Virtual Education Wiki - User contributions [en]

Helsinki University of Technology

2010-01-11T18:42:46Z

Urintala:

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. The university's name in Finnish is Teknillinen korkeakoulu and in Swedish Tekniska högskolan.

TKK is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

'''Starting 1.1.2010 TKK is part of the Aalto University and its new name Aalto University School of Science and Technology.'''

The new University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology. The aim of the university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020.

Aalto University's web site is http://www.aalto.fi/en/ (in English) and the Aalto University School of Science and Technology's website http://www.aalto.fi/en/school/technology/ (in English).

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

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> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Main Page]]

Helsinki University of Technology

2010-01-11T18:42:00Z

Urintala:

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. The university's name in Finnish is Teknillinen korkeakoulu and in Swedish Tekniska högskolan.

TKK is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

'''Starting 1.1.2010 TKK will be part of the Aalto University and its name will be changed to Aalto University School of Science and Technology.'''

The new University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology. The aim of the university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020.

Aalto University's web site is http://www.aalto.fi/en/ (in English) and the Aalto University School of Science and Technology's website http://www.aalto.fi/en/school/technology/ (in English).

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

----
> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Main Page]]

Helsinki University of Technology

2010-01-11T18:41:30Z

Urintala:

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. The university's name in Finnish is '''Teknillinen korkeakoulu''' and in Swedish '''Tekniska högskolan'''.

TKK is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

'''Starting 1.1.2010 TKK will be part of the Aalto University and its name will be changed to Aalto University School of Science and Technology.'''

The new University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology. The aim of the university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020.

Aalto University's web site is http://www.aalto.fi/en/ (in English) and the Aalto University School of Science and Technology's website http://www.aalto.fi/en/school/technology/ (in English).

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

----
> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Main Page]]

Helsinki University of Technology

2010-01-11T18:32:09Z

Urintala:

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. The university's name in Finnish is '''Teknillinen korkeakoulu''' and in Swedish '''Tekniska högskolan'''.

TKK is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

'''Starting 1.1.2010 TKK is part of the Aalto University and its name has changed to Aalto University School of Science and Technology.'''

Aalto University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology. The aim of the new university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020.

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

----
> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Main Page]]

User:Urintala

2010-01-11T18:18:29Z

Urintala:

''Ulla Rintala'' has worked at Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) since 2007. She has participated as a project coordinator in several EU projects related to ICT in education and in-house training programs. She is familiar with the academe having worked in the executive boards of both Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2008 and its student union in 2006 as well as in other positions of trust. In 2003-2006, she took part in an exchange program organized between the University of Toronto in Canada and four Universities in Helsinki.

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-26T12:29:32Z

Urintala: /* Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. The new university, effective from January 1st, 2010, will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology
* Medicine
* Natural and Environmental Sciences
* Pharmacy
* Social Sciences

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed;
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will be three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in [[Finland]].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-26T07:13:30Z

Urintala: /* University reform */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

The Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010.

[http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/liitteet/HE_yolaki_eng_20.2.2009.pdf Proposal for the new Universities Act in Brief]; ''February 20th, 2009 (pdf)''

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

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> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-26T07:13:09Z

Urintala: /* University reform */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

The Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010

[http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/liitteet/HE_yolaki_eng_20.2.2009.pdf Proposal for the new Universities Act in Brief]; ''February 20th, 2009 (pdf)''

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

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> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-26T07:02:14Z

Urintala: /* The past - Description of the institution's history */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. The new university, effective from January 1st, 2010, will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology
* Medicine
* Natural and Environmental Sciences
* Pharmacy
* Social Sciences

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed;
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in [[Finland]].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-25T09:42:36Z

Urintala: /* University reform */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

The Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The new law will replace the Universities Act of 1997.

The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010

[http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/liitteet/HE_yolaki_eng_20.2.2009.pdf Proposal for the new Universities Act in Brief]; ''February 20th, 2009 (pdf)''

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

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> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-25T09:41:47Z

Urintala: /* University reform */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

The Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The new law will replace the Universities Act of 1997.

The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010

[http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/liitteet/HE_yolaki_eng_20.2.2009.pdf Proposal for the new Universities Act in Brief] ''February 20th, 2009 (pdf)''

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

----
> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-25T09:41:11Z

Urintala: /* University reform */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

The Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The new law will replace the Universities Act of 1997.

The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010

[http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/liitteet/HE_yolaki_eng_20.2.2009.pdf Proposal for the new Universities Act in Brief] February 20th, 2009 (pdf)

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

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> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-25T09:34:47Z

Urintala: /* University reform */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

The Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The new law will replace the Universities Act of 1997.

The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

----
> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

Finland from Re.ViCa

2009-08-25T09:33:28Z

Urintala: /* Structural development */

===Partners situated in Finland: ===

* [http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli) - Helsinki University of Technology]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_University_of_Technology Helsinki University of Technology] is the oldest university of technology in Finland.

==Finland in a nutshell==

[[Image:Fi-map.gif|left|thumb|Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html]]

(mainly sourced from: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Wikipedia])

Finland, officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a Nordic Country situated in Northern Europe. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995, independent since 1917 and autonomous since 1809. The capital city is Helsinki.

The population of Finland is some 5.3 million inhabitants and the majority is concentrated in the south: 71 % of Finns live in towns or in urban areas, whereas only 29 % live in rural areas. Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.5 % and Swedish by 5.5 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about 1,700 people.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) totals over a million residents and a third of the GDP. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

==Finnish education policy==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.

In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.

Parliament passes legislation concerning education and research and determines the basic lines of education and science policy. The Government and the [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Ministry of Education], as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education financed from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.

==Finnish education system==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

[[Image:Koulutusjarjestelma eng.jpg|right|frame|Source: http://www.edu.fi/english/SubPage.asp?path=500,4699

Another graphic can be downloaded as a [[Media:Finnish_education.pdf‎| PDF]] (1 page)]]

The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education, comprising vocational and general education; and higher education, provided by universities and polytechnics. Adult education is available at all levels.

'''Students’ opportunities to progress from one level of education to the next are safeguarded by legislation.''' Both general and vocational upper secondary certificates provide eligibility for further studies in universities and polytechnics. A student completing one level is always eligible for the next level of studies. The qualifications of each level are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. '''Finnish education is free of charge at all levels.'''

Basic education is general education provided for the whole age group. Upper secondary education consists of general education and vocational education and training (vocational qualifications and further and specialist qualifications). The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

==Higher education==

See also the following OECD reports for more information about the Finnish higher education:
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35585357_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Reviews];
:[http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_35580240_1_1_1_1,00.html Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports].

===Universities in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19''.)

'''Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on scientific research and research-based education.''' They confer Bachelor’s, Master’s, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees. At the moment (June 2008), Finland has '''20 universities''' and a National College for Defense, which work on the principles of academic freedom and autonomy. They are very independent in their decision-making. All universities are state-run, the government providing some 70 % of their budgets.

At universities, students can study for lower (Bachelor's) and higher (Master's) degrees and scientific or artistic postgraduate degrees, which are the licentiate and the doctorate. It is also possible to study specialist postgraduate degrees in the medical fields. In the two-cycle degree system, students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. As a rule, students are admitted to study for the higher degree. Universities also arrange separate Master's programs with separate student selection, to which the entry requirement is a Bachelor's level degree or corresponding studies.

Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. '''The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits''', and it is aimed to take some three years. '''The Master's degree is 120 credits''', which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In some fields, such as medicine, the degrees are more extensive and take longer to complete.

University postgraduate education aims at a doctoral degree. In addition to the required studies, doctoral students prepare a dissertation, which they defend in public. The requirement for postgraduate studies is a Master's or corresponding degree. Universities also offer fee-charging continuing education and Open University instruction, which do not lead to qualifications but can be included in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection process. An admitted student may only accept one student place in degree education in a given academic year. The aim is to simplify student selection procedures by means of a joint universities application system to be introduced in the academic year 2008 – 2009.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''10 multi-faculty universities''', '''6 specialized universities''', '''4 art academies''' and a '''National College for Defense in Finland'''. Annually (2006), some 20,000 new students attend university education, whereas the total number of students is some '''160 000'''. The number of Master’s degrees completed at universities during 2006 totaled '''13,100'''. The number of doctorates, in turn, amounted to 1,410. The average drop-out rate (2005) is only about 5.0 %.

===Polytechnics in Finland===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education], [http://www.stat.fi/til/akop/index_en.html Statistics Finland] and ''Heinonen, O-P. (1997) Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.'')

'''The first polytechnics were set up on an experimental basis in 1991''', the aims being to raise the standard of higher vocational education, to make Finland’s training and qualifications more internationally competitive, to respond to the demands for new skills, to enhance the attraction of vocational education and to increase the efficiency of vocational education system. The reform was launched on the basis of guidelines issued by the government, and responsibility for bringing courses up to non-university higher education standard was entrusted to the institutions taking part in the experiment.

The first permanent polytechnics started operating in 1996 after a thorough evaluation process. In 2003, the polytechnics were given the same autonomy as universities. Till then, they had operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. '''The higher polytechnic degree was established in 2005''' after a 5-year experiment. Additionally, the polytechnic reform entailed a total reorganization of other vocational education, the post-secondary college level being completely phased out, the post-comprehensive level being expanded, and the apprenticeship training gradually being increased.

'''Polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences, offer work-related education in response to labor market needs.''' Degree studies give a higher education qualification and practical professional skills. They comprise core and professional studies, elective studies and a final project. All degree studies include practical on-the-job learning. There are no tuition fees in degree education, and the students can apply for financial aid.

At the moment (June 2008), there are '''28 polytechnics''' in the Ministry of Education sector: seven are run by local authorities, 11 by municipal education consortia and 10 by private organizations. In addition, there is the Åland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Åland and the Police College subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The polytechnics are co-financed by the government and local authorities.

'''The extent of polytechnic degree studies is generally 210 − 240 study points (ECTS), which means 3.5 – 4 years of full-time study.''' This education is arranged as degree programs. The entry requirement is a certificate from an upper secondary school or the matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign studies. The requirement for Master's studies in polytechnics is a Bachelors' level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. '''The polytechnic Master's, which is 60 – 90 study points and takes 1.5 – 2 years, is equivalent to a university Master's in the labor market.'''

A total of '''133,300''' students attended polytechnic education leading to a degree in 2007. This was 700 students more than the year before. The number of new students was 36,600. In addition, a total of '''21,000''' degrees were obtained. The number of foreign students attending education leading to a degree was 5,400, 17 % more than the year before. In 2007, the number of degrees obtained by foreign students increased by 11 % from previous year and stood slightly over 500. The number of students attending education leading to a higher polytechnic degree was 3,400, which was 1,300 students more than the year before. Higher polytechnic degrees were obtained by 360 students.

==Higher education reform==

===The Bologna Process===

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The Finnish higher education reform derives from the Bologna Declaration. In order to strengthen the position of Finnish universities in the European Higher Education Area, Finland has reformed the degree structure and is currently devising an international strategy for the Finnish higher education system. Another important means has been the strengthening of quality assurance in Finnish universities and polytechnics. The new two-cycle degree system was adopted by Finnish universities in August 2005, whereas polytechnics have kept the present system. The degrees were reformed compatible with the ECTS at the same time.

In Finland, universities and polytechnics have adopted the Diploma Supplement. It is a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs. The universities and polytechnics have a statutory duty to issue a Diploma Supplement to the student on request.

===Structural development===

(''Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. (FI)'' and ''Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011. (FI)'')

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary sectors, where universities and polytechnics have different missions and profiles (dual model). Universities focus on scientific research and research-based education, whereas polytechnics offer work-related education in response to the labor market needs. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a structural development process, which is meant to be completed by 2012. According to the Ministry of Education, the aims of structural development can be listed as following:

* The quality of teaching and research improves.
* The impressiveness of education and research strengthens.
* The internationalization proceeds.
* The level of know-how arises and the competitiveness strengthens.
* The strengths of higher education are pulled together.
* The co-operational structures and administration evolve.
* The public research system functions better.
* The alternatives in individual education diversify.
* Services for students and researchers improve.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has given recommendations and guidelines for the goals of structural development in Finnish higher education institutions.

=====Table I: HEIs' key figures in 2006 and vision 2020=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|''' '''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Polytechnics (2020)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2006)'''
!width=""|'''Universities (2020)'''
|-valign="top"
| Number of institutions || 29 || max. 18 || 20 || max. 15
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) || 105,000 || 95,000 || 120,000 || 105,000
|-valign="top"
| Students (FTE) / teachers (%) || 17.8 || 16.0 || 14.3 || 12.5
|-valign="top"
| Basic degree / teachers (%) || 3.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || 1.9
|-valign="top"
| Passing percentage (%) || 70.3 || 76.0 || 55.4 || 70.0
|-valign="top"
| Graduate employment and continuation to postgraduate studies (%) || 88.7 || 90.8 || 88.8 || 91.0
|-valign="top"
| Doctorate degrees / professor (%) || - || - || 0.6 || 0.8
|-valign="top"
| Scientific publications / teaching and research staff (%) || - || - || 1.7 || 2.2
|}

====University reform====

The new Universities Act will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities’ management and decision-making system will be reformed.

Parliament passed the Universities Bill on June 16th, 2009. The new law will replace the Universities Act of 1997.

The [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/koulutuspolitiikka/Hankkeet/Yliopistolaitoksen_uudistaminen/index.html?lang=en reform of the Universities Act] has been prepared in close collaboration with universities and stakeholders. The preparation began in spring 2007, and the start of activities will be on January 1st, 2010

====Structural development in universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and [http://www.aaltoyliopisto.info/en/ Aalto Yliopisto])

In years 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education allocated some 18 M€ for the structural development of universities. In addition, three leading projects were launched in November 2006: [http://www.innovaatioyliopisto.info/en/ The Aalto University], [http://www.uef.fi/english/ The University of Eastern Finland] and the [http://www.konsortio.fi/ University Consortium in Turku]. The reform will transform universities’ legal status from entities under the State Budget to an independent body corporate. This allows increased autonomy in university finances and administration.

