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 wait 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.

Use the Aimo service to register for Open University courses.

Registration requires the following steps:

1. Registration as a user of the Aimo service
2. Logging in to the Aimo service
3. Course registration
4. Payment of the course fee

1. Registration as a user of the Aimo service

You can register as a user of the Aimo service either with personal online banking codes, mobile certificate or identity card. To register, go to Aimo and click on By online bank identification, mobile signature or identification card. 

If you do not have personal online banking codes, mobile certificate or identity card, click on Without identification to register. In this case, you will have to prove your identity in order to finalize your study right. After you have done your first course registration you will receive further instructions on how to prove your identity via encrypted e-mail.

2. Logging in to the Aimo service

After registration for the service you will be able to log in With Aimo-service username and password.

Your username for the Aimo service is the e-mail address (e.g. [email protected]) you used to register for the first time. It doesn't change even though you will also get an Aalto username for your studies. The original username doesn't change even if your e-mail address changes later.

If you already have a valid Aalto University user ID and password (Aalto staff, degree students), you can use them to register for courses and do not have to register as a user of the Aimo service separately.

3. Course registration

To register for a course, click on Online registration for the course in the course description, which brings you to the Aimo log-in page. Log into the Aimo service with the username you have registered.

• Select Course registration from the menu, and further the appropriate registration form (e.g. Course registration Spring 2021), and then Fill in form.
• Accept the Open University rules of conduct, choose the appropriate course in the drop-down menu, and once you have found the course of your choice click on Send form. Note! All the required fields marked with a red asterisk must be filled in. These can include picking an excercise group and/or exam.
• On the registration form different groups are shown only as codes (e.g. A01, L01), for that reason please check the time and place information for different groups in advance from the course description or the student information system Sisu. The instructions on how to find this information in Sisu are available in the course description. It is recommended to have a couple of options in mind, since there are a limited number of places for each group. 
• You can register for just one course per form.
• Each course is paid in connection with filling in the form. (Exception: if the course is full and you register for the waitlist, the fee will not be charged until a place possibly becomes available to you and you accept it.)

If the course is already full, it is noted after the course name. The notification does not, however, stop you from adding yourself to the waitlist for the course. It is done as follows:

• Once you have found the course of your choice click on Send form.
• On the next screen click on Save and continue later.

You will be notified by e-mail if a place becomes available on the course. After the receipt of the e-mail notification, you have 48 hours to accept the place on the course. If you fail to accept the place before the deadline, the place will be offered to the next person on the list. Please note that a place can become available also during the weekend.

Registration is always done by the student. Teachers do not deal with registrations. If you have questions about available places, always contact Open University by email [email protected].

4. Payment of the course fee

The course fee is paid in connection with the course registration.

• Select Proceed with payment and log into your online bank with your banking codes.
• To ensure that your payment is registered into the system, you must return to the Aimo service website after the payment. Some online banks may require that you click on Palaa palveluntarjoajan sivulle (Return to the service provider’s website).

You can pay via any Finnish online bank. Credit cards accepted are Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard and American Express.

Payment can also be done by another person.

In case none of these payment options are available to you, please contact Open University by e-mail [email protected]

After payment you will get a confirmation of your course registration by e-mail.

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 Into pages.

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.