General Terms & Conditions for German courses and Examinations at the German Language Academy – Deutsche Sprachenakademie
1. Registration for the German course / exam
a) Registration for the German course
With the signature on the „Registration“ form (self-payers) or the „Registration form Privacy Policy declaration“ (BAMF-supported participants) a binding registration is made, and the General Terms and Conditions of the German Language Academy (hereinafter GLA) are accepted. The binding registration obliges to pay the course fee in the amount specified in the registration form.
The start and end dates as well as the location of the German course will be communicated in writing if they have not yet been stated on the registration form.
Participants in the integration course funded by the BAMF are given the „Information sheet on the integration course“ with their registration. The information and requirements listed here are part of the GLA’s General Terms and Conditions. However, it is expressly pointed out that if the number of registrations is high, the waiting time for an integration course after the registration date can currently be considerably more than 6 weeks. In this case, the GLA has the right to refer to another authorized course provider.
Participants in B2 / C1 courses receive the „Information sheet for participants in B2 / C1 courses“ with their registration. The information and requirements listed here are also part of the GLA’s General Terms and Conditions.
Upon request, the GLA will issue a confirmation of registration for the German course if it is required for applying for a visa and
- the registration has been made in writing or by email and
The GLA has received the fee for at least 3 modules of the German course (a total of € 1.320).
b) Registration for the examination
Signing the „Registration“ form (self-payers) constitutes a binding registration. The participants will be informed of the date and place of the examination in writing, unless these have been named on the registration form. With the registration, the general terms and conditions of the GLA are accepted.
2. Terms of payment
a) Course fees
Payment for the first module must be made within 14 days of registration. If modular payment has been agreed, further payments will be made according to the payment plan provided.
A 10% discount on the total price is granted for courses with more than 400 teaching hours if the course fees are paid in one sum.
Lessons missed by the participant do not entitle her or him to reduce the amount of the invoice. If the participant does not start with the course (no show), amounts already paid will not be refunded.
The course fees are generally exempt from sales tax in accordance with Section 4 No. 21a bb UStG [German Value Added Tax Act].
b) Examination Fees
The examination fee must be paid in cash or by EC card when registering for the examination directly at the GLA.
3. Right of withdrawal, withdrawal
a) German course
A right of withdrawal from the registration for a German course is possible by means of a written declaration to the GLA (also by fax or e-mail) without giving reasons within 14 days. The date of receipt of the revocation by the academy is decisive. If the deadline is met, course fees will be waived, or course fees already paid will be refunded.
If the participant withdraws from the registration after the 14-day period has expired, a processing fee of € 30 will be charged. It will be retained when the course fees paid are refunded. Refunds will only be made by bank transfer. Any discounts granted will be considered in the event of a repayment.
If a German course cannot be attended because a visa has not been issued, the GLA will refund course fees already paid. Reimbursement must be applied for in writing (also by email), a copy of the letter of rejection from the embassy must be enclosed. In the event of reimbursement, the GLA charges a processing fee of € 100 for the increased administrative effort.
b) Examination
Up to the registration deadline (see registration form) it is possible to withdraw from registration by means of a written or personal declaration, provided the registration was made via the academy. Fees already paid will be refunded. The date of receipt of the declaration of withdrawal by the Academy is decisive.
If the exam is not taken, a certificate of incapacity for work or a medical certificate must be presented; no default fee will be charged.
When registering for the TestDaF exam via the TestDaF homepage, TestDaF is the contractual partner; TestDaF’s general terms and conditions apply.
4. Cancellation of German courses
The GLA has the right to cancel the course if the number of participants is too low or if the teacher falls ill. The GLA will inform the participants about this in good time. In this case, fees already paid for lost hours will be refunded.
5. Termination of a course (German course)
a) The Academy may terminate a participant’s contract without notice for good cause and refuse further participation in the course. Good cause shall be deemed to exist in particular if participants
- intentionally or grossly negligently violate the obligations pursuant to section 4 and continue to do so even after a written warning by the GLA.
- culpably disrupt the course of instruction or harass or threaten other participants or employees or freelancers of the GLA.
- are in arrears with the payment of the course fees.
In the event of extraordinary termination by the GLA, participants must still pay the course fees until the end of the respective module.
b) The Academy can also terminate the contract of participants with 14 days‘ notice to the end of a module if there is a justified interest on the part of the Academy. A justified interest of the Academy in terminating the contract exists if a longer or repeated absence endangers the success of the learner’s measure or if the learner’s inability to learn is determined pedagogically. Course fees paid for follow-up modules will be refunded by the GLA.
c) Participants can cancel in writing (also by fax or email) with a notice period of 14 days to the end of a course section. The date of receipt of the cancellation by the Academy is decisive. There is no entitlement to a refund of course fees already paid for the current module. Course fees paid for subsequent modules will be refunded by the GLA if the cancellation is accepted.
6. Duties of the Academy
The Academy undertakes to conduct the German course and the examination in a proper professional and pedagogical manner. The content of the German course is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The Academy reserves the right to change teachers, to postpone or change the programme or to exceed the maximum number of participants, if this does not fundamentally change the objective of the event.
