Fees for services related to requests for information

According to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), everyone has the right to access public information from the University of applied sciences' documents and registers.

A document or information may be fully or partially classified as confidential due to confidentiality regulations based on law. If the authority refuses to provide the requested document or information, the reason for the refusal will be communicated. It is possible to receive an appealable decision regarding the refusal.

According to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities operations, a request for information must be sufficiently detailed for the authority to determine which document is being requested.

Requests for information should be directed to the University of applied sciences' registry office (registrator@arcada.fi).

Please note that alumni and former students can order documents and certified copies of degree certificates from Student Affairs (studentaffairs@arcada.fi). The fees for these documents follow a separate price list . 

Documents and information provided free of charge

In accordance with the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, no fee is charged for providing a document when the requested document can be identified, can be found in the authority’s document register or another electronically maintained register, it can be located using document classification, the document’s reference number, or search functions, and the confidential parts can be removed without difficulty, in the following cases:

  • Information from the document is provided orally
  • The document is read or copied at the authority’s premises
  • A public document stored in electronic form is sent by email to the person who requested the information
  • A document stored in electronic form is sent by email to a party
  • The provision of the requested document is part of the authority's duty to provide advice, conduct hearings, or inform.
     

Charges for copying and delivering paper documents

When a document is public or confidential parts can easily be removed, only the costs for copying and delivery are charged:

  • A4 and A3: €0.50/page
  • Postage according to the chosen delivery method
     

Charges for searching for information and removing confidential information

Costs incurred for searching for information may be charged if the search for the requested document and the removal of confidential information require more work than usual. For requests that require more work than usual, the following will be charged:

  • First 30 minutes: Free of charge
  • 30 minutes – 2 hours: €60
  • For every additional hour started: €60

The fee is charged for searches that take longer than half an hour, regardless of whether the requested documents are found or not.

Payment of processing fees

Ordered documents will not be delivered until payment is made. The customer must present a receipt of the paid fee to the University of applied sciences' registry office (registrator@arcada.fi). The receipt must clearly show the customer's name and the reason for the payment.

Basis for the fees

The fees are based on the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999). Primarily, the services for which fees are charged are public-law services, and they are priced based on the cost recovery principle, meaning the fee is at most equal to the cost of the labor required to produce the documents. No VAT is charged for public-law services.

The fees come into effect on 1 October 2024.