Estonian Business School opens a branch in Helsinki

Finland’s Ministry of Education is concerned about students’ legal protection

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A private Estonian university intends to open a branch in Helsinki next autumn.
      In a statement issued on Thursday, the Estonian Business School (EBS) announced: ”The goal of the branch is to offer Finnish students a possibility to study international business administration in English based on the EBS distance learning programme”.
      According to the EBS, it will be possible to take Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees that are supervised by the Estonian Ministry of Education. There will be a tuition fee.
     
The Finnish Ministry of Education is not overly enthusiastic about private university entrepreneurs. Marjatta Lindqvist, an official at the Ministry of Education, says that she is concerned about the students’ legal rights.
      ”The teaching may be quite good, but it is important for students to understand that this kind of educational institution cannot confer Finnish higher education degrees. The Finnish institutions of higher education are designated by the University Act, and corresponding degrees cannot be given by any other establishment”, Lindqvist notes.
     
Moreover, when it comes to working life, EBS graduates would not necessarily be in the same position as those who have completed their Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees at a Finnish university.
      According to Lindqvist, it would also be entirely up to employers, whether or not they regard the Estonian degrees as equal to the Finnish ones.
     
The Estonian Business School believes that there will be no shortage of students willing to study in its Helsinki campus.
      According to the Estonian university, a total of 170 Finnish students have completed their studies in the Tallinn campus so far, while another 70 are studying at the EBS at the moment.
      The EBS’s annual tuition fee is EUR 5,000.


See also:
  Aalto University to be split into two campuses (15.6.2011)

Links:
  Professor: Students should pay "education tax" after graduation (13.6.2011)
  Estonian Business School (EBS) news release

Helsingin Sanomat