Right to Study

Enroll for the first academic year by the deadline of accepting the study place. 

Absence during the first academic year is possible only due to 

• compulsory military service, non-military service, women’s voluntary military service 
• parental leave to take care of their child (birth or adoption), or 
• illness or injury. 

The prerequisite for absence is that you submit a document for the statutory reason for your absence: 

• Enlistment order or a valid service certificate, 
• Kela’s certificate for the period of pregnancy or parental allowance or, if there is no certificate yet, a doctor’s certificate for pregnancy. Corresponding certificates from the authorities of other countries are also accepted.  
• Sickness allowance decision or, if there is none, a medical certificate. The medical certificate must state that the illness or disability in question prevents the start of the studies. The student’s own statement is not sufficient. 

You must deliver the certificate of absence by secured e-mail to the Admission Services by the deadline of accepting the study place. Documents must be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English. If you do not submit the documents by the deadline or if they are incomplete, you will be registered as an attending student. 

If you enroll as absent for the first academic year due to illness or injury, it will consume your two-semester-right of absence. Absence due to military service, non-military service, women’s voluntary military service, pregnancy or parental leave is possible at any stage of the studies, and it does not consume the right to absence for two semesters. 

If you want to change the enrolment information during the academic year, you must use the Application for Change in Enrolment for Presence/Absence. The application must be submitted by 15 September for the autumn term and by 15 January for the spring term, at the latest. If you want to change your spring semester attendance to absence on the grounds of illness or injury, it is possible only if you have been absent in the autumn semester and the same illness or injury continues in the spring semester as well. 

You must use secure email if you are sending your certificate of absence by email: 

• Register your e-mail address to the service https://securemail.oulu.fi/ 
• You will receive an email titled: ”Turvaposti Oulun Yliopisto”. The email includes a personal link to register to the service. 
• In the “To” -field, please write jokot.oamk@oulu.fi and to the “Subject” -field, please write: Certificate of Absence. 
• Attach your copies of certificate(s) to your email. 
• Send your confidential email through this service. 

Please, enroll between 1 March to 31 May by using Peppi (Studies -> Presence enrolment). You can change your enrolment for absence/presence during the enrolment period, if necessary. If you cannot enroll through Peppi, please enroll by filling out the form for Enrolment of a Student Continuing Their Studies. 

You can enroll as absent for two terms for any reason without a certificate. Authenticated absence due to  

• compulsory military service, non-military service, women’s voluntary military service or 
• parental leave to take care of their child (birth or adoption)  

will not be deducted from the total time of absence, i.e. two terms.  

Approved certificates are 

• enlistment order or a valid service certificate, 
• Kela’s certificate for the period of pregnancy or parental allowance or, if there is no certificate yet, a doctor’s certificate for pregnancy. Corresponding certificates from the authorities of other countries are also accepted. 

Deliver the certificate by 15 September (autumn term) / 15 January (spring term) using your student email to Academic Affairs (study.oamk@oulu.fi) or visit Academic Affairs at Linnanmaa or Kontinkangas Campus. 

If you want to change the enrolment after 31 May, you must use the Application for Change in Enrolment for Presence/Absence. The application must be submitted by 15 September for the autumn term and by 15 January for the spring term, at the latest. 

Students approved before spring 2015 can enroll as absent for a total of two academic years. All absences are deducted from the right of absence. 

The prerequisite for granting the extension period concerning bachelor’s degree is that maximum 60 credits are lacking from the degree. If there is a strong argument the lacking can be more than 60 credits. 

The extension period will be considered if the delay in studies is due to the following: 

• own or near relative’s illness 
• learning difficulty 
• responsible duty in society 
• delay in receiving the residence permit in the first academic year 
• difficulty to fit the international study period or practical training exchange in studies in Oamk 
• systematic preparing for top sport 
• difficult situation in life or 
• other justified reason. 

In granting the extension period the following will be taken into account: the amount of credits during the last academic year, the amount of fluently advancing study terms and use of study counseling to support the progress of study. 

If a degree programme student has been accepted in the spring 2015 or later, their delay in studies due to part-time study during 

• military service, non-military service, women’s voluntary military service or 
• parental leave to take care of their child (birth or adoption) 

will be taken into account too. In that case a student has enrolled as present and they have not used their right to be absent. 

A student attaches the target-oriented and realizable personal study plan to the application for extension period in order to complete studies. A student discusses their personal study plan with the head of studies or a study counsellor. A student and one of above accept the personal study plan. 

There is a fee of 50 euros for the processing of the application for extension period (Decree 1461/2015 section 3). This is paid via a Paytrail payment when filling in the application. The payment is required for the processing of the application to proceed. Paid application processing payments will not be refunded. 

The student will receive the extension period decision by student email. 

The extension period is maximum a year in the education leading to a degree. The counselling contact and the timetable for the control of the progress of studies is specified for a student who has granted the extension period. A student who has been granted an extension period is not allowed to enrol as absent.