The Aalto University is a new university, which will be created through a full merger of three existing universities: [http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage Helsinki School of Economics], [http://www.tkk.fi/en/index.html Helsinki University of Technology] and [http://www.taik.fi/en/ University of Art and Design Helsinki]. The University of Eastern Finland is a new university built from two current universities in Eastern Finland: [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. [http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Turku] and [http://www.tse.fi/EN/Pages/Default.aspx Turku School of Economics], in turn, make the University Consortium in Turku, which is then supposed to build up a new kind of university 3 years later.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, universities are supported in their collaborative projects and in collaboration with the polytechnics and other parties. Some internal development projects are also supported. The structural development in universities has not only been ministry-led, but the universities have also taken an active role in the processes.

=====Table II: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish universities=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new university / consortium'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || Aalto University || (1) Helsinki School of Economics, (2) Helsinki University of Technology and (3) University of Art and Design Helsinki || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|2. || University of Eastern Finland || (1) University of Joensuu and (2) Univeristy of Kuopio || January 1st, 2010
|-valign="top"
|3. || University Consortium in Turku (new kind of university to be established in 2011) || (1) University of Turku and (2) Turku School of Economics || August 1st, 2008
|}

====Structural development in polytechnics====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

The most significant development projects amongst the polytechnics have been the three merger projects. At the beginning of year 2007, HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and Helsinki Business Polytechnic merged into [http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences]. [http://www.stadia.fi/english/index.asp Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia] and [http://www.evtek.fi/en/ EVTEK University of Applied Sciences], in turn, will become the [http://www.metropolia.fi/en/ Metropolia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008, and at the same time some, branch rationalization will be made with [http://www.laurea.fi/internet/en/index.jsp Laurea University of Applied Sciences]. Furthermore, [http://www.syh.fi/index.asp?lang=eng Swedish polytechnic Finland] and [http://www.sydvast.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=300 Sydväst Polytechnic] will become the [http://www.novia.fi/main2.asp?site=english&sektor=null&rightmenu=null Novia University of Applied Sciences] in August 2008.

It has also been agreed that degree-led education and, thus, 12 units in 11 localities will be closed down. Education programs and areas of responsibilities are united so that education will be organized in groups of no less than 40 students. Additionally, the polytechnics will develop their distribution of work and, thereby, strengthen their profilization. The aim is that some 10 % (~2,500) of new students will be redirected in years 2008 – 2009.

=====Table III: Consequences of the structural development in Finnish polytechnics=====
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:11px;"
|-valign="top" style="background: #ECE5B6;"
!width=""|'''Nr'''
!width=""|'''The new polytechnic'''
!width=""|'''Consists of'''
!width=""|'''Starts / started on'''
|-valign="top"
|1. || HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences || (1) HAAGA University of Applied Sciences and (2) Helsinki Business Polytechnic || January 1st, 2007
|-valign="top"
|2. || Metropolia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and (2) EVTEK University of Applied Sciences || August 1st, 2008
|-valign="top"
|3. || Novia University of Applied Sciences || (1) Swedish Polytechnic Finland and (2) Sydväst Polytechnic || August 1st, 2008
|}

==Administration and finance==

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education])

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

==Quality assurance==

(mainly sourced from: ''Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.'')

Quality assurance of higher education is one of the key development areas in efforts to construct a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2005, [http://www.kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)] launched a project for auditing the quality assurance systems of Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of auditing is to ensure that the HEIs have quality assurance systems in support of continuous and systematic improvement of operations, and that such a system works according to stated objectives, brings out change and has international credibility.

The FINHEEC audit model is founded in the principle of enhancement-led evaluation and is the universally accepted approach in Finland. The model also conforms to the ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

==Finnish HEIs in the information society==

===Towards the information society===

The nineteen eighties and nineties saw the breakthrough of the use of information technology in a wide spectrum. During that period, the critical amount of users was created inside the world of HE, first in communities of researchers, and then, as a natural continuum also in the researcher education. The birth of CSC and Funet helped Finnish HE to achieve an internationally high level in exploiting information technologies. The rapid expansion of the networks of HEIs allowed the massive access of students into the lateral communication of the community of students.

This, however, had little or no impact on the teaching of the institutions, except in some fields of natural sciences, medicine and technical sciences, while in the national strategic guidelines for primary and secondary education, including vocational education, the use of ICT in teaching and the systematic improvement of the ICT skills of teachers became a stated goal already in the nineties. For HEIs, it had to be waited that the overall discussion on pedagogy reached the point where it started to evolve into systematic forms. In Finland as elsewhere, the autonomy and decision making of HEIs have not been instrumental in implementing the national strategy in use of ICT in learning.

In the HEIs in Finland, the introduction of ICT in teaching stemmed largely from a different tradition than in schools and vocational education institutions, where the first wave of interest towards the possibilities of IT in teaching and the later hyper- and multimedia hype were huge. These waves matched well with the emerging conceptions about learning, and the subsequent modern methods which emphasized the student’s independent work exploratory and collaborative learning and process orientation.

In HEIs, two mainstreams emerged: on the one hand the culture of high-powered computation done in centralized supercomputer environments coupled with computer science, information technology and electronic data processing of the administration, and on the other hand the reflection of the development of different forms of distant teaching into the world of higher education. In this second mainstream, continuing education centers and open universities have played an important role.

===Information society strategy period===

Development of information society did not become an issue in Finland before the implementation of the first information society strategy in 1995 – 1999. In the HE sector, the focus was on improving the computer facilities, networks, library applications and applications serving the information and communication needs of researchers. Internet, net communications and learning platforms, net courses, digital materials and learning object repositories had their breakthrough on the period of the first information society strategy actually without significant direction from the strategy. The development of the field was so fast that the strategy work was falling behind, which was quite natural particularly at that time. Strategy work served decision-making and the mainstream of education, not the forerunners.

At the same time, an interesting convergence of several separate small traditions into a wide and diverse mainstream took place due to the fact that use of ICT in teaching was becoming more widespread. On one side, the experts of ICT in classroom teaching (computer-aided learning) noticed how the Internet was starting to make classrooms virtual. On another side, the education technologists of distant teaching and learning started noticing that network pedagogy offers possibilities beyond electronic distribution of teaching materials, returning assignments through the net or using video conferencing and telephone in communication. Many who had been awakened by the Internet found the research and development done by the forerunners. The virtual, often informal networks of experts and learning started to evolve into genuine flora of lifelong learning, the most famous of course being the worldwide network of Linux users.

The information strategy for education and research 2000 – 2004 grasped four important challenges for developing information society: 1) ensuring necessary skills for information society; 2) developing network learning environments; 3) securing the structures of information society; and 4) developing digital learning resources. For tackling the challenges belonging to the third group at HEI level, the [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] and the [http://www.virtuaaliamk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)], formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (FVP), were developed as a unifying concept.

Until the end of year 2006, the guiding document for the FVU and VirtuaaliAMK activities and related projects and networks was the Information Society Program for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006. The foci were set on establishing productive and economically viable practices and on encouraging exploitation of ICT in social innovations. The purpose for consolidating the virtual university was that projects and services initially operating on national funding were eventually to be transferred to the respective universities.

==Virtual initiatives in HE==

===[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])===

====Partnership of universities====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The '''[[Finnish Virtual University]] ([[FVU]])''' is a partnership of all Finnish universities. Its goal is to support and develop collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium, it develops information network –based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities. The Finnish Virtual University is not an online or distance education university and it does not provide university education. For online or distance education one has to enrol in one of the FVU member universities.

In the FVU framework, universities participate in the national collaboration, and in addition, each member university has a special unit to promote and support online learning and teaching locally. These units may be educational technology centers, learning centers or other locally relevant units. The FVU Service Unit implements the targets and tasks set by the Advisory Board and the Executive Board of the FVU consortium. Its operations are steered by the Executive Board. The Service Unit operates as an independent institute under the Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2012.

The operations of the Finnish Virtual University are based on an Agreement establishing the Consortium of the Finnish Virtual University (FVU) signed by all Finnish Universities in January 2001, on an Agreement signed in November 2006 on the revision of the Rules and Regulations of the FVU Consortium and the establishment of the FVU Service Unit as an independent institute, as well as on the strategy approved by the Annual Consortium Assembly in March 2005. The Finnish Virtual University has special experience in the following areas:

# '''Promoting student mobility:''' negotiating a nation-wide agreement on flexible study rights, providing online information services
# '''Quality assurance in online education:''' developing tools and systems
# '''Online learning materials and learning objectives:''' developing functional exchange systems
# '''Teacher training in ICT:''' courses for university staff and local experts at universities
# '''Web tools for planning and evaluating online education'''

The ideas and experience generated by the FVU are instrumental in the development of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The two prerequisites of EHEA, the two-tier degree structure and the ECTS-based system, were adopted by the FVU member universities in August 2005. To gain experience and to meet the other prerequisites of EHEA, the FVU is also involved in more than 40 national virtual university projects (2006) and several EU eLearning projects. Additionally, the Finnish (FVU) and Bavarian (VHB) Virtual Universities signed a Cooperative Agreement on the exchange of their member universities’ online courses and online learning materials in 2006.

Since the establishment of the FVU operations on a permanent basis as of 2007, the universities took on more responsibility for funding the operations. Part of the FVU operations are financed through a consortium fee, which member universities contribute to in relation to their staff and student numbers. Moreover, a number of development projects to implement the strategy are still operated with project funding awarded by the Ministry of Education grounded in the performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and the FVU member universities. The Ministry of Education also supported the startup of the Service Unit with information society program funding. The virtual university support units within universities are financed with budget funding from the universities.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], ''Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.'' and ''Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28. (FI)'')

The idea of a national virtual university came from two directions: from the universities themselves and from the Ministry of Education’s Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Terms such as ‘virtual university’ and ‘online university’ started to pop up in the international and domestic university discussions at the end of 1990’s. At the same time, discussion begun about the globalization of educational markets and the European Higher Education Area. In Finland, the discussion swiftly crystallized into concrete proposals:

* At the 1998 term-opening ceremony of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), rector Paavo Uronen brought up the idea of ‘Finland’s Online University’
* At the same time, the Minister of Education of that time, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, suggested that the committee preparing for the Information Strategy for Education and Research should include a proposal for a virtual university in the strategy. Such proposal was, in fact, included in the new information strategy for 2000 – 2004.
* In summer 1999, the Minister of Education Maija Rask set up an organization for implementing the strategy, including a working group on the virtual university.
* The working group prepared an implementation plan, according to which the development unit of the virtual university was established in 2000.

Based on the new strategy, the Ministry of Education financed a number of virtual university projects and activities in years 2001 – 2006, and the development of FVU during that time was, indeed, rapid:

:'''2001:''' FVU Consortium Agreement is signed.
:'''2003:''' Nation-wide Agreement on Flexible Study Rights is signed.
:'''2004:''' Networks and ICT support units become part of everyday university life. Flexible Study Rights Service, JOOPAS, is launched.
:'''2005:''' FVU Strategy for 2005 – 2010 is adopted.
:'''2006:''' Cooperation Agreement between the Finnish Virtual University and the Bavarian Virtual University is signed.
:'''2007:''' The FVU Service Unit starts operating as an independent institution of the Helsinki University of Technology, and the FVU cooperation among universities continues within the framework of the new consortium statutes.
:'''2008:''' eLene (eLearning network) Cooperation agreement signed between the nine European partners.
:'''2008:''' Agreement on the Founding of the European Network of Networks for Higher Education Online (EuNeOn) signed. The FVU is one of the founding partners.

In the implementation plan of the Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004, there was also a mention about integrating polytechnics, companies and research institutes into the virtual university consortium. However, the polytechnics decided to launch their own ‘virtual university’ project at about the same time (2001), so the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic (see also chapter 5) was set in motion.

====Services for students, teachers and developers====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

The various FVU services are meant for both universities’ internal use and their shared used throughout the country. All services are available in Finnish, and some also in Swedish and/or English. The support services for ICT use and cooperation include:

* Local ICT support units in universities
* Training in educational ICT use
* Information pools for shared use
* Guidance for setting up networks and projects
* Communication and events

Online services for Finnish degree students consist of '''(1) online services for flexible study opportunities''', as well as of '''(2) counselling services on studies and learning skills'''. The online services for flexible study opportunities include '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp Joopas.fi – Information Service for Flexible Studies]''', '''[http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_coursedb_eng.asp FVU Course Database]''' including descriptions of courses offered by the Finnish universities, and '''[https://haku.joopas.fi/litu/disp/en/kirjaudu/tab/tab/sea?page=0&menuid=1 Electronic Application System for Flexible Studies]'''. The counselling services on studies and learning skills include '''OVI – Tool for designing personal study plan''' and '''IQ Form tools (IQ Learn and IQ Team)''' supporting individual student, student group and teacher during the studies carried out on the web. These tools can be used as supportive tools also in campus-based learning.

Online services for teachers include '''VerkkoVelho''' – Interactive guide for designing online courses, '''Softaräätäli''' – Educational technology selection tool, '''ARVO''' – Usability evaluation tool and '''OSKAR''' – Evaluation tool for staff ICT skills level. Developers’ online services, in turn, consist of '''Extranet''' – Materials and guidelines of nation-wide cooperative networks, '''Academic Forum''' – Interactive community forum, '''Strategy Service''' – Resources for developing universities’ strategies for educational use of ICT and '''Kokousympäristö''' – Meeting agendas and materials of FVU development operations.

Additionally, the Finnish Virtual University was one of the partners in the EU funded [http://www.elene-tlc.net/ eLene-TLC – e-Learning network for Teaching and Learning Centre] project developing an online Teaching and Learning Centre, which is a Europe-wide collaborative space for teachers, teacher trainers, instructional designers and learners in educational ICT use to meet skills, needs and expectations of the Internet-generation students.

In 2007, the Executive Board of FVU also approved the Finnish metadata model (FinnEduMeta), a specification for digital educational materials, and recommended that Finnish universities adopt the specification. FinnEduMeta is a metadata model for learning materials designed for use by all educational levels. When developing the specification, the target was to create a single metadata model that is sufficient to describe all digital educational materials in a way that enables the provision of high-quality and encompassing data search services.

The FinnEduMata specification complements the previous specifications produced by the Finnish Virtual University, i.e., [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M1_english_ver1-22.pdf Degree, Study Module and Course Unit Data (M1)], [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M2_english_ver1-0.pdf Course Unit Realisation Data (M2)] and [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/data/files/extranet/tek_arkisto/M3_Credits_Data_ver1_0_20061508.pdf Credits Data (M3)].

Finally, at the beginning of 2009, the FVU services expanded with another service. The [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp referee service] for online learning material (at this stage only available in Finnish) was developed in 2007 - 2008 as a joint project between Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Oulu, University of Joensuu and the FVU Service Unit. The service aims to increase shared use of quality online learning material produced in universities, and to acknowledge the work of the developers and evaluators of the material.

