Terms and conditions related to registration and participation in language courses and exams

French institute in Latvia
15/08/2022

1.PROCEDURE OF REGISTRATION FOR LANGUAGE COURSES AND EXAMS

1.1 The registration is done by the participant, or the candidate for the exams DELF-DALF, DFP, or TEF Canada (hereafter referred to as “student”) via the registration platform of the French Institute in Latvia (hereafter referred to as “Institute”) that is available on the Institute’s website www.institut-francais.lv. Creation of a user’s account on the website is mandatory.

1.2 By registering, the student accepts the terms and conditions related to the registration and participation in language courses and exams and the privacy policy of the Institute.

1.3 The minimum age for registering oneself is 18. Minors must be registered by one of their parents or their legal representative.

1.4 For students who are not beginners, who have never participated in language courses of the Institute, or whose latest date of registration is older than 12 months, a language placement test is mandatory. The placement test is free of charge when registering for one of the language courses at the Institute. Students with intermediate or advanced level take the online test Ev@lang. For beginners, as well as children and teenagers a placement test in person with a professor can be arranged.

1.5 Registration for an exam to obtain a certificate is made via the registration platform of the Institute during the registration periods that are announced in advance on the Institute's website. Registration is valid only after you pay the examination fees prior the exam taking place.

2.PRICES AND TERMS OF PAYMENT

2.1 The applicable prices correspond to the rates in force on the day of registration and as specified via the Institute’s means of communication.

2.2 The price of the language textbook is not included in the price of the courses.

2.3 The payment for the courses must be made within 5 days after receiving the invoice and before the start of the course. Failing that, the language centre has the right to cancel the reserved place in the group.

2.4 If the course has started, the payment for the course is due in full.

2.5 Upon a justified request, a two-part payment can be arranged by the Institute for the students who are re-enrolling for the courses. The Institute has the right to expel the student from the course if the second payment is late. In any case, the student agrees to pay the full amount due within the time limit indicated on the invoice.

2.6 If the Institute offers a discount that requires a justification (for example, discounts for students, unemployed, pensioners), the document that justifies student’s status must be uploaded on the registration platform or sent to kursi@institut-francais.lv.

2.7 The payment for obtaining official language certificates is due in full once the registration for the exam is made. The payment must be made within 5 days after receiving the invoice. Failing that, the language centre has the right to cancel the registration for the exam.

2.8 When registering for DELF-DALF courses and the exam, the student receives a 10% discount for the DELF-DALF exam.

2.9 Legal entities benefit from a 10% discount when ordering at least 10 DELF-DALF exams.

2.10 The payment can be made by bank transfer or with Institute’s gift card.

3.ORGANISATION OF COURSES AND EXAMS

3.1 The number of participants in face-to-face courses is from 7 to 14. The number of participants in online or KOMBO courses (students onsite and online) is from 7 to 12. It can vary depending on the type of the course or the students’ age. Courses in smaller groups can be organized for a higher price that is adjusted based on the number of students.

3.2 Any demand to change the group must be made in writing and sent to the language center (kursi@institut-francais.lv). The change is possible depending on the available places in other groups. If the price of the new group is higher, the difference must be paid before joining the new course. If the change is made to transfer to a course with a lower price, no reimbursement is possible.

3.3 If a student attends face-to-face courses and for some valid reason wants to connect to a separate lesson remotely, such request must be sent to the Institute at the address kursi@institut-francais.lv no later than 2 (two) working days before the scheduled lesson. The language centre is considering this possibility. If joining the group remotely is approved, a Zoom link is sent.

3.4 In case of absence and subject to available places, it is possible to make up for the missed class by exceptionally joining another course of the same format and level at a different time. In this case, the student must inform the language centre 24 hours in advance in order to arrange this class for catching up. This can be done illimited number of times and, apart from exceptional cases, it must be done during the same session. The language centre has the right to refuse this possibility in case of its abusive usage.

3.5 When a teacher cannot teach a class for duly justified personal or medical reasons, the Institute undertakes to do everything in its power to find a replacement. If the class is cancelled, it will be rescheduled for another date if possible.

3.6 Courses are taught by local and native teachers. The Institute reserves the right to change the teacher during the session if it deems it necessary.

