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Strengths

Opportunities

SWOT analysis
Weaknesses

Threats

University of Tampere
Professor Reijo Raivola
KU Leuven Belgium

EUA: December 2002

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

SWOT: Quality Control


Strengths

Opportunities

Existing statutes define clear procedures


Reliable statistics available
Excellent research and teaching units rewarded
One person ad hoc committees effective
Continuous development of Universitys own
structure
Increasing mobility in national context
Studying free of charge

Weaknesses

Threats

Response to demands of work life too slow


Degrees should rather respond to the long term
than short term demand
Freedom in student choices and insufficient
counseling create uncertainty and degrees
with excessive credits, great differences in
departmental cultures
Quality culture still in its infancy
Students self-direction is not self-evident
EUA: December 2002

Create stronger contacts with working life


Flexible degree curricula easily achieved
Individual study plans ensure better study
commitment and planning of studies
Better counseling throughout the study time
As a result of mobility options for joint
degrees on the horizon

Loose new statutes open to deliberate


misinterpretations
Regional and academic differentiation of
universities
Short-term tailoring of studies and degrees for
occasional demand
Degrees do not respond to demand of society and
working life
Supply and demand in HE do not meet

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

SWOT: Mobility and EHEA


Strengths

Opportunities

Fairly wide variety of courses and


programmes offered in English
Financial support for mobility is adequate,
likewise other support systems
Recognition of studies taken abroad exists
regardless of different HE systems
Seen from Southern Europe Finland is exotic
and appealing
Agreements and networks in exchange and
mobility work well

Weaknesses

Threats

Selection of foreign degree students inadequate


if the number students increases (documents)
Reports to EU Commission are voluminous
Information on studies insufficient for international students
Too many weak links in the networks cause
inefficiency
International activities are not everyday bread
in all departments (differences in activity)
Mobility support (in euros) is not enough. This
increases social differentiation of mobility
EUA: December 2002

In international context Finnish education system


is quite strong and effective
Programmes taught in English give good basis
for internationalization
Students have their say in university administration
Virtual learning (Virtual University), open university sector and life-long learning well-established
Transparency increases vis--vis studies and degrees

Differences in study culture cause difficulties


International activities burden some departments
Studies abroad tenuously connected to the
content and orientation of home curriculum
Real meaning of EHEA is obscure or its
effect on smaller countries will be negative
Is Finland too cold, remote and ultima thule for
larger numbers of foreign students and teachers?
Internationalization occurs at expense of
national system or is detrimental to it

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

SWOT: ECTS and national credit system


Strengths

Opportunities

Good and long experience (over 20 years) of


credit system
Credit system good for students and teachers
evaluating the progress of studies
Comparison of subjects in different institutions
relatively easy
Transparency facilitates students mobility to
other university
Tendency to increase student workload easy to
avoid in curricular changes

Student workload as a planning tool prevents


curricular swelling and excessive credit
accumulation
Realistic allocation of workload/semester and year
can be used in planning by students and teachers
Introduction of ECTS enables deeper analysis
of the curriculum (e.g. core analysis on subject and
degree level)

Weaknesses

Threats

Defining grades and learning outcomes requires


special commitment of teachers and students
Always differences in evaluation of the
workload in one university, on national and international level
Requirements of the statutes (5-year degree)
and reality are contradictory: study median and
workload incompatible with regulations
Defining learning outcomes is real challenge

Normal distribution evaluation applied in the ECTS


incompatible with smaller exam groups
Defined learning outcomes do not ensure achievement, quality assurance definitely needed
Mere conversion not enough when introducing
ECTS, workload must also be (re)evaluated
Accumulation of credits is a real challenge because
the extent of degrees must be defined in credits

EUA: December 2002

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

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


Strengths

Opportunities

Good experiences of former BA-level degrees,


which had good reputation on labour market
Very flexible arrangements to combine various
sciences (subjects) in the same degree
Good co-operation on national level (JOO)
Multidisciplinary institution is a strength as such
New disciplines have clear work life relevance
University monitors carefully the employment
of graduates

Tampere offers degrees where work experience after


B.A. and later M.A. studies are effectively combined
Masters students with work experience are challenge
to teachers and source of information to peers
After B.A. transfer between fields would be acceptable and more rule than exception or disturbance
Increasing goal-orientation in studies, individual
study plans
Co-operation with polytechnics beneficial on BA level

Weaknesses

Threats

Finnish students claim increasing study support


to enable full-time studies
Terms in universities are rather short
Are degrees with excess credits the right tool to
secure employment after graduation?
Adequacy of resources (resources to bridge the
gap between polytechnic and university studies)
Financing model of the universities does not
support production of Bachelors degrees

Will study culture change alongside the degree


structure? 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 studies
New structure needs additional counseling resources,
but will these resources come to universities?
Divergent ideas about co-operation with polytechnics
Bachelors not valued in the labour market

EUA: December 2002

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE

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