The referee service defines online learning material as an educational entity with its own contentual requirements and goals set for learning, and which is available via the Internet. The service focuses on reviewing online learning material that the producer wants to offer for shared use and for which the producer wants a referee evaluation quality mark.

====Quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University], [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp Quality to the Web] and [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ VOPLA])

The Finnish Virtual University and the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences established the quality criteria for materials published on virtual university portals in 2005. The criteria cover both the quality assessment and the development of materials. The criteria are used in such content providing projects, which are carried out by collaboration of HEIs and which produce outcomes to be published on the aforementioned portals. Additionally, the quality criteria can be used by other online material producers, administrators, developers and external evaluators.

Before publishing any material on the FVU portal, it must be evaluated using these criteria. The purpose of the evaluation is to make sure that the material is informative, functional and easily available. High-quality material must also meet the legislative demands.

The quality criteria base on the quality criteria of public network services developed in the [http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/qualitytotheweb/index.jsp ‘Quality to the Web’] project carried out by the [http://www.vm.fi/vm/en/01_main/index.jsp Ministry of Finance]. Additionally, the criteria have been adapted and supplemented so that they are suitable for the evaluation of materials particularly published on the portals.

Another FVU project (2004 – 2007), funded by the Ministry of Education, was the [http://www.vopla.fi/in_english/ Quality Management in e-Learning (VOPLA)]. The VOPLA project was a joint venture between three Finnish universities; [http://www.helsinki.fi/university/index.html University of Helsinki], [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio] and [http://www.lut.fi/en/lut/pages/default.aspx Lappeenranta University of Technology]. Its work was steered, monitored and evaluated by a steering group, consisting of members from the Ministry of Education, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and the universities.

The VOPLA project aimed at developing materials and tools for e-learning quality improvement. Its goals were:

* to develop quality service,
* to support and enhance e-learning quality improvement in universities,
* to develop the expertise and commitment of staff in developing e-learning.

The Quality Manual (QM) for e-learning (available [http://www.vopla.fi/laatukasikirja/ in Finnish]) was one of the main outcomes of the project. The Quality Manual is a tool for developing quality in e-learning. It aims to give a wider perspective on quality management in e-learning by identifying contents and methods for quality management work. The main goal of the contents of the Quality Manual is to provide tools to enhance teaching and learning.

There are four quality handbooks in the Quality Manual: Handbook of Online Courses, Handbook of Online Resources, Handbook of Online Support and Handbook of Learning Organization. They all contain five aspects and three phases of e-learning quality management. The five aspects are: management, skills, resources, processes and evaluation. And the three phases are: describing the present state of e-learning, building up quality, and maintaining and developing.

====The future of FVU====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University])

In November 2008, the Executive Board of Finnish Virtual University decided to set up a working group to plan for the future of FVU and its reorganization. The objective of the working group is to make a plan, how the Finnish Virtual University should operate in the future and how its current services should be organized from year 2010 onwards. The proposition will be discussed by the Advisory Committee of Finnish Virtual University in March 2009.

[http://www.rectors-council.helsinki.fi/english/index.html The Finnish Council of University Rectors] (a co-operational organization for Finnish universities, founded in 1969) has also discussed the future of FVU as well as its funding in years 2010 – 2012. The Council sees that the current situation is not sustainable. However, functional services, such as [http://www.joopas.fi/joopas_frontpage_eng.asp JOOPAS], should be offered also in the future. Only the organization and the funding need to be changed.

===[[Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences]] ([[VirtuaaliAMK]])===

====National cooperative network====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)''', formerly known as the Finnish Virtual Polytechnic, is one the existing networking projects among Finnish polytechnics. It is a national cooperative network formed by all Finnish polytechnics. Its objectives are to develop, produce and offer internationally recognized, high-standard and competitive educational services and study entities aiming at flexible studies. The education and services make good use of different teaching and learning methods and modern information and communications technology.

The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are based on polytechnics’ network and cooperative development. The development unit coordinates the activities and develops various services together with the polytechnics. The activities of the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences are divided into separate projects: projects of the development unit and projects of the polytechnics. The development among the network has been both transparent and under regular evaluation throughout the project. Additionally, the cooperation has generated several models of good practice, which has also made the future development easier.

The support of financiers or network of financiers has also played an important role in the activities of VirtuaaliAMK. The Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, as well as by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). Polytechnics' self-financing share is also significant.

====History====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The structural development of Finnish higher education system and, furthermore, taking advantage of its synergies have been a hot potato in the Finnish education policy recently. Especially in the development of Finnish polytechnics, a great emphasis has been put on the national cooperation and networking of polytechnics. In recent years, several networking projects have been launched in order to promote the polytechnics’ common goals, such as progress of studies, internationalization, launch of career services, and implementation of virtual studies.

The development of Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences is one of those projects and it was started in 2001, when the [http://www.tamk.fi/portal/dt?desktop.suid=uid=en,ou=People,o=tpu.fi,o=cctpu&WWW.setSelected=WWW/Etusivu# TAMK University of Applied Sciences] was named as the project coordinator. As the coordinator, TAMK was responsible for the project implementation, organizing and coordinating the collaboration and supporting other polytechnics in the project. In years 2004 – 2006, the project got funding from the Ministry of Education, and the foci were on producing virtual study entities and developing the VirtuaaliAMK portal and its services.

====The amk.fi -portal====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The '''amk.fi''' –portal is probably the most visible part of the VirtuaaliAMK network. It operates as the information and cooperation forum, electronic service provider and marketing channel of the network. It offers services in all three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) for close to 10,000 registered and tens of thousands of unregistered users. Additionally, there is an integrated eProduction Environment on the portal, which is developed for centralized education production. The environment is shared by all polytechnics, and it enables the collective production of study materials, study modules and entire study entities.

====Pedagogical and technical quality assurance====

(mainly sourced from: ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

The pedagogical and technical quality assurance of VirtuaaliAMK’s educational products and services are carried out with the help of various evaluation tools and supporting networks. In year 2005, quality criteria and evaluation tools for the quality assessment of VirtuaaliAMK’s materials on the portal were established together with the Finnish Virtual University. The criteria cover the quality assessment and development of teaching materials published on the portal.

====Students and teachers at VirtuaaliAMK====

(mainly sourced from: [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/?lang=en Ministry of Education] and ''Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1. (FI)'')

From the student perspective, studying at VirtuaaliAMK means flexibility, freedom of choice and alternative forms of study. Students develop not only their substance know-how, but also skills that are essential in today’s network society. Studies at VirtuaaliAMK are free for the degree students, but also others interested in the VirtuaaliAMK studies can take studies online.

Both the number of applicants and study modules offered through VirtuaaliAMK (2003 – 2005) have steadily increased. In 2005, altogether 548 study modules were offered through the portal, whereas the equivalent figure for 2003 was 232. The number of applicants, in turn, was some 800 students (2005), whereas the equivalent number from previous year (2004) was some 600 students. In 2005, 650 students were accepted at VirtuaaliAMK. In 2004, the number was 450 students.

The goal of VirtuaaliAMK is that by the end of year 2012, all polytechnic students have the opportunity to take at least a quarter of their studies virtually. This requires that more virtual study modules are offered through the VirtuaaliAMK portal. Another important objective is the flexibility in studying across institutional boarders. This requires that the overall electronic services are further developed, and that both students’ and teachers’ information and media literacy are at the required level.

From the institutional perspective, VirtuaaliAMK increases the economic competitiveness, among other things. When a polytechnic is involved in the education production, its staff gains valuable experience in developing and producing online study material, adopts teamwork skills and gets to utilize those skills for the benefit of their own polytechnic later. Additionally, a polytechnic that is involved in the production loop, can use the study materials produced by other polytechnics, and adapt and supplement them for their own purposes.

However, concrete results may not always be achieved in the short run, but in the long run. Polytechnics that are involved in the VirtuaaliAMK network have such know-how, which can surely be turned into economic advantage later. Additionally, when a polytechnic sets its study modules available on the portal, it gets free advertising. Various VirtuaaliAMK projects have also added the collaboration between teachers and business life, which in turn, has given the students the opportunity to get in touch with the business life through various projects and assignments already in student days.

==References==

* The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (2006)
:Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions – Audit Manual for 2005-2007. Publications of The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council 4:2006.

* Heinonen, O-P. (1997)
:Finland: Restructuring Higher Education. Prospects, vol. XXVII, no.4, December 1997.

* Ministry of Education (2000)
:Information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 – 2004. Implementation Plan.

* Ministry of Education (2007a)
:Ammattikorkeakoulujen verkostohankkeet. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2007:1.

* Ministry of Education (2007b)
:Universities 2006 – Annual Report. Ministry of Education publications 2007:19.

* Ministry of Education (2007c)
:Suomen virtuaaliyliopistoverkostojen arviointi. Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:28.

* Ministry of Education (2008a)
:Koulutus ja tutkimus 2007-2012 – kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9.

* Ministry of Education (2008b)
:Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittämisen suuntaviivat vuosille 2008 – 2011.

* [http://www.boldic.net/document/Finland/BOLDIC_Finland_report.pdf BOLDIC – Finland Report. Open and Distance Learning in Finland], PDF - 15 pages

* [[Media:Karran_TandPohjonen_J2000a.pdf| Responding to the Vision of the Information Society: First Steps Towards a National Virtual University. A Policy Discussion Paper (PDF)]] by [[Terence Karran]] and Juha Pohjonen, Finland, 2005 (PDF, 124 pages, English) ISBN 951-42-5587-9

* [[The_Finnish_Virtual_University._Lessons_and_Knowledge_Exchange_Opportunities_to_Inform_Pan-Canadian_Plans| The Finnish Virtual University: Lessons and Knowledge Exchange Opportunities to Inform Pan-Canadian Plans]], by Joanne Curry, Canada, 2001, PDF, 42 pages, English, ISBN 951-22-6610-5

* [http://www.fnm-austria.at/stategie/Dateiablage/view/nml-nib/07-nml-nib-international-laenderbericht-finnland.pdf NML-NIB im internationalen Kontext Länderbericht: Finnland (PDF - EN)] by [http://www.fnm-austria.at/ FNM-Austria]

'''Relevant websites'''

* [http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm European Commission]
* [http://kka.fi/english/ The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)]
* [http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en Finnish Ministry of Education (MINEDU)]
* [http://www.amk.fi/en/index.html Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences (VirtuaaliAMK)]
* [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University]
* [http://www.refereepalvelu.fi/referee_etusivu_fin.asp Refereepalvelu.fi] (at this stage only available in Finnish)
* [http://www.stat.fi/index_en.html Statistics Finland]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/ Virtual Finland]

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> [[Countries]]

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[[Category:Finland| ]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:OECD]]

[[Category:Country reports]]
[[Category:Countries with Programmes]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:48:02Z

Urintala: /* Institution's "business model". */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. The new university, effective from January 1st, 2010, will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in [[Finland]].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

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[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:43:54Z

Urintala: /* General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context. */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. The new university, effective from January 1st, 2010, will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in [[Finland]].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

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[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:39:56Z

Urintala: /* External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in [[Finland]].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:38:37Z

Urintala: /* External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to [[Finland other institutions in the country]].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:38:01Z

Urintala: /* External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to [[Finland] other institutions in the country].

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:36:48Z

Urintala: /* The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

Polytechnic education is co-financed by the government and local authorities. The local authorities pay 54.7 % of the cost of basic education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training and polytechnic education. In addition to its 45.3 % share of statutory funding, the government grants discretionary subsidies to education and its development. As the funds are not earmarked, the education providers can use them at their discretion. In addition to this public funding, polytechnics provide fee-paying services and carry out projects, which also bring them income.

Funds granted by the Ministry of Education to universities comprise core funding, project funding and performance-based funding. The appropriations and the objectives, direction, evaluation and development of university operations are determined in performance agreements concluded by the universities and the Ministry of Education. Universities also receive a great deal of external financing, e.g. for research projects, and have income from services they provide, such as continuing professional education.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:28:24Z

Urintala: /* External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar to other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
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[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:27:51Z

Urintala: /* Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs will increase. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu offers following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar than other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
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[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:26:11Z

Urintala: /* Legal status of the institution */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stages of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs are increasing. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu is offering following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar than other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:24:28Z

Urintala: /* The past - Description of the institution's history */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging two existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio. The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been as follows:

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begins operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs are increasing. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu is offering following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar than other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
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>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:20:55Z

Urintala: /* General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context. */

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from January 1st, 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studies.

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being.

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging to existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio
The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been the following.

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begin operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on 1 January 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs are increasing. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu is offering following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar than other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-25T06:16:31Z

Urintala:

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case study are based on the experiences at University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from 1 January 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studied

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas formed based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging to existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio
The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been the following.

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begin operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on 1 January 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs are increasing. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu is offering following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar than other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
> [[Programmes]]
 
>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case studies|Eastern]]
[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

University of Eastern Finland - case study

2009-08-21T11:28:19Z

Urintala: Changed protection level for "University of Eastern Finland - case study" [edit=revica:move=revica] [cascading]

The [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland (UEF)] (in Finnish ''Itä-Suomen yliopisto'') to be launched in 2010 will be an international and multi-disciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. The new university will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu (formally University of Joensuu) and Kuopio (formally University of Kuopio), and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna. UEF combines the strong areas of research and develops its competence in high quality education. The aim of the development of UEF is to create an operational entity that is efficient from the viewpoint of research, education and societal impact. UEF aims to be one of the leading Finnish multidisciplinary universities and among the best 200 in the world.

In this case study, the focus is partially on the role of educational technology and e-learning in the whole of UEF, but at least in the later part of the document, the main focus will be on the experiences and plans of how to e-learning will be used at the School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Forestry at UEF. The School of Computing will be formed on the basis of two existing computer science departments in Kuopio and Joensuu. The planning of UEF is underway in year 2009, so even quick changes to the plans presented in this case are possible. Additionally, some of the issues covered in this case are based on the e-learning experiences at the University of Joensuu and they might not reflect the situation at the University of Kuopio.















