Accrediting Professional Courses in Finnish Higher Education Institutions

1
Accrediting Professional Courses in Finnish
Higher Education Institutions

• Accrediting Lifelong Learning
• 25th EUCEN European Conference
• Brno, May 14-17, 2003
• Ilkka Virtanen

2
Outline for Contents

1. Accrediting higher education (universities and
   polytechnics) in Finland some general views
2. Accreditation and registration of professional
   courses law-directed
3. General principles and the procedure in
   accrediting non-degree professional courses
4. Accreditation as an element of quality assurance
   system

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Accreditation of HE in Finland

• Degree programmes mainly (especially in
  universities) a political ex ante accreditation
• The fields of study in universities is determined
  by decrees
• Accreditation of the polytechnics and their
  programmes is based on evaluation by the Higher
  Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)
• (Voluntary) accreditation and registration of
  professional (continuing education) courses
  offered by higher education institutions is
  decree-directed
• Conducted by the Accreditation Board of
  Professional Courses, a subsection of FINHEEC

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Accreditation of HE in Finland (2)

• Evaluations initiated by the FINHEEC
• Evaluations of higher education institutions
• Institutional evaluations (universities and
  polytechnics)
• Audit of quality work (polytechnics)
• Programme and thematic evaluations
• Evaluations commissioned by the Ministry of
  Education
• Selection of the Centres of Excellence in
  Education and Adult Education (universities and
  polytechnics)
• Centres of Excellence in Regional Impact
  (polytechnics)

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Accreditation and registration of professional
courses directed by a decree

• The Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC)
  
• An independent expert body assisting
  universities, polytechnics and the Ministry of
  Education in matters relating to evaluation. The
  scope of the Council's activities covers 20
  universities and 29 polytechnics. (Decree
  1320/1995)
• http//www.minedu.fi/asiant/kka/english/finheec.ht
  mfinheec
• The Accreditation Board of Professional Courses
• A subsection FINHEEC, responsible of
  Accreditation (i.e. evaluation and registration)
  of professional courses offered by HE
  institutions (Decree 465/1998)
• http//www.minedu.fi/asiant/kka/english/projects/a
  ccre.htm

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Accreditation and registration of professional
courses directed by a decree

• Professional courses accredited by the Board
  strictly defined
• Offered by universities and polytechnics
• Continuing education assisting professional
  development
• Based on first-degree (or higher) education
• Long-term (min. 30 ECTS credits) education
• Non-degree education (in Finland e.g. MBA is not
  a degree) in polytechnics the professional
  courses can be included in post-graduate degrees

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General principles in accrediting

• An external process for assessing whether the
  education is conducted according to fixed
  publicly available criteria and standards
• Voluntary for HE institutions, is based on
  institutions application the aim is to support
  the development of education, not to guard or
  control it
• Is based on institutions course documentation,
  self-evaluation and external evaluation (site
  visit by a PRT, their report, final decision by
  the Board)
• Accreditation applies to an individual course,
  not to the institution or its sub-unit
• Future-oriented, continuous improvement of the
  educational process most important (the decision
  of the Board is always appended with a feedback
  and list of recommendations)

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Accrediting as a quality assurance tool

• The organisers point of view
• A tool for quality improvement
• Preparing the application starts self-evaluation
  and operational development
• Educational processes become transparent
• The external evaluation contains a strong
  consultative touch (during the preparation of the
  application, site visit and immediate feedback by
  PRT, feedback by the Board)
• An evaluation based on dialogue and communication
  offers a forum for discussions between the
  institution and its stakeholders
• Participation of the stakeholders in the site
  visits

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Accrediting as a quality assurance tool (2)

• The students point of view
• Does a certain course provide the quality of
  education it claims to offer ?
• Fulfilment of the general criteria in HE?
• Work-orientation?
• Pedagogical arrangements?
• Practical arrangements?
• Feedback and quality assurance arrangements?
• Ensuring of students interest an external,
  objective advance assessment of the quality of
  education

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Accrediting as a quality assurance tool (3)

• The working lifes point of view
• Helps to identify eligible programmes which can
  be used in
• Personnel training
• Assessing the competence of recruits
• On site visits, the PRT typically includes an
  expert from working life
• Three members (out of 12) of the Accreditation
  Board represent commercial and industrial life
  and the public sector

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Key words in accrediting of professional courses

• Independence
• Expertise
• Quality
• Reliability
• Transparency
• Dialogue and interaction
• Development before control
• Voluntariness