The Regulation is established based on subsection 7 (1) of the Adult Education Act, clause 5 (3) 1) of the Tallinn University of Technology Act and clause 2 (2) 3) of the Statutes of Tallinn University of Technology.
§ 1. General provisions
(1) The Rules define the areas of continuing education delivered at Tallinn University of Technology (hereinafter referred to as ‘the university’), establish the educational and financial principles governing the delivery of continuing education, outline the principles for quality assurance, set the terms and conditions for accreditation of prior and experiential learning (hereinafter referred to as ‘APEL’), and regulate the reporting procedures related to continuing education.
(2) Continuing education may be provided in all study programme groups included in the university’s notice of economic activities for the provision of continuing education and registered in the Estonian Education Information System EHIS.
(3) Continuing education is organised in accordance with the Adult Education Act, the Continuing Education Standard, adopted by Regulation No 18 of 14 April 2025 of the of the Minister of Education and Research (hereinafter referred to as ‘Continuing Education Standard’), the Strategic Plan of Tallinn University of Technology 2021–2025, the Academic Policies established by Regulation No 4 of 17 May 2022 of the University Senate (hereinafter referred to as ‘Academic Policies’” and other legislation governing continuing education.
(4) Continuing education means purposeful and organised non-formal education conducted according to a study programme based on learning outcomes, with the aim of achieving those outcomes. At the university, continuing education is defined as follows:
1) studies based on non-formal education study programmes (hereinafter referred to as ‘continuing education’);
2) studies based on micro-degree study programmes (hereinafter referred to as ‘micro-degree studies’);
3) studies based on micro-qualification study programmes (hereinafter referred to as ‘micro-qualification studies’);
4) studies based on courses from formal education study programmes (hereinafter “open studies”).
(5) A continuing education student is a person enrolled in continuing education, micro-degree, micro-qualification, or open studies.
(6) A continuing education student has the right to receive information about the university’s continuing education courses, including their content and organisation; to participate in these courses; to receive the prescribed learning materials and access to the related e-learning environment; to obtain a notice or certificate upon successful completion; and to apply for accreditation of prior and experiential learning in accordance with § 8 of the Rules.
(7) The status and academic policies for continuing education students are laid down in the Rules. Other university legislation applies to continuing education students as far as these Rules or the learning agreement concluded between the continuing education student and the university do not provide otherwise.
(8) A continuing education student is obliged, in particular, to comply with the requirements set forth in these Rules, other applicable legislation, generally accepted standards of conduct and good practice, and to fulfil other obligations arising from the learning agreement. ‘Good practice’ means conduct that complies with the university’s principles of academic ethics, values, Academic Policies, and standards established by legislation.
§ 2. Planning and conducting continuing education courses
(1) The area of continuing education is managed by a Vice-Rector appointed by the Rector in accordance with the Directive on the Appointment of Heads of Areas of Responsibility and Designation of Their Fields of Activity and Their Subordinate Structural Units (Rector’s Directive No 64 of 20 December 2022). (2) Continuing education activities at the university are coordinated by the Open University.
(3) The Open University shall provide support services for continuing education in accordance with the structure and functions established by Order No 76 of 19 May 2016, issued by the Vice-Rector for Innovation and Business Relations.
(4) Continuing education is organised in adherence to the general requirements of the university’s Academic Policies and according to the relevant continuing education, micro-degree, or micro-qualification study programmes, or by delivering courses offered in formal study programmes.
(5) Continuing education services are provided by schools, departments, the Open University and other administrative and support units in compliance with the functions laid down in the description of the unit.
(6) The head of the department or unit organising the continuing education course, or a person designated by the head, is responsible for the quality of the study programme content and for entering the programme data into the continuing education information system.
(7) Continuing education services in micro-degree study programmes and open studies are provided on the basis of a civil law agreement for continuing education services entered into between the continuing education student and the university. The standard form of the special provisions and the general provisions of the agreement have been approved by Rector’s Directive No 29 of 26 June 2019. The agreement shall be concluded in the study information system in a format that can be reproduced in writing. A continuing education student has limited access to the study information system until an agreement with the university is entered into.
(8) The Open University is responsible for providing initial counselling, managing the conclusion of agreements, and issuing invoices to continuing education students beginning open studies. Schools and departments provide professional counselling and address academic issues of students enrolled in micro-degree programmes and open studies.
