fbpx

Regulation

Enrolment procedure and regulations

Scuola Leonardo da Vinci® - Ciao Italy - Learn Italian in Italy:
General Conditions of Participation - valid from 2020

HIGHLIGHT - COVID-19 –Terms of mitigating factors: change/booking cancellation and refund

As is well known, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 epidemic a world pandemic.

Therefore, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci® changed its General Conditions of Enrolment (see especially articles 1.2., 2.2., 2.3, 5, 6 and 7), introducing new terms for cancelling/changing bookings, and reviewing the refund policy for so-called cases of force majeure.

The above conditions may be subject to further changes as the Covid-19 pandemic develops, implementing any measures which governments around the world may take to slow down the spread of the virus: please therefore check for any updates on this published on the home page of the website of Scuola Leonardo da Vinci® - Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin, Viareggio.

***

Overview of the terms in case of force majeure

A partial refund will be granted if the School receives the request for cancellation in writing, by registered mail or email, at least 15 days before the beginning of each course chosen: cancellations which reach us later (i.e. from the 14th day before the beginning of the course on) will be considered to be “no show”, and the School will therefore be entitled to withhold, as a penalty, the whole amount paid out, or to demand that the missing part be paid, as the case may be.

Please bear in mind that any student needing an entry visa to Italy must follow the instructions in art. 5 of the General Conditions of Enrolment, and must be sure to apply for the Visa in time to get it before the beginning of the course, promptly advising the School by email of any delay or rejection, to agree on a new beginning date for the course/courses, compared to the one originally booked. Turning up after the expected date, unless preceded by the above information, will be considered a no show.
In case of annulment/cancellation of the booking due to failure to obtain the Visa, whatever the reason for such rejection, the School will refund the amount paid for each course chosen, after receiving a copy of the letter of rejection of the Visa, issued by the Italian Authority (Embassy or Consulate), withholding an administrative tax of 200.00 euro plus the confirmation deposit for each course which has been booked.

The School reserves the right to change how it delivers the service, organising online lessons, as laid down in art. 3 of the General Conditions of Enrolment.

The School may withdraw at any time, without any liability towards the student, should it not be able to provide in full the chosen course for reasons not under its reasonable control: in this case the School will not be liable for any costs incurred by or on behalf of the student (by way of example and not limitation, medical costs due to Covid-19 infection, accommodation and repatriation) but will communicate to the latter the cancellation of each course providing the latter with an opportunity to choose, no later than 15 days after receiving such notice, between:

a) should the course originally chosen be on-site, the activation of a similar on-line course as provided for under art. 3 of the General Conditions of Enrolment;

b)in any case, the delivery of a voucher for receiving a similar service, to be used within 24 months after being issued, and after agreeing with the School on the new educational calendar.

Should the original payment in favour of the School have been made by bank transfer, the refund will be paid using the same banking data.

1. Registrations and payments

1.1 The request for registration must be sent directly to the School you have chosen, and can be managed independently only by people of legal age: those under 18 must present the request through their parents or legal guardian, who will confirm on their behalf acceptance of these Conditions, by making out and signing the relevant forms.
The minimum age for attending the courses is 16. Please register at least 4 weeks before the beginning of each course you have chosen: otherwise, the School will reserve the right to annul the student’s registration.
1.2 Together with the request for registration, the School must receive payment of the enrolment fee and a deposit amounting to 20% of the full price of each chosen course as an advance on the full fee. Taken together, these make up the confirmation deposit which will not be refunded in case of cancellation. Students needing a visa must follow a different procedure (see below, art. 5).
1.3 Upon receiving the registration and the payment, the School will confirm by email without delay.
1.4 The outstanding amount of the full fee for each chosen course must be paid at least 14 days before the course itself starts. For “last minute” registrations (made at least 14 days before the beginning of each chosen course), the School requires immediate payment of the registration fee and the full fee for each chosen course.
1.5 The School accepts payment by bank transfer (in this case, make sure banking expenses are charged to you, choosing the “OUR” banking expenses payment option) or by credit card (see the form at the bottom of the registration request).
With the main purpose of contrasting IT fraud (such as the so-called MITM “man in the middle/mail”), in case of payment using bank transfer, we suggest you check the exact address of the sender of the email which is asking you to pay, and check for any inconsistencies (such as the indication of a beneficiary different from the holder of the account); if there are inconsistencies, please contact us through alternative channels - by phone or fax - to confirm the exactness of the data requested in unusual requests received by email. The School may not be held liable in case of negligent behaviour behaviour on your part regarding such matters.

