Educational policy sector’s spring review 2024
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HYY’s educational policy sector has had a busy spring! In this review, we will tell you about everything our sector – Member of the Board Tommi (in the photo) and Specialists Mathilda and Riku-Petteri – has been working on.
The year got off to a lively start as the sector had to write several comments on legislative changes proposed by the Finnish government. We submitted comments on raising tuition fees (We oppose raising tuition fees), the funding model for universities (No first-timer quota for the funding model for universities, in Finnish) and the increases to Open University fees (We oppose adding a 50-euro fee for applying for an extension, in Finnish). (All our comments are now also available on our website! To check out HYY’s other comments, visit this page.)
A new additional fee was also proposed for students applying for an extension to their studies. We published a statement on this together with other student unions: The proposed fee for applying for an extension is another slap in the face for students.
Matters related to student representatives
In addition to the comments and statements, the educational policy sector toiled away selecting student representatives to the University’s administrative bodies, providing them with training and developing student representation activities as a whole. We organised supplementary calls for applications to open positions in January and May. Student representatives were also sought for various administrative bodies in the University’s independent institutes.
We held the first meetings of the Study Network and Student Representative Network. The activities have started well and will continue in the autumn. Our goal is to build functional cooperation networks between different student representatives and people involved in study affairs all over the University to facilitate advocacy work.
We have also worked tirelessly on the calls for applications set to take place in the autumn. New student representatives will be selected for the steering groups of degree programmes for the 2025–2026 term. There will be around 400 open positions, and the application period is 16 September–14 October.
Stay alert and ready to apply! Student representatives in steering groups get to influence students’ affairs in very concrete ways. New curricula will also be prepared during the upcoming period. Developing the operation of degree programmes will also begin based on the results of the review of degree programmes that was recently concluded.
This makes next autumn a great time to get involved in influencing the future of your own degree programme!
Meetings
Throughout the spring, we regularly met with various parties representing the University. We actively participated in discussions in the University’s various administrative bodies, such as the Academic Affairs Council, the bachelor’s thesis working group and the ‘Aleksandria reshaped’ project.
We had several meetings with Director of Development Anu Haapala from the University’s Teaching and Learning Services who began working in the position in the spring. The themes in these discussions included preparations for the government discussion on spending limits, student housing and subsistence as part of student wellbeing and the development of the facilities and services of Aleksandria.
At this spring’s H-talks, an event held twice a year, we got to discuss the roles of the University and the Student Union as participants in social debate with various people from the University.
Other news
We also began faculty tours to meet with the people in charge of study affairs in student organisations in different faculties. We provided training for student representatives and people involved in study affairs in organisations in Tuning Day as well as other events.
We will organise more training in the autumn! If you are interested in participating, keep an eye on your email, our organisational newsletter and our networks’ communication channels!
It has been a really eventful spring! Even though the action is slowing down towards the summer, we are already eagerly working on plans for next autumn! See you at the autumn’s events, if not before!
Best wishes for the summer,
Tommi Mäki
koulutuspolitiikasta vastaava HYYn hallituksen jäsen
Riku-Petteri Kyllönen
Specialist in higher education policy (student representatives)
Mathilda Timmer
Specialist in higher education policy (teaching)
