The University Regulation on Education and Degrees of the University of Turku
The following translation of the University Regulation is provided only as a guideline for international students. In case of a dispute, the original Finnish Regulation approved by the University Board is applied.
Approved by the Board of the University of Turku on 2 December 2004 and 3 March 2005 and confirmed by the Chancellor on 22 December 2004 and 1 April 2005.
Concerning degrees and education, the provisions of this university regulation are in force, in addition to what is enacted in the Universities Act (645/1997), in the amendment to the Universities Act (715/2004), in University Decree (115/1998), in the Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004), in the Government Decree on Specialist's Degree (678/1998) and in Government Decree on Specialised Dentist Degree (316/2003).
Degree Programmes and Degrees of the University
1 §
Attached to this University Regulation, there is a list of the fields of study in the faculties of the university and of those lower and higher university degrees and postgraduate degrees that can be pursued at the University.
Lower level degrees cannot be completed in medicine or dentistry, but the faculty may concede the student the title of Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Dentistry.
The degree may also be a joint degree and consist of studies completed in other national or international universities.
The extent of the studies of a degree programme organised as a joint degree which leads to a master’s degree shall be at least 120 credits. The joint degrees shall be planned and organised in such a manner that they afford the student the eligibility for postgraduates scientific studies.
Agreements concerning joint degrees shall be decided upon by the rector upon proposal by the faculties.
Student selection and the right to study
2 §
The faculty shall decide its admission criteria and admit students. This regulation shall be applied both to the right to study in the degree programmes and to any other right to study at the university.
The faculties shall decide the criteria according to which the studies included under the national agreement on the flexible study rights (JOO-studies) at other universities shall be endorsed.
The University Board shall decide, upon proposals from the faculties, the number of students admitted annually to the university to pursue a lower or higher university degree.
A student may accept only one student place in one degree programme during one academic year.
3 §
The Centre for Extension Studies and the Centre for Maritime Studies shall admit students to the extension education and to the Open University instruction they provide. The faculties and relevant separate institutes shall admit students to the extension education they provide, to the students offered on the basis of the national agreement on the flexible right to study, and to other separate studies.
The admission criteria for extension education shall be approved by the faculty, the Centre for Extension Studies, the Centre for Maritime Studies or the Language Centre.
The admission criteria to Open University instruction shall be approved by the Centre for Extension Studies or the Centre for Maritime Studies.
4 §
Anyone unsatisfied with the student admission for degree or other studies may make an appeal for rectification from the Faculty Council, the Centre for Extension Studies or the Language Centre within fourteen (14) days of the publishing of the results. When the results are published, the applicants must be informed how the admission criteria have been applied to them and how rectification can be requested.
A reversal of the decision on rectification can be sought from the Administrative Court of Turku as enacted in the Administrative Judicial Procedure Act (586/1996) and in the Universities Act (645/1997).
The results of university admission shall not be changed as a result of a demand for rectification to the detriment of anyone already admitted.
Registration
5 §
A student must register every academic year either as present or absent in a manner prescribed by the Rector’s Office.
A student who has not registered in the manner will loose the right to study.
If a student who has lost the right to study wishes to begin or continue his or her studies, he or she has the right to apply in writing for readmission form the Rector’s Office. A first-year student can register as absent due to maternity, paternity or parental leave, military service or for some other case-specific reason that the faculty had approved.
Academic year
6 §
The academic year of the university shall begin on the 1st of August and end on the 31st of July. both the autumn term, that begins on the 1st of August and end the 31st of December and the spring term, that begins the 1st of January and ends the 31st of July, may be divided into two teaching periods.
Teaching shall be given during the time periods defined in the curriculum. The teaching shall be organised in such a manner that students can pursue their studies efficiently and in an appropriate order.
Curricula
7 §
It is the faculties’ responsibility to constantly access and develop the degrees, the studies included in the degrees and the teaching. They especially need to focus on the quality of degrees, instruction, study guidance and studying, the educational needs of society, the comparability of the degrees and studies nationally and internationally as well as the outcomes of education.
The faculty, or a separate institute, shall approve the curricula for the following academic year by the 15th of June. The curricula shall be prepared in cooperation with the students.
The curricula and syllabi through which they are implemented shall be published two weeks before the beginning of each teaching period.
Curricula implemented by two or more faculties enter into force after all faculties concerned have approved it.
The teaching offered by the Open University shall be planned in cooperation with the faculties and the Centre for Extension Studies, as well as with the Centre for maritime Studies and be based on agreements made between said bodies. The faculties shall approve the curricula of the Open University.
Teachers’ work plans shall be made so that the teaching required by the curricular can be realised.
All students must formulate a personal study plan, for which the faculty will provide separate instructions.