2. Lessons and courses

2.1 The School will make sure each course is provided, from every important point of view, in the manner described on the portal www.Scuolaleonardo.com/ or elsewhere (e.g. in brochures). The School however reserves the right to change the programme of its courses (as long as such variations do not substantially affect the content), how they are delivered and their fees.
2.2 Lessons are normally held from Monday through Friday, but for reasons of organisation and/or force majeure, (see below, art. 6), also on Saturday, and may be held in the morning or in the afternoon. Courses are not held on local and national holidays, and are unrecoverable. Please check the list of holidays on our calendar.
2.3 As an alternative to classroom attendance at the place chosen by the student (on-site mode), the School - in case of force majeure (see below art. 6.2) - provides for/reserves the right to change the manner of delivery of the service, organising remote lessons.

3. Delivery of virtual courses

3.1 Should lessons be delivered remotely (on-line mode), face to face lessons with the teacher will be accompanied by forms of collaboration among students.
3.2 Since the on-line service will be provided using a third-party browser (such as Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox), you must in such case also read the terms of use and the privacy information notice applicable to the use of such browsers. The School remains the owner/licensee of all intellectual property rights in digital service and planning, structure, graphic appearance and provision of the service delivered on-line.
3.3 After payment of the fee has been completed, the School will grant the user a non-exclusive and non-transferable license to access and use the digital service in compliance with these Conditions of use for the on-line services.
3.4 In case of online attendance, the student especially and specifically agrees not to:
i) provide access to the digital services to any other individual or legal person;
ii) interrupt, interfere with, or limit the use of the service provided by the School;
iii) upload or display any comments or material, through participation in the online service, which is false, offensive, sexually explicit, libellous, threatening, obscene or illegal or breaches intellectual property rights; 
iv) probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the online service or try to elude or hack any user authentication or security control related to the service being delivered;
V)) disassemble, decode, improperly compile, copy, duplicate or adapt any software or other code or script belonging to the digital service (except insofar as allowed by the law) or try to transmit to or through the digital service any information containing virus, worms, trojans or other harmful or dangerous components;
vi) modify, delete, interfere with or improperly use any file or other data created, owned or supplied by the School, except for what is expressly permitted by these Conditions of use;
vii)) use the digital service in a way that breaches any applicable law.
3.5 The School engages to make every reasonable effort to make the online service available on the day and at the time agreed upon in the booking confirmation and on the base of the programme current at the time; however, in view of the nature of such connection, the School does not and cannot guarantee or ensure that the use of the remote service will be uninterrupted or without errors, and cannot be held liable for any delay, breakdown in delivery or any other loss or damage arising from the transfer of data on networks and communication structures, including internet: by accepting these conditions, the student or the person acting in the student’s place in case of a person under 18, acknowledges that the online service could be subject to limitations, delays and other problems inherent in the use of such communication structures.
3.6 The student is responsible for making sure he has the hardware, the software and the telecommunications services needed to use the online service, as well as the relevant costs, including commissions for internet service providers.
3.7 While the School engages to make every reasonable effort to guarantee that the content of the online service is accurate and up to date, it will not and cannot offer any guarantee, either explicit or implicit: insofar as permitted by Italian law, the School therefore excludes any condition, guarantee, declaration or other term which can be applied to its site or to any content in it, whether explicit or implicit.
3.8 The School encourages freedom of expression, but the opinions expressed by individuals through the online service might not represent the opinions of the School.
The School will in no case be liable for any loss, presumed or actual, indirect or direct.
Without prejudice to the above, pursuant to or in relation to these Conditions, whether in terms of negligence, breach or other, the School may in no case be held liable and hence be held to acknowledge payment of damages for an amount exceeding the amount paid or payable for the online service.