== Institution ==

=== The present ===

====General description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.====

The University of Eastern Finland is one of the Ministry of Education spearhead projects in the structural development of Finnish higher education institutions. Preparations for the new university began in February 2007, as a working group led by Professor Reijo Vihko, the former president of [http://www.aka.fi/en-gb/A/ Academy of Finland], submitted its proposal on intensifying the cooperation between [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu] and [http://www.uku.fi/english/ University of Kuopio]. Should the Parliament of Finland pass the new Universities Act as proposed, the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will merge to constitute the University of Eastern Finland, effective from 1 January 2010. The new university will be an international and multidisciplinary university with a firm status among the leading universities in Finland. It will be formed of the main campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio, and there will also be a campus in Savonlinna (former second campus of University of Joensuu).

The research profiles of the two universities are rather complementary, but in teaching there are some overlapping. In the new university structure, faculties and even departments will emerge so that the main activities are divided between the two main campuses. In the new university, e-learning solutions will be applied, for instance, in the cases when similar type of teaching is given in both campuses. The aim is that the student can finish bachelor and master level studies in the campus where he/she has started the studied

The core of the University of Eastern Finland is built around its areas of expertise in research and education based on both the existing research areas of the original universities and new emerging research areas formed based on the synergies of the new environment. The university’s areas of expertise in research include photonics; medical and computational physics; new materials; social and cultural research on education; borders and Russia; dynamics of change in border regions; lifestyle choices, nutrition and health; trials and development of medicinal products; molecular medicine; neurosciences; climate change, forest ecosystems and bioenergy; environmental stress on natural biological communities and human health; forest mensuration and forest planning; and social environmental research. The emerging areas of expertise in research include biomedical imaging; evaluation of medical treatment efficiency; international law; multidisciplinary research into languages and cultures; tourism and leisure time; educational and development technology; service systems and SME business operations; and pedagogical well-being

The University of Eastern Finland will comprise four faculties: the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.

====Institution's annual budget====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated university budget (government funding) will be '''120.2 M€'''. Additionally the university aims at getting additional funding of 73.7 M€ per year from other sources.

====Number of students in the institution ====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the estimated number of students in total will be '''14,557'''.

====Staff in the institution====

Based on statistics on the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio (2007), the number of staff will be '''2,863''' as full-time equivalents.

==== Institution's "business model".====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university 'remains' as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Percentage of the institution's students based outside the home country?====

In 2008, the University of Joensuu hosted 603 international students, of whom 344 were degree students and 259 were exchange students. The degree students came from 71 countries, mainly from Russia (80) and China (28). Exchange students came from 30 countries, with Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Russia as the leading sending countries.

====Institution's approach to virtual mobility====

The University of Eastern Finland does not have any policy or approach to virtual mobility. However, persons working with external funding have a possibility to work outside the campus. At the University of Joensuu, the staff working with internal funding is required to work mostly on campus.

====How the institution manages its "brand"====

The University of Eastern Finland hired a company to design the logo and visual identity of the university. The visual identity of the University of Eastern Finland reflects the brand of the university: role as a center of dynamic research and multidisciplinary education. The visual identity also reflects the possibilities that UEF offers to the students to fully pursue their ambitions. The visual appearance also represents the nature of Eastern Finland. The colors of the logo will also be used in the faculty emblems. The university comprises four faculties: the blue Faculty of Social Sciences and Business, the red Faculty of Philosophy, the green Faculty of Science and Forestry, and the turquoise Faculty of Health Sciences.

The values of the University of Eastern Finland are freedom of science, ethicality and justice.

=== The past - Description of the institution's history ===

'''University of Joensuu'''

The University of Joensuu was established in 1969. It includes eight faculties and nine non-faculty institutes. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree in eight different fields:

* Education
* Humanities
* Natural sciences
* Social sciences
* Economics
* Forestry
* Theology
* Psychology

The university has campuses in Joensuu and Savonlinna. Moreover, there is a field Research Station in Mekrijärvi, Ilomantsi.
The main areas of expertise of the University of Joensuu are research and teaching relating to education and human development, forests and the environment, optics, new materials and information technology as well as border studies and Russia. The university has over 8,500 students, 1,100 of whom are on the Savonlinna campus. Every year approximately 1,500 new students are admitted. The staff comprises about 1,400 people, of whom 170 work on the Savonlinna campus. Almost 600 international students annually study at the University of Joensuu. The University of Joensuu offers the following English master degree programs: CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in History, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Cultural Diversity, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Human Geography, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology, IMPIT, and the International Master’s Degree Programme in Media Computing and Optical Technology.

'''University of Kuopio'''

The university's Foundation Act was passed in 1966, and teaching started in 1972. Today the University of Kuopio has 6,135 students of which 968 are postgraduate students. Annually 1,000 new students start their studies. The University of Kuopio offers more than 140 learning pathways. The university is the third largest employer in Kuopio after the City of Kuopio and Kuopio University Hospital. The number of staff is 1,762 of which 109 are professors.
The University of Kuopio contains five faculties:

* Business and Information Technology,
* Medicine,
* Natural and Environmental Sciences,
* Pharmacy, and
* Social Sciences.

The A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences can be considered equal to the faculties. Altogether, there are 60 teaching and research institutions within the faculties. This number includes 14 clinics operating within Kuopio University Hospital.

'''University of Eastern Finland'''

The University of Eastern Finland is created by emerging to existing universities: University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio
The process of starting up the University of Eastern Finland has been the following.

'''2007'''

* the University Senates of the universities of Joensuu and Kuopio decided to join the forces of the two universities and to establish the University of Eastern Finland on January 1st, 2010;
* the Rectors signed the agreement on the principles and procedures to be followed in the preparation and establishment of the University of Eastern Finland;
* the University Senates approved the project plan;
* the Management Group began its operations and appoints an operative management for the project;
* working groups for research, education and support services were appointed;
* discipline-specific work was launched in the fields of science and social sciences;
* the preparation of the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland began;
* the preparation of strategies for research, education and personnel began;
* the preparation of a quality management system for the University of Eastern Finland began;
* preparation of the structural funds strategy, signing of the spearhead project agreement on August 28th, 2007;
* planning of the overall information architecture;
* making an operations model for pedagogical and technical support for teaching;
* development of language centers and libraries;
* an online inquiry on the University of Eastern Finland for personnel and students in November, 2007.

'''2008'''

* the organizational structure of the University of Eastern Finland was completed;
* the structure of the joint central administration was completed.
* the strategy of the University of Eastern Finland is completed;
* the strategic funding plan is completed;
* the universities’ joint operating and financial plan is prepared on the basis of the strategy;
* the strategies for research, teaching and internationalization are completed;
* the plan of the overall information architecture is completed.

'''2009'''

* joint student admissions in the field of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences;
* remaining strategical plans are completed;
* the university regulations are finalised;
* the personnel development program is completed;
* the funding model of the University is created;
* first joint study programs are started;
* Electoral College is appointed;
* The transition period agreement defines that the Deans of faculties that operate on two campuses will be appointed so that the responsibility rotates between the campuses. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Forestry to be appointed in autumn 2009 will be placed on the Joensuu Campus, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business on the Kuopio Campus;
* UEF University Senate begin operating.

'''2010'''

* the University of Eastern Finland begins its operations on January 1st, 2010;
* the staff and students of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be transferred to the University of Eastern Finland on 1 January 2010;
* the new faculties, departments and individual units of the UEF start operating;
* new students will enroll to the study programs offered by the new University, some of the study programs will be managed and run by departments located in both of the main campuses;
* the quality management system is audited in autumn 2010.

== External environment ==

====Institution's funding from government as a percentage of annual income====

The expected funding from the government is roughly 62 % of annual income.

====The way that funding is provided for institutions in the institution's country====

It is the same as for other institutions in the country.

====Legal status of the institution====

The University of Eastern Finland to be launched in 2010 will have the legal status of an institution under public law. So the university ‘remains’ as a public university, but the reform of the University Law (Universities Act) enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

====Language(s) that the institution uses for instruction====

At the University of Easter Finland, instruction is given both in Finnish and in English. The amount of English teaching varies a lot between faculties, departments and even study subjects. At the University of Joensuu, roughly 7 per cent of the student population are international students. The university aims at hosting about 420 international degree students, i.e. about 350 Master’s level students and about 70 Doctoral candidates, annually. The University of Joensuu also aims at recruiting at least 10 per cent of students from abroad to the national Graduate (Doctoral) Schools offered by the University of Joensuu in a variety of academic fields. The aim in the new university is that the amount of English study programs are increasing. For instance, in the School of Computing, the plan is that in the future all master level teaching will be given in English. A current estimate is that around 10 per cent of the UEF students will be studying in English.

The University of Joensuu is offering following international Master’s degree programmes taught in English: Colour in Informatics and Media Technology, CIMET (Erasmus Mundus), Clinical Linguistics, EMCL (Erasmus Mundus), M.Sc. European Forestry (Erasmus Mundus), the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering, the CBU Master’s Degree Programme in Information and Communications Technology, Human Geography, Information Technology (IMPIT), and Cultural Diversity, and in the following non-degree programmes taught in English: Educational Sciences, Environmental Science and Forestry, Karelia, Russia and the Baltic Area, Law, and Social Sciences.

====Specific cultural issues that affect the institution's students ====

In the new university, there will three campuses hundreds of kilometers apart from each other with fairly low number of students and teachers at each site. Additionally, the number of Russian students and co-operation with Russian Universities can be seen as a unique cultural aspect of the University of Joensuu.

====External quality assurance and/or accreditation regime affecting the institution ====

The external quality assurance and accreditation regime is similar than other institutions in the country.

====Approaches to credit transfer with other similar institutions====
The University of Eastern Finland uses the European Credits Transfer System. The University also follows the principles of the Bologna process concerning the length and scope of bachelor, master and PhD level education. Bachelor degree programs are 180 ECTS credits and the aim is to study the degree in three year. Master degree programs are 120 ECTS and the aim is to study the degree in two years.

The University continued to participate actively in the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. The University coordinated the Erasmus Mundus MSc European Forestry programme and participated in two other Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree programmes coordinated by the University of Potsdam and the University of St. Etienne. In September, the University organised an Erasmus Mundus Action 4 seminar on Higher Education in the Baltic and Nordic Countries for leaders of advising centres established, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, in the Western Balkanese and Central Asian countries. In addition, the University of Joensuu coordinated the Consortium of African and European Universities for ICT4D project within the EU’s Edulink programme. During 2008, the University participated in 30 projects sponsored by the EU educational cooperation programmes, 3 projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes for Research, 18 structural fund projects and 6 other EU projects. The University also participated actively in the Nordic Nordforsk and Nordplus programmes.

====Memberships associations====

The University of Joensuu coordinates the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University, CBU, and holds the Presidency of the SILVA Network, a Consortium of 46 European universities offering Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs in Forestry. The University of Joensuu is a member of the European University Foundation/Campus Europae network coordinated from Luxemburg. The university is also a member of he Nordic Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and of the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, in New Delhi. In 2003, the University of Joensuu was designated a Partner University of the [http://www.unep.org/ United Nations Environment Program, UNEP]. The University of Joensuu is also actively involved in the development of the Finnish Virtual University.

The University of Kuopio has participated in the following development and education programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, FIRST, NordForsk, Nordplus, ISEP, Asla-Fulbright, the University of North Carolina Exchange Programme, Cross Border University Programme, North-South Programme, Experience International, IPSF, IFMSA and IAESTE.

The existing memberships will be active also in the new university.

====The main international partners of the institution ====

The University of Joensuu has well-established links with numerous universities in Europe, North America and Africa. The university's special objective is to expand and deepen its partnerships and cooperation with institutions of higher education in Asia, especially in China, Japan, in other East and Southeast Asian countries, and in India. Cooperation with universities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Namibia and South Africa, and in Morocco, will continue to evolve. Efforts will also be made to establish cooperation with universities in Australia and New Zealand, and in Latin American countries. The university has been active in North-South and East-East exchange programs, especially in the fields of Environmental Science and Computer Science. In year 2008, new bilateral agreements of cooperation were concluded with Hokkai-Gakuen University and Utsunomiya University in Japan, Purbanchal University in Nepal, and with the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Agreements of cooperation were also signed with the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University in South Africa and with the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. At the end of the year 2008, the University of Joensuu had bilateral agreements of cooperation with 57 universities and research centres based in 25 different countries.

The School of Computing co-operates with the following institutions in the area of e-learning: Meraka Institute, South Africa; Tumaini University, Tanzania; University of Warwick, UK; Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Kampala University, Uganda; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Athabasca University, Canada; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; University of the North West, South Africa and United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR).

The University of Kuopio has bilateral exchange agreements with universities from Argentina, Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.

The University of Eastern Finland is establishing a joint Environmental Research Centre at Nanjing University, Chine. The center will be the first satellite campus of UEF. There are also plans to establish satellite campuses to South Africa in the field of Information and Communication Technologies in Development.

== Strategy ==

(Do not include annual plans.)

====Current institutional strategy.====

'''Vision'''

The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognized research and teaching university, which is among the top three most significant universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.
The University of Eastern Finland is defining its profile as a multidisciplinary and strongly networked research and teaching university that is internationally recognised in its areas of strength and expertise. Furthermore, new fields of research are expected to emerge at the interfaces of disciplines at the new university. The University of Eastern Finland seeks to reach the top three most significant universities in Finland and be among the leading 200 universities in the world. As its values, the university embraces freedom of science, ethicality and justness. Furthermore, the university is actively committed to the principles of sustainable development. The operations of the University of Eastern Finland are characterised by high standards, multidisciplinarity and internationality.

'''Mission statement of the University of Joensuu'''

The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision meets high international standards. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and it promotes the regional development of eastern Finland in particular. The university’s Centers of Excellence and competitive degree programs create an internationally visible profile in education and research, thus enhancing the appeal of the University of Eastern Finland. The competitive edge achieved through joining forces promotes the national and regional innovation system.

'''Goals'''

The University of Eastern Finland aims to:

* establish an internationally competitive and multi-disciplinary university complex in eastern Finland to meet the global challenges of the future while facing a changing operating environment
* be one of the leading multi-disciplinary university complexes in Finland and among the top 200 in the world;
* be an integral part of the Finnish innovation system;
* utilize the strengths of both universities in education and research;
* implement its Centre of Excellence policy successfully and build an internationally competitive research infrastructure;
* intensify cooperation in education and clarify the division of tasks;
* be a significant expert on Russia with a recognized national and European status; and
* be an expert on lifelong learning.

