Degree certificates and other similar certificates will be awarded also when the university’s facilities are closed. The student needs to submit his or her application electronically. The application for a Bachelor’s or a doctoral degree is submitted electronically in e-Services, and the application for a Master’s degree on an electronic form. At the Faculty of Health Sciences, the application for a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree is submitted on an electronic form, and the application for a doctoral degree is applied for in e-Services. Certificates are sought to be prepared so that they can be mailed to the student within three weeks; however, the delivery may take longer. Further instructions will be made available in Kamu later.
Category: Common
Bulletin to all students of the University of Eastern Finland regarding the coronavirus situation 17.3.2020
This message is distributed to all students of the University of Eastern Finland. Take note of the issues that pertain to you. The unusual situation we are currently in has raised many questions and caused worry in all of us, and we wish to provide you with advice and guidelines by communicating with you openly.
The University of Eastern Finland will switch to online studying and will close its campuses in accordance with the instructions given by the Finnish Government on 16 March.
The university’s facilities will be closed on Tuesday afternoon, 17 March 2020 at 16.00 (4 pm). This also applies to the University of Eastern Finland Library. However, the library’s online services and materials can be utilized as usual.
If a student has any personal belongings that he or she wishes to pick up from the university, this will need to be done during Tuesday 17 March 2020 by 16.00 (4 pm). Information about how courses are organised online will be made available to the students as soon as the related arrangement are clear.
We request that you read our instructions carefully and follow our directions. In doing so, we can act preventatively and affect the spread of the coronavirus in our university community. In North Karelia and Northern Savonia, there are currently only 4 verified cases.
All students are in an equal position in the UEF community. Even in such an exceptional situation, everyone is treated the same.
Questions can be sent to [email protected]
You can reach our university’s staff starting 18.3.2020 by email, phone and through other communication channels. Studies will only be conducted as distance studies. There will be no contact teaching. You can find our contact information in the university contacts directory: https://www.uef.fi/en/web/guest/contacts/contacts-directory.
We will have up-to-date information about the situation on our official websites:
the coronavirus site on Kamu: https://kamu.uef.fi/en/student-book/coronavirus/
the coronavirus site on the UEF main website: http://www.uef.fi/en/koronavirus
Studies, teaching and customer service
Studies will only be conducted as distance studies.
Follow the communications from your own subject about the arrangement of the studies.
You can find the customer service contact information from the end of this message.
Other
- With questions regarding student financial aid, follow Kela’s communications on their website: https://www.kela.fi/web/en.
- The Finnish student health service provides news on their website: https://www.yths.fi/en/frontpage/.
- The situation regarding the campus restaurants will be announced separately.
If you have any questions, please contact the following addresses:
- Regarding teaching: first contact the person in charge of your subject. If you are unable to reach the correct person, please contact [email protected].
- With questions regarding international studies/traineeships, please contact [email protected].
- With questions about IT Services and distance teaching, please contact [email protected].
- With general questions regarding the coronavirus and the University of Eastern Finland, please contact [email protected].
- You can find the UEF personnel contact information in the UEF contacts directory: https://www.uef.fi/en/web/guest/contacts/contacts-directory.
- With questions regarding studies at the Open University, contact [email protected].
University of Eastern Finland will close its facilities on 18 March – prepare for the situation today
The University of Eastern Finland will move all of its teaching online and will close its campuses in accordance with the instructions given by the Finnish Government on 16 March.
The university’s facilities will be closed on Tuesday afternoon, 17 March 2020 at 16.00 (4 pm). This also applies to the University of Eastern Finland Library.
If a student has any personal belongings that he or she wishes to pick up from the university, this will need to be done during Tuesday 17 March 2020 by 16.00 (4 pm). Information about how courses are organised online will be made available to the students as soon as the related arrangement are clear.
University of Eastern Finland gives teachers authority over their teaching
Due to the coronavirus situation, the Board of the University of Eastern Finland decided on 13 March 2020 that the UEF University Regulations will be temporarily amended so that teachers in charge of courses can decide on changes to the ways their courses are organised and evaluated.