§ 3. Registration for continuing education courses and management of data
(1) Applicants for continuing education, micro-degree, micro-qualification programmes, and open studies shall confirm that they have read the legislation governing studies at the university and agree to adhere to good practices and generally accepted standards of conduct.
(2) Students in continuing education and micro-qualification study programmes shall confirm their participation in the training by registering in the continuing education information system, after which they will receive an automatic confirmation message. A continuing education student is considered a participant in the training unless the student has notified his/her withdrawal prior to the first day of training.
(3) In micro-degree and open studies, course registration takes place in the study information system in adherence to the conditions and procedures set out in the Academic Policies and must be completed by the deadline specified in the academic calendar. Student data is collected and stored, and learning information is exchanged in the study information system. Official information (such as notices and study-related messages) shall be sent to the student’s study information system account. The information shall be considered delivered to the student, and it is assumed that the student has had a reasonable opportunity to review it, once three (3) working days have passed since the information was sent.
(4) The university may refuse to enrol a person as a continuing education student if the person does not meet the conditions established in the syllabus of the continuing education or formal education course, if the maximum number of participants has been reached, or if the person has outstanding financial obligations to the university.
(5) If a continuing education student violates good practice or generally accepted standards of conduct, the Head of the Open University may, depending on the severity of the violation, consider it a valid reason to extraordinarily cancel the agreement with the student without prior notice.
(6) Upon extraordinary cancellation of the agreement, any amount paid by the continuing education student to the university prior to the cancellation shall not be refunded, and the student is obligated to compensate the university for any damages caused by the cancellation, including lost income.
(7) The data of continuing education students is collected and stored in the continuing education information system, while data of students in micro-degree programmes and open studies is stored in the study information system in compliance with the general requirements set out in Academic Policies and applicable personal data protection legislation.
§ 4. Continuing education study programme
(1) Continuing education shall be organised based on a continuing education study programme entered into the continuing education information system, while micro-degree programmes and open studies shall be organised based on the courses in the study programme and the timetable.
(2) A continuing education study programme shall meet the requirements for continuing education study programmes laid down in the Continuing Education Standard.
(3) The volume of a continuing education study programme is measured in academic hours, while the volume of micro-degree, micro-qualification, and open studies is measured in credit points. One academic hour corresponds to 45 minutes and one credit point corresponds to 26 hours of learner’s work in acquiring knowledge and skills.
(4) The volume of micro-degree and micro-qualification studies is 5 to 30 credit points. The submission of micro-degree programmes and the implementation of micro-degree studies at the university are governed by the Guidelines for Micro-Degree and Micro-Qualification Study Programmes established by the Vice-Rector referred to in subsection 2 (1) of the Rules for Continuing Education Courses.
(5) Continuing education is organised based on a study programme and may be delivered as individual study days, courses, course cycles, or modules. Continuing education may be delivered through face-to-face sessions, online learning, independent study, or practical training.
(6) To open a continuing education study programme, the person responsible for continuing education enters the study programme data into the continuing education information system.
(7) A continuing education study programme is prepared based on learning outcomes and approved in the continuing education information system by the head of the structural unit organising the training or by a person designated by him/her. Learning outcomes shall be defined at a level sufficient for delivery of the study programme.
(8) If a continuing education study programme has been prepared based on an occupational qualification standard, another state-established standard, or a formal education study programme, it must include reference to the corresponding standard or formal education study programme and its module or course.
§ 5. Documenting assessment results and recording documents
(1) The assessment results of continuing education are documented in accordance with the definition of the continuing education course in either the continuing education information system or the study information system.
(2) Assessment results shall be entered into the continuing education information system or the study information system by the academic staff member conducting the studies or by an employee appointed by the head of the structural unit. An assessment form shall be signed by the academic staff member conducting the studies.
(3) A notice or certificate that meets the requirements established by the Continuing Education Standard is issued upon completion of, or participation in continuing education.
(4) A notice of participation in or passing continuing education shall be issued to a person if the accomplishment of the learning outcomes was not assessed or if the person did not accomplish all the required learning outcomes.
(5) A certificate shall be issued to a person who has completed the prescribed scope of the continuing education programme, provided that the accomplishment of the learning outcomes was assessed and the person has accomplished all the required learning outcomes for completing the study programme.
(6) If necessary, the university may issue a supplement alongside the notice or certificate, which constitutes an integral part of the continuing education notice or certificate.
(7) A certificate, notice and their supplements shall be drawn up in Estonian. At the request of the continuing education student or by decision of the head of the structural unit organising the continuing education, the certificate, notice, and supplements may be issued in English.