3.7 At the end of the general course session, an end-of-session test is organized for the students to advance to the next level. A certificate of attendance in French, in Latvian, or in English can be issued at the end of the session if the request is made to the language centre (kursi@institut-francais.lv).

3.8 The invitation to the official exams indicating the dates, the time, the place, and the procedure for taking the exams is sent to the candidates one week before the exam. The results are announced one month after the exam session, the diplomas are issued three months after the exam session.

3.9 The classes are suspended during official holidays and during the periods when the Institute is closed.

4.CANCELLATIONS, CREDIT NOTES, REFUNDS, PENALTIES

4.1 The Institute reserves the right to cancel a course if the required minimum number of participants is not reached. With the agreement of the registered participants and in the interest of all parties, the Institute can offer several alternatives, for example, postponing the start date of the course, modifying the schedule and the duration of the course session, merging several groups together, redirecting the participants to another group course. If no other alternative can be found, the Institute may propose a credit note or a refund of registration fees for the unattended courses.

4.2 The withdrawal period is 14 days after having received the invoice. A notice about a registration cancellation must be done in writing and sent to the language centre (kursi@institut-francais.lv) in order to have the right to a refund or a credit note that can be used for a future registration.

4.3 When using their right of cancellation within 14 days, the student agrees to pay for the classes they have attended.

4.4 After the period of 14 days following the reception of the invoice has passed, the registration fees cannot be reimbursed. However, the student can request a refund of the registration fees or a credit note in proportion of the unattended classes in the event of a serious illness, or when, because of regulatory acts, the student must self-isolate and thus cannot attend face-to-face classes (and if the Institute does not offer the possibility to continue the course online), resulting in absence that is higher than 50% of the scheduled group course hours. A written and signed request, together with a medical justification issued by the family doctor and confirming a lasting or permanent inability to attend the classes (face-to-face and/or online), must be sent to the Institute via email to kursi@institut-francais.lv.

4.5 When a request of a refund because of medical reasons is made, the amount of refund is calculated pro rata temporis from the unattended classes, and a 20% deduction is made from this amount, which corresponds to the administrative costs incurred.

4.6 For the certifications, given the obligations of the Institute towards the CCIP and France Education International, no refund will be made within the 14 days preceding the exam. If the cancellation is made more than 14 days before the examination taking place, a credit note can be issued.

4.7 In the event of force majeure or an exceptional situation preventing staff, teachers, and the public from entering the Institute (natural catastrophes, public order disturbances, exceptional health situation, state of emergency, etc.), the language centre reserves the right to cancel face-to-face classes or to organize them online. If the course arrangements are modified because of the aforementioned reasons, holding classes online will not give a right to a compensation.

4.8 Any refund as mentioned in the articles above will be made based on a form duly filled out and signed by the student. The institute will reimburse the corresponding fees within between 14 (fourteen) and 30 (thirty) days after receiving the refund form.

4.9 The issued credit notes are valid for the calendar year or the following course or exam session.

4.10 In the event of a late payment due for the courses, a penalty equal to 0.5% of the total amount due will be applied for each day of late payment in addition to the interest on late payments, but not more than 10% of the principal debt or the main obligation. If the amount due is not paid after three reminders by email and/or by phone, the Institute reserves the right to use the services of a collection company.

5.INDIVIDUAL COURSES AND COURSES FOR COMPANIES

5.1 Predefined individual course packages are available for reservation online. Customized requests and requests about courses for companies must be made by contacting the language centre (kursi@institut-francais.lv).

5.2 The conditions of individual courses and courses for companies are stated in a contract signed by the Institute and the student.

5.3 If the course takes place online, the conditions are stated on the invoice, but signing a contract and sending a scanned copy of the contract can be requested.

5.4 When signing a contract for at least 20 hours, a 5% discount is granted. For 40 hours and more, the discount is 10%.

5.5 For individual courses and courses for companies, the student must inform the Institute’s language centre about not being able to attend a class at least 24 hours before the scheduled date and time of the class. Otherwise, the service will be considered as provided, the class will not be rescheduled, and it will be invoiced.

6.GIFT CARD

6.1 A gift card is valid 6 months, and it can be bought via the online store of the Institute. If the value of the gift card is lower than the price of the course or the exam for which the student is registering, the difference must be paid at the time of registration.

