The RPL procedure applies to all students who have the right to study (degree education, separate study rights, Open University students, specialisation studies, medical specialist training and specialist dentist training). Credit transfers cannot be conducted for students who have registered as absent or who are not registered. The principles governing the studies of international joint degree programmes are laid down in their respective agreements and curricula.
The student is responsible for initiating the credit transfer process. A degree student should not apply for a credit transfer if they do not intend to include the transferred studies in their degree. The student has the right to receive guidance on how to submit a credit transfer application.
When it comes to the Open University and continuing education, the identification and recognition of prior learning can be applied for by a student who has a valid right to study for the studies to which the application relates.
Further specifications by the UEF
The credit transfer of proficiency can be applied for by all students enrolled as attending at the University of Eastern Finland or registered as students at its open university. The Language Centre only approves the credit transfers of degree students. The extent of the credit transfer may not exceed the scope of the study right. In academic subjects not awarding a free minor subject study right, studies can only be substituted for a student who has received a study right for the subject. If there is no study right, previous studies can be included in the degree as other studies, and there will be no credit transfer for proficiency acquired outside of formal education.
As a rule, inclusion of studies is not possible in studies taken under the continued right to study. Substitution may be possible in exceptional cases; this depends on the content of the studies.
When it comes to the credit transfer, it does not matter whether the competence is already included in a degree. An exception to this is, for example, a situation where a degree that has granted eligibility cannot be used for accreditation. In addition, credit transfers can take the level of studies to be credited into account, and the credits of compulsory studies should in principle be allowed to be accredited.
Further specification by the UEF
Studies connected to prior university degrees can be used to substitute courses belonging to the degree requirements. In addition, studies included in a previous university degree may be included in the degree to the extent permitted by the structure of the degree. Inclusion of entire study modules is, nevertheless, possible even if it means exceeding the number of credits required for the degree.
The number of credits is not limited in the accreditations. Competence-based learning is at the heart of credit transfer assessments. When assessing a credit transfer, the decision should be based on the defined learning outcomes of a course, not on the number of credits. When assessing a credit transfer, the focus should be on the study attainment to be substituted. The competence the student has acquired elsewhere or previously is related to the intended learning outcomes of the degree, study module or course. If the competence corresponds to the intended learning outcomes, the competence can be accredited.
Curriculum work must ensure that, if the competence that has already been achieved is considered equivalent to the study attainment to be substituted, the student is not required to acquire the same competence again. For this reason, it is more recommendable to evaluate the competence acquired by the student in terms of content rather than quantity.
UEF: no further specification
A total of 50% of the studies included in a university degree must have been completed at the student’s own university. In other words, a maximum of 50% of studies can consist of credit transfers. Exceptions to this include transfer students, double degree programmes or studies in the open university route, whose number of credits is not limited here. Previous studies which provide the basis for the transfer of the transfer student will be utilised to the fullest extent made possible by the degree structure and the intended learning outcomes of the degree. The competence to be accredited must be in accordance with the intended learning outcomes of the curriculum, study module or course of the degree.
Further specification by the UEF
You cannot complete an entire degree through credit transfers. Faculties can specify this more precisely in their curricula.
When making credit transfer assessments, the decision is made on the basis of the intended learning outcomes included in the curriculum, and the number of credits serves only as one starting point. A negative difference of up to one credit between the credits intended to be substituted and the credits completed elsewhere or earlier is acceptable if the defined learning outcomes of the study attainments match.
The credit substitution is recorded in the study register is equal to the number of credits awarded for the course or study module substituted. For example, if a student has completed a four-credit course and wants to substitute a five-credit course, the study attainment registered will be five credits. Correspondingly, the number of credits awarded for a substitution cannot be larger than the number of credits defined for the study attainment in the curriculum. For example, if a student has completed a course of six credits and is applying for the substitution of a five-credit course, the substitution registered will be five credits. Transfer students form an exception to this rule, as all their credits are recommended to be transferred in full.
Study attainments that have been completed previously or elsewhere and that will be included in the student’s degree are registered in the student's study register in accordance with the original scope of the course.
Further specification by the UEF
Partial substitution may also be granted, in which case the student is requested to complete additional studies. More detailed instructions can be given in the curriculum. If the procedure for the recognition of prior learning states that the study attainment must be supplemented, the supplementation must be completed during the ongoing academic year or within the time limit given separately by the teacher in charge of the course. If necessary, the number of ECTS credits in the inclusion is evaluated on the basis of the amount of work required by the studies (e.g. studies completed abroad).
No double points are registered within a degree; instead, the situation must be resolved through curriculum work. If the same course belongs to several study modules, the curriculum needs to state how the student who has already completed the course should assemble the study module in order to achieve its intended learning outcomes and minimum scope. If the curriculum does not describe the options, the student’s personal study plan will outline how the course will be completed.