(8) A continuing education certificate, notice, and supplements are issued electronically unless otherwise specified in the continuing education study programme. At the request of the continuing education student or by decision of the head of the structural unit organising the continuing education, the certificate, notice, and supplements may also be issued in paper format.
(9) Digital documents are certified with the university’s qualified e-stamp or with the digital signature of the head of the unit organizing the continuing education or a person authorised by him/her.
(10) Paper certificates, notices and supplements for continuing education are signed by the head of the unit organising the continuing education or by the head of the Open University and are issued in accordance with the university’s price list for documents.
(11) Continuing education certificates and notices are registered in the certificates and notices register of the continuing education information system, except for state-commissioned continuing education training, the documents of which are registered in the information system JUHAN managed by the Ministry of Education and Research.
(12) The Open University manages the certificates and notices register within the continuing education information system and arranges the issuance of certificates, notices, and supplements.
(13) The Open University submits data on micro-degree and micro-qualification certificates to the Estonian Education Information System EHIS.
§ 6. Principles for ensuring the quality of continuing education
(1) The quality of continuing education is ensured through the content of studies, the organisation of the continuing education and the development of the learning environment in compliance with the Adult Education Act, the Continuing Education Standard, the Strategic Plan of the university, and the university’s regulations governing continuing education.
(2) Participants in continuing education training will be asked to provide feedback on the organisation and content of the training, the performance of the teaching staff, and the relevance of the training in achieving the intended learning outcomes. Feedback will be considered in the planning and delivery of future training sessions. A summary of the feedback is stored in the continuing education information system.
(3) A continuing education student has the right to access information about continuing education courses and to submit suggestions or complaints to the head of the unit responsible for the continuing education or to the head of the Open University. Complaints are generally responded to within one week.
(4) If a complaint is submitted concerning commissioned continuing education training provided under a training service provision agreement, the terms of that agreement will apply.
§ 7. Financial management of continuing education
(1) Continuing education, micro-degree and micro-qualification studies, and open studies are fee-based services provided by the university. Tuition fees are determined according to the fee rates and pricing policy established by the university.
(2) Terms of payment and withdrawal from continuing education courses and micro-qualification courses:
1) A person enrolled in continuing education or micro-qualification studies is required to pay tuition fees to the university. The tuition fee must be paid no later than four (4) working days before the start of continuing education course.
2) If a registrant cancels his/her participation in the continuing education course more than four (4) working days prior to its commencement, no tuition fee will be charged.
3) If a registrant cancels his/her participation in the continuing education course one (1) to three (3) working days prior to its commencement, he/she is required to pay 50% of the total tuition fee.
4) If a registrant does not cancel their registration in advance and fails to attend the continuing education course, he/she will be required to pay 100% of the tuition fee.
(3) A continuing education service agreement is concluded with students of micro-degree and open education studies, under which the student is invoiced for tuition fees. Tuition fees must be paid within 14 calendar days according to the continuing education service agreement.
(4) If the university is responsible for the cancellation of the continuing education course, the student will receive a full refund of the tuition fee.
(5) Terms and conditions for applying VAT to the tuition fees of continuing education courses:
1) the university excludes any commercial intent in organising open studies and courses aimed at schoolchildren, and therefore, VAT shall not be applied to the tuition fees;
2) VAT shall not be applied to tuition fees for micro-degree and micro-qualification studies if the study programme consists exclusively of formal education courses that are not subject to VAT;
3) VAT shall be applied to other continuing education services when competing in the training market with a continuing education provider who is a person liable for value added tax under the Value Added Tax Act.
§ 8. Application of APEL in Continuing Education
(1) A continuing education student may apply for APEL in accordance with the Rules for the Accreditation of Prior and Experiential Learning, established by the University Senate (Senate’s Regulation No 9 of 12 December 2023).
§ 9. Reporting
(1) The university’s continuing education reporting is based on the study information system, the continuing education information system, and the register of notices and certificates. These systems contain data on performance indicators and financial volume related to continuing education.
(2) Each calendar year, the Open University compiles a report on the university’s continuing education activities.
§ 10. Repeal of a Regulation
(1) Regulation No 5 of 16 October 2018 of the University Board of Tallinn University of Technology “Regulations of Continuing Education” is repealed.
§ 11. Entry into force of the Regulation
(1) The Regulation will enter into force on 1 August 2025.