7.INTERNAL RULES, RESPONSABILITIES

7.1 The Institute’s internal rules state that the student undertakes to participate in the smooth running of the courses and to respect other students in their course (religion, politics, ethnicity, etc.), not to disturb with their behaviour the work of other students and the teacher, not to put in danger with their behaviour their own health and security, as well as the health and security of others, to respect order and cleanliness in the classrooms. The Institute reserves the right to expel the student from the course in case of repeated non-compliance with the internal rules.

7.2 The Institute undertakes to ensure the courses and the official exams in respect with the obligations of health and security, and in respect of the human rights and the rights of children, according to the regulations in force in Latvia.

7.3 The Institute is not responsible for any thefts, losses, damages, and accidents that occur during the student’s presence at the Institute. It is strongly advised not to bring valuable possessions to the classes.

7.4 The Institute does not supervise minors on the premises of the Institute outside of their classes. If the adult responsible for picking up the minor is late, they must notify the language centre of the Institute (67 20 18 58/51).

8.FINAL PROVISIONS

8.1 These general conditions are an integral part of the registration form for French language courses and for official French language exams.

8.2 The general conditions related to registration and participation in language courses and exams have been translated from Latvian to French, English, and Russian. In case of any differences between the versions, the Latvian version prevails.

GENERAL CONDITIONS RELATED TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE MULTIMEDIA LIBRARY

1.Persons who wish to borrow documents, can register at the multimedia library and receive a reader’s card for 1 year.

2.Registration fees:

- Full price: 20,00 €

- Reduced price (children, pupils, students, teachers and professors, translators and interpreters, unemployed, seniors, and members who have been registered at the multimedia library for more than 4 years): 10,00 €

3.If the reader’s card is lost, the fee for issuing a new card is 5,00 €.

4.The French Institute in Latvia offers one year of free access to the services of the multimedia library for its partners and students of the French Institute in Latvia.

5.The reader’s card of the multimedia library can be purchased:

• Via the website of the French Institute in Latvia. In this case, an invoice will be issued, and the payment must be made within 5 days.
• On-site by paying in cash and by filling out a registration form.

6.Those who can benefit from free access to the services of the multimedia library can receive their reader’s card on-site by filling out a registration form.

7.Registered members can borrow documents and have the possibility to extend the period for borrowing if necessary.

8.In the event of not returning the documents in time, a late fee is imposed. The fee is 5.00 € per month for up to 2 months of delay. After 2 months, the documents that have not been returned are considered as lost and an invoice will be issued by the French Institute in Latvia for the catalogue price of the documents.

9.If the document is no longer being distributed or is not available in its original format, a flat rate of 20 euros per book and 30 euros per audio or video document is applied.

10.If the document is returned damaged or has been destroyed, the same procedure applies.

Privacy policy of the French Institute in Latvia
1/07/2020

This Policy sets out how the French institute of Latvia processes any personal data that we collect from you or that you provide to us through using our website.

Please note that this Privacy Policy is subject to change at any time by the French Institute in Latvia in order to take account of any legislative, regulatory, judicial or technological developments. In this case, the date of the update will be clearly indicated at the top of this Privacy Policy webpage. These modifications are applied to the User from the moment they are published on the home page. Thus, in order to get acquainted with the changes made, the User must regularly review the existing Privacy and Cookie Policy.

The French institute in Latvia collects and processes personal data that is relevant, adequate, not excessive and that is necessary to achieve the previously defined objectives. The French institute in Latvia takes all necessary measures to ensure that your data is accurate, complete and, if necessary, updated.

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation adopted by the European Parliament on April 14 2016, and the Data Protection Act of January 6 1978, we inform you of the following points:

1. IDENTITY OF THE DATA CONTROLLER

The Controller of your personal data is the French Institute of Latvia, registered seat at 59 Elizabetes Street, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.
Tel.: + 371 67 20 18 51

1. Purpose of data processing

The French Institute of Latvia undertakes to obtain the consent of the Parties concerned and to inform them of the processing of their personal data. We need to process your Personal Information in the following cases:
• As soon as you subscribe to one of our services;
• As soon as you use one of our services;
• As soon as you use our website;
• As soon as you deliver goods or services to us;
• As soon as you participate in competitions, events, public relations or communication events organized by us;
• As soon as you agree to receive our newsletter and other commercial information from us;
• As soon as you want to apply for a vacancy;
• As soon as you contact us to ask questions or make a complaint.

