General Terms and Conditions of Business - v: May 28, 2024
Sprachenzentrum der Universität Wien
Innovationszentrum Universität Wien GmbH
Campus der Universität Wien
Alser Straße 4, Hof 1.16
1090 Vienna
(Hereafter: Language Center)
Management: Mag.a Nicola Kraml
VAT registration no.: ATU 60575577
Commercial Register no.: 153158h
1. Area of Validity
These General Terms and Conditions of Business apply to all legal transactions entered into on the one hand by the Language Center of the University of Vienna, particularly with respect to services rendered within the scope of courses organised by the Language Center, and, on the other hand, its customers.
The relevant version of the General Terms and Conditions of Business shall be the version valid at the time of contract conclusion. The General Terms and Conditions of Business shall also be applicable to future agreements – even if/when supplementary contracts fail to mention this explicitly. Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions of Business be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions, or that of contracts concluded on their basis. Each invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid one which comes as close as possible to the original provision in terms of its general sense and economic intent.
2. General Requirements
Minimum age: 16. Only persons who have paid the course fee at the beginning of the course or for whom a cost transfer from another organisation is available are entitled to participate. Accompanying persons are not permitted to attend courses at the Language Centre (online or in person). (Exception: personal assistance for people with special needs; in this case, this must be announced when registering).
Should any other admission requirements apply to particular courses, those requirements shall be specifically included in the course description. These provisions apply to each course participant.
3. Registration Procedure and Payment
Registration for courses of the Language Center of the University of Vienna can be carried out online or in person and is binding. Regrettably, payment by instalments is not possible.
a. Online registration is possible for:
- Foreign Language Courses
- German courses: February- and Summer Intensive Courses
Trimester, Semester and Summer Evening Courses
Having filled out and submitted your online registration form, you are now required to settle your tuition fee. This can be carried out by means of a credit card (Visa, Mastercard), by eps (or, in the case of our German summer intensive courses, by remittance). The assignment of course places is done on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the date of payment and, if applicable, placement test.
After registering online, you will be sent by email a payment request and further information. Remittances are to be directed to the following account; please state the participant's name and course number in the reference.
Innovationszentrum Universität Wien GmbH
UniCredit Bank Austria AG
8189 FirmenkundenCenter Campus Süd
Rothschildplatz 1
1020 Wien
BIC: BKAUATWW
IBAN: AT73 1100 0052 1110 1006
Please note that any bank transfer or exchange fees are to be carried by the course participant.
b. Registration in person is possible for all courses, and required for German Courses for VWU.
A registration form has to be filled in and the tuition fee has to be paid in full by cash, credit card (Visa, Mastercard) or debit card.
Language Center of the University of Vienna
Campus der Universität Wien, Hof 1, Zugang 1.16.
Alser Straße 4, 1090 Vienna
Please note that any bank transfer or exchange fees are to be carried by the course participant. (also in the case of a refund!)
c. Registration for Courses with Accommodation Included (only applicable for German summer intensive courses in July, August and September)
Room reservation shall only be carried out upon receipt of your payment and your properly filled out registration form. Once your payment has been booked onto our account, you shall be sent your course registration and the exact address of your student dormitory, as well as further information. Rooms can only be booked for the full duration of a course (27 overnight stays in July/August, 20 overnight stays in September). When booking two or three courses, supplementary or intermediary overnight stays shall be charged separately.
For Summer intensive courses (German), tuition fees are required to be paid in four weeks before the course starts.
d. Joining Late/Dropping Out
Joining a course late and/or dropping out (leaving the course before its scheduled end) does not entitle participants to prorated reduction of their tuition fees. The entitlement to a certificate is linked to the fulfilment of a minimum attendance requirement for the entire duration of the course.
e. Discounted tuition fees
Please see our current discounts in our Discount Guidelines
Please note that reasons for discount must be claimed and required proof must be shown upon registration or soon afterwards, at the very latest at the last day of course.
