Frequently Asked Questions

ACE is an acronym for Adult and Community Education.

Risingholme courses are open to everyone aged 16 and over who are not currently at school, regardless of educational background, unless specified otherwise.

You can enrol online, by phone, email, mail or in person.

PDF Format – Download PDF document here

Word Format – Please contact the office by email info@risingholme.org.nz

Our website contains information about our courses for the whole year and we take enrolments throughout the year – we advise enrolling early to ensure you are in your favourite course. We operate on a first come, first served basis.

The courses page contains a summary of all courses we are currently offering. Click on the category link to see the full lists of courses.

Early enrolment and payment are encouraged to ensure your enrolment in the course and to prevent cancellation due to low enrolments.

Office Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9 am – 4 pm excluding public holidays

Risingholme closes over the Christmas holidays and these dates will be advised.

Click here for information on term dates and when the office is likely to be closed.

Yes, payment is due at the time of enrolling to secure your place in the course.

  • In person at the office – by cash, credit card or eftpos
  • Ring the office to provide your credit card number 03 332 7359
  • Internet banking or depositing in our bank account. Our bank details are as follows:
    Risingholme Community Centre account 03 1598 0006558 00
    Please add as reference/particulars your surname and the course name.
    E.g [own surname] [course enrolling in]

When you enrol in one of our courses, you will receive a generic email acknowledging we have received your enrolment. If there are any problems, we need further information or the course is cancelled we will send a separate email requesting further information or advising what options are available.  If you have chosen to join the waitlist we will contact you if a place becomes available, please check your emails regularly including your spam folder.

  • Your payment secures your place.
  • Once your payment is processed into our system, we will send a Payment Receipt email and course information sheet. (You are welcome to request the course information prior to this.)
  • We will keep you enrolled unless you indicate otherwise. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are not able to attend the course e.g. due to work commitments.
  • In the event that you have not paid your course fee and we are experiencing demand for the course we will contact you again and will ask you to make payment – this may result in putting you on the waiting list for the course.
  • We respectfully ask that you make your payment as soon as possible as we need to confirm with the tutor if the course will be starting and do so based on receiving enough paid enrolments.

You will be notified of any changes to the course(s) that you have enrolled in by email, please make sure we have your current email address and that you check your emails and spam folder regulary.

If your course is cancelled, by us, you will have the option of a full refund or to transfer to another course.

We endeavour to acknowledge receipt of your enrolment as soon as we can. However, at times we experience high volumes of enrolments. If it is more than a week after you have emailed your enrolment to us, do contact us to enquire about the status of your enrolment.

Please check your spam folder as well.

When you enrol through our website it will indicate the number of spaces left or the option to join the waitlist, we keep this as up to date as possible we will notify you if there are any problems.  If you register in person, you will know immediately the status of the class.

If you have chosen to be or have been placed on a waiting list, you will be contacted if a space becomes available. Please do not go to the course unless we have contacted you. All waiting lists are handled on a “first come – first serve” basis and each course is filled in the order people were placed on the waiting list.

You have selected a course that is funded by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) for further information about and what we need to fulfill their requirements click here.

Contact the office with your query and we will contact the tutor with your name and contact details and have them contact you. A reminder that all our tutors are part time tutors and may not be able to contact you immediately.

You will receive a confirmation email from us at least 3-5 days before the scheduled start date of the course. You will be contacted if the course is cancelled. Assume the class is being held if you do NOT receive a call, text or email from the office to say otherwise. Please ensure we have your current contact information and check your emails regular along with your spam folder.

You will be sent a confirmation email at least 3-5 days before a course is due to start. It is however your responsibility to remember the date and time of your course, this information can be found on your receipt and on our website. There are no refunds for ‘no-shows’.

The course information sheet has the venue/location, where to meet or what room your course will be held in, please review this information. Directions to our venue/locations is available on our website.

You may want to bring a note pad, pen or pencil to take notes. Furthermore, your course information sheet will cover what you need to bring for the first class. During the course, your tutor will discuss what you need to bring for subsequent classes.

Courses offered through us are non-credit/non-qualification courses. Grades and/or degrees are not part of these courses. Upon request, a certificate of attendance is available for all our Community Education courses for those who have attended at least 80% of their course.

If the course you have enrolled in does not meet minimum enrolment requirements, the course will be cancelled. We will notify you of the cancellation by phone, email or text providing you with the option of signing up for another course or a full refund.

Please click here to access our refund policy.

No, refunds are not issued for missed classes.  Please review our refund policy.

For safety and security reasons, only enrolled learners for a particular course are allowed in that course. It is sometimes possible to attend another class of the same course if taught by the same tutor during the same term. This is however at the discretion of both Risingholme and the tutor.

Decisions to run a course are made based upon paid learner enrolment numbers. If someone were to cancel their enrolment after the start of the course, Risingholme still has all the costs associated with the course e.g. paying the tutor’s wages, contribution towards electricity and other overheads.

In your first class, you will meet your tutor and fellow learners.

Your tutor will

  • Tell you more about the course and the different ways in which you will learn
  • Ask what you hope to achieve
  • Chat with you to check that you are happy that this is the right course for you
  • Let you know how you can tell us how you are getting on
  • Advise you about course materials or equipment you may need
  • Tell you what to do if you cannot attend the course
  • Give ideas about further courses you may want to progress to
  • Answer any questions you may have
  • Tell you about health and safety.

Let us know what you think. We are keen to hear what you think about your experience as an adult learner.

A course evaluation is available at the end of your course or email info@risingholme.org.nz .

Comments: If you have any comments or suggestions for making services even better let us hear them.
Compliments: If you think we are doing things well we would like to hear that too.
Complaints: If you are not satisfied about a standard of service, action, or lack of action, by ourselves, or by others working on our behalf, please tell us and what we can do to improve things.

If you have a skill or passion that you wish to share with others, we are interested in hearing from you. For general information and course proposal preparation, please visit the tutor page and course proposals page.

Please click here for more information about other learning opportunities.

Please click here for more information about our privacy and use of personal information policy.

Please click here for more information about our facilities and how to hire.

Office Information:
Our office is open:
Monday to Friday: 9 am – 4 pm excluding public holidays.
Our office is located at:
22 Cholmondeley Avenue, Opawa, Christchurch.
We are on facebook and brochures are available at your local Christchurch Library.

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