In the case of video-surveillance, the data collected by the video-surveillance system is kept only for the purpose of fulfilling their primary mission, namely the protection of the French Institute in Latvia. The pictures can be handed over to the Police, if requested by the relevant services. The recordings are stored securely for a maximum of one month. Visitors of the French institute in Latvia have the right to request a copy of any video recording on which they appear or on which they can be clearly identified. With the permission of the French institute, the corresponding recording will be handed over to the person who submitted the written request.

1. Cookies Policy

The User has been informed that by continuing to browse the website, he accepts the use of cookies intended to offer him content and services tailored to his interests.
Cookie is a block of data which does not allow to identify users but is used to keep the information related to the navigation of the User on the website.
The User has all the above-mentioned rights regarding his personal data transferred by cookies under the conditions indicated above.

2. RECIPIENTS OF THE INFORMATION

The sole recipient of your Personal Information is the French Institute in Latvia. This information will never be passed on to a third party, regardless of which services of the service provider the French institute uses (for additional details see paragraph 7). Neither the French institute in Latvia, nor any of its subcontractors, whoever it may be, can use the personal data of the Institute’s visitors, clients and users for commercial purposes.

3. DURATION OF DATA RETENTION

Your Personal Information is stored by the French Institute in Latvia only for the time necessary to accomplish the objective for which the data was collected, or as long as it is necessary to provide for you our services.

4. DATA STORAGE RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

You have the following rights regarding your Personal Information, which you can exercise by contacting us through the postal address mentioned in the first paragraph or by email: communication@institut-francais.lv

1. The right of access

You have the right to access Personal Information that concerns you.
However, in view of the French Institute’s obligation to ensure the security and confidentiality of personal data processing, we must inform you that your request will be examined provided that you can prove your identity by preparing a scanned version or a signed copy of a valid ID.
The French institute states that it reserves the right to oppose obvious abusive applications (in terms of quantity, repetition or systematic nature).

1. The right to rectification

You have the right to request the correction, update, blocking or deletion of your Personal Information (the right “to be forgotten”), which may be inaccurate or erroneous, incomplete or outdated.
You can also set general and specific guidelines for the future of your Personal Information after your death. In this case, the heirs of a deceased person may request that the death of their relative is considered or to request the necessary updates.

1. The right to object

The exercise of this right is possible only in one of the following two situations:
1. If the exercise of this right is justified by legitimate reasons; or
2. When the exercise of this right is intended to prevent the obtained data from being used for commercial purposes.

5. INFORMATION CONCERNING MINORS

Regarding the use of personal data of minors under the age of 16, the French Institute of Latvia undertakes to obtain the consent of child’s parents or legal guardian before using the personal data of this child.

6. SOCIAL MEDIA

In the framework of sharing its content in social media, the website www.institut-francais.lv uses the API internet protocols of several social networks. The User acknowledges having read the General Terms of Use of YouTube, Facebook, Google, Instagram and Twitter.

7. RESPONSE DEADLINES

The French Institute in Latvia undertakes to respond to your request for an access or correction of your personal data, your objection or any other additional request concerning the information within a reasonable period which may not exceed 1 month from receipt of your request.

8. AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS AND TRANSFER TO A THIRD-PARTU COUNTRY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

French institute in Latvia informs you that it cooperates with authorized service providers to facilitate the collection and processing of the data that you submit. These providers are located in the European Union, OR your data is hosted and stored on the territory of the European Union, and the service providers' infrastructure is designed to protect the information against any type of intrusion.

The French Institute in Latvia, that has previously ensured its compliance with appropriate security measures, follows strict rules of confidentiality, use and protection of data. The software that is used by the French institute in Latvia and its service providers, considers the principles of personal data protection from the moment of receiving the data, for as long as it is needed. The data is stored for as long as it is required by the regulations.

9. COMPLAINT TO THE DIFFERENT BODIES

If you consider that the French Institute in Latvia is not fulfilling its obligations regarding your personal information, you may file a complaint or seek redress before the competent bodies.