Category: Common

The University of Eastern Finland has begun to reorganise the way entrance examinations will be held this spring under the prevailing state of emergency. It has already been decided that some of the first entrance examinations in April will be organised by using online solutions. The Philosophical Faculty’s internal student admissions to minor subject studies and to qualification studies in teacher education on 16– 29 April will be carried out according to the original timetable by using online solutions. The participants have been notified of the change by email, and they have also received instructions on how to participate.

The University of Eastern Finland’s original plan was to organise a total of 42 entrance examinations over the course of April, May and June. The study programmes available in these entrance examinations would have attracted approximately 20,000 applicants to the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses.

Today, the Finnish universities have jointly decided that it is not possible to organise entrance examinations requiring physical attendance safely due to the coronavirus epidemic (press release by Universities Finland, UNIFI, on 8 April 2020). The universities have decided to replace entrance examinations that would have a large number of participants with alternative modes of student admission.

“Any smaller entrance examinations possibly organised by the University of Eastern Finland will be held so that a maximum of 10 people may be present in the room at the same time,” Academic Rector Tapio Määttä says.

In place of entrance examinations planned to be held in the universities’ facilities, an increasing number of students will be admitted on the basis of their matriculation examination certificate (or equivalent certificate). Digital admissions processes are also being developed to replace entrance examinations requiring physical attendance.

“As a result of this reorganisation of entrance examinations, the University of Eastern Finland will also significantly expand the open university route, so that studies in the open university can, to some degree, be started already in the summer,” Tapio Määttä says.

The universities will make information on the organisation of admissions to different study programmes available as they make the relevant decisions. However, all decisions on changes to the admissions criteria will be made and communicated no later than 30 April. Information about changes to the entrance examination arrangements will be sent to the participants by email. Information on admissions to all study programmes will be made available at: https://haeyliopistoon.fi/valinnat-2020-muutokset/

Questions relating to student admissions and their organisation can be sent to: valintakokeet2020(at)uef.fi.

For further information, please contact:

Academic Rector Tapio Määttä, tel. +358 50 575 1589, tapio.maatta (at) uef.fi

The Finnish universities have concluded that, due to the coronavirus situation, organising traditional entrance examinations is not possible without compromising the safety of those involved. What makes guaranteeing safety impossible is the severity of the pandemic, the difficulty of identifying those at a higher risk for serious illness, as well as the risks associated with the examination situation itself.

In all, the Finnish universities organise hundreds of entrance examinations, which involve tens of thousands of applicants and thus cause large crowds of people to move within Finland and come into contact with each other. In line with the authorities’ instructions to avoid physical contact, the Finnish universities’ vice presidents for education have decided that the entrance exams in the spring and summer of 2020 will be organised using alternative means.

‘While we understand that this is a difficult and perplexing situation for the applicants, we simply cannot put anyone’s health at stake. There are up to thousands of participants in individual examinations. This means that whatever the precautions, the applicants’ arrival to and participation in the examinations would inevitably lead to a considerable number of contacts between people. Under these circumstances, we have no way of guaranteeing the safety of the applicants and staff involved’, says chair of the Unifi meetings for vice presidents for education Petri Suomala.

The universities will implement their student admissions procedures in a manner that takes into consideration the special characteristics of each field, while also making use of the joint admissions procedures as before. Traditional entrance examinations being out of the question, the universities may choose from a host of other means of admitting students, such as digital admissions procedures, online courses, certificate-based admission or the open university route. Small-scale entrance examinations may be organised taking careful precautions.

The shared objective of the universities is to start the 2020–2021 academic year in the autumn in accordance with the normal schedule.

‘The changes require no action from the applicants at this point’, says Suomala. ‘The alternative admissions procedures will take into consideration the applicants’ viewpoint and safeguard the equal opportunities for all eligible applicants to gain admission’, Suomala continues.

The universities will disseminate information on the changed admission procedures as soon as possible regarding the examinations scheduled for April. The details on all other entrance examinations will be communicated no later than 30 April. Information on the detailed examination arrangements will be disseminated before the examinations take place. This information will be made available in the Studyinfo portal and on the universities’ webpages, as well as on the webpages dedicated to the various joint admission procedures. In addition, all applicants are expected to read the email address they have given in the Studyinfo portal to ensure that they stay updated on the situation.

Additional information
Petri Suomala
Chair of the Unifi meetings for vice presidents for education
Universities Finland UNIFI
tel. +358 40 591 8044

 

The Finnish universities are following up on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and are carefully preparing for the practical arrangements of student admissions under these exceptional circumstances. Universities are preparing for different scenarios in close collaboration with Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Agency for Education in compliance with the authorities’ instructions.

If the coronavirus situation warrants changes to the entrance examination arrangements, the universities will disseminate information on them no later than 15 April.

– We fully understand that uncertainty about the future is weighing on the minds of many applicants and their families. They can, however, rest assured that universities will collaborate intensively and effectively to ensure that student admissions will run as smoothly as possible in these extremely challenging conditions, says chair of the Unifi meetings for vice presidents for education, Petri Suomala.

As pointed out by Minister of Science and Culture Hanna Kosonen, the Finnish higher education institutions, the ministry and the Finnish National Agency for Education are cooperating closely to stay abreast of the coronavirus situation. Suomala stresses that ensuring the safety of all those involved and preventing the spread of the virus are top priorities in all decision-making concerning admissions.

Another key consideration is ensuring the equal treatment of all students, something that in the universities’ shared view can only be accomplished through entrance examinations or similar student admissions procedures.

– The vice presidents for education are assessing developments in the situation and will formulate national policy solutions together. In addition, the universities have set up a pandemic working group of experts in university admissions to support the vice presidents in finding solutions, Suomala reports.

The universities’ common aim is to begin the academic year in the autumn according to the normal schedule. The universities have committed to carrying out the student admissions as well as possible under the current conditions.

Further information:
Petri Suomala
Chair of the Unifi meetings for vice presidents for education
Universities Finland
Tel. +358 40 591 8044
[email protected]