The vision, mission and goals of the University of Eastern Finland are originally proposed in Professor Reijo Vihko’s working group [http://www.uef.fi/suunnitteluryhmanraportti150207.pdf report] (available only in Finnish). The [http://www.joensuu.fi/yleisesti/strategia03-09.html University of Joensuu Strategy 2003 - 2009] (available only in Finnish) and the [http://www.uku.fi/hallinto/suunn/julkaisut/strategy_2007-2015_e.pdf University of Kuopio Strategy 2007 - 2015] define the vision, mission and goals of the still existing universities. An overview of the UEF strategy is provided in the [http://www.uef.fi/english/newsletter1_09.html Newsletter of UEF].

====Learning and teaching strategy====

The central educational principles in the University of Easter Finland are provision of high-level teaching that is based on research, concern for the well-being of students and support for their graduation. One of the main aims is to develop the teaching processes towards student-oriented learning. Students will be admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland on the Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna Campus. Students will have the possibility to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees on one campus. Furthermore, students will have the possibility to transfer from one campus to another within the same field of study after completing the Bachelor’s degree studies. In compliance with the strategy, the internationalisation of the university is enhanced by increasing international cooperation in research and education and by promoting the recruitment of international students, faculty and scholars.

The UEF graduates have good knowledge and skills for working life. They have interests and skills for lifelong learning and self-development. The graduates of UEF are also committed to critical, international and ethical thinking. UEF is nationally and internationally known for high-level research based teaching, innovative teaching methods, motivated and pedagogically skillful researcher-teachers and a clear research profile. Tutoring practices are integrated to the studying and learning processes of students already from the early stages of the studies. UEF is an attractive study place for both national and international students, and students’ well-being and progress of studies are supported. UEF offers broad and flexible joint study possibilities in both main campuses.

The main focus areas of the learning and teaching strategy are as follows:

# teaching is based on scientific research and high pedagogical know-how of the teachers.
# UEF has quality services to support teaching and tutoring processes.
# UEF have extensive national and international co-operation networks.
# The specific focus areas in teaching and learning are training of employable graduates, application of lifelong learning principles, and to support students’ abilities and interests for research, post-graduate studies and researcher careers
# Students’ well-being and progress of studies are looked after in a comprehensive way.
# Sustainable development and societal responsibilities are part of all teaching.

The student is seen as an active partner in the teaching processes. The teaching is based on interactive teaching methods and possibilities for individual learning paths. Study programs, curriculums and individual courses will be improved via formative evaluation methods. The maintenance and development of teaching and learning infrastructures (library and learning environments) supports the efficient progress of studies. The teaching and learning strategy of UEF will be publicly announced during year 2009.

====Current e-learning strategy====

In Spring 2009, there is no e-learning strategy for the UEF. However, the official e-learning strategy of UEF will be announced during year 2009.

====Form of studying====
Estimates of the amount of students in e-learning programs

a) less than 5% of students in UEF are taking courses wholly or largely delivered by e-learning. There are only few study programs and department offering online/distance learning possibilities.

b) approx. 10% of students are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is “significant”. The amount of “blended” courses during the merging process is increasing, but still most of the courses are given using the contact teaching approaches.

c) approx. 70% of student are taking courses where the amount of institutionally supplied/guided e-learning is insignificant

====Institutional budget for e-learning====

There is no centrally available information on the amount of money spent for e-learning

====External funding in fostering the development of e-learning ====

The role of external funding in the development of e-learning is many cases essential. Only few departments and study programs have showed interest to support e-learning initiatives from their basic funding. External funding is especially crucial when novel ICT solutions are designed and developed to support the e-learning practices. In general, only few departments have shown interests towards significant development of e-learning practices.

== Structure ==

====Institutional structure====

The University of Eastern Finland will have the legal status of an institution under public law. At this point, the state has committed to the capitalization of Aalto University, which is a foundation university, but the model is possible for the other universities as well. The reform enables the universities to increase their funding and property for example through donations, capital income and business operations. The state will continue to be responsible for the core funding of the universities and for the funding and capitalization during the early stage of the university reform. The amendment to the Universities Act is currently in circulation for comment at the universities. The law reform will be discussed in Parliament in spring 2009 and the new Universities Act is intended to enter into force in autumn 2009.

The four faculties of the University of Eastern Finland will be the Philosophical Faculty, the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business.The decision on the faculty structure rests on the idea of establishing profit centres that are equal in strength and larger and more powerful than the existing ones. Larger unit sizes are also sought in the faculties’ internal structures. The internal units will be departments, schools or institutes, and the faculties may decide to further divide these into smaller units consisting of disciplines, groups of disciplines, etc. It is intended that the role of faculties will be strengthened significantly and resources and decision-making from the current central administration and departments moved to the faculty level. The central administration of the University of Eastern Finland will be composed of an administration and finance unit, and of a development unit, which will be located in Joensuu and Kuopio in a balanced manner.

The Philosophical Faculty will be based in Joensuu and it will comprise the School of Humanities, the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the School of Theology. The University Teacher Training Schools will be located in Joensuu and Savonlinna. The School of Humanities will comprise Finnish Language and Cultural Research, and Foreign Languages and Translation Studies. The School of Theology will comprise Western Theology and Orthodox Theology. The School of Educational Sciences and Psychology will be formed of Special Education, Education, Adult Education and Counselling, and Psychology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will be based in Kuopio and it will comprise the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, the Department of Nursing Science, the School of Medicine, and the National Laboratory Animal Centre as an independent institute. The two current departments of the A.I. Virtanen Institute – the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Neurobiology– will remain within the institute. The School of Medicine will continue to comprise the Department of Biomedicine, the Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine. The School of Pharmacy will decide on its internal structure later. The Department of Nursing Science currently placed in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Kuopio will move to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry will be based on two campuses and it will comprise seven departments or schools. The Department of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Computing will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses. The Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forest Sciences will be based on the Joensuu campus. The Department of Biosciences and the Department of Environmental Science, on the other hand, will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Mekrijärvi Research Station will operate as an independent institute of the faculty. The Healthcare Information Systems Research and Development Unit (HIS) will move from the Information Technology Centre at the University of Kuopio to the School of Computing. The organisation within the faculty of the BioMater Centre, the InFotonics Center, and SMARC will be decided later.

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies will be based on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses, and it will have five departments and two research centres. The departments to operate on two campuses are the Department of Business and the Department of Social Sciences. The Department of Law and the Department of History and Geography will be based on the Joensuu campus, whereas the Department of Social and Health Management will be based on the Kuopio campus. The Karelian Institute and the Centre for Tourism Studies will continue their operations on the Joensuu campus.

The Kuopio-based BioCenter Kuopio and the Kuopio Welfare Research Center KWRC will continue operating in their current form. The BioCenter will be part of the operations coordinated by the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the KWRC part of the operations of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.

The new university will have six independent institutes or service centres. The service centers carrying out the same tasks will, as a rule, be merged into one unit at the service of all the faculties. The independent institutes include the adult education unit and the university pharmacy. The adult education unit is formed of the current adult education units at Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna, and it will be called Aducate, the Centre for Training and Development of the University of Eastern Finland.

The four service centres of the new university will be formed of the current service centre at the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio. The Language Centre, the University Library, the IT Centre and the Learning Centre have been planned a joint organisation and operations model.

The formation of the central administration continues as decided earlier, and the central administration operations will be divided into the administration and finance unit, and the development unit. More detailed decisions on the organisation of the central administration will be taken in early 2009.

[http://www.uef.fi/english/uef_organisaatiokaavio_eng.pdf Organisation structure] of the UEF can be found at UEF webpages.

====E-learning support model====

''(a) hub (b) distributed (c) hub and spokes (d) complicated (e) non-existent''

The learning support model in UEF could be best described as a hub. There is a central ''Learning Center'', which supports staff in a range of e-learning activities, such as management of learning platforms, assessment, and video.
The Learning Center support the development of teaching and studying at UEF. The unit aims at increasing the teaching and guidance competencies of teachers and improve the studying competencies of students. The unit will support the planning and implementation of e-learning and develop new ICT-based learning environments. The center collaborates with the University Faculties and other units. The Learning center will also work in regional, national and international networks

In addition, the Educational Technology research group at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics and IT education research group at the Faculty of Education, are academically responsible for most of the e-learning projects in the University.

====Structure for the e-learning operation====

The Learning Center of UEF together with the IT-center of the university are responsible for installing, managing e-learning environments and services. The Learning Center will also provide training for e-learning both for students and staff. The Learning Centre supports the pedagogical and technical development of higher education in the UEF. The main services provided by the learning center are

1) Coordination of projects related to development of teaching and learning using ICT. The recent projects of the Learning Center include

* SFSF (KoPaSe); student feedback and study follow ups collection system;
* Tapas; support teachers’ ICT skills as the foundation of quality teaching, improving e-competences of teachers and students, developing learning centre’s services to meet the needs and requirements of departments
* W5W.2 Walmiiksi Wiidessä Wuodessa (Five years, two degrees). Support project for the new degree structure implementation – improve student support services in universities

2) implementation and running of staff support services

The Learning Centre provides the following services to the UEF staff
* courses on university pedagogy and use of ICT in teaching
* pedagogical support for teachers; development of teaching and instruction methods, providing instructional planning process, planning and evaluation of teaching, implementation and development of e-learning, distance teaching tools and methods, integrating educational technology into teaching (e.g. videconferening)
* technical support
* IT services; e-pedagogy, graphical design and user interfaces, image processing, software, tools and platforms, video and audio editing
* live video streaming broadcasts

3) photography, image editing and graphic design services to support production of research, teaching, and information materials.

4) support for e-learning environments and tools
* Adobe Connect Pro
* Moodle
* Wiki
* Tools developed in house;
** Lotta online survey form tool
** Onni learning journal tool for students to manage and reflect on their studies. The learning journal can also be used as a learning and teaching method on a course
** Pasi, the online feedback system, is meant for gathering and utilising the study module (course) feedback. Pasi is utilised in enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and curriculum design.
** Ilmo tool can be used to manage course descriptions, enrolments, and follow-up, as well as to gather statistical data of attendance.
** Aada&Aaron is a course planning tool which the teacher can use to define the competences pursued on an online course and to plan the student’s time management.

====Describe the committees that oversee e-learning (including the rank and role of the Chair in each relevant committee) and their relationship to the organisational structure.====

Preliminary plans for the e-learning center (named Learning Center) of UEF have been processed by the working group for learning and e-learning support.

''More information about the organization, role and work responsibilities of the Learning Center will be available later.''

== Learning and Teaching processes: ''Focus on School of Computing'' ==

In this part of the case study, the focus is more to the plans and activities of the School of Computing at UEF rather than the whole university.

=== Learning and teaching design and delivery ===

====Choice of pedagogies and technologies for a typical e-learning programme====

In the School of Computing, there are two e-learning programs. In the [http://cs.joensuu.fi/viscos/cms/index.php?&hl=en ViSCoS] study program, it is possible to study basic and intermediate studies of Computer Science. ViSCoS studies were originally offered to high school students in the region of North-Karelia, but now it is possible for anyone in Finland to study the ViSCoS studies via the Open University, University of Joensuu. The studies are also offered outside Finland mainly via partner institutions in Africa.

In the [http://www.impdet.org IMPDET] online doctoral study program, students study towards a doctoral degree in computer science or education with a specific focus on the areas of ICT4D and Educational technology. Additionally, single master level courses offered by the department can be studied online. For instance, most of the courses in the educational technology master degree studies at the School of Computing can be studied online.

The main learning platform currently used in the e-learning programs of the School of Computing is Moodle. In individual courses, other platforms, such as wikis and blogs are also used. At the University of Joensuu, the Educational Research Group has also been developing various tools/solutions to support e-learning, such as Jeliot environment for visualizing programming code (Moreno, 2007; Myller 2007), Woven Stories for collaborative writing of stories (Myller & Nuutinen, 2006) and applications for essay grading and assessment (Kakkonen et al., 2005; Kakkonen et al., 2006). Educational robotics has also been applied, for instance, in learning basics of programming (Jormanainen & Harfield, 2008).

In future, a blended approach will be used in the School of Computing. E-learning will have more role also in the teaching processes of campus students. The aim is that at least bachelor level studies are available for students inside and outside the campus. It should be possible to study the bachelor level computer science studies regardless of students’ physical location. The blended approach offers also campus based students flexible ways to study. In the School of Computing, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

The following two scenarios are still under discussion for the organisation of teaching in the School of Computing.

'''Scenario 1''': The Kuopio campus will be responsible for undergraduate studies. ViSCoS study program will continue in Joensuu and undergraduate courses are webcasted, so that students can also study undergraduate studies in Joensuu. Contact teaching will not be organized in Joensuu, except demo sessions or group work activities. Both campuses offer master degree programs, but the Joensuu campus will only give master level courses in English. The international study programs in the School are given from Joensuu.

'''Scenario 2''': In the second scenario, undergraduate computer science studies will be given from both campuses. In this scenario, the same course will not be given simultaneously in both campuses using a contact teaching approach. Teacher will be based mainly on one campus, but the course assistants and students work in both campuses. Teachers can choose freely the pedagogical approach they want to apply in their courses. The objective is to rationalize the teaching duties of staff, so that they have more time for research.

====Opportunities for staff to refine or in some cases override design decisions made earlier.====

In the Finnish universities teachers have a right to independently select what they will teach and how. Naturally, the curricula decisions made in the departments and faculties restrict the teachers opportunities. The teachers are able to freely choose how to deliver their courses and which kinds of pedagogical approaches they want to use.

=== Learning and teaching development ===

This includes materials and IPR.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

E-learning content developed at the School of Computing has been mainly developed by the staff. In some study programs, like in IMPDET, additional funding has been available to hire external experts to create the content. Outside e-learning producers are used only when there is external funding to finance the implementation of the material. In other cases, the teaching staff themselves are responsible for creating the materials.

====Amount of e-learning content sourced from outside the institution that is OER====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1).

====Ownership by staff of content developed====

The basic principle at University of Joensuu is that there can be several different types of contracts between the content developers and institution depending on the role of content developer, type of content and individual preferences. Both University of Joensuu and University of Kuopio have its own policies for licensing and IPR.

The thumb of rule is that the content creator (e.g. staff) owns the content and then it is decided on individual cases how institution can use the created content and whether there is licensing back to staff. The rule is that when teachers create e-learning material, they should always sign a contract with the university concerning copyright and IPR matters. Staff can also use the content on their own purposes as long as the activities do not compete with the activities of the University.

