Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla BACHELOR DEGREES CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH – JOINT APPLICATION Annika Grönholm IDP seminar

2 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla JOINT APPLICATION OUTLINED  ” a tool” for student selection  same application period and application form  all 25 polytechnics/UAS follow the same admission criteria with minor variations  equal treatment of applicants and transparency of the application procedure  applicant receives all necessary information from  all admissions services from one place – admissions office

3 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla I INFORMATION ON APPLYING  website → information about the application, degree programmes, studying in Finland etc  application guide: Apply to Polytechnics in Finland; Bachelor Degrees Conducted in English

4 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla ELIGIBILITY  Finnish Matriculation examination/ upper secondary education  vocational qualification of three years or more in duration  non-Finnish qualification or studies equivalent to these qualifications  Polytechnic Act 351/2003

5 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla APPLICATION PERIOD  online application and paper form (pdf-file)  application closes on 9 Feb at 4.15pm Finnish time  applicant can apply to four degree programmes (68 programmes in 2007)  the first preference polytechnic/UAS evaluates the applicant’s eligibility

6 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS 2 APR – 11 MAY  all eligible applicants are invited  entrance examinations include language tests → applicant can be exempted from the language test with the following: TOEFL 550/213/79-80, IELTS 5,5, YKI 4, cum laude → UVI and UM are not responsible for testing the students’ language skills, the higher education institutions are!  maximum score of the examination is 100 points

7 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla RESULTS  results can be announced on 1 June 2007  results have to be announced by 20 June  confirmation of a study place on 3 August 2007 at the latest  right to wait for a reserve place ends on 17 August

8 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla JOINT APPLICATION AT THE MOMENT  2007: 7333 applicants  2006: 6658 applicants  90 % online applications  more exact data will be available after all applications have been transferred to the joint application data base  the number of Finnish applicants seems to have increased from previous years

9 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla PROS AND CONS AT THE MOMENT  multiple applications → online application has not abolished double applications, but we are able to track them down before sending entrance exam invitations → also tracking the chancers down at this point will most likely limit the number of chancers in the future  false or missing information → all necessary info is provided for the applicant, the info cannot be too simple, after all the applicant is supposed to be able to study in English

10 Osaamisen ja sivistyksen asialla PROS AND CONS AT THE MOMENT  keys to success → co-operation between admissions offices during the application process, same rules and practices, no one is left alone  a good mix of people working with the application system at the admissions offices  co-operation within and between polytechnics/UAS, business provides a good example for co-operation → there is still room for improvement for further co- operation and communication within polytechnics/UAS