Notification of revocation of the right to study (SORA)
SORA stands for ‘solutions related to unsuitability for study’. Education providers and higher education institutions have a legal duty to provide Valvira with all material information on any pending proceedings concerning the revocation of the right to study of students pursuing social welfare and health care qualifications, as well as the final decisions and the reasons for these decisions. Material information includes all information that Valvira needs to perform its statutory duties. Confidentiality provisions do not apply to the disclosure of such information.
Educational institutions can notify Valvira of proceedings concerning the revocation of the right to study by secure e-mail. The recipient’s address is [email protected].
The notification must include the reasons why SORA proceedings were initiated, the student’s personal identity code and the educational institution’s contact information. If a decision to revoke the student’s right to study has already been made, Valvira must be provided with a copy of the decision and the reasons for the decision.
Please do not send confidential information or other sensitive personal data such as health records or social welfare case files via regular e-mail or as an attachment to regular e-mail. Confidential information can be sent using our secure e-mail service.
Please use Valvira’s secure e-mail service to send confidential information. For more information about sending documents to Valvira by e-mail, please see our website.
Notifications of revocation of the right to study can also be sent by post using the following address:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health
(Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki
What is SORA?
The chief purpose of the SORA legislation is to improve the safety of education and training and the working life thereafter as well as to improve the possibilities of the providers of education, organisers of examinations and universities to intervene if a student is found to be unsuitable for the field he or she wants to study or is studying. The regulations also protect the legal rights of students. Valvira must be notified of all SORA proceedings relating to students pursuing social welfare and health care qualifications.
The SORA legislation applies to both the admission of new students and the revocation and restoration of existing students’ right to study. The SORA legislation applies to both vocational and higher education.
The SORA legislation allows education providers and higher education institutions to revoke a student’s right to study if the studies or pursuing the profession in question are associated with requirements relating to, for example, the safety of minors, patients or clients. The SORA legislation also includes provisions on drug testing, which apply to all vocational training.
Prior to revoking a student’s right to study, the education provider must sit down with the student to explore possibilities of pursuing a different qualification or training.
The regulations (excluding those on drug testing) apply to all SORA qualifications that are associated with requirements relating to the safety of minors, patients or clients or to traffic safety. The SORA legislation does not apply to upper secondary school education.