Alma Adult Education Centre

Registration to new courses 2024-25 opens on Wednesday May 15^th 2024 at 3 pm.

Have a look at the spring 2024 courses at
http://uusi.opistopalvelut.fi/vaasa 

Alma Adult Education Centre provides open education in more than a thousand different courses annually. In addition to our inexpensive courses, we arrange events and free open lectures on interesting and current topics. Approximately 15,000 course participants join our activities annually.

Alma can be found in Vaasa, Isokyrö and Laihia. Our task is to respond to local educational needs and be a part of the local community and its culture. The language of instruction at Alma is Finnish and Swedish. Service is also available in English, among other languages.

At Alma you can learn for fun as well as purposefully for studies or working life. Our courses are suitable for all ages, regardless of educational background. Our range of courses includes visual arts, crafts, music, word and performing arts, dance and exercise, computer technology, languages as well as courses to do with health and well-being, cuisine and gardening. In addition to local education, there are web courses and various forms of distance education.

At Alma, you can also study with a goal in mind. We arrange basic art education for adults in visual arts and crafts. Basic art education for children and young people is given at TaiKon, which is part of Alma. The integration courses that we produce, i.e. basic education for adults and UMAKO courses to develop reading and writing skills, in accordance with the national integration plan, are an essential part of the diverse range of courses we can offer.

Please note that the coronavirus pandemic could affect normal procedures at the institute. For example, we may have to arrange distance courses, such as hybrid teaching or via special arrangements instead of classroom teaching if the authorities so decide. Examples of special arrangements include a reduction of group sizes or groups taking turns to participate in classroom teaching.

We publish the current information on how the coronavirus situation is affecting our activities via social media channels and on our websites. Please check that your contact details are up-to-date, so that we can contact you if necessary.

Look after each other

At the institute, we take care of good hand and cough hygiene and maintain safe social distancing.  You can wear a face mask if you wish but it is no longer compulsory on the institute’s premises. Please do not attend a course or remain on the institute’s premises if you have even the mildest flu symptoms.

You can read the information from the authorities regarding the current coronavirus situation on the THL website.

Sign up for courses: www.opistopalvelut.fi/vaasa

You can also register by phone:

• Customer service 0400 868 110 and 040 614 8628

Your registration is binding. You can register for the course until the start of the course. You will receive a separate invitation to the course only if you have been given a reserve place at the registration stage. We inform about course changes either by text message or e-mail. It is not possible to register for a course if you have unpaid course fees from before.

Cancellation policy

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

Course fees

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)

Discounts

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 two (2) Alma courses free of charge during the 2023–2024 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

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

It is possible to order tailor-made courses from the Alma Adult Education Centre. We always plan these courses together with the client.

Contact:

Vice principal Marianne Waltermann

• 040 5512 156
• Responsibilities: basic education for adults (together with the principal), language, music, word and performing arts, health and well-being, computer technology and navigation skills, social subjects

Vice principal Mia Wiik

• 040 0256 961
• Responsibilities: kitchen and garden, visual arts and design, crafts, children and young people, dance and exercise, TaiKon and the Swedish team

The Alma Adult Education Centre’s facilities can be rented for lectures, seminars, meetings, and other events. There is café space available at both locations, both at the Raastuvankatu and Kirkkopuistikko addresses. The association Vaasan työväenopiston opiskelijat r.f. runs the café at Raastuvankatu.

Facilities and prices

• Facilities and prices are available here.

Information and bookings

• Service Secretary, 040 6194 692 (Mon–Thu from 10:00–14:00)
• alma@edu.vaasa.fi

Café Almatar, Raastuvankatu 31, 1st floor.

• FB: Café Almatar

Parking

Raastuvankatu 31

• Parking is only allowed for staff with a parking permit. The parking permit is granted for either a day or evening.
• In the designated parking zone along the street, you can park with a parking disc (parkkikiekko) for 2 hours from 08:00 – 17:00 and after that for free.

Kirkkopuistikko 15

• Parking is only allowed for staff with a parking permit. The parking permit is granted for either a day or evening.
• In the designated parking zone along the street, you can park with a parking disc (parkkikiekko) for 2 hours from 08:00 – 17:00 and after that for free.

The barracks area (Kasarminalue)

• You can park for 3 hours in designated parking areas along the street with a parking disc (parkkikiekko) displayed
• In the area between Kasarminkatu and Korsholmanpuistikko, parking is free.

Hellewi – electronic diary

• https://vaasa.opistopalvelut.fi

Teachers’ handbook 2022–23

• Available only in Finnish and Swedish

The aim is to support and inspire students at the institute, both in their studies and in other leisure activities. The association organizes events as well as study and recreational trips.

More information: https://www.vaasanopistolaiset.fi