4. Cancellation
a. Courses can be cancelled at no charge no later than five days prior to the beginning of the course, either in written form or in person at our main office. Course cancellations become effective through the written confirmation of the Language Center. Refunding of tuition fees can only be carried out after the proper return of the original documents (e.g. course registration, confirmation of registration). Past this date, the full tuition fee is due – even if the participant never attends the course.
b. In their position as consumers as defined in the Austrian Distance Selling Act [Konsumentenschutzgesetz], course participants are entitled – in cases of distance selling bookings (especially via the Internet) – to withdrawal from contract within fourteen days from the day of contract conclusion. Hereby, sending the written cancellation within the set deadline is legally sufficient. Please see 5., Right of Withdrawal, for further details.
c. Cancellation of Room Reservation in 2024:
- up to 21.05.2024 (July Course), 18.06.2024 (August Course), 16.07.2024 (September Course): no cancellation fee
- up to 05.06.2024 (July Course), 03.07.2024 (August Course), 31.07.2024 (September Course): 50% cancellation fee
- As of 06.06.2024 (July Course), 04.07.2024 (August Course), 01.08.2024 (September Course) or in case of non-arrival: accommodation fees are not refundable.
Please note that postponing the room booking to a later month is equivalent to a cancellation.
d. Cancellation of Courses and Room Reservations for group bookings in 2024:
- up to 21.05.2024 (July Course), 18.06.2024 (August Course), 16.07.2024 (September Course): no cancellation fee
- up to 05.06.2024 (July Course), 03.07.2024 (August Course), 31.07.2024 (September Course): 50% cancellation fee
- As of 06.06.2024 (July Course), 04.07.2024 (August Course), 01.08.2024 (September Course) or in case of non-arrival: course and accommodation fees are due and will be charged and cannot be refunded.
e. Cancellation after receiving a confirmation for visa application at an Austrian embassy:
If a confirmation of course registration addressed to an Austrian embassy has been issued, cancellation of the course without charges is only possible if the Language Center is informed no later than five days prior to the beginning of the course. A refund of the course fee can be made upon showing a negative visa decision.
Please note that for cancellations of room reservations, the deadlines as shown in point 4c are applicable additionally.
Please note that for „German courses for VWU“, only point 4.e. is applicable.
f. Cancellation of „German courses for the VWU”:
Refundable cancellation of these courses is possible no later than 14 calendar days prior to the beginning of the course upon showing the deregistration (“Exmatrikulation”) with the particpant’s university in Vienna along with the deregistration with health insurance respectively the registration as a program-degree student (ordentliche/r StudentIn) at the participant's university in Vienna.
g. Cancellation of individual training sessions: Individual lessons can only be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before the agreed date. After that, the sessions are deemed to have been held.
5. Right of Withdrawal
a. Right of Withdrawal
In the case of a completing your registration for a course online, you have the right to cancel this contract within fourteen days from the day the contract was concluded without stating a reason.
In order to exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us:
Innovationszentrum der Universität Wien GmbH
Language Center of the University of Vienna
Alser Straße 4
1090 Vienna
Tel.: +43 1 4277-24101
Fax: +43 1 4277-9241
E-Mail: sprachenzentrum@univie.ac.at
of your decision to withdraw from this agreement by means of a clear statement (e.g. by mailed letter, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached withdrawal form, although this is not required.
The withdrawal period has been observed so long as you dispatch the notification of your exercise of the right of withdrawal prior to the end of the withdrawal period.
b. Consequences of the withdrawal
If you withdraw from this agreement, we are obliged to reimburse all payments which we have received from you immediately and at the latest within fourteen days from the date on which we receive your notification of withdrawal from this agreement. For this repayment we will use the same method of payment which you used for the original transaction, unless something different is explicitly agreed with you; in no case will you incur any fees as a result of this repayment.
Has the service provided started within the period of withdrawal, you have to pay an appropriate fee which corresponds to the part consumed until notification of withdrawal was issued.
Please follow this link to the template withdrawal form.
6. Withdrawal from the Training Contract
The Language Center reserves the right to exclude participants from attending courses and to withdraw from contract in case of unconscionability of further participation in the case of certain attendees vis-à-vis other course participants, lecturers or employees of the Language Center. The already paid tuition fees shall not be refunded in this case. A significant reason for exclusion clearly exists if a participant represents a danger to other course participants or members of staff or behaves disrespectfully towards other course participants or members of staff.
In case of delayed payment, the participant has no right to take part in the classes.
