1. Student rights in Finnish universities
Perspective of a student

2. Contents
Legal protection
Inclusion
Equality
Right to participate

3. Legal protection Finnish Constitution University Act
Administrative Procedure Act
Non-discrimination Act, Act on Equality between Women and Men
The Finnish constitution
basis of equality, access, participation
guarantees “for everyone equal opportunity to receive other educational services in accordance with their ability and special needs, as well as the opportunity to develop themselves without being prevented by economic hardship.”
University Act
student selection, student representation to some extent, student unions
Administrative Procedure Act
basis of all due process in administration
most administrative processes in universities fall under this legislation
Acts on non-discrimination, equality between women and men
aims at removing discrimination and inequality between genders, minority groups and so on
also applies to basically any process in universities
EXAMPLE: Selection of students
Constitution guarantees everyone the right to apply
University Act gives universities the right to choose their own students as they will, imposes some practical limits
Administrative Procedure Act legislates the administrative process, e.g. written decisions, the right to appeal
Non-discrimination Act stipulates that education providers must have planned measures for promoting equality
Equality between Women and Men, e.g. gender ratios in teacher training not allowed

4. Inclusion Legislation gives everyone a right to apply and study…
...but in practice inclusion is limited by many factors
Universities still not as diverse as society in general
(The same applies to the student unions!)
Legislation guarantees a right to apply and study, but many factors limit the inclusion of students
Physical access, learning aids and so on
Finnish universities still do not mirror the society in terms of diversity
Which also applies to the student unions - though significant progress has been made in this decade
Which brings us to the next subject

5. Equality In this context not limited to gender equality
Significant segregation in job market
Socio-economic background matters
Underrepresentation of minority groups in HE
Equality in this context concerns everyone, not just gender matters
Finnish has two different words, basically translates to equality and equity but let’s not go into exact definitions
Finnish job market is clearly segregated
Mirrors the segregation of different fields, e.g. teacher studies vs. ICT
Socio-economic background plays a huge part in likelihood of partaking in HE
Already clearly visible during childhood
Secondary education a huge watershed, HE basically just a continuity
Many minority groups are still very much underrepresented in Finnish HE
Ethnic groups such as the Roma
Immigrants in general, including descendants of immigrants
Disabled people

6. Right to participate
Stakeholder participation in political decision-making
Legislation incl. statutes of universities
Strong culture of student participation
Everything from strategy to course planning
Student participation makes, well, everything better!
Finland has a rather strong culture of involving stakeholders in political decision-making
Applies to nearly every field of politics
SYL, for instance, is involved officially or unofficially in basically everything involving university students
Dirty corrupted lobbying vs. staunch advocacy
Legislation lends its support in principle and in practice
(Most) university boards have student members
Students represented on all levels of university administration
Underlying the legislation is a rather strong culture of student participation and advocacy
SYL and the student unions have a 100-year history, close contact with universities
Most staff in universities want to involve students in all sorts of work
Students can participate in every level of university, from strategy to course planning to ergonomy!
Benefits of student participation
Students feel involved, ownership of their studies and learning
Different points of view e.g. for administration (example of OTM development in )
Strengthens the sense of university as a community rather than hierarchical factory

7. Thank you! Questions? Fire away! Tapio Heiskari
Educational Policy Advisor
@tapioheiskari