Workload of courses
8 §
A credit system shall be used as the basis for measuring the workload of courses. Course shall be assigned points according to the amount of work they require. The average workload of 1600 hours required to complete the studies of one academic year shall be equivalent to 60 credits. One Finnish credit shall equal one credit in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
Completion of courses
9 §
The rule enumerated in these university regulations shall be applied to courses that are completed either in written or oral assessment and are included in the curricula adopted by the faculties and independent institutes.
10 §
Each faculty shall independently resolve matters concerning the general arrangements for completion of courses. The department, independent intuition or faculty shall decide on examination procedures.
The studies shall be organised in such a way that students are able to conduct them effectively in an expedient order and without interruption.
11 §
For each course, the person or persons responsible for that course shall be mentioned in the curriculum, and that person must be qualified according to the level of difficulty of the course to be completed. If a teacher is unable to or incapable of, either temporarily or permanently, performing his/her duties, the department is responsible for arranging another teacher or competent person of the same subject to conduct the course.
12 §
The student has a right, unless the purpose of the course prevents it, to use either in Finnish or Swedish, or another language in accordance with the curriculum both orally and in writing.
The right to use another language shall be decided by the faculty.
When formulating a learning task, care should be taken care that an examination or other requirement for completing a course is in accordance with the objectives determined in the curriculum. The duration of the examination should be in proportion to the level of difficulty and workload required in the course.
Students with disabilities must be provided with the faculties and devices they need for an examination or for completing a course. The duration of the examination must be adjusted according to the functional abilities of the disabled student.
14 §
Only students registered as attending have the right to complete courses. The student must have the right to study required for completion of the course in question.
Students participating in an examination must be able to show proof of identification.
15 §
The number of times an exam can be retaken shall be defined in the curriculum.
If there is an exam at the end of the course or a series of lectures, students have at least three chances to take the exam within one year after the end of the course. When deciding dates for retaking exams, it must be taken to account that students need to have enough time to prepare for the exam.
If a student takes an exam several times, the highest grade is the one that applies.
16 §
All courses will be graded either on a pass/fail basis or on a five-level grading scale: 5 (excellent), 4 (very good) , 3 (good), 2 (satisfactory), 1 (sufficient), 0 (fail).
Faculties are entitled to give separate orders on the evaluation of theses at the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Licentiate and Doctoral level.
17 §
The principles used in course evaluation are public information.
Students have the right to get information concerning the evaluation principles used to grade them. They must be given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their work, whether written or recorded in some other manner, after it had been evaluated. The application of the evaluation principles to the assignments should be explained after the completion of a course.
The disqualification principles of preliminary examiners, examiners and opponents of doctoral and licentiate’s theses are explained in the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003) sections 27–30.
The disqualification principles of the Administrative Procedure Act shall also be applied when evaluating other course work.
18 §
The results of completed course must be published and sent to the student register maintained by the Rector’s Office within two weeks after the completion of a course. The faculty or department can, for some special reason, make an exception and grant permission to depart from this practice.
In the case that exam results will be given after the two-week limit, students must be informed of the time frame at the time of the examination.
The Master’ thesis and other corresponding theses that are a part of both the higher and lower university degree must be evaluated within a term fixed separately by each faculty.
The number of those who failed an exam must also be included when publishing the results. The identity of those who0l failed shall not be revealed.
Non-degree supplementary studies shall be registered in the student register, and studies completed at the Open University will be registered in the register of the Centre for Continuing Education.
19 §
Grades recorded in written or any other form shall be store for six months after the have been published. Master’s and other corresponding theses, as well as licentiate and doctoral theses, shall be stored permanently.
Information recorded in the student register shall be stored for 50 years.
20 §
With the exception of theses, written course work shall not be given out or shown to any person who does not belong to the personnel of the department, or otherwise published without the student’s permission. Students’ work may be used in educational and research purposes, provided the student’s identity is not revealed.
Rectifying grades
21 §
There is a board of examiners in each faculty, appointed for a term of five years, which shall handle appeals for the rectification of grades.
22 §
A student may appeal for rectification of the grade in writing from the administrative body who had given the decision within 14 days after the grade for a thesis has been published. The student may appeal for rectification of the grades of coursework, other than the thesis, either verbally or in writing within 14 days after the teacher responsible has published the results. The rectification process also relates to the crediting of studies completed elsewhere.
The decision concerning the appeal for rectification shall be given in writing.
A student who is unsatisfied with the decision made on an appeal for rectification can bring the matter to the faculty’s board of examiners for consideration within 14 days, counting from the day the student is informed of the decision.
23 §
Prior to the grading of a licentiate’s thesis or doctoral thesis, the author must be reserved an opportunity to supply an answer to the preliminary examiner, examiner or to the opponent’s statement.
The student may appeal for rectification in writing from the administrative body grading the thesis within 14 days or receiving information on the decision.
Supplementing studies
24 §
Students who have completed a higher academic degree, or those who have completed a lower academic degree and do not have the right to a higher academic degree, have the right to supplement their studies during the three following academic years after graduation. After this, students are able to supplement their studies through non-degree studies or Open University studies.
