic Integrity and Handling Violations Thereof.

Consequences of student misconduct

An Open University student who disrupts teaching, behaves violently or threatens or endangers the life or health of another person may be ordered to leave the premises of a teaching or other university event. A student may be banned from attending teaching for up to three working days if his/her violent or menacing behaviour impairs the safety of another student or person working at the university or if his/her disruptive behaviour makes teaching or teaching-related activities unduly difficult. The teacher may order a student to leave the premises. The director in charge of Open University operations may ban a student from attending all Open University teaching for up to three working days.

Students who violate the university’s user account rules, behaving inappropriately on the digital learning platform, for example, may be subject to intervention in accordance with the user account rules.

An Open University student who commits a serious breach of university order by engaging in disruptive, threatening or violent behaviour or repeated acts of fraud or deceit may be refused admission to Open University studies for a fixed period of up to one year. In urgent cases, a student may be suspended from a course already begun. The course fee of a student suspended from course for misconduct will not be reimbursed.

Behaviour that is violent or contains the threat of violence will be reported to the person responsible for university security and may be reported to the police as well.

Course registration is done at Sisu, if the course starts at May 2023 or later. Registration for the open university courses is done in this order:

1. Choosing the course and adding it to the shopping cart
2. Paying the course fee
3. Confirming your identity

1. Choosing the course and adding it to the shopping cart

Please read the course descriptions carefully before deciding which course you want to take. Please follow the instructions given in the course description. You can always find the course schedule as well as the course registration periods in the course description. Please note that it is not possible to register if the course registration period has not yet started or if it has already ended.

Course registration is done at the Sisu system. The link to Sisu can be found in the course description. Please click it to start the registration process.

The link will lead to a page which shows the basic information on the course. Please make sure to check that that the location and teaching times work for you. You can find the course schedule and teaching times by clicking the arrow.

After you have confirmed the information, please add the course to your shopping cart by clicking “add to cart”. Next, please select and confirm your teaching group(s). You can then proceed to the payment.  Please note that you have 15 minutes to complete the course registration and pay the course fee after adding it to the cart.

2. Paying the course fee

Please proceed to the shopping cart to pay the course fee. You can pay several courses at the same time. You have 15 minutes to complete the course registration and pay the course fee after adding it to the cart.

Confirm the courses you want to take and fill in the information of the person who paying. The student taking the course and the person who is making the payment can be different.
You will be directed to different page to complete the transaction. Always please follow the instructions written on the page.

You can use your Finnish banking credentials to pay the course fee. You can also use pay with credit card. The cards accepted are Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard and American Express. We also accept some of mobile payments apps such as Walley, Mobilepay and Pivo.

If you are unable to use any of the payment methods, please contact us at [email protected].

After your transaction has been completed, you will be redirected back to Sisu. You will also receive a confirmation email which contains a confirmation code.

3. Confirming your identity

Next, the student taking the course must prove their identity. If you have access to Finnish internet banking, you can do this by using the Suomi.fi identification service. If you have taken studies at Aalto university recently and your study right is active, you can login in to Sisu with your Aalto ID to confirm your identity.
If you are unable to verify your identity using the methods above, please contact open university at [email protected]

Please add the confirmation code to your email. We will then send you instructions on how to send us a copy of your official ID using encrypted email service.

Please note that if the person who paid the course and the person who is taking the course are not the same, the person taking the course must complete the identification process.

You should confirm your identity as soon as possible. If you do not confirm your identity, you are not going to able to access the course space or complete the course!

If you are a new student, you also need to add your contact information as a part of the identification process.

If your information can already be found at Sisu, please check if the information is correct. If there are mistakes in your information, please confirm the information on the screen first and then update the information on your profile. You can then update your information by logging in to Sisu (My profile -> personal information).

Technical problems with Sisu

Please contact [email protected] . Please include your student number and other relevant information related to your problem when you contact us. Depending on the situation such information might be course code or date of teaching implementation. This helps us to solve your problem faster.

Problems concerning content of studies

Please contact the course teacher directly. 

Accessibility support for Sisu at Aalto University

If you have accessibility related challenges in using Sisu, please contact the Starting Point service desk. If you know that your issue is time consuming, we hope that you inform us by email [email protected] in advance when you will be visiting the Starting Point service desk.

Contact information and opening hours of Starting Point

Starting Point will do their best to help you with the use of Sisu. 

If using Sisu is likely to cause you repeated problems throughout your studies, get in touch with the contact person for individual study arrangements at [email protected] . You can discuss your needs for support for using Sisu – and other matters related to studying – with the contact person of Open University. Help for facilitated use of Sisu is arranged between you, the contact person for individual study arrangements, and the Starting Point.