“By changing the way teaching and exams are organised is our way of responding to the coronavirus situation as smoothly as possible,” says Miia Turtiainen, Director of Student and Learning Services.
Under normal circumstances, these kinds of changes should be decided by the Faculty Councils but, due to the situation, the university wishes to minimise bureaucracy.
According to Turtiainen, the way a course is organised can be changed from, e.g., in-person teaching on campus to a recorded lecture or to a lecture organised online.
“Exams can also be changed to independently completed assignments that do not require physical presence on the campus.”
Changes can be made to ongoing courses and, indeed, they can be expected already in the week starting on 16 March. Teachers and units in charge of courses will directly inform course participants of any possible changes.
Turtiainen emphasises that it is not possible to move all teaching and exams online.
“When it comes to taking exams on campus, we seek to make sure that there is enough distance between the students, and we will take care of matters relating to hygiene. Of course, no one should come to an exam if they have a fever or are feeling otherwise ill.”
For the time being, the university recommends that its staff members do not organise gatherings of more than 10 people. This, however, is not directly applicable to teaching.
“We are, however, encouraging our teachers to start using alternative ways to organise their courses, whenever this is possible.”
The IT Service Desk is on call also during the weekend and is prepared to assist teachers if they wish to change the way their course is organised. The IT Service Desk can be contacted by email: servicedesk (at) uef.fi
Tips on how to organise online teaching are available on the university’s website: https://www.uef.fi/en/etaopetuksen-valineita
Instead of the teacher in charge of the course, the decision on the way teaching is organised can also be made by the Dean or the Vice-Dean. When the situation becomes normal again, the Rector will decide on the termination of this temporary authority given to teachers.
For further information, please contact:
Director of Student and Learning Services Miia Turtiainen, miia.turtiainen(at)uef.fi , +358504382610
Campus restaurants’ coronavirus guidelines
News bulletin from Compass Group, the provider of campus restaurant services, 13 March 2020.
The health and safety of our employees, customers and consumers is our highest priority. We consider guidelines issued by authorities a minimum requirement. In addition, we are proactively adjusting our operations on a daily basis to ensure the security of our customers and employees.
Updated guidelines for our restaurants
1. We tell the customers to wash their hands before eating
2. We try to ensure that hand sanitiser is always available
3. We replace utensils more often and adjust the presentation of food
4. We recommend that customers keep a one-metre distance from others
5. We make sure that the number of people in the room at one time does not exceed 500
Other policies to ensure security and reliability
- We have already strengthened our daily disinfection practices in all locations and ensured the availability of sufficient protective equipment, detergents and disinfectants. We have also updated our guidelines for providing services in exceptional situations.
- We are trying to find alternative means to ensure the availability of food and service. Examples of this include portioning of food, single-serve packaging and distribution of food from our production kitchens. Our Account Managers or restaurant managers will contact our customers directly to discuss best possible practices.
- We have also cancelled all international business trips. From now on, we will hold our internal meetings virtually and will not participate in large public events
- Our internal Covid team is regularly monitoring the situation in Finland and around the world, and we are sharing best practices among countries.
- If you or your company have any questions, please contact your Account Manager.
New bulletin on the COVID-19 from FSHS
Finnish Student Health Service FSHS has issued a new bulletin on the coronavirus outbreak / COVID-19.
Link to the bulletin in text form: https://www.yths.fi/en/news/2020/current-information-concerning-the-coronavirus/
THE COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS BULLETIN 14 MARCH AT 12 p.m
Finnish institute for health and welfare: Stay at home if you have mild symptoms and seek medical help only if your symptoms are severe
(13 Mar 2020)
If you have mild respiratory tract infection symptoms, such as rhinitis, cough, throat pain, muscle pain, or fever, stay at home to rest and recuperate. Stay home until the symptoms go away.