There is no entitlement to a specific teacher or a specific event room. The GLA reserves the right to change or postpone the scheduled sequence of individual event hours in the event of the illness of a teacher at short notice. In this case, the participants will be informed immediately.
7. Obligations of the participants
Participants of the German course are obliged to support the success of the measure through active participation in their learning behaviour. Regular and punctual course attendance is obligatory. The usual rules of the course and the house rules are accepted. Religious, ideological, party-political, or commercial advertising is not permitted in the rooms of the GLA.
The instructions for the use of technical equipment applicable at the venue must be observed. The instructions of the management of the GLA and its representatives must be followed to maintain orderly operation of the event.
8. Exclusion of liability (Disclaimer)
a) Participants‘ claims for damages are excluded, unless otherwise stipulated below. The above exclusion of liability also applies to the benefit of the Academy’s legal representatives and vicarious agents, insofar as the participant asserts claims against them.
b) Excluded from the exclusion of liability stipulated under a) is liability for damages arising from injury to life, body or health that are based on a negligent breach of duty by the Academy or an intentional or negligent breach of duty by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the Academy. Also excluded from the exclusion of liability is liability for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the Academy, its legal representatives, or vicarious agents.
The GLA is not liable for the loss or theft of items brought in, for valuables or the participant’s wardrobe.
9. Delay costs
An amount of € 4.00 may be charged for each extrajudicial postal reminder after a delay in payment has occurred (pursuant to § 286 et seq. BGB [German Civil Code]) to cover postage and administrative costs. We reserve the right to charge interest on arrears and to claim other damages caused by delay.
10. Supplementary agreements and ancillary agreements
Supplements or amendments to this agreement must be made in writing.
11. Place of jurisdiction
The exclusive place of jurisdiction is Münster.
12. Information on data protection in accordance with
Article 13, 14 EU-DSGVO [General Data Protection Regulation]
Data protection is particularly important to us and compliance with the statutory provisions is a matter of course for us. At this point, we would therefore like to inform you about the processing of your personal data (hereinafter referred to as „data“) in accordance with Article 13 of the EU Data Protection Regulation (EU-DSGVO).
a) Name and contact details of the responsible persons:
Bildungsinstitut Münster e.V.
Anton-Bruchausen-Str. 6
48147 Münster
info@bildungsinstitut.de
b) Contact details of the data protection officer:
engelken@bildungsinstitut.de
c) Purpose of the processing
As a matter of principle, we only process the data necessary for the fulfilment of our tasks. Processing takes place exclusively within the framework of course organisation and for accounting purposes.
d) Legal basis of the processing
The processing of data by us is regularly carried out for the establishment or implementation of the respective contractual relationship, Section 6 para. 1 lit. b) EU-DSGVO. In some cases, processing is based on your explicit consent, Art. 6 (1) (a), Art. 7 EU-DSGVO, e.g., for passing on to the youth migration service or the initial migration counselling.
e) Categories of personal data processed
Data collected on the registration form will be processed:
– Master data incl. contact data, e.g., surname, first name, date of birth, address, telephone number (voluntary information),
– performance and assessment data,
– possibly bank details,
– Attendance and absence data,
f) Categories of recipients of personal data
– Within the German Language Academy, your data will only be passed on to those persons who are involved in the fulfilment of the respective task, e.g., course management.
– In addition, data will be passed on to representatives of the respective cost units (e.g., Job Centre, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Employment Agency).
– For participation in certified examinations and degrees, we forward the necessary data to the examination institutes (e.g., TestDaF Institute).
– Third parties are provided with data for order processing (e.g., IT service providers or for the purpose of file destruction).
g) Duration of the storage of personal data
After the contract has been processed, your data will be deleted, unless there are legal obligations to retain it. In this case, this data is stored for up to 10 years.
h) Data subject’ rights
You can exercise your rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and your right of appeal.
According to the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights:
– You have the right to receive information about the stored data. (Art. 15 EU-DSGVO).
– If incorrect data is processed, you have the right to rectification (Art. 16 EU-DSGVO).
– If the legal requirements are met, you can request the deletion or restriction of processing as well as object to the processing (Art. 17, 18, 21 EU-DSGVO).
– If you have consented to data processing or if a contract exists for data processing and this is carried out with the help of automated procedures, you may have the right to data portability (Art. 20 EU-DSGVO).
– Consent to processing can be revoked at any time for the future (Art. 7 (3) DSGVO). The lawfulness of the data processing carried out based on the consent until the revocation is not affected by this.
Should you make use of the aforementioned rights, the controller will check whether the legal requirements for this are met. Please contact the above address or our data protection officer.
i) Right of complaint
You can also report data protection violations to the competent authorities. You can exercise your right of complaint pursuant to Art. 77 EU-DSGVO with the State Commissioner for Data Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia at the following address:
The State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Kavalleriestr. 2 – 4
40213 Düsseldorf
Contact:
German Language Academy
Deutsche Sprachenakademie
Bahnhofstrasse 3
48143 Münster