EUA: December 2002 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

SWOT analysis

University of TampereProfessor Reijo Raivola

KU Leuven Belgium

EUA: December 2002 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

SWOT: Quality Control

Existing statutes define clear proceduresReliable statistics availableExcellent research and teaching units rewardedOne person ad hoc committees effectiveContinuous development of Universitys own structureIncreasing mobility in national context Studying free of charge

Create stronger contacts with working lifeFlexible degree curricula easily achievedIndividual study plans ensure better studycommitment and planning of studiesBetter counseling throughout the study timeAs a result of mobility options for joint degrees on the horizon

Response to demands of work life too slowDegrees should rather respond to the long termthan short term demandFreedom in student choices and insufficient counseling create uncertainty and degreeswith excessive credits, great differences in departmental culturesQuality culture still in its infancyStudents self-direction is not self-evident

Loose new statutes open to deliberate misinterpretationsRegional and academic differentiation ofuniversities Short-term tailoring of studies and degrees for occasional demandDegrees do not respond to demand of society and working lifeSupply and demand in HE do not meet

EUA: December 2002 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

SWOT: Mobility and EHEA

Fairly wide variety of courses and programmes offered in EnglishFinancial support for mobility is adequate, likewise other support systemsRecognition of studies taken abroad exists regardless of different HE systemsSeen from Southern Europe Finland is exotic and appealingAgreements and networks in exchange andmobility work well

Selection of foreign degree students inadequateif the number students increases (documents)Reports to EU Commission are voluminousInformation on studies insufficient for inter-national studentsToo many weak links in the networks causeinefficiencyInternational activities are not everyday breadin all departments (differences in activity)Mobility support (in euros) is not enough. Thisincreases social differentiation of mobility

Differences in study culture cause difficulties International activities burden some departmentsStudies abroad tenuously connected to thecontent and orientation of home curriculumReal meaning of EHEA is obscure or itseffect on smaller countries will be negativeIs Finland too cold, remote and ultima thule forlarger numbers of foreign students and teachers?Internationalization occurs at expense of national system or is detrimental to it

In international context Finnish education system is quite strong and effectiveProgrammes taught in English give good basisfor internationalizationStudents have their say in university administrationVirtual learning (Virtual University), open uni-versity sector and life-long learning well-establishedTransparency increases vis--vis studies and degrees

EUA: December 2002 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

SWOT: ECTS and national credit system

Good and long experience (over 20 years) ofcredit systemCredit system good for students and teachersevaluating the progress of studies Comparison of subjects in different institutionsrelatively easyTransparency facilitates students mobility to other universityTendency to increase student workload easy to avoid in curricular changes

Defining grades and learning outcomes requires special commitment of teachers and studentsAlways differences in evaluation of the workload in one university, on national and inter-national levelRequirements of the statutes (5-year degree) and reality are contradictory: study median andworkload incompatible with regulationsDefining learning outcomes is real challenge

Normal distribution evaluation applied in the ECTS incompatible with smaller exam groups Defined learning outcomes do not ensure achieve-ment, quality assurance definitely neededMere conversion not enough when introducingECTS, workload must also be (re)evaluatedAccumulation of credits is a real challenge because the extent of degrees must be defined in credits

Student workload as a planning tool prevents curricular swelling and excessive creditaccumulationRealistic allocation of workload/semester and year can be used in planning by students and teachersIntroduction of ECTS enables deeper analysis of the curriculum (e.g. core analysis on subject anddegree level)

EUA: December 2002 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

SWOT: Two-tier degree system (Ba-Ma)

Good experiences of former BA-level degrees,which had good reputation on labour marketVery flexible arrangements to combine various sciences (subjects) in the same degreeGood co-operation on national level (JOO)Multidisciplinary institution is a strength as suchNew disciplines have clear work life relevanceUniversity monitors carefully the employment of graduates

Tampere offers degrees where work experience afterB.A. and later M.A. studies are effectively combinedMasters students with work experience are challengeto teachers and source of information to peersAfter B.A. transfer between fields would be accept-able and more rule than exception or disturbanceIncreasing goal-orientation in studies, individual study plansCo-operation with polytechnics beneficial on BA level

Finnish students claim increasing study supportto enable full-time studiesTerms in universities are rather shortAre degrees with excess credits the right tool tosecure employment after graduation?Adequacy of resources (resources to bridge thegap between polytechnic and university studies)Financing model of the universities does notsupport production of Bachelors degrees

Will study culture change alongside the degreestructure? Will study times really be shorter?Are full-time studies possible? Will students still have to work during their studies?Separate admission process for M.A studies may delay studiesNew structure needs additional counseling resources,but will these resources come to universities?Divergent ideas about co-operation with polytechnicsBachelors not valued in the labour market