Centers of Excellence in Finnish University Education 20102012: Evaluation Method

1
Centers of Excellence in Finnish University
Education 2010-2012 Evaluation Method

• Professor Karl-Erik Michelsen
• Member of the planning group
• Finnish Chair of the evaluation team

2
Why this competition?

• To enhance the quality and respect of higher
  education in the era of big science and
  transnational research collaboration.
• To encourage faculties and departments to
  develope innovative, inspiring and high quality
  education to students who seek their academic
  degrees.
• To reward faculties and units who are committed
  to high quality academic education.
• To gain national and international visibility to
  the academic teaching in Finland.

3
Individual price or collective reward?

• It is a FINHEEC tradition to reward faculties,
  departments and units instead of individuals.
• Academic teaching is a collective effort which
  integrates teaching staff, students and outside
  stakeholders.
• A centre of excellence must show consistency and
  long term commitment to high quality academic
  teaching.
• A centre of excellence must have a strong
  identity and clear vision for the future.

4
Planning group

• Chair Professor Riitta Pyykkö, University of
  Turku, Board member of FINHEEC (later Chair of
  FINHEEC)
• Members
• Director Asko Karjalainen, PhD, Teaching
  Development Unit, University of Oulu
• Researcher Jan Lundell, PhD, Academy of Finland
  Research Fellow, University of Helsinki
• Professor Karl-Erik Michelsen, PhD, Lappeenranta
  University of Technology
• Student Veera Virta, Helsinki School of Economics
• Secretary Senior Adviser Helka Kekäläinen, PhD,
  FINHEEC.

5
Criteria

• 1) mission of the unit, 2) programme and course
  design, 3) delivery of education, 4) outputs,
• 5) continual development.
• The criteria was intended to be used flexibly and
  to ensure the objectivity of the evaluation. It
  was not an absolute "gauge, but rather a tool to
  help the evaluation team to form an overall
  picture of each unit's application and to compare
  the applicants.
• The aim was to find the genuine quality in the
  application, free from presentation variations.
• International interaction, cooperation across
  disciplinary, institutional and unit boundaries
  and networking were to be regarded as favourable
  factors in all the content areas.

6
Evaluation team

• The international experts
• Vice Rector Birute Klaas, University of Tartu,
  Estonia
• Professor Arild Raaheim, University of Bergen,
  Norway
• Deputy School Secretary Helen Uglow, London
  Business School
• Head of Unit Stefan Bienefeld, German Rectors'
  Conference
• The Finnish experts
• Student Suvi Eriksson, University of Oulu
• Student Jonas Heikkilä, Åbo Akademi University
• Professor Emeritus Juhani Jussila
• Regional Development Director Vesa Taatila,
  Laurea Polytechnics
• Chair Professor Karl-Erik Michelsen
• FINHEEC Secretary General Helka Kekäläinen and
  Project Managers Kirsi Hiltunen and Kenneth
  Lundin

7
Evaluation timeline

• Stage I Publication of a call for proposals and
  evaluation criteria
• Time 7.3.2008
• Stage II Universities prepared their
  applications
• Time 7.3.-30.6.2008
• Stage III Evaluation of applications
• Time July - August 2008
• The international evaluation team appraised the
  applications and gave concise feedback on each
  application on a FINHEEC form. The team convened
  to select 18 units for the second round at its
  workshop on 22 August 2008.

8

• Stage IV Organisation of site visits
• Time September October 2008
• The evaluation team, augmented by four Finnish
  experts, decided on its division of work, and the
  dates of the visits were set with the units. Each
  unit planned the programme of the visit together
  with FINHEEC, based on the wishes of the
  evaluation team.
• Stage V Site visits
• Time 29.9.-24.10.2008
• The evaluators and secretaries visited the
  units.

9

• Stage VI Workshop for formulating a proposal to
  FINHEEC
• Time 27.-28.10.2008
• The evaluation team and secretaries met at a
  workshop led by the Finnish chair to discuss the
  findings and to decide on the units to be
  recommended to FINHEEC. The team formulated a
  recommendation to FINHEEC as to the Centres of
  Excellence to be rewarded.
• Stage VII FINHEEC's decision
• Time 13.11.2008
• FINHEEC discussed the evaluation team's proposal
  at its meeting and decided accordingly to
  designate ten Centres of Excellence in university
  education for 2010-2012.

10

• Stage VIII International seminar
• Time 24.-25.2.2009
• The evaluation process ends in an international
  seminar where the evaluation method is presented
  and the designated Centres of Excellence present
  themselves.

11
Centres of Excellence in university education
2010-2012

• Helsinki University of Technology, Department of
  Computer Science and Engineering
• Lappeenranta University of Technology, Department
  of Industrial Management
• University of Art and Design Helsinki, School of
  Motion Picture, Television and Production Design
• University of Helsinki, Faculty of Pharmacy
• University of Helsinki, Department of Computer
  Science
• University of Jyväskylä, Department of Physics
• University of Lapland, Department of Social Work
• University of Oulu, Department of Educational
  Sciences and Teacher Education
• University of Oulu, Department of Process and
  Environmental Engineering
• University of Turku, Faculty of Medicine