The University of Eastern Finland’s activities and their development are based on the principle of continuous improvement, i.e. the Deming cycle: Plan – Do – Check – Act and Improve
Systematic evaluation and development of one’s actions is an integral part of the quality work of all the operational units and people at the university. The Quality Group and quality coordinators are responsible for comprehensively developing the quality management system in accordance with the guidelines of the university’s Board and Leadership Group.
Systematic evaluation and development of one’s actions is an integral part of the quality work of all the operational units and people at the university. The Quality Group and quality coordinators are responsible for comprehensively developing the quality management system in accordance with the guidelines of the university’s Board and Leadership Group.
Management reviews
Management review is the systematic assessment of the suitability, sufficiency, effectiveness and efficiency of the quality management system with respect to the university’s quality policy and quality objectives and the university’s strategic objectives. Management reviews provide the university with information on the quality of its activities and the related development needs. They are carried out with a bottom-up approach from units to faculties to university leadership, and there is also student representatives in the university leadership group.
Audits and evaluations
An audit is a systematic, independent and documented process in which the audit evidence acquired is assessed to determine the extent to which the agreed audit criteria have been met. Audits examine whether the organisation’s quality assurance system complies with the objectives and is effective and fit for purpose.
Audits are based on quality documentation and the selected standard or assessment model. Audits do not take a stand on the objectives or outcomes of the activities. They assess the processes that the university uses to manage and develop the quality of research, education and other activities.
Internal audits
An internal audit is a periodic, independent development procedure for assessing the compliance of the organisation’s quality management system with the agreed practices, stakeholder expectations and regulatory requirements. Internal audits are also performed to demonstrate that the quality management system meets the needs of the university/unit.
The auditors of internal audits are the university’s quality coordinators and internal auditors representing the university staff, who may be joined by representatives of the university’s students, if necessary. A report is drawn up on the audit and discussed in the unit, where the necessary measures and their monitoring and evaluation are also agreed.
Benchmarking refers to comparing one’s own activities with those of others, mostly with the corresponding best practice. The university and its units aim to identify good quality cooperation partners both nationally and internationally and to carry out benchmarking with them. Internal benchmarking means comparing the functions of one’s own organisation. It is a good way to identify and disseminate common best practices.
External audits and other evaluations
Universities have an obligation under the Universities Act to regularly participate in an external evaluation of their activities and quality systems. The results of the evaluations must be public. Audits have been carried out in Finland since 2005 in accordance with the principles of enhancement-led evaluation. The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) is responsible for evaluating education and training nationally.
Universities and other higher education institutions can choose to have their quality systems certified by an external certification body in accordance with, for example, the ISO 9001 quality standard. They may also seek accreditation for individual degree programmes or their laboratory activities from a Finnish or international accreditation body. Accreditation, i.e. the verification of competence, is a procedure based on international criteria that enables the competence of an operator and the credibility of the certificates it issues to be reliably established.
Other evaluations
The university regularly carries out self-assessments of its functions, such as leadership and management at the university, for continuous improvement of its activities. The self-assessments also include examining and evaluating the university’s societal engagement and the impact of its activities on society. Annual evaluations and regular international peer reviews are carried out to assess the research performed at the university. The university also participates in evaluations of education, training and learning outcomes and various thematic and field-specific evaluations that the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre carries out nationally.
FINEEC Audits
The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) is responsible for evaluating education and training nationally. FINEEC audits assess the scope, functionality and effectiveness of the quality systems of higher education institutions (HEIs). The audits are carried out using the evaluation procedure of FINEEC and a set of criteria, which follows the European University Association (EUA) and European Higher Education Area (EHEA) guidelines and recommendations (ESG: Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area) and focuses on a student-centred approach to learning and education and the related quality assurance in higher education.
The purpose of the audit model is to assess whether the HEI’s quality work meets the European quality assurance standards, whether the quality system produces relevant information for the implementation of the strategy and the continuous development of the HEI’s activities, and whether it results in effective enhancement measures.
FINEEC audit at the University of Eastern Finland
The quality system of the University of Eastern Finland was first audited in late 2010. The university passed the audit. Carried out every six years, the second audit took place in late 2016. It was an international audit in which some of the auditors in the audit team were international quality experts and the audit language was English. The Higher Education Evaluation Committee confirmed that the university passed the FINEEC audit on 21 April 2017. The quality label received is valid for six years, until 21 April 2023.
The next audit of the quality system of the University of Eastern Finland will take place in late autumn, 9–10 November 2022, and it will be an international audit. FINEEC will appoint the audit team during spring 2022. The audit will be carried out either on site on the university campus or remotely between FINEEC and the university.
The audit is based on FINEEC’s audit framework for 2018–2024 and the evaluation criteria of the audit manual for higher education institutions 2019–2024.There are three evaluation areas of FINEEC audits which are:
I HEI (Higher education Institute) creates competence
II HEI promotes impact and renewal
III HEI enhances quality and well-being
IV HEI as a learning organization
The fourth evaluation area is selected by the HEI (The University of Eastern Finland) and it is an international theme ’University of Eastern Finland as a learning and working environment for international students and employees’, whitch is an important theme also as an strategic point of view.
The current FINEEC audit process includes a benchlearning process. The University of Eastern Finland’s partner university in the benchlearning process carried out in 2021 was the University of Jyväskylä. The benchlearning process focused on continuous learning, including stakeholder cooperation. In the benchlearning process, the University of Eastern Finland’s main focus for developing its activities was on open university education, while the University of Jyväskylä focused on continuing professional education. The universities drew up a final report on the process together.
There are three levels of the assessment scale for the evaluation areas of FINEEC audits and they are excellent, good and insufficient. In order for University to pass the audit the evaluation ares l-lll should reach at least the level good. Area lV the university’s own choice won’t affect passing the audit. After passing the audit, the HEI will receive an audit certificate and FINEEC’s quality label, which will be valid for six years from the decision of the Higher Education Evaluation Committee.