Contact your healthcare provider only if you experience severe symptoms such as shortness of breath or if your overall condition gets worse. In that case, contact your healthcare provider by phone to prevent spreading the disease to others. The aim is to ensure that those suffering from severe symptoms are able to receive treatment. Medical Helpline number is 116 117.
‘Avoid contact with others if you have symptoms of respiratory infection. Do not go to work or school when sick, and do not take sick children to day care or to the grandparents. That way, you are helping protect the elderly and people who are susceptible to coronavirus because of their primary disease,’ says Director Mika Salminen.
Please do not call to healthcare providers or go to your healthcare provider if you have mild symptoms of respiratory infection!
Language Centre switches to online teaching
Due to Corona virus situation, Language Centre teaching will be transferred online. No contact meetings will be organized starting Monday 16 March. Teacher of your course will give you further information. Please make sure to check your emails and Moodle.
University of Eastern Finland tightens regulations on the COVID-19 coronavirus
The University of Eastern Finland tightens its regulations relating to the COVID-19 coronavirus. As of Friday, 13 March 2020, all work- and studies-related travel abroad is prohibited, and leisure time travel is recommended to be avoided as well. Everyone returning from abroad must work or study from home for 14 days before coming to the university. Should someone now choose to travel abroad despite the travel ban, no salary will be paid during the 14-day stay-at-home period. At the moment, the university does not receive any external visitors, not from Finland or from abroad.
The university also tightens its regulations on domestic travel. Domestic travel is not recommended, and meetings requiring travel should be attended via videoconferencing solutions whenever possible.
People belonging to a risk group due to their medical condition (employees, students, the staff and pupils of the teacher training school) are to work or study remotely from their home. Working remotely from home is also recommended to all other employees whose duties allow for working from home. Further instructions on the practices relating to remote work will be issued next week.
The practices of notifying of a sick leave are also changed. For the time being, employees can go on sick leave for 7 days by notifying their supervisor of the matter, i.e. a visit to occupational health care is not required.
The university seeks to make its teaching increasingly available online. The Academic Rector as urged the units to examine their teaching and exam practices for the entire spring 2020 in order to ensure that students have an opportunity to complete studies and earn credits also under exceptional circumstances.
To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it is necessary to limit the size of gatherings. The University of Eastern Finland follows the definition of policy of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare according to which no meetings or gatherings with more than 10 people should be organized. People attending meetings should keep a 1-metre distance to one another. In teaching, this group size is the preferred ideal, but if it is not possible to achieve this, teaching will, for the time being, continue to be organized normally.
The restrictions on travel and size of gatherings also have an impact on public examinations of doctoral dissertations. For the time being, public examinations of doctoral dissertations will be organized so that the opponent participates in the event via a videoconferencing solution, and the event will be streamed live. A maximum of 10 people may attend the meeting in person.
The coronavirus epidemic also affects the Sykettä sports services: for the time being, all Sykettä sports activities are cancelled.
For further information, please contact:
Director of Administration Tuomo Meriläinen, tel. 358403552299, tuomo.merilainen(at)uef.fi
University of Eastern Finland makes teaching available online due to the coronavirus situation
Teaching at the University of Eastern Finland is organised normally at the moment. However, since the coronavirus situation keeps evolving and it can be seen that the epidemic is expanding, the University of Eastern Finland seeks to safeguard the availability of teaching also under exceptional circumstances.
The university’s Academic Rector decided on 12 March 2020 that the faculties, Aducate, the Language Centre and the Library are to organise alternative ways to attend and complete courses for students who cannot participate in in-person teaching on the campuses due to the coronavirus situation. Where possible, in-person teaching on the campuses should be moved online either entirely or in part, or use other alternatives. In addition and where possible, the modes of taking exams should be changed so that they do not require physical presence on campus.
The goal is to make sure that students will be able to complete enough credits in view of, e.g. student financial aid, and that they can graduate within the time limit set for their degree. The units will notify students of any changes made to the way their teaching is offered.
For further information, please contact:
Academic Rector Tapio Määttä, tapio.maatta(at)uef.fi, tel. +358505751589