====Amount of content sourced from other departments within the institution====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

Very little (score of 1). Only few examples exist where the e-learning content has been sourced from other departments within the institution.

====Role of student-generated content in the institution's programmes====

Little (score of 2). The role of student-generated content varies a lot depending on the study programs and teachers. There is no centrally collected information available on the exact amount of student-generated content in University of Joensuu or Kuopio. However, there are examples of courses where the student-generated content has been used. If departments and study programs want to use student-generated content, students need to sign a contract with the university concerning IPR.

=== Learning and teaching evaluation and quality ===

====Quality procedures (a) in general terms and (b) with respect to e-learning.====

In the School of Computing (Joensuu) the following quality procedures, both in the cases of (a) and (b), are applied:

# Students are able to give feedback on all courses via the general questionnaire. Some teachers also collect feedback on their own channels in order to improve the course delivery.
# Individual teachers formatively evaluate their courses, but there is not a centralized system to support the improvement of the courses based on the feedback.
# In years 2007-2008, specific attention was given in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu to to improve first year courses. The following methods were used to find out the problematic areas and find new solutions: interviews with students and staff concerning the successful solutions and areas for improvement, extensive collection of data from students to identify the most problematic areas in the first year courses and outside evaluation of the teaching methods and course contents.

====Approaches to evaluation of programmes (a) in general terms and (b) where such programmes have significant e-learning components.====

In the first years of the development of ViSCoS studies during years 2000 – 2005, both individual courses and the whole study program were evaluated extensively (e.g. Suhonen, 2005; Torvinen 2004; Suhonen & Sutinen, 2007). The main aim of the evaluation was to find out the reasons for drop-outs. Also in other programs, evaluation has played an important role with the specific focus on formative evaluation. The objective has been to use the data collected from the courses to improve teaching practices and learning materials. In the development of e-learning at the School of Computing, formative evaluation schemes have an important role to identify aspects of improvement. The changes are also made quickly depending on the collected feedback and evaluation results.

== Meta Learning and Teaching processes ==

=== Communications ===

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning within itself====

In the University of Joensuu, the main mechanism to share e-learning practices and information is the Wiki space for sharing information among the staff. In University of Kuopio, the Learning center of the university has published several article series to share good practices in e-learning. In the University of Joensuu, educational technology center published similar books to share experiences and good practices in e-learning. The publications are available also online (in Finnish). Occasionally, there has also been seminars and workshops at the University of Joensuu related to the use and development of e-learning.

====The way the institution communicates its good practice in e-learning to organisations outside.====

In the School of Computing, the good practices in e-learning have mainly been communicated by writing papers about the experiences. Several papers have been published in various forums, especially in conferences with specific focus on Computer Science Education and Educational Technology. The [http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech Educational Research Group] at the University of Joensuu conducts research on e-learning, which means that in the School of Computing the development and research in e-learning are intertwined. Similar efforts have also been done in other departments to communicate the e-learning experiences.

====The way the institution communicates good practice in e-learning from outside organisations into its own organisation====

The main form of communicating from outside of the organisation is via staff participation to national and international conferences. The University of Joensuu Library has subscriptions to several journal publications in the area of educational technology and e-learning, so staff are able to access recent knowledge in the field.

====Recent occasions on which institutional leaders or managers have made presentations with significant reference to e-learning====

Prof. Sutinen gave a keynote speak at the Edmedia 2005 conference with the title “e-Shake it”. Prof. Sutinen has also been frequently invited to give invite presentations in workshops and research seminars in China and Africa.

=== Value for money ===

====Annual planning procedure (a) in general and (b) how it handles e-learning aspects.====

Each Faculty - and each School or Department within the Faculty - plans its own activities, which is overseen by the Faculty board. The main decisions concerning the activities of the Faculty are made by the Faculty board. The Dean of Faculty is responsible for leading the planning procedure. In the School or Department level, the Head of School/Department is responsible for the planning and activities of the unit. E-learning is considered to be embedded as part of this process. However, individual teachers are able to make independent decisions concerning the use of e-learning when it does not require any extra funding.

====The decision-making process for a typical academic programme====

The typical decision making process at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu (presumably similar model will be followed in the School of Computing of the new University) is as follows:

# The Faculty Board accepts the curriculum each year for all teaching carried out at the department.
# Head of Department and Vice-Head of Department co-ordinate the teaching duties and development plans within the whole department
# Professors are responsible for the implementation/planning of academic programs and curriculum planning within their research field.
# Senior Assistants / Assistants are responsible for the practical arrangements and co-ordination of academic programs.
# Lecturers and part-time teachers (e.g. PhD students) are responsible for the arrangement of individual courses.

The Faculty Board is responsible for higher level decision making. Professors in collaboration with Senior Assistants / Assistants independently decide on the practical implementation and management of academic programs within their own subject area. Teachers can independently make decisions on the practical organization of individual courses as long as they follow the higher level decisions.

====The decision-making process for a typical large IT project====

In the School of Computing, the decision process is very simple. Since the School of Computing have its own servers, the selection and installation of IT project are done in the departmental level and the Head of Department makes the decisions. In the University level, the decision process is more complex; Learning center and IT center will be responsible for initiating and implementing large scale IT projects.

====The approach to budget management.====

There is no central approach related to budget management of e-learning programs. If there are external funding, the departments usually eager to support the activities. In the case of internal funding, the budget issues need to be handled in the departmental/faculty level.

====The procedures in the institution for assigning or negotiating teaching workload to/with staff====

The teaching workload of the staff is negotiated inside the departments and institutions of the university yearly. Teaching staff have a total working hour scheme. In the scheme, teachers are supposed to work a certain amount of hours per year (1600 hours). The total working hours is calculated from the teaching duties, research work, project work and other duties. In the School of Computing, no specific account is given for the workload related to e-learning. The teachers themselves evaluate the amount of workload related to teaching duties in the courses based on the amount of contact teaching, tutoring, assessment and preparation work.

== Staff ==

=== Teachers, lecturers, trainers and equivalent support roles ===

====The approach to development of e-learning technical and pedagogic skills among staff====

In the UEF, Learning center is responsible for providing e-learning training to staff. The following staff training programs are available
* University pedagogy (basic and internmediate level), altogether 25 ECTS
* E-learning (basic and intermediate level), altogether 20 ECTS

Individual staff members in the departments are encouraged to educate themselves (for instance by completing higher education pedagogical courses), but the departments provide rarely any any specific training for the development of pedagogical skills. At the moment, the development of technical and pedagogical skills lies in the hands of individual staff members and their own activity. In the School of Computing, irregular teaching improvement seminars have been organised.

====Current and expected levels of staff competence in e-learning====

''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

At the School of Computing, the level of staff competences in e-learning is average (score 3). Some of the staff are very competent in e-learning. On the other hand, some staff are reluctant to use e-learning, partly because of lack of skills.

The expected level: 4. In the new university, the use of e-learning is crucial, if the School of Computing wants to rationalize the teaching and create new learning opportunities. All staff members need to be prepared, at least in some level, to use e-learning in their courses. The School of Computing also aims at lowering the obstacles for using e-learning. For instance, specific equipment will be created to support broadcasting of lectures and teaching session between the two campuses.

====The extent to which staff attitudes to e-learning are favourable====
''Use a scale of 1-5 with a comment (an exact percentage is useful)''

The estimated attitude level of the staff towards e-learning at the School of Computing is three. Some of the staff members are not ready to adopt e-learning in their teaching and they have very negative attitude towards using the possibilities of e-learning. On the other hand, some of the staff have very positive attitude towards using e-learning in their courses.

====The way that the institution rewards and recognises staff with competence in e-learning====

In the School of Computing, there are no specific reward mechanism exists for recognizing competencies in e-learning. In the School of Computing, the development of e-learning is one of the research areas. Some of the members of the Educational Technology research group are able to combine the development of e-learning and research activities.

=== Management and leadership ===

This subsection concerns leaders (Rectors, Vice-Chancellors, etc) and academic and support service managers (Deans, Directors, etc). These do not need to have specific knowledge of e-learning details but must have the necessary strategic, management, costing and foresight capability to preside over decisions on key e-learning issues such as procurement of a new VLE, development of a new distance learning programme, rebalancing the library and its staff more towards web 2.0 and less to books, etc. This will require appropriate manager and leader training.

====Yhe approach to development of e-learning-related skills among (a) managers and (b) leaders====

Learning Center of the UEF will provide most of the e-learning training for managers and leaders.

====The current level of (a) management and (b) leadership competence in e-learning related skills appropriate to their levels====

This information is not available.

====The extent to which (a) management and (b) leadership attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

In the new university, the management and leadership are more eager towards using e-learning than earlier.

====he job description of the most senior manager/leader in the organisation who spends a significant portion of his/her time on e-learning matters====

Director of Learning Center is the responsible for managing and organizing the activities of the Learning Center at UEF.

== Students ==

====The approach to development of e-learning skills among students====

At the School of Computing, there are no specific approaches for development of e-learning skills among students. The upcoming Learning Center in UEF will provide courses to improve students’ e-learning skills.

====The current level and expected level of student competence in e-learning====

The level of student competence in e-learning is often is 1 or 2. The students usually do not have prior experiences on e-learning. Since many of the students are not exposed to e-learning during their studies, the e-learning competence level on graduation is about the same. Those students who are exposed to e-learning usually reach levels 3 and 4. In the new School of Computing, it is expected that the level of student competence on graduation will be higher and more students will be exposed to e-learning during their studies, since the amount of e-learning will increase.

====The extent to which student attitudes to e-learning are favourable====

Most of the students are favorable to e-learning, but there are also cases when students are reluctant to study online. Score: 3.

====The extent to which students understand the demands on them placed by e-learning systems====

In the beginning of an e-learning course, there are usually lots of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the demand of e-learning. When the students become familiar with the processes of e-learning, their understanding of e-learning requirements also increases.

====The current approach to handling student plagiarism====

The plagiarism is handled mainly manually. Individual teachers might have their own strategies on automatically detecting plagiarism. In future, it is expected that automatic plagiarism detection systems will become a regular part of online courses. In some of the courses, there are clear descriptions concerning the plagiarism.

====The current level of student satisfaction with the e-learning aspects of their courses====

Information not available at this stage.

== Technology ==

For each of the following technologies relevant to e-learning describe how much it is used on a scale of 1-5 and add a comment if appropriate.

====VLE and/or content repository====

Scale: 5.

Almost, all e-learning courses in the School of Computing are available via the Moodle platform.

====Email or bulletin boards====

Score: 5.

Emails and bulletin boards are used frequently in online courses and teaching in general.

====Automated assessment====

Score: 2.

At the moment, automated assessment is not used extensively, but in the future (semi-) automatic assessment tools will be applied to assess essays and programming assignments in the School of Computing.

====Web 2.0 tools especially blogs, wikis and social networks oriented to the institution====

Rating: 3. The use of web 2.0 tools is becoming more and more popular.

====E-portfolios====

Rating: 1.

====Laptops - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2. Only few students use their own laptops during courses.

====Audio or video podcasting or streaming - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 2.

There are some example of video podcasting, but not extensively.

====Mobile devices (not laptops) - and comment on student ownership issues====

Rating: 1.

Rarely used in normal teaching, but mainly in relation to research and experiments.

====And finally:====

====Provide a description of any other technologies with significant use in the institution.====

At the School of Computing, robotics and tangible technologies are used in the courses. In the Savonlinna Campus, there is a growing interests towards using Second Life in teaching.

== Futures ==

====The expected changes as they relate to e-learning within the institution's current strategic horizon====

In the UEF, the role of e-learning should be crucial in order to rationalize teaching practices in those departments where academic programs are co-organized in two campuses. Since some of the academic programs will be run simultaneously in two campuses, online learning and broadcasting of lectures and other teaching scenarios should become a standard way of offering courses. At the same time, this enables the university to offer it courses to distance learners outside the campus. None of the Finnish universities has really profiled itself to distance learning, so this would provide certain advantages to the UEF.

The university is developing its infrastructure, teaching processes and e-learning tools and environments to support more extensive use of e-learning. Additionally, there is growing interest in the Savonlinna campus to use Second Life as a platform to arrange teaching.

====Any changes further downstream that the institution is now considering or concerned about====

The formation of completely new university as a result of the emerge process will be the biggest challenge in upcoming year. In spring 2009, many of the practical aspects of the new university are still undecided. The use and development of e-learning will also be refined when the new university is completely established in two to three years time.

====How the institution handles the foresight aspects of its operation with regard to e-learning====

Learning Center at the University of Easter Finland will provide e-learning support to teachers and students. The Learning Center in collaboration with the IT-center will also be responsible for installing and managing LMSs, virtual learning systems, social software platform and other educational technology tools which for the use of the most of the departments. The School of Computing has its own services and servers to support e-learning and e-learning research. In future it is expected that the e-learning research conducted in the School of Computing will affect the activities of the Learning Center. For instance, the essay grading research conducted in the School is promising for the development of essay assessment in the whole university.

====How the institution handles advanced development oriented to e-learni====

At the institutional level, there has not been much room for advanced development of e-learning. The Learning Center will run projects related to the development of e-learning. At the School of Computing, there are resources (e.g. servers and equipment) and support (IT support staff) for advanced development of e-learning. However, the developments made in the department rarely expand to the university level. In general, at least at the University of Joensuu, there is not much support for innovative development of e-learning. The focus has been more on supporting the adaptation of technologies developed outside the university.

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future markets for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account present and future competitor suppliers for its offerings====

====How the institution analyses and takes into account the views of other stakeholders, including but not restricted to employers, local authorities and the social partners (unions).====

''More information will be available later.''



== References and reports ==

* Itä-Suomen Ylipisto 2010 – newsletter 12.6.2008. Available at: http://www.joensuu.fi/viestinta/itasuomenyolehti.pdf.

* Itä-Suomen yliopisto – tulevaisuuden yliopisto ajassa. Ministry of Education Publications 2007:15. Available at: http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2007/liitteet/tr15.pdf?lang=fi.

* Jormanainen, I., & Harfield, A. (2008). Supporting the teacher in educational robotics classes: work in progress. In The 16th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2008).

* Kakkonen, T., Myller, N., & Sutinen, E. (2006). Applying Latent Dirichlet Allocation to Automatic Essay Grading. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (pp. 110-120). Springer. (published at SpringerLink)

*Kakkonen, T., Sutinen, E., & Timonen, J. (2005). Applying Validation Methods for Noise Reduction in LSA-based Essay Grading. In WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 2(9), 1334-1342. ISSN 1790-0832.