Further specification by the UEF
If the same course is compulsory in several study modules, the student can use it in all study modules whose curriculum does not provide instructions on a substituting study attainment.
The credits of studies that have been completed in accordance with the curriculum at both universities and universities of applied sciences can be transferred through both substitution and inclusion. The university assesses the credit transfer of completed studies on the basis of intended learning outcomes and the level of the studies.
Further specifications by the UEF
Studies completed in some other Finnish university
If a study module completed in some other Finnish university corresponds to a study module at the University of Eastern Finland, it is recorded as substituted if there is a free minor subject in the academic subject or if the student has received a study right for the subject.
If corresponding studies are not arranged at the University of Eastern Finland, a study module completed in some other Finnish university is included in the degree. A study module can also be included in the event that the student does not have a study right for the subject.
A credit is provided for a study module accepted in some other Finnish university in the scope and with the grade on which the credit was provided at the university having accepted the study module.
If the grade of the prior course corresponds to UEF's grading scale, it is recommended that the grade be registered as is. Grade conversions are not recommended, and the studies to be substituted are recommended to be graded as a pass. Potential other procedures are described in the curriculum. Written and oral proficiency in the second domestic language (Swedish) is registered using the grades “TT” or “HT”.
Studies completed in a university of applied sciences
Of a degree completed in a university of applied sciences, credit can be transferred for language and communication studies, for whose credit transfer the university’s Language Centre is responsible, as well as studies in the same or similar field. More detailed provisions can be given in the curricula.
According to the degree framework, specialisation studies are at the same level as the undergraduate degree on the basis of which you can apply for specialisation training.
Studies completed outside a Finnish university or university of applied science
In addition to the achievement of the learning outcomes, substituting studies with studies completed elsewhere requires that the latter comply with the requirements of the curriculum approved by the faculty in terms of their content and level. Content-based correspondence means similarity between the learning outcomes of the course or study module; if learning outcomes have not been defined in previously completed studies, similarity between their goals, content or required literature is evaluated. The level of studies required by the degree structure means the requirement level of university studies.
- Secondary studies (upper secondary school, university of applied sciences): As a rule, secondary studies cannot be used to substitute for studies belonging to the degree completed at UEF. Potential exceptions are indicated in the faculty curriculum. Secondary education cannot be included in a degree completed at UEF, unless otherwise laid down in the curriculum.
- Continuing education: Studies completed in continuing education can only be used to substitute for studies belonging to the degree. Their inclusion in the degree is not possible.
- MOOC: Credit transfers for studies completed in open learning environments (e.g. Massive Open Online Courses – MOOC): If the competence acquired by the student in open learning environments meets the intended learning outcomes set for the degree and its parts, the studies can be recognised through a credit transfer. The completion of MOOC studies must be reliably documented. If necessary, the student may be required to provide a competence demonstration. The competence assessor and the decision maker must have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the realisation, content and level of the studies to be recognised before making a decision. In addition, it is recommended that students ensure the suitability of the studies for their degree in advance.
- Studies completed during student exchange: Studies and internships completed abroad in accordance with a study plan will be recognised by the University of Eastern Finland and included in the student’s degree. Every student is required to make a Learning Agreement for the student exchange in advance.
- Proficiency acquired outside of formal education (only substitutions): The student can demonstrate proficiency acquired outside of formal education with certificates of employment, work samples, a demonstration, an exam, a proficiency portfolio or an interview. More detailed instructions are given in the curriculum.
Recommendation 8 a
Credits will not be transferred if the student has already completed the course which they want to substitute or which they want to have recognised on the basis of competence they have acquired through some other means.
Further specification by the UEF
As a rule, the credit transfer decision cannot be rescinded and study attainments registered in the study register cannot be deleted. The main rule is that courses whose credits have been transferred can no longer be completed. However, you can try to achieve a better grade for a course whose credits have been transferred. The better grade will remain valid.
Recommendation 8 b
Only the credits of successfully completed courses can be transferred.
Recommendation 8 c
The credits of theses and maturity tests cannot be transferred. However, Finnish or Swedish language proficiency demonstrated in a previous degree completed by the student can be counted towards their degree.
Universities’ own guidelines on credit transfers may be more flexible. From the point of view of competence-based learning, it makes sense that the student does not have to demonstrate the same competence twice.
Studies for which no credit transfer is not available
Faculties can exclude some of their studies from the credit transfer procedure. Such limitations are indicated in the curricula. The field of study specific national and international practices to which the Faculty adheres are recorded in the curriculum.
Further specification by the UEF
Faculties lay down the principles of credit transfers of maturity tests and theses in their curricula. The expiration of credited studies is laid down in the curricula.
Recommendation 8 d
Credits that have been previously transferred at another higher education institution are not accepted as such, but the fulfilment of intended learning outcomes is examined on the basis of the original course.
However, a student can present the material of a previous positive credit transfer decision as justification for their application.