4. Insurance

4.1 Students enrolled in the courses delivered by the School are insured against any accidents which may occur during the on-site lessons and during the activities organised by the School.
4.2 Students are not insured against illness, accidents, theft or loss of personal items, either by our schools or by those responsible for providing accommodation (see below art. 8). We therefore suggest seeking a personal insurance policy, valid abroad.
4.3 During their stay in Italy, the students must be insured personally for illnesses and accidents (Italian law). Citizens of countries of the European Union, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland are entitled to receive free health care in Italy if they hold the European health insurance card (EHIC-Card), which they can collect at the Social Security centre of their country of origin, before leaving for Italy. Non-EU students must check with the competent authorities of their own country whether they are insured for a stay abroad.
4.4 We also advise students to take out insurance against failure to refund payments made at our School in case of delayed annulment, failure to show up (so-called no show), absence at courses or advance departure.

5. Visa

5.1 Should the student need an entry visa for Italy, we suggest first of all taking a look at the information available on the page http://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en, and getting into contact with the nearest Italian embassy or consulate in order to check details on how the visa and the following stay permit will be issued and how long it will take.
5.2 The student must be sure to apply for the Visa in time to get it before the beginning of the course, promptly advising the School by email of any delay or rejection, in order to agree on a new beginning date for the course/courses, compared to the one originally booked. Turning up after the expected date, unless preceded by the above information, will be considered a no show.
5.3 The student is responsible for obtaining the Visa, and for all related expenses.
The student or the person acting in the student’s place must handle the relevant procedures independently, and the School will in no way be liable for the outcome.
The student will let the School know which Italian Embassy/Consulate he or she intends to submit the request for a study/tourism Visa to.
Once the School has received the registration request and evidence that the advance and overall payment has been effected for each chosen course along with the registration fee (necessary to confirm the booking), the School will send - by email/conventional postal delivery - the specific registration certificate for the Visa (fulfilling one of the requirements for validly obtaining issue of the Visa) and any other document within their competence which may be needed.
The School will assist the student travelling with a regular Visa, and will help him or her obtain the Staying Permit, which he or she must request within 8 days of coming to Italy.
5.4 In case of annulment/cancellation of the booking due to failure to obtain the Visa, whatever the reason for such rejection, the School will refund the amount paid for each course chosen, after receiving a copy of the letter of rejection of the Visa, issued by the Italian Authority (Embassy or Consulate), withholding an administrative tax of 200.00 euro plus the confirmation deposit under Art. 1.2. for each course which has been booked.
5.5 However, should the student, having obtained the Visa, decide to cancel, for personal reasons, the booking, he or she must first of all, on his or her own and at his or her own expense, ask for the revocation of the Visa, providing the School with a copy of the relevant letter issued by the Italian Authority (Embassy or Consulate), and the provisions of art. 7 below will apply, without prejudice to the withholding of 200.00 euro as administrative tax.

6. Changes on the part of the School

6.1 The School may withdraw at any time, without any liability to the student, in the following cases:
i)) the student fails to pay the amounts due for each chosen course as required in the terms of payment under art. 1 above;
ii) the student behaves in a manner incompatible with full compliance with one or more provisions of these Conditions;
iii) the School is unable to fully provide the chose course due to cases of force majeure (including, but not only, unusually adverse weather conditions, infective illnesses and pandemics) or in any case due to reasons beyond the School’s reasonable control.
6.2 In the case under art. 6.1. i, ii) the School will be free to terminate any business relationship with the student, and will be entitled to withhold the full applicable fee, or receive the outstanding amount, as the case may be, for the same; in the case under art. 6.1(iii), the School will not be liable for any costs incurred by or on behalf of the student due to the causes indicated above. However, the School will notify the student concerning the cancellation of each chosen course, offering at the same time the opportunity to choose (within no more than 15 days from such notice) between a) should the course originally have been chosen as on-site, activation of a similar online course; b) in any case, delivery of a voucher for the enjoyment of a similar service, to be used within 24 months from its issue, and after previous agreement with the School based on the new educational calendar.

7. Cancellation by the student

7.1 The request for cancellation must be sent to the School in writing, by return registered mail or by email, at least 15 days before the beginning of the course. In this case, the registration fee and the deposit (confirmation deposit) for each chosen course will not be refundable.
7.2 Cancellations which come too late (that is from the 14th day before the beginning of the course on) will be equivalent to a no show, and this will not give right to a refund.
7.3  If the cancellation has been made after attending or having had access, in whole or in part, to the course, the student will not be entitled to any refund: the student will be deemed to have had access to the whole course after having accessed the first form/meeting, whether on-site or online.
7.4 The courses will start on the dates indicated by the School only. No refund will be made to a student who begins the course late, who leaves before the end of the session or who misses lessons without a valid reason.