* Moreno, A. (2007). Algorithm Animation. In Human-Centred Visualization Environments, GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS 4417.

* Myller, N. (2007). Automatic Generation of Prediction Questions during Program Visualization. In Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 178, 43-49. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2007.01.034.

* Myller, N. & Nuutinen, J. (2006). JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving Informatics in Education, 5, 255 – 264.

* Suhonen, J. (2005). A Formative Development Method for Digital Learning Environments in Sparse Learning Communities. Doctoral Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: http://joypub.joensuu.fi/publications/dissertations/suhonen_learning/suhonen.pdf.

* Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2007). Learning Computer Science over the Web: the ViSCoS Odyssey. In R. C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Ed.), Cases on Global E-Learning Practices: Successes and Pitfalls (pp. 176-188). Idea Group Publishing.

* Torvinen, S. (2004). Aspects of the Evaluation and Improvement Process in an Online Programming Course - Case: The ViSCoS Program. Licenciate Thesis, University of Joensuu, Department of Computer Science. Available at: ftp://ftp.cs.joensuu.fi/pub/PhLic/2004_PhLic_Torvinen_Sirpa.pdf.

'''Relevant websites:'''

The University of Eastern Finland: http://www.uef.fi/

The University of Joensuu: http://www.joensuu.fi/joyindex.html

The University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/

EdTech Research Group at University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech

ViSCoS publications at the University of Joensuu: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/publicationsPublist.php?sort=area#Virtual%20Studies%20of%20Computer%20Science

Jeliot: http://cs.joensuu.fi/Jeliot

Woven Stories: http://cs.joensuu.fi/wovenstories

Text and Program Analysis project: http://cs.joensuu.fi/edtech/tapas.php

----
> [[Finland]]


 
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>> '''[[Case studies]]'''

[[Category:Finland|Eastern]]
[[Category:Universities|Eastern]]
[[Category:Newly created institutions|Eastern]]
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[[Category:Case study for TKK|Eastern]]

Critical Success Factors

2009-08-21T08:21:51Z

Urintala: /* Third International Advisory Commitee meeting */

=='''Definition'''==

In the Re.ViCa project a ''critical success factor'' is defined as follows:

: A [[critical success factor]] is a factor whose presence is necessary for an organisation to fulfil its mission - in other words, if it is not present then its absence will cause organisational and/or mission failure.

The majority of work on this in e-learning has been oriented either to large-scale failures, usually of consortium models focussed on distance learning, or on "hygiene" and KPI type success factors not critical success factors

Thus Re.ViCa has to produce a new synthesis.

A natural starting point is to start from a base of general theory and fuse the large-scale critical success factors with evidence from the benchmarking and quality arenas, concentrating on criteria that are critical not just useful ones.

The Wikipedia entry on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_success_factor critical success factor] indicates that one should look in the following areas:

# Money factors: positive cash flow, revenue growth, and profit margins.
# Acquiring new customers and/or distributors - your future.
# Customer satisfaction - how happy are they?
# Quality - how good is your product and service?
# Product or service development - what's new that will increase business with existing customers and attract new ones?
# Intellectual capital - increasing what you know that's profitable.
# Strategic relationships - new sources of business, products and outside revenue.
# Employee attraction and retention - your ability to do extend your reach.
# Sustainability - your personal ability to keep it all going

These have to be turned from management-speak into concepts understandable by and acceptable to higher education providers.

=='''Approach'''==

There have been many projects which have been looking for CSFs.

=== Initial scoping ===

In this project we first carried out desktop research and learned from other projects (for an overview and download of the reports and literature, see the project website) and came to a list of 99 CSFs.

=== First International Advisory Commitee meeting ===

In spring 2008 the first International Advisory Committee Meeting took place at the EDEN Annual Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. In this meeting the experts worked in teams on this list, bringing it back to 29 essential factors. This 29 CSFs for large e-learning initiatives are labeled into three categories. First we distinguish factors that are mainly on an organizational level, these are more often strategy-and management issues. The second level is the work floor level, dealing with issues that immediately effect the daily performance of people working in this e-learning initiative. The third and last level is the service level. This involves factors that somehow have an influence on (internal or external) clients of the e-learning initiative.

=== Second International Advisory Commitee meeting ===

In a second meeting, at the ONLINE EDUCA Annual Conference in Berlin, December 2008, we let the International Advisory Committee (N= 17) vote on the 29 CSFs, using an electronic voting system in which they could give an opinion about the factors whether they must be kept or removed from the list. The categories to answer on were:

# must be removed
# should be removed
# no view
# should be kept
# must be kept

After each voting there was the possibility to have an discussion on that criterion. The data collection resulted in a quantitative part (the voting) and an qualitative part (the discussion).

=== Third International Advisory Commitee meeting ===

A considerable amount of work has been done in preparation for the IAC meeting at the ICDE Conference, Maastricht, June 2009.

First, a close look was taken at all the feedback from IAC.

Second, four related schemes were analysed or re-analysed.
# [[MegaTrends]] is the main study on large-scale virtual campuses done before Re.ViCa. Its final list of factors is quite short. It has several lessons for us.
# [[PBP-VC]] is the main study on consortia-based virtual campuses done before Re.ViCa. It has a strong focus on quality issues and on good practice for managing consortia but among the details there are a few lessons for CSFs in the consortial area.
# [[UNIQUe]] is a scheme for quality/accreditation in e-learning developed by a consortium involving EuroPACE. In some ways it is parallel to E-xcellence though possibly more oriented to on-campus and blended uses of e-learning. Despite many of the criteria being more focussed on quality, there are some lessons to be learned, including on rewriting certain Critical Success Factors.
# [[E-xcellence]] is a scheme of benchmarking/quality for e-learning developed in 2005-2006 by a consortium led by EADTU. It is often felt to still be most relevant to distance teaching organisations. It has earlier been taken into consideration for our CSF work but this work was rechecked.

Third, related activity on benchmarking/quality of e-learning in the UK had generated some comments on criterion wording and some new criteria, which were taken into consideration.

These pieces of work led to 19 criteria (potential CSFs) that got more serious attention - of which 8 were potential new criteria altogether. In particular there were three criteria to do with collaboration that needed more detailed attention – drawing on the experience of PBP-VC.

Acting on earlier feedback and intense debate on whether some Critical Success Factors were indeed critical for all types of Virtual Campus, it was finally decided to split the list of Critical Success Factors into two parts:

# a list of 17 Critical Success Factors relevant to success of e-learning in all types of Virtual Campus.
# a list of 14 [[Key Success Factors]] - these are Critical Success Factors relevant to success of e-learning in one or more subsets (categories) of Virtual Campus - such as private for-profit providers, consortia, etc.

It should be remembered that the Critical Success Factors are drawn from a much larger scheme of benchmarking/quality for e-learning, which makes it easy to promote or demote Critical Success Factors and Key Success Factors as further case study and country report information becomes available. For more details on the underlying scheme see [http://elearning.heacademy.ac.uk/wiki/index.php/Pick%26Mix Pick&Mix].

== '''Critical Success Factors table ''' ==

This is taken from the page [[Critical Success Factors draft final version]]. See also [[Key Success Factors]].

{| border="1"
|+'''''table of Critical Success Factors'''''
!Code!!Factor name!!Critical Success Factor (level 5 statement)
|-
|R4
|Usability
|All systems usable, with internal evidence to back this up.
|-
|R6
|e-Learning Strategy
|Regularly updated e-Learning Strategy, integrated with Learning and Teaching Strategy and all related strategies (e.g. Distance Learning, if relevant).
|-
|R7
|Decisions on Projects
|Effective decision-making for e-learning projects across the whole institution, including variations when justified.
|-
|R10
|Training
|All staff trained in VLE use, appropriate to job type - and retrained when needed.
|-
|R12
|Costs
|A fit for purpose costing system is used in all departments for costs of e-learning.
|-
|R13
|Planning Annually
|Integrated annual planning process for e-learning integrated with overall course planning.
|-
|R16
|Technical Support to Staff
|All staff engaged in the e-learning process have "nearby" fast-response technical support.
|-
|R19
|Decisions on Programmes
|There is effective decision-making for e-learning programmes across the whole institution, including variations when justified.
|-
|R22
|Leadership in e-Learning
|The capability of leaders to make decisions regarding e-learning is fully developed at departmental and institutional level.
|-
|R29
|Management Style
|The overall institutional management style is appropriate to manage its mix of educational and business activities
|-
|R35
|Relationship Management Upwards
|The institution has effective processes designed to achieve high formal and informal credibility with relevant government and public agencies overseeing it.
|-
|R53
|Reliability
|The e-learning system is as reliable as the main systems students and staff are used to from their wider experience as students and citizens,
|-
|R58
|Market Research
|Market research done centrally and in or on behalf of all departments, and aware of e-learning aspects; updated annually or prior to major programme planning.
|-
|R60
|Security
|A system where security breaches are known not to occur yet which allows staff and students to carry out their authorised duties easily and efficiently.
|-
|R91
|Student Understanding of System
|Students have good understanding of the rules governing assignment submission, feedback, plagiarism, costs, attendance, etc and always act on them.
|-
|R92
|Student Help Desk
|Help Desk is deemed as best practice.
|-
|R94
|Student Satisfaction
|Frequent (ideally annual) Student Satisfaction survey which explicitly addresses the main e-learning issues of relevance to students.
|}

=== Earlier versions ===

Those interested in the evolution of the CSFs can look at:

* [[Critical Success Factors second version]]
* [[Critical Success Factors initial version]]
 

=== Other Languages ===

This document is available also in:

* [[Fattori Critici di Successo]] - Italiano

 

----
> [[Main Page]]

Critical Success Factors

2009-08-21T08:20:49Z

Urintala: /* Second International Advisory Commitee meeting */

=='''Definition'''==

In the Re.ViCa project a ''critical success factor'' is defined as follows:

: A [[critical success factor]] is a factor whose presence is necessary for an organisation to fulfil its mission - in other words, if it is not present then its absence will cause organisational and/or mission failure.

The majority of work on this in e-learning has been oriented either to large-scale failures, usually of consortium models focussed on distance learning, or on "hygiene" and KPI type success factors not critical success factors

Thus Re.ViCa has to produce a new synthesis.

A natural starting point is to start from a base of general theory and fuse the large-scale critical success factors with evidence from the benchmarking and quality arenas, concentrating on criteria that are critical not just useful ones.

The Wikipedia entry on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_success_factor critical success factor] indicates that one should look in the following areas:

# Money factors: positive cash flow, revenue growth, and profit margins.
# Acquiring new customers and/or distributors - your future.
# Customer satisfaction - how happy are they?
# Quality - how good is your product and service?
# Product or service development - what's new that will increase business with existing customers and attract new ones?
# Intellectual capital - increasing what you know that's profitable.
# Strategic relationships - new sources of business, products and outside revenue.
# Employee attraction and retention - your ability to do extend your reach.
# Sustainability - your personal ability to keep it all going

These have to be turned from management-speak into concepts understandable by and acceptable to higher education providers.

=='''Approach'''==

There have been many projects which have been looking for CSFs.

=== Initial scoping ===

In this project we first carried out desktop research and learned from other projects (for an overview and download of the reports and literature, see the project website) and came to a list of 99 CSFs.

=== First International Advisory Commitee meeting ===

In spring 2008 the first International Advisory Committee Meeting took place at the EDEN Annual Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. In this meeting the experts worked in teams on this list, bringing it back to 29 essential factors. This 29 CSFs for large e-learning initiatives are labeled into three categories. First we distinguish factors that are mainly on an organizational level, these are more often strategy-and management issues. The second level is the work floor level, dealing with issues that immediately effect the daily performance of people working in this e-learning initiative. The third and last level is the service level. This involves factors that somehow have an influence on (internal or external) clients of the e-learning initiative.

=== Second International Advisory Commitee meeting ===

In a second meeting, at the ONLINE EDUCA Annual Conference in Berlin, December 2008, we let the International Advisory Committee (N= 17) vote on the 29 CSFs, using an electronic voting system in which they could give an opinion about the factors whether they must be kept or removed from the list. The categories to answer on were:

# must be removed
# should be removed
# no view
# should be kept
# must be kept

After each voting there was the possibility to have an discussion on that criterion. The data collection resulted in a quantitative part (the voting) and an qualitative part (the discussion).

=== Third International Advisory Commitee meeting ===

A considerable amount of works has been done in preparation for the IAC meeting at the ICDE Conference, Maastricht, June 2009.

First, a close look was taken at all the feedback from IAC.

Second, four related schemes were analysed or re-analysed.
# [[MegaTrends]] is the main study on large-scale virtual campuses done before Re.ViCa. Its final list of factors is quite short. It has several lessons for us.
# [[PBP-VC]] is the main study on consortia-based virtual campuses done before Re.ViCa. It has a strong focus on quality issues and on good practice for managing consortia but among the details there are a few lessons for CSFs in the consortial area.
# [[UNIQUe]] is a scheme for quality/accreditation in e-learning developed by a consortium involving EuroPACE. In some ways it is parallel to E-xcellence though possibly more oriented to on-campus and blended uses of e-learning. Despite many of the criteria being more focussed on quality, there are some lessons to be learned, including on rewriting certain Critical Success Factors.
# [[E-xcellence]] is a scheme of benchmarking/quality for e-learning developed in 2005-2006 by a consortium led by EADTU. It is often felt to still be most relevant to distance teaching organisations. It has earlier been taken into consideration for our CSF work but this work was rechecked.

Third, related activity on benchmarking/quality of e-learning in the UK had generated some comments on criterion wording and some new criteria, which were taken into consideration.

These pieces of work led to 19 criteria (potential CSFs) that got more serious attention - of which 8 were potential new criteria altogether. In particular there were three criteria to do with collaboration that needed more detailed attention – drawing on the experience of PBP-VC.

Acting on earlier feedback and intense debate on whether some Critical Success Factors were indeed critical for all types of Virtual Campus, it was finally decided to split the list of Critical Success Factors into two parts:

# a list of 17 Critical Success Factors relevant to success of e-learning in all types of Virtual Campus.
# a list of 14 [[Key Success Factors]] - these are Critical Success Factors relevant to success of e-learning in one or more subsets (categories) of Virtual Campus - such as private for-profit providers, consortia, etc.

