Practical information

Free Advice

Call Suitcase talen directly by telephone at +31 (0)36-53 67 482 to make an appointment for a free intake test. An intake test consists of an interview and takes 30-45 minutes. After you have discussed your goals and preferences, you will do a few tests to determine your language skill level. Suitcase will give you a professional recommendation and make an offer.
Alternatively, send an email with your name and telephone number to info@suitcase.nl. Within two business days you will be called back with more information or to arrange a date for a free intake.

Registration

Do you pay your fees yourself? Print the last page of your online registration, sign it and send it to Suitcase talen.
Does your employer pay your fees? Register online after your intake and after your employer has signed the offer.
Within two days after your registration, you will receive by email an invitation for your course. You will find all the details and dates in your invitation..

Payment

Are you paying the invoice yourself? In this case you will receive the invoice shortly after registration. You may transfer the amount to the Suitcase talen account ING 2965442, IBAN NL25 INGB002 965442 before the course starts or pay by PIN card at Suitcase talen. In case you agreed payment by PIN card in three installments, you may pay at the reception at the beginning of the first, second and third month.
Is your employer paying the invoice? In this case our official contact at your employer will receive the invoice shortly after your registration. Your employer will transfer the amount of the invoice to the Suitcase talen account before the course starts.

Cancellation of the course

Cancellation may only be done by email. In case you cancel within 10 business days before the first day of the course, you will have to pay the complete amount of the invoice.
In case that there are insufficient enrollments Suitcase talen will cancel the course not later than 5 business days before the planned starting date.

Cancelling a lesson

Private lessons and tailor-made lessons: You may cancel your lesson without charges till 24 hours before the lesson begins. You may do that at most twice in a series of 10 lessons. In case you cancel too late or more than twice the lesson will be considered as taught. You will inform Suitcase talen about planned holidays before your registration.
In your invitation you will find the date after which your right to the lessons of this block expires.
Standard courses: It is not possible to make up for lessons you missed. You will inform Suitcase talen about planned holidays before your registration. In case you miss more than a quarter of your lessons by unforeseen circumstances appropriate arrangements will be made.

Proof of Participation and Certificate

In case you would like to receive a Proof of Participation for your one to one course we need to know this two lessons before the last lesson takes place. After having completed the final evaluation you will receive the Proof together with a copy for our official contact at your employer.
The standard language courses Dutch are completed with four tests. You will receive a certificate including the test results. The results on your certificate are decisive for your admittance to the next course.

Reporting

Employers, UWV, the city of Almere and other contractors wish Suitcase talen to report about courses they pay for. In such cases Suitcase talen reports about your attendance, efforts and study results.

Complaint procedure

Students, employees, suppliers and customers may make use of this complaint procedure. All complaints are handled confidentially.
If a student, employee, supplier or contractor is dissatisfied or feels unfairly treated then s(he) discusses this with the person who caused the dissatisfaction. This may be the teacher or the director of Suitcase talen, Margreet Kwakernaak.
In case this discussion, in the view of the complainant, does not help, the complainant may submit an official and written complaint to the director of Suitcase talen within two weeks after this discussion. The complainant will use the complaint form for this purpose.
The director will confirm the receipt of the complaint within three business days. The director will first consult the complainant and any other person(s) concerned in order to find a solution. In most cases the director will also contact the complainant in order to discuss the next steps.
In some situations it may be necessary to seek external professional advic . It is also possible that Suitcase talen engages an external mediator, or the the complainant may refer to this possibility to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties.
The mediator makes his or her offer to the complainant within four weeks after having received the complaint. If there are demonstrable reasons the term may be extended.
Depending on the seriousness of the complaint, the apparent cause and the responsibility, the mediator determines the proposal to the complainant. The proposal may consist of correction, satisfaction, compensation or a substitute service.
The mediator determines whether corrective or preventive measures may be taken to prevent recurrence of the circumstances that caused the complaints.
The decision is binding for both parties.

Complaint form

Download the complaint form as a PDF or as a Word file

Privacy Regulations

Personal data of the students, such as their name, address, date of birth and also information about the progress of their study are used by Suitcase talen in accordance with the Wet Persoonsgegevens (Law on personal data).
The teacher who conducted the written and oral tests and evaluated them informs the students about the results and how the evaluation was performed. To assess the language level of the students Suitcase talen uses both paper and computer tests of Bureau ICE (Experts in Tests) which are used at all educational institutions in the Netherlands. The results are determined following prescribed standards and cannot be discussed.
Five years after the student has finished his or her course, all the documents that the student produced, such as tests and written assignments, are destroyed. Suitcase talen aks for the student's permission in case Suitcase talen wishes to use these products for educational purposes such as a teachers training or the preparation of a textbook.
Data of each student such as starting level, end level and duration of the studies are retained until 5 years after the student has finished the course for possible audits by contractors or other organizations that monitor the quality of Suitcase talen.