Ģֱ first university to go through the third audit cycle –students and well-being emphasised at the university
The Ģֱ passed the audit conducted by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) and was awarded a quality label valid for six years. Passing the audit shows that the university's activities and quality system meet both the national criteria and the European quality assurance criteria for higher education institutions.
“The feedback of the FINEEC audit group is valuable for the development of our university. It is important that every JYU community member is committed to quality work – this is visible in the achieved results. I also want to thank everyone who participated in the auditing process. This is a good place to continue systematic development of operations and quality management in the spirit of continuous quality improvement, as defined in our strategy”, says Rector Keijo Hämäläinen.
All-encompassing educational leadership and a high standard of teaching
Education at the Ģֱ is led convincingly and efforts are made to implement the education in an alignment manner. The university puts a great deal of effort in supporting and guiding the students’ studies and ensuring student well-being. The audit team concludes that educational provision is developed and valued at the Ģֱ. The university’s multidisciplinary master's programmes have also been developed in cooperation for a long time.
"We were particularly impressed by the all-encompassing nature of educational development and systematic work on the curricula. The student feedback system could be updated, and students could receive feedback on their feedback more often. If this were the case, the Ģֱ’s educational development processes could set an example for all Finnish higher education institutions”, says Professor Helka-Liisa Hentilä from the University of Oulu, the chair of the audit team.
Emphasis on well-being at work and personnel development
The Ģֱ makes great efforts to support the personnel’s well-being at work, equality and non-discrimination. The personnel also understand the link between their work and the university's objectives. The quality system has been developed comprehensively over a long period of time. However, the audit team encourages the university to ensure that the holistic approach will not, as a flip side, lead to rigid procedures in which small matters that require immediate attention and could be quickly improved are forgotten.
An important role in the region
Regional stakeholders acknowledge and value cooperation with the Ģֱ. The university thus has a clear, important role as a developer and advocate of the region. The Ģֱ also engages in a great deal of cooperation through its networks at international, national and regional level.
The Ģֱ is a national pioneer in promoting open research. The university should communicate more systematically about the versatile work and research it conducts, and support researchers in being more active communicators. The university's societal engagement could also be more goal-oriented in the future, and specific indicators could be used to monitor it. The quality system could also be complemented with parts that concern societal engagement.
The audits of higher education institutions’ quality systems were launched Finland in 2005. All Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences have participated in the audits of higher education institutions. The third audit cycle, which began with pilot audits in 2018, is currently under way. The Ģֱ was the first university to go through a third-cycle audit under the new audit framework.
The audit report is available on FINEEC’s .
Further information
Helka-Liisa Hentilä, Professor, Chair of the Audit Team, 040 837 5527 helka-liisa.hentila(at)oulu.fi
Mira Huusko, Senior Advisor, Project Manager of the Audit, 029 533 5565, mira.huusko(at)karvi.fi