The tuition fees for Open University and extension studies shall conform with what is decided upon according to the Act on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State (150/1992). The fees for Open University and separate supplementary studies shall be decided by the rector.
Credit transfer of other studies
25 §
The faculty shall decide on the credit transfer of studies completed at another Finnish university or foreign university, or at another educational institution, if no other grounds for credit transfer have been legislated.
Students may also use other forms of expertise towards their degree according to the decision of the faculty.
The same completed course can be included in only one higher or lower degree, except for language and communication studies.
Language skills
26 §
Students must prove to have acquired, in the studies for a lower of higher academic degree, or by some other means:
- a knowledge of Finnish and Swedish which, according to the Act of the Knowledge of Language Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003), is required in an office requiring an academic degree in an officially bilingual district, and is necessary in the student’s own field.
- a knowledge of at least one foreign language that enables the student to follow the development in the field and to work in an international environment.
Paragraph 1 does not apply to students who have had their education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish, or students who have had their education abroad. The faculty shall decide on the language skills required of such students.
In special circumstances, the faculty may exempt a student, partially or entirely, from the requirements for language skills as defined in paragraph 1.
When the language skills as defined in paragraph 1 are not required from the student, the faculty shall decide on the language of the maturity test.
Internships
27 §
The lower and higher university degree may include an internship as stipulated in the curriculum of the faculty.
Certificates
28 §
The faculty shall issue a degree certificate to students who complete a lower or higher university degree which will show:
- the name of the degree and the field;
- the major subject or corresponding entity or degree programme;
- possible specialisation training included in the degree and the special field;
- the central content of the degree; as well as
- the language skills demonstrated by the student; when recording the student’s language skills, section 19 of the Government Decree on proving one’s knowledge of Finnish and Swedish (481/2003) must be considered.
Certificates issued by the faculty for postgraduate degrees shall include points 1 to 4 of paragraph 1.
In the case of a joint degree, each university shall issue its own certificate, and each certificate shall contain the names of all universities involved in the degree, and furthermore mention that the degree is in fact a joint degree.
In connection with issuing a degree certificate, the faculty shall issue a Diploma Supplement meant especially for international use which shall contain sufficient information about the university as well as the studies and courses mentioned in the certificate, and an explanation of the level and status of these studies and course in the educational system.
Students have the right to receive an official transcript at least once a semester free of charge. In addition, students have the right to receive an official transcript at their own expense.
The Centre for Extension Studies and the Centre for Maritime Studies shall issue certificates for course and study modules competed at the Open University in a manner approved by the faculty in question or by the Language Centre.
The faculty can issue an equivalence certificate, on request and for a separate prescribed fee, which indicates that the completed studies confer the competency required for posts and positions for which qualifications are prescribed by law or decree.
Academic titles
29 §
The Chancellor will make decisions about the arrangement of conferment ceremonies upon recommendation from the faculties. The faculty will make the decision about bestowing mark of rank to those having completed the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
The faculty may bestow the title of Honorary Doctor of Philosophy and the accompanying marks of rank on a person who, by their scientific or artistic activity or due to the meritorious efforts to promote the sciences, arts or other cultural activity, are considered worthy of such an honour.
Regulations concerning discipline
30 §
Students who are guilty of cheating during an examination will immediately be removed from the examination room by the invigilator and in turn fail the exam. Students will also fail a course if cheating is discovered after an examination. Further more, students will fail a course if dishonesty during the course has been proven. The decision to fail the student in such cases must be made within six months of the examination or other course work.
Students who are guilty of misconduct in teaching or research situations within the university may be subject to disciplinary action by a warning or temporary suspension at the most for one year. The rector will decide on issuing a warning to a student about misconduct in teaching or research activities and the Board of the university will decide on temporary suspension.
Before the matter is dealt with, the student must have verifiably received notice of the misconduct and will be given the chance to be head in the matter.
Regulations for the transitional period
31 §
Students who continue to pursue a degree based on the statutes which had been in force up until after 31 July 2005, have the right either of transfer to study according to the new statute on university degrees (794/2004) or to continue studying following the requirements of the repealed statute. However, students shall continue their studies under the requirements of the new state number 794/2004 if they have not completed the degree of Master of Science in Technology, Licentiate of Dentistry or Licentiate of Medicine by 31 July 2010 or by any other degree according to the repealed statute by 31 July 2008. The faculties will determine the arrangements connected with the transition.
Studies completed by students according to the statute repealed by statute 794/2004 will be transferred to the new system in a manner to be decided by the faculty.
The regulations of the repealed statute will be applied to those students who continue to study for a degree according to the requirements of the repealed statue to the extent applicable.
Entry into force
32 §
With the adoption of this University Regulation, the University of Turku Regulation on Teaching and Studying, as well as the University of Turku Regulation on the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy are repealed.
This University Regulation will enter into force 1 August 2005.