General information for prospective students
All refugees and some immigrants who have received their first residence permit after September 1. 2005 are obliged to complete 250 hours of Norwegian Language and 50 hours of Norwegian Society courses to be able to apply for a permanent settlement in Norway. Some have a right to free tuition, some have to pay. Those who have both a right and a duty must complete the 250 + 50 hours within three years in order to get the hours for free, and the language training up to 3000 hours must be completed within five years in total. Persons with an EU/EEA permit are exempted from these rules. If you can document adequate Norwegian language skills through certain tests or exams, you can apply for an exemption from the duty.
Registration:
Applicants to Norwegian Language and Society courses must meet in person at Oslo VO Service Centre to register for the first time. The address is Karoline Kristiansens vei 8, Helsfyr (Fyrstikktorget).
Former participants, who wish to continue their tuition, can contact the Adult Education Centre they attended if no more than one year has passed since they stopped attending their previous course.
Please bring your passport, or alternative documentation from UDI /Oslo Police regarding your settlement permit, and some form of photo ID. As part of the registration process, you will have an interview and take a placement test. The registration process can take up to two hours to complete. After registration, you will be placed on the waiting list for both Norwegian Language and Norwegian Society courses at the Oslo Adult Education Centre considered to match your learning requirements.
You will be notified by mail when you receive a course offer, stating the date and time your course will begin. If for some reason you cannot attend, remember to notify the school to ensure you are placed back onto the waiting list. It is also important that you keep us updated on any changes of address and travel plans, otherwise you risk losing your place through a simple misunderstanding.
Opening hours:
Service Centre Registration Office
Monday: 1000-1800
Tuesday: 1000-1500
Wednesday: 1000-1500
Thursday: 1000-1800
Friday: closed
Oslo VO Rosenhof Student Office:
Monday: 1400-1800
Tuesday: 1000-1400
Wednesday: 1000-1400
Thursday: 1000-1400
Friday: closed
For a more detailed overview of opening times in relation to holiday periods:
Service Center: www.oslovo.no 23 47 00 00, or Rosenhof: www.rvo.no 22 38 77 90.
Cost:
Classes generally consist of a mix of fee-paying students and students attending free of charge. Fee-paying courses are open to all. Courses are free of charge to residents of Oslo with the right, or right-and-duty, to take 250 hours of Norwegian Language and 50 hours of Norwegian Society courses. UDI or the police in your municipality inform you of your rights when you receive your residence permit, and these rights are based on the type of residence permit you apply for and the grounds on which it is issued.
If you don’t live in Oslo but have the right, or right-and-duty, to take 250 + 50 hours in another municipality (kommune), your municipality can pay for your course in Oslo if they are willing. Contact Adult Education (Voksenopplæring) in your home municipality for more information. For more information about your rights to free tuition visit: http://www.velkommenoslo.no/english/norwegian/right.htm.
Course fees for Norwegian language tuition for fee-paying students at Oslo VO Rosenhof:
Per eight-week period students can expect to pay:
Daytime courses (12 class hours per week) Kr. 4130,-
Daytime courses (16 or more class hours per week) Kr. 5500,-
Evening classes (8 class hours per week) Kr. 3520,-
Tuition days are Monday to Friday. Classes are not offered on weekends. Most courses break for the summer vacation (approximately eight weeks). A class hour is 45 minutes. If a student receives a course offer that starts several days or weeks after the course period has already begun, the price will be reduced accordingly and will be lower for this first, shorter period.
Shortly after signing a contract for the eight (or fewer) weeks for the correct price on the first day in class, fee-paying students will receive an invoice in the mail. Once signed, the contract is binding and the course fee must be paid even if the student stops coming due to travel or work commitments. Documented illness is the only exception. A fee-paying student can complete as many consecutive eight week periods as they wish, until their Norwegian tuition is complete. Alternatively, students can take breaks from tuition and join up with another class at a later date if it is necessary (due to financial reasons, travel or work plans, pregnancy, illness, or any other reason). Students who take a break from learning are likely to go back onto the waiting list for a period before being offered another course when they are ready to return.
Courses offered by Oslo Adult Education for adults:
• Norwegian Language and Society courses (Norsk og samfunnskunnskap)
– 4 class hours per day, 3-5 days per week depending on your individual level and capacity for learning; or,
– 4 hours per evening, 2 evenings per week if you cannot attend daytime classes.
• Primary and lower secondary school (Grunnskole)
• Upper secondary school (Videregående opplæring)
• Special Education (Spesialundervisning)
• Basic skills (Basiskurs)
Norwegian Society Courses:
The classes in Norwegian life and society are given in a language that the participant can understand and often take place 1-2 evenings per week or in the daytime during the Winter, Summer or Autumn vacation periods. If you pay for Norwegian Language courses, then you must also pay for Norwegian Society courses. When you register in person at Oslo Adult Education Service Centre for the first time, you will be automatically placed on a waiting list to a course in Norwegian Society in a language that you understand. For an overview of upcoming Norwegian Society courses in various languages, and to register for a specific course, visit www.oslovo.no/kurstorg. If you have questions about Norwegian Society courses in Oslo, contact Oslo Adult Education Service Centre on 23 47 00 70.
Waiting time:
Some students may receive a course offer almost immediately; others may wait up to 3 months or more before they receive an offer. Some courses, for example primary and secondary school for adults, have an application deadline (generally in March) and a single start date for the entire year in August. Waiting times can vary based on how many other participants have registered before you and are also waiting for a place on the same learning track and level. Your flexibility in regards to course times can also play a role – for example, waiting times for evening classes are generally longer that those for daytime classes. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee a specific course start date or give you a definite indication of how long you must wait before you will receive an offer – we are simply unable to predict this.
Absence:
If you do not come to class often enough, you will lose your place regardless of whether you pay for courses or not. Students who lose their place due to excessive absence are likely to go back onto the waiting list for a period before being offered another course. In case of documented illness we try to find a new course for the student as quickly as possible.
Course materials:
We use a variety of textbooks at the school. You will be informed which textbook is required when you receive your course offer in the mail. Rosenhof has a textbook loan scheme, whereby you can borrow the textbook from the school library against a deposit of Kr. 450. When you have completed your studies and return your textbook, you will receive your money back. Under the textbook loan scheme you can keep your workbook free of charge (approximate value Kr. 200).Alternatively, textbooks and the accompanying workbook can be purchased at a number of bookstores (for example, Norli).
Course duration:
Your tuition is complete at Oslo Adult Education when you have reached your tuition goal. For some students this is Norwegian test 2 or 3 (Norskprøve 2 eller 3), and for those who wish to study at a tertiary level or practice a specific occupation in Norway (for example doctor or psychologist), the Test in Norwegian – higher level, “Bergenstest”, is the tuition goal. How long you take to complete your tuition will depend on your individual learning speed and whether or not you take breaks from studying. Some students complete their tuition within one year, some students take several years.
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