It should be remembered that the Critical Success Factors are drawn from a much larger scheme of benchmarking/quality for e-learning, which makes it easy to promote or demote Critical Success Factors and Key Success Factors as further case study and country report information becomes available. For more details on the underlying scheme see [http://elearning.heacademy.ac.uk/wiki/index.php/Pick%26Mix Pick&Mix].

== '''Critical Success Factors table ''' ==

This is taken from the page [[Critical Success Factors draft final version]]. See also [[Key Success Factors]].

{| border="1"
|+'''''table of Critical Success Factors'''''
!Code!!Factor name!!Critical Success Factor (level 5 statement)
|-
|R4
|Usability
|All systems usable, with internal evidence to back this up.
|-
|R6
|e-Learning Strategy
|Regularly updated e-Learning Strategy, integrated with Learning and Teaching Strategy and all related strategies (e.g. Distance Learning, if relevant).
|-
|R7
|Decisions on Projects
|Effective decision-making for e-learning projects across the whole institution, including variations when justified.
|-
|R10
|Training
|All staff trained in VLE use, appropriate to job type - and retrained when needed.
|-
|R12
|Costs
|A fit for purpose costing system is used in all departments for costs of e-learning.
|-
|R13
|Planning Annually
|Integrated annual planning process for e-learning integrated with overall course planning.
|-
|R16
|Technical Support to Staff
|All staff engaged in the e-learning process have "nearby" fast-response technical support.
|-
|R19
|Decisions on Programmes
|There is effective decision-making for e-learning programmes across the whole institution, including variations when justified.
|-
|R22
|Leadership in e-Learning
|The capability of leaders to make decisions regarding e-learning is fully developed at departmental and institutional level.
|-
|R29
|Management Style
|The overall institutional management style is appropriate to manage its mix of educational and business activities
|-
|R35
|Relationship Management Upwards
|The institution has effective processes designed to achieve high formal and informal credibility with relevant government and public agencies overseeing it.
|-
|R53
|Reliability
|The e-learning system is as reliable as the main systems students and staff are used to from their wider experience as students and citizens,
|-
|R58
|Market Research
|Market research done centrally and in or on behalf of all departments, and aware of e-learning aspects; updated annually or prior to major programme planning.
|-
|R60
|Security
|A system where security breaches are known not to occur yet which allows staff and students to carry out their authorised duties easily and efficiently.
|-
|R91
|Student Understanding of System
|Students have good understanding of the rules governing assignment submission, feedback, plagiarism, costs, attendance, etc and always act on them.
|-
|R92
|Student Help Desk
|Help Desk is deemed as best practice.
|-
|R94
|Student Satisfaction
|Frequent (ideally annual) Student Satisfaction survey which explicitly addresses the main e-learning issues of relevance to students.
|}

=== Earlier versions ===

Those interested in the evolution of the CSFs can look at:

* [[Critical Success Factors second version]]
* [[Critical Success Factors initial version]]
 

=== Other Languages ===

This document is available also in:

* [[Fattori Critici di Successo]] - Italiano

 

----
> [[Main Page]]

User:Jyri

2009-08-20T06:02:33Z

Urintala: New page: Jüri Lõssenko is a Project Manager at the Estonian e-Learning Development Centre.

Jüri Lõssenko is a Project Manager at the [[Estonian e-Learning Development Centre]].

User:Urintala

2009-08-03T11:19:35Z

Urintala: New page: ''Ulla Rintala'' is a student at Helsinki University of Technology (TKK). Since April 2007, she has worked as a project coordinator in various EU projects and in-house training programs at...

''Ulla Rintala'' is a student at Helsinki University of Technology (TKK). Since April 2007, she has worked as a project coordinator in various EU projects and in-house training programs at Helsinki University of Technology, Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli. She is familiar with the academe having worked in the executive boards of both Helsinki University of Technology in 2007-2008 and its student union in 2006 as well as in other positions of trust mainly at TKK. In 2003-2006, she took part in an exchange program organized between the University of Toronto and four Universities in Helsinki.

User:Jsuhon

2009-08-03T09:18:00Z

Urintala:

Dr. Jarkko Suhonen works as a Senior Assistant at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at the University of Joensuu, Finland. The Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be a part of the new university - [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland] - to be launched in 2010.

User:Eristima

2009-08-03T08:01:27Z

Urintala:

Eija Ristimäki is the Head of Communications, Finnish Virtual University (FVU) Service Unit. She is responsible for national and international communications on the FVU operations; planning, development and implementation of communications; marketing and information. The [http://www.virtuaaliyliopisto.fi/vy_front_page_eng.asp Finnish Virtual University (FVU)] is a partnership of all 21 Finnish universities. It supports and develops collaboration among universities in the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching and studying. As a Consortium it also develops information network -based training and educational services for the shared use of its member universities.

User:Jsuhon

2009-08-03T07:58:33Z

Urintala:

Dr. Jarkko Suhonen works as a Senior Assistant at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at the [http://www.joensuu.fi/englishindex.html University of Joensuu], Finland. The Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be a part of the new university - [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland] - to be launched in 2010.

User:Jsuhon

2009-08-03T07:57:13Z

Urintala: New page: Dr. Jarkko Suhonen works as a Senior Assistant at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu in Finland. The Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be a pa...

Dr. Jarkko Suhonen works as a Senior Assistant at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at University of Joensuu in Finland. The Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio will be a part of the new university - [http://www.uef.fi/english/ University of Eastern Finland] - to be launched in 2010.

User:Eristima

2009-08-03T07:48:16Z

Urintala: New page: Eija Ristimäki is the Head of Communications, Finnish Virtual University (FVU) Service Unit. She is responsible for national and international communications on the FVU operations; planni...

Helsinki University of Technology

2009-06-04T14:41:31Z

Urintala: /* Re.ViCa role */

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. Its truename in Finnish is '''Teknillinen korkeakoulu''' and in Swedish '''Tekniska högskolan'''.

It is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

Its web site is http://www.tkk.fi.

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

== Aalto University ==

Aalto University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology.

The goal for the new university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020. Aalto University starts in January 2010 opening up a world of possibilities for multidisciplinary education and research.

----
> [[Partners]]
 

> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Index]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T14:37:31Z

Urintala: /* Other experts of relevance (a growing list) */

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator''' contact person(s):

# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant''' contact person(s):

# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]); contact person(s):

# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]); contact person(s):

# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]]) contact person(s): Anna-Kaarina Kairamo, Ulla Rintala

# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]]) contact person(s):

# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]]) contact person(s):

# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]]) contact person(s):

# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]]) contact person(s):

(Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].)

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

Our International [[Advisory Committee]] consists of about 20 European and non-European experts in the field of Virtual Campuses, each carefully selected on the basis of their experience. The Committee members are invited to comment on the findings of the Re.ViCa research during several Key Meetings that will be organised during the lifetime of the project.

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

We have listed names of people ([[Experts]]) who have a good overview of the European and ideally the world scene in large-scale university-level e-learning.

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]].

----
> [[Main Page]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T14:34:09Z

Urintala: /* International advisors (incomplete list) */

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator''' contact person(s):

# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant''' contact person(s):

# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]); contact person(s):

# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]); contact person(s):

# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]]) contact person(s): Anna-Kaarina Kairamo, Ulla Rintala

# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]]) contact person(s):

# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]]) contact person(s):

# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]]) contact person(s):

# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]]) contact person(s):

(Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].)

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

Our International [[Advisory Committee]] consists of about 20 European and non-European experts in the field of Virtual Campuses, each carefully selected on the basis of their experience. The Committee members are invited to comment on the findings of the Re.ViCa research during several Key Meetings that will be organised during the lifetime of the project.

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

[[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]].

----
> [[Main Page]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T14:31:32Z

Urintala:

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator''' contact person(s):

# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant''' contact person(s):

# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]); contact person(s):

# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]); contact person(s):

# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]]) contact person(s): Anna-Kaarina Kairamo, Ulla Rintala

# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]]) contact person(s):

# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]]) contact person(s):

# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]]) contact person(s):

# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]]) contact person(s):

(Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].)

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

[[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]].

----
> [[Main Page]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T14:27:29Z

Urintala:

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator'''

contact person(s):

# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant'''
# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]);
# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]);
# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]])
# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]])
# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]])
# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]])
# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]])

Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

[[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]].

----
> [[Main Page]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T14:26:40Z

Urintala:

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator'''
: contact person(s):
# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant'''
# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]);
# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]);
# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]])
# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]])
# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]])
# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]])
# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]])

Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

[[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]].

----
> [[Main Page]]

Helsinki University of Technology

2009-06-04T13:55:19Z

Urintala: /* Re.ViCa role */

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. Its truename in Finnish is '''Teknillinen korkeakoulu''' and in Swedish '''Tekniska högskolan'''.

It is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

Its web site is http://www.tkk.fi.

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels. TKK Dipoli participation in Re.ViCa is represented by Anna-Kaarina Kairamo.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

== Aalto University ==

Aalto University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology.

The goal for the new university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020. Aalto University starts in January 2010 opening up a world of possibilities for multidisciplinary education and research.

----
> [[Partners]]
 

> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Index]]

Helsinki University of Technology

2009-06-04T13:54:38Z

Urintala: /* Re.ViCa role */

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. Its truename in Finnish is '''Teknillinen korkeakoulu''' and in Swedish '''Tekniska högskolan'''.

It is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

Its web site is http://www.tkk.fi.

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project. It is represented by Anna-Kaarina Kairamo.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

== Aalto University ==

Aalto University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology.

The goal for the new university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020. Aalto University starts in January 2010 opening up a world of possibilities for multidisciplinary education and research.

----
> [[Partners]]
 

> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Index]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T13:40:17Z

Urintala: /* Recent Events */

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator'''
# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant'''
# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]);
# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]);
# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]])
# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]])
# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]])
# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]])
# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]])

Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

[[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]].

----
> [[Main Page]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T13:39:47Z

Urintala: /* Other experts of relevance (a growing list) */

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator'''
# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant'''
# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]);
# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]);
# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]])
# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]])
# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]])
# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]])
# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]])

Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

[[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]]

----
> [[Main Page]]

Helsinki University of Technology

2009-06-04T13:33:58Z

Urintala:

Helsinki University of Technology

2009-06-04T13:33:42Z

Urintala: /* Innovation University */

''Helsinki University of Technology'' ([[TKK]]) is the oldest and largest university of technology in [[Finland]]. Its truename in Finnish is '''Teknillinen korkeakoulu''' and in Swedish '''Tekniska högskolan'''.

It is a pioneer in the field of technology in the country: its fields of education and research cover all areas of technology that are of importance to the Finnish economy, including architecture.

Its web site is http://www.tkk.fi.

== Re.ViCa role ==

TKK Dipoli is Partner 5 of the [[Re.ViCa]] project.

Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli (TKK Dipoli), an adult education unit of Helsinki
University of Technology, is one of the largest continuing education
providers among universities in its field in Europe. Making use of its international networks,
the technological know-how of the university staff and the business experience of industries,
TKK Dipoli seeks to support business management, technological development and lifelong
learning. TKK Dipoli is also a major contributor to internationally recognized learning and
research programmes. By developing methods and utilising e-learning technologies, TKK
Dipoli has established itself as a forerunner in the field of continuing education programmes
on national and international levels.

Its web site is http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/ (in English).

== Innovation University ==

Aalto University is created through a merger between the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology.

The goal for the new university is to be one of the leading institutions in the world in terms of research and education in its own specialised disciplines by 2020. Aalto University starts in January 2010 opening up a world of possibilities for multidisciplinary education and research.

----
> [[Partners]]
 

> [[Finland]]
 
> [[Programmes]]
 
> [[Index]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T13:29:08Z

Urintala:

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

== Project partners ==
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator'''
# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant'''
# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]);
# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]);
# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]])
# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]])
# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]])
# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]])
# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]])

Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

See [[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]]

----
> [[Main Page]]

Virtual Education Wiki:Community Portal

2009-06-04T13:28:19Z

Urintala: /* Tasks */

Welcome to the community portal. This is the place to find out what is happening on the Re.ViCa wiki. Learn what tasks are suggested to be done, and share news about recent events or current activities taking place on the Re.ViCa wiki.

== Tasks ==
You are welcome to make suggestions and contribute with adequate knowledge and research on [[Country reports]], [[Programmes]], [[Institutional reports]], or to add relevant [[Publications]]. Please list your suggestions here below along with your signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>):

'''Example:'''

*''I think we should add the African Virtual University (located in Kenya) as it brings together a lot of institutions (AVU has established the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning institutions in Africa). Web site: http://www.avu.org/home.asp.'' --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** There now is a wiki page for the [[African Virtual University]] but we need to work further on this. --[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

*<strike-through>''A question that is already solved can have strike-through text''</strike-through> <wiki><strike-through></strike-through></nowiki>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)
** <strike-through>It is solved now </strike-through>--[[User:NikkiCortoos|NikkiCortoos]] 11:01, 21 November 2008 (CET)

Project partners:
The Re.ViCa project has the following nine partners:

# [[EuroPACE ivzw]] ([[BE]]) - '''Coordinator'''
# [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] [[AVNET]] – [[AVNET - K.U.Leuven]] ([[BE]]) - '''Applicant'''
# [[Audiovisual Technologies, Informatics and Telecommunications bvba]] ([[ATiT]]) ([[BE]]);
# [[FernUniversität in Hagen]] ([[DE]]);
# [[Teknillinen korkeakoulu]], [[Koulutuskeskus Dipoli]] ([[Helsinki University of Technology]], [[Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli]]) ([[FI]])
# [[Université Louis Pasteur]] ([[FR]])
# [[Nyugat-Magayarországi Egyetem]] ([[University of West Hungary]]) ([[HU]])
# [[Università Telematica Internazionale UNINETTUNO]] ([[International Telematic University UNINETTUNO]]) ([[IT]])
# [[Matic Media Ltd]] ([[UK]])

Names of individuals should be added in their "firstname surname" form, without titles (such as Professor, Dr, Mr, Mrs etc). Variants and common misspellings should be entered as redirect pages to the correct name. If accents exist like for [[Grégory Lucas]] they should be added but with natural flattenings (i.e. without accents) such as [[Gregory Lucas]].

== International advisors (incomplete list) ==

[[Advisory Committee]]

== Other experts of relevance (a growing list) ==

See [[Experts]]

== Recent Events ==
Add relevant events to [[Current events]]

----
> [[Main Page]]