7. General Information on the Courses
a. Teaching unit: Course duration is measured in teaching units (TU). 1 TU = 45 minutes.
b. Number of participants: the maximum number of participants in the German courses organised by the Language Center is 18, while in the foreign language courses it is 16.
c. Changes in the Course Programme / Course Cancellation:
Due to long-term planning, organisational changes cannot be excluded. Not least of all, whether a course materialises depends on the number of participants – should the number of participants registered for a course fall short of the minimum number set by the Language Center, the latter reserves the right to reduce the number of teaching units of the course. Furthermore, the Language Center reserves the right to change course days, times, venues, as well as trainers, and to cancel courses. Course cancellations do not entitle participants to reimbursement of costs or any other claims by the Language Center. The same applies to necessary short-term scheduling changes. Should a course need to be cancelled, a deduction-free reimbursement of the paid course fees shall be carried out. The Language Center assumes no responsibility for any typing/clerical errors in its publications and/or on its websites.
d. Final course examinations:
The examination is part of the course and takes place on the course days communicated by the teacher.
e. Certificate/Confirmation of Participation
To receive a certificate at the end of a course, every participant needs to have attended a minimum of 75% of classes and have passed the final examination. A positive certificate states the course phase completed by the student in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and, at the same time, acts as an ECTS confirmation (European Credit Transfer System). It is up to the student's university whether these credits are actually computated towards a degree.
Confirmations of participation shall be issued free of charge at the end of the course by the office [Sekretariat] of the Language Center, irrespective of whether the student has taken/passed the final examination, subject only to a minimum of 75% course attendance.
f. Teaching modalities
Unless marked specifically as an online course, our courses are generally offered as presence teaching. However, the Language Center reserves the right to switch these courses to online courses, using modern technologies such as video calls if this is required by circumstances outside of the Language Center’s domain of control. Particularly orders and/or recommendations by the authorities protecting the health of participants and members of staff or other circumstances that prevent a gathering on the Language Center’s premises as long as this is not the Language Center’s fault. Participants explicitly consent to this. The technical requirements (stable internet connection, a computer, tablet or such) are to be provided by the participant. The Language Center will, however, provide an adequate video conference tool for the duration of the language course should this not be a tool available at no charge. Avoidance of contract or reduction of the course fee is excluded with regards to distance learning.
8. Compensation for Damages
The inventory, rooms, media and technical/electronic equipment belonging to the Language Center shall be utilised with all possible care. Course participants shall be required to pay compensation for any damage they cause.
NB: In accommodation booked for course participants by the Language Center, the House Rules of each respective students’ hall of residence (dormitory) shall be abided by.
9. Document Falsification and Attempted Fraud
Any attempt to falsify documents (certificates, confirmations of attendance, etc.) shall be, without exception, reported to the authorities and entails the student’s immediate exclusion from the course. The use of unauthorised aids in courses and examinations is prohibited without exception; the principles of academic integrity apply. In the event of attempts to cheat during examinations the entitlement to a certificate is forfeited and the participant is excluded from the course.
10. Non-Smoking Policy
The entire premises of the Language Center are subject to a strict non-smoking policy.
11. Animal Ban
Animals (with the exception of assistance dogs) are not permitted in courses at the Language Centre. The necessity of bringing along an assistance dog must be announced when registering for the course.
12. Data Protection Declaration
The data protection declaration can be recalled, downloaded, saved and printed on demand. Please click here.
13. Exclusion of Liability
The Language Center does not assume responsibility for participants’ personal items, teaching materials put at their disposal, etc. – including in cases of theft.
The Language Center provides the teaching infrastructure. The participant carries the full responsibility for her/his learning success. The Language Center does not accept responsibility for individual academic results.
14. Final Provisions and Applicable Law
Any amendment of contract or of the present General Terms and Conditions of Business shall only be valid if carried out in writing; said condition also applies to the present formal requirement. No ancillary verbal agreements exist. Place of fulfilment is the corporate domicile of the Innovationszentrum Universität Wien GmbH.
The contractual relationship is subject to substantive Austrian legislation. Conflict rules and CISG [United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods] do not apply.
15. Place of Jurisdiction
The competent court in Vienna is deemed to be agreed to as the court of jurisdiction responsible for the settlement of any dispute in connection with these General Terms and Conditions of Business.
