Helsinki University again found to offer best conditions for study

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According to a fresh survey entitled Opiskelijan yliopisto (”The Student's University"), the University of Helsinki offers the best conditions for studies from the students’ perspective..
      The first similar survey was conducted three years ago, and in the meantime, counselling and tutoring have improved in most Finnish universities, says Janne Jauhiainen, the Executive Director of the Student Research Foundation Otus.
      Otus exists to practice, promote, and support research and publications concerning higher education and students’ economic, cultural, and social status and their way of life.
     
The information for the recent survey is based on questionnaires sent to students’ unions and on statistics.
      The purpose of the study was not so much to monitor the quality of education or research, but the focus of the research was rather on the practical arrangements of studies, sports and library services, international education, and the subsequent employment of graduates.
     
A total of 17 universities were involved in the comparison. The only dedicated arts university included was the Sibelius Academy, standing out with its plentiful supply of teachers per student. The strength at the University of Lapland lies in the fact that the establishment has funnelled a lot of money into personal computers.
      Nearly all universities offer their students basic online communications and a wireless network.
      As a provider of language studies, the University of Helsinki is in a class of its own.
      Regarding well-being services, the universities of Helsinki and Tampere were ranked best. Moreover, the sports facilities provided by the University of Helsinki are superior to any other university.
      Nowadays student psychologists are also found in most universities, even though such services are rather new.
     
The survey concluded that overall, the strength areas and development objectives relating to the studying conditions of universities were rather evenly divided.
      However, Tuomas Telkkä, the President of the National Union of University Students in Finland, says that there are still really large variations in Finnish universities pertaining to the transparency in administration.
      The reform of university degrees that was implemented in the autumn of 2005 has resulted in other reforms as well. For instance, all universities have adopted personal curricula.
      Instead, there is a considerable diversity regarding how actively the universities contact those students whose studies have been delayed.
      The third Opiskelijan yliopisto survey evaluated the studying conditions using six indicators with 7-13 criteria.
     
The best studying conditions were found in the University of Helsinki, the Turku School of Economics, the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration Hanken, the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi, and at the Tampere University of Technology.
      In comparison, the previous survey from 2006 ranked the University of Helsinki first, ahead of the Tampere University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Jyväskylä, and the University of Tampere.


Links:
  Student Research foundation Otus
  Statistics Finland
  The National Union of University Students in Finland

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