Universities’ important decisions
At universities, two kinds of decisions with significant effect on their success are made: what kind of staff is hired, and what kind of students are selected. The quality of university teaching and research is a direct consequence of these choices.
english translation marko saajanaho
Despite the introduction of new, additional staff selection methods, most positions are still filled by evaluating largely the same qualities of the applicant that have been evaluated since the early days of the university institution. Frequent subjects of evaluation include the applicant’s scientific qualifications, teaching skill, social functions, expected potential as a researcher or teacher, and – as the latest evaluation category – ability to obtain external funding. When universities make successful staff hires, the first major decision has also succeeded.
On the flip side, the second decision – the student admission method – has gone through quite a flux. For a long time, universities chose their students via entrance exams based on literature of their respective fields, which meant there could be a hefty amount to read for each field. Later, certificate-based admission was introduced to complement this method, and the number of existing certificate holders was reduced in the student admission process. This year, the entrance exams were updated again. During this spring’s second joint application period, the previous 120 entrance exams were replaced by nine national entrance exams allowing students to apply to several different fields and universities. Alongside these, the open university path has offered a university degree admission path based on successful open university studies.
As part of its growth measures during its mid-term session, the Finnish government decided this April to enable the completion of a full higher education degree in an open university or open vocational school, with study payment regulation also being loosened. This has also caused plenty of discussion and opinions for and against within the university community. One would hope that as preparation increases for this growth measure, it would also allow the university community to participate in the discussion to devise the best operating model possible. The university community has significant knowledge of the effects of different selection methods.
