Studyinfo.fi – application system to education in Finland Finnish National Board of Education Marcus Caselius IAAO

Structure of the presentation Studyinfo – General facts Applications to higher education institutions (HEIs) Design, technology, development model 28.11.2018 Koulutussektoreiden haku- ja valintauudistukset

Studyinfo – General facts 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Studyinfo -service – General facts Online since 2014 – replaced 7 old online services Same system for secondary, higher (HEIs) and adult education Data storage for different study options Application portal Application management Student admission system Register of verified competence (degrees, study points etc.) Koski-project: degrees from elementary schools to universities 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Timeline 1.1.2015 – 31.3.2016 Total 6,19 million visits Almost 25 million unique page openings The record day 1.7.2015: 115 937 visits/day, Unique page opening record 8.4.2015: 434 840/day Average 412 933 visits in a month Mobile usage: Smartphone 25,3 % and tablet 9,9 % Average visit 8 min Straight 39 %, through search engine 35 %, Other webpages 26 %

In March 2016 Total 712 164 visitors, Over 3,5 million unique page openings Mobile usage: Smartphone usage: 24,1 % (2015: 18,8 %) Tablet 9,3 % (2015: 10,3 %) Average visit 10 min 47 sec Record of the March: 16.3.2016 50 552 visits/day 16.3. 2016 320 367 unique page openings The last day of our joint application period

Benefits Vast amount of information in one website for learners and student councellors data of all education is found in the same portal comparability of the data of all education levels improved information is real-time availability 24/7 accessibility for applicants with special needs for education providers open (code) source and open interfaces helps larger utilization free services data protection for national administration no need to acquire whole data systems -> through competitive bidding we purchase resources fixing / changing functionalities possible to do in smaller entities  saving costs Vast amount of information in one website Previously four different services, now combined into one Emphasis on information retrieval for specific target groups The same system for secondary, higher and adult education Heterogeneous target group How to find relevant information if you are not sure what you are looking for and where to apply? The services are still under construction which causes some challenges Studyinfo is built gradually Causes usability problems 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Applications to higher education institutions (HEIs) 28.11.2018 Koulutussektoreiden haku- ja valintauudistukset

Joint and separate application Applying to higher education study programmes takes place either in joint application or separate application. More often applying for Bachelor’s degree is done through joint application and applying for Master’s is done through separate application. 2016 in joint application there was also master’s degree programmes for the first time Joint application Organized in Opintopolku 2 times a year: spring and autumn max 6 study programmes in order of preference with one application. Supplementary application round after the joint applications 168 700 applicants in 2015, 151 500 applicants in 2016 so far Separate application Most of them done in Studyinfo or universityadmission.fi and some of them in HEI:s own systems. All year round: The application periods and application method vary There are no limitations to the amount of study programmes 34 600 applicants in 2015 (via universityadmission.fi: 7000) 19 000 applicants in 2016 so far (via universityadmission.fi: 6300) universityadmissions.fi consortium funded by member universities services supporting the checking of credentials applications for English language master programs in its member universities HEIs’ own systems & services 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

What is new? Quota for first-time applicants HEIs are obliged to reserve places for the first-timers. From 2016 onwards the higher education institutions have to reserve some of the study places for those applicants who do not hold a higher education qualification or a higher education study place (autumn 2014) in Finland. The size of the quota for first-time applicants varies depending on the study option. The quota is a way to ensure that as many applicants as possible will get a study place. Degree programmes provided in English do not have to use quotas for first-time applicants. In 2016 spring joint application 22 600 study places and 45% of those (10170) are reserved for the first- timers. 80 % (121 000) of all applicants (151 500) were first-time applicants. 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

What is new? The application fee Applicants to Finnish higher education institutions (polytechnics/Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) and universities) who are applying based on a qualification awarded outside the EU/EEA -area or Switzerland will be required to pay an application fee of 100 € when applying for studies beginning in autumn 2016. The application fee concerns applicants to Bachelor’s and Master’s level studies. Ca. 10 000 applicants (4448 in joint application) have paid the fee so far. FNBE is collecting these payments via studyinfo-service. Future of these fees is still under debate. The conclusion will be public later this year. 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

What is new in 2017 – Tuition fees Non-EU/EEA tuition fees and scholarship options coming up in 2017 (mandatory). They can collect fees already in 2016. The Finnish government has decided to introduce tuition fees for non- EU/EEA degree students who start their studies in English-taught Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in August 2017 or after that. The new tuition fee legislation also requires the Finnish higher education institutions to introduce scholarship options to support non-EU/EEA students admitted in the fee-charging degree courses. Each university/UAS in Finland will independently define their own fee structure and the details of their related scholarship programmes. The minimum annual tuition fee as set in the legislation is 1500€. 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

What next in opintopolku? Application form editor is being developed as we speak Going online for the first time summer 2016 Completed: December 2016 Search engine and user interface will be renovated Starting summer 2016 Koski-project: degrees etc. from elementary schools to universities Applicant could check all of his information online 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Design, technology, development model 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Development model FNBE is small organization and technical staff is scarce We have aquired through competitive bidding software developers from different companies. Developers (now ca. 30) sit at the same facilities as the product owners Agile methods: Previously SCRUM, now KANBAN. 28.11.2018

Design principles Everything must be opensource. Including software products and tools that we use and the code that we produce http://www.github.com/opetushallitus Aim was to unify processes as much as possible SOA – Service Oriented Architecture - Stateless multipurpose services - Data flows only through APIs 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Technology Programming: Java, Scala, Clojure, JavaScript Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SOLR User Interfaces: Single Page Apps mostly by using AngularJS APIs: REST/JSON No orchestration through ESB 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti

Thank you. 28.11.2018 Alatunnisteteksti