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Government Priorities

Higher Education in Finland Orientation Program for American Fulbright Grantees Senior Advisor Eeva Kaunismaa Department for Higher Education and Science Policy August, 2014. Government Priorities. In education Finland the most competent nation in 2020

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Government Priorities

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  1. HigherEducation in FinlandOrientation Program for American Fulbright GranteesSenior Advisor Eeva KaunismaaDepartment for HigherEducation and Science PolicyAugust, 2014

  2. Government Priorities In education • Finland the most competent nation in 2020 • Reduction of gender differences in learning outcomes, participation and completion of education • Equal opportunities and rights to free quality education • To ensure the availability of the workforce, especially in key educational, health and welfare services • Guidance and counselling at all levels of education • All primary school leavers will be guaranteed a study place • To adapt the network of educational institutions to demographic trends

  3. Government Programme on Higher Education and Science • Quality, efficiency and internationalisation of HE • Polytechnic Reform (legal status, funding, administration) • Each province in Finland will have at least one higher education institution. • The establishment of a university for the arts will be promoted. • Access to higher education studies will be made smoother for example by reforming student selection. • Policy on the national research infrastructure will be promoted.

  4. Towardsa moredynamic HE and researchsystem

  5. SelectedHigherEducationFactsabout Finland • Population of 5,4 million • Higher educationinstitutionnetworkcovers the populatedparts of the country • 14 universities • 24 polytechnics • Studentenrollmentaltogetherca. 316 000 • ca. 20 000 doctoralstudents • about 1600 doctoraldegrees/year (> 50 % female) • EU memberstatesince 1995 University (blue) Polytechnic (green) Research institute (red)

  6. Key Features of the Finnish Higher Education System • "Open and equalaccess" for all • Extensive network of HE institutions covering the whole country • Regional equality • Tuition free system with minor exceptions

  7. The Finnish Higher Education System • The Finnish higher education system comprises two parallel sectors: • University sector • 14 research universities • Student enrollment 114 000, annual intake ~ 20 000 • Independent legal persons with majority of funding through State budget • Polytechnic sector (established in the mid-1990s) • 24 institutions • Student enrollment 113 500, annual intake ~ 26 500 • Institutions partly funded by the state, partly by municipalities • Regional development tasks • Bachelor degrees (vocational and professional degrees) • (Professional) Master’s degrees in selected fields • The whole HE system provides study places for 65-70% of an age group

  8. The University Reform 2010  The New University Act Aims and means of the university reform • To give the universities a stronger financial and administrative autonomy, they were made independent legal persons (instead of State accounting offices) and supplied with sufficient capital. • As legal persons, the universities are better able to operate with the surrounding society. • Universities took the place of the State as employers: civil-service employment relationships  contractual employment relationships • Measures are taken to ensure continued international competitiveness of the university system.

  9. The PolytechnicReform To give the polytechnics a stronger position to meet the changing needs of the working life, society and regions As independent legal persons polytechnics will have more independent status and more flexibility to better respond to the needs of the surrounding society Stronger strategic competence, profiling, focus area choises, stronger leadership and ability to decision making To enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and RDI To strengthen their role within the innovation system To ensure international competitiveness of the polytechnic system

  10. FirstPhase The operating licences and the educational responsibilitiesrevised The grounds and criteria for fundingwilltake into consideration the polytechnics´ statutoryoperations in theirentirety, with emphasis on quality, impact and efficiency. The firstphase of the reformtookeffect on 1 January 2014 (amendments to legislation) concerning: new funding model new operating licences updated educational responsibilities

  11. Second Phase The polytechnics and the organisations running them to merge into one legal person, and juridically all the polytechnics become limited companies the governance model to be streamlined so that the polytechnics only have one, jointgoverningboard The responsibility for core funding to be entirely transferred to the state Government capitalization of the polytechnics The secondphase of the reform is expected to takeeffect on 1 January 2015

  12. Photo: Sara Djupsund

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