8. Lodgings

8.1 The School provides the students - according to the preferences they express - with useful advice on finding suitable accommodation (with families, in shared flats, private flats, studios, residences, B&B, hotels of every class, etc.), facilitating direct contact with the owners or management.
8.2 Minors may lodge only with families on a half-pension basis.
8.3 The School will also provide all the information necessary for making the booking (such as indicative prices, check-in/check-out rules, etc.), however this will be managed independently by the student or the person acting in the student’s place, directly with the host and, we suggest, sufficiently in advance.

9. Student’s obligations and sanctions for breaching them

9.1 All students must respect the confidential nature of all the information acquired attending the course, and not behave in any way contrary to Italian law.
9.2 Students who have a staying permit for purposes of study must have an attendance level at the courses they have chosen of at least 80%.
9.3 The School reserves the right to refuse admission, to deny access or to expel any student who has behaved in an unacceptable manner or in a manner liable to cause damage/cause offence or injury, breaching local laws or regulations or these Conditions.
In such case, the student will not be entitled to any refund, any commissions which have not yet been paid must be settled immediately and any costs for early return to the country of origin will be borne exclusively by the student.
Students expelled from a course may no longer benefit from accommodation proposed by the School, and the owners of the flats/host families will independently apply their own refund clauses.

10. Processing of personal data

10.1 The personal data provided by the student at the time of registration will be processed by the School in compliance with the provisions of EU Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) of the European Parliament and Council and in the Legislative Decree No. 196/2003 as specified in greater detail in the privacy information notice published at the URL https://www.scuolaleonardo.com/privacy-policy.html
10.2 Especially, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci will include and preserve the student’s personal data in its own database for administrative purposes associated with the student’s registration and for purposes of promoting further initiatives organised by the School.
The School may make appropriate personal data, including sensitive data of a medical nature, known to its own staff and third parties authorised by law, should there be a legitimate need or obligation to do so, as long as the communication of information and the manner of such communication comply with Italian law on privacy: the School will not share sensitive information about students with any third party, including parents, legal guardians, close relations or government agencies authorised by law, without the consent of the student, unless there is good reason to believe there are risks for the health, safety and/or well being of the student.
10.3 At any time, the student may exercise the right to object to processing/removal of data from the School database, according to the provisions of Articles 17 and 21 of the GDPR.

11. Photo and video shots

11.1 The School reserves the right to use photos and/or video shots taken during the courses or the free time activities, to illustrate its promotional material.
11.2 At the time of registration, the student (or the person acting in the student’s place in case of a minor) must choose whether to consent or not to the publication of such material.
11.3 Any such use of an image is to be considered entirely free of cost, and the School expressly guarantees it will be used in contexts which do not affect the personal dignity and standing of the person concerned.

12. Acceptance of the Conditions and applicable law

12.1 By signing the registration form or any other document in writing concerning the registration, the student accepts the General Conditions of Enrolment.
12.2 These General Conditions of Enrolment, which can be viewed at the URL www.scuolaleonardo.com, replace any previous Conditions applicable at the time the student made the booking. 
12.3 These General Conditions of Enrolment have been drawn up in Italian and have later been translated: in case of doubt concerning the interpretation of the clauses contained in it and/or of dispute, the Italian text will prevail.
12.4 Any dispute which may arise concerning the interpretation and/or the scope of the clauses in these General Conditions of Enrolment will be governed exclusively by Italian law.

FAQ

Visas

How do I apply for a study visa? Read more

Examinations

What examinations can be taken at CiaoItaly? Read more

Scholarships and bursaries

How do I apply for one of those? Read more

Group courses

When do beginners’ courses start? Read more

About us

  • sheIt's the cheerful, friendly atmosphere that I like. A warm welcome - and by name! Everytime! It’s what helps to make me feel a part of the school and not just another number in the cash register!

    Read more

  • I arrived in Torino in September 2009. Not my first time in this gem of a city. Had spent several months there previously, but never found the energy to take formal Italian lessons.

    Read more

Special courses

Cultural courses
You cannot learn Italian in Turin without getting to know the city, which as Italy’s first capital has played an important role in the country’s history. Read more
Courses for Large groups
Ciao Italy can accommodate large groups of students. Read more
Turin Spotlight
Discover Turin in the company of a specialised tourist guide selected by CiaoItaly. Read more

Partner

Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi di Torino