Quality at the University of Eastern Finland means aligning performance with the set objectives. Activities are developed on the basis of feedback and continuous evaluation. This will ensure a high level of education, research and societal impact.
High-quality activities at the University of Eastern Finland
The university’s activities and their development are based on the principle of continuous improvement: Plan – Do – Check – Act and Improve.
The image of the quality system below describes how the university’s activities are planned, implemented, evaluated, developed and improved in accordance with the principle of continuous improvement, and how and where this is visible to the university’s staff, students and stakeholders. Quality management is also linked to the university’s strategy and impact. In other words, quality work and quality management are not separate from, but an integral part of all activities of the university.
The university’s quality culture refers to the supportive atmosphere of the university community. In the university’s quality culture, quality work and continuous development of processes are an integral part of strategic leadership and the university’s activities. The quality culture reflects the commitment of the university’s staff and students to their work and studies. Together they uphold and work by the common values, objectives and practices set for the university. Best practices are efficiently shared within the university, and continuously assessed. Everyone at the university has an impact on the university's quality through their own work.
Quality management a way of ensuring that the right things are done at the right time in the right way, and it ensures that the university has justification for its practices and is in control of them. Quality management lets us know whether we are achieving our objectives or if we need to change our approach. Quality management guarantees that society can trust the university and its activities. Quality management is embedded in all the university’s activities.
The objectives guiding activities and development at the university are set in the university’s strategy and strategic programmes. The quality system ensures the achievement of the objectives. The quality system provides a framework and assigns the responsibilities and procedures for effective quality management.
The university’s quality policy sets the quality objectives, principles and division of responsibilities governing the university’s activities. Quality work supports the achievement of the strategic objectives of the vision set out in the university’s strategy, Seizing a Sustainable Future, and the continuous improvement of activities. Everyone at the university aims to achieve those objectives and is responsible for high quality performance and outcomes in their work. The university’s quality system serves the academic community and its members in creating a holistic approach quality management.
The university’s quality work is based on the Universities Act and on the quality assurance objectives of the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre, FINEEC. It also takes into account the European University Association (EUA) and European Higher Education Area (EHEA) guidelines and recommendations (ESG), which focus on a student-centred approach to learning and education and the related quality assurance in higher education.
The quality system (see the image on top of this page) allows us to maintain and improve the quality of the university’s activities. The policies and procedures recorded in the university’s quality system help us ensure that we are on the right path and will achieve our strategic objectives. The quality system’s descriptions and metrics enable us to react to the targets for development identified. The quality system provides support for the strategic objectives and helps the university and its units achieve them.
The university’s quality system:
- supports the achievement of the objectives set out in the university’s strategy
- supports the work and studies of everyone at the university, as well as management and leadership
- ensures that performance is aligned with the objectives and supports renewal and continuous improvement
- supports the sharing of best practices and use of feedback received, as well as learning together
- indicates whether the university is headed in the right direction or whether corrective measures are needed
- clarifies the activities and makes them visible.
The quality system provides a framework and assigns the responsibilities and procedures for effective quality management. The quality system is based on appropriate organisation, management and decision-making. The purpose of strategic leadership and performance management is implementing the university’s strategy and processes and developing their quality. Quality management is an essential part of strategic leadership.
The connection between strategic leadership, performance management and quality management is described in the image below. For their part, the university’s quality work and quality system also provide information supporting strategic leadership and performance management.
The quality system documentation of the University of Eastern Finland comprises, e.g.:
- the figures describing the quality system
- the studies-, teaching- and research-related instructions available on the university’s intranet Heimo and in the student data bank Kamu (login with UEF credentials required)
- the university’s process descriptions and diagrams
- the university’s instructions (regulations, operational or procedural guidelines)
- the documents drawn up of the activities (minutes, reports, decisions, other documents).
The Board of the University of Eastern Finland is responsible for the university’s quality principles and policies. The UEF Leadership Group is the steering committee for the university’s quality work and, as part of quality management, carries out annual management reviews at the university. The university’s rectors are responsible for quality work according to how the tasks have been divided between them.
The division of responsibilities for the quality system adheres to the division of responsibilities of the university’s leadership while being integrated into normal management procedures. The deans of faculties, heads of departments and units, and directors of each branch of University Services are responsible for the performance outcomes and quality of their own unit’s activities. In quality assurance related to education and research, the faculty councils and the steering committees of the faculties and degree programmes, among others, play an important role.
Everyone at the university is responsible for the quality and development of their own work and its outcomes.
The university’s quality work and its development are coordinated by the Quality Group, which comprises representatives from the university’s faculties, University Services, independent institutes, service centres and the Student Union. The Quality Group is chaired by the university’s Director of Administration, whose area of responsibility includes quality management. The task of the Quality Group is to steer and develop the university’s quality work as well as the quality of the university’s activities and quality assessment. The Quality Group also acts as an audit coordination and steering committee in FINEEC audits.
The University of Eastern Finland has two quality coordinators, one on each campus. The quality coordinators are responsible for the organisation and development of quality work in accordance with the university’s definitions of policy, and they are involved in the practical side of quality work in cooperation with the faculties and units. The faculties have appointed quality contact persons, and the units have designated persons in charge of quality, who are responsible for the quality work of their respective faculty and unit. The university also has internal auditors, who represent various staff groups and act as auditors in the university’s internal audits together with the quality coordinators.
The faculties’ quality contact persons, persons in charge of quality and the auditors perform their duties in addition to their main job.
How can quality be evaluated and enhanced?
Systematic evaluation and development of one’s actions is an integral part of the quality work of all the operational units and people at the university. The development and evaluation of the university’s activities are guided by the guidelines and regulations of the EU, the Finnish Government and the Ministry of Education and Culture, and by other customer needs and changes in the operating environment. The development of the university’s activities is based on the systematic use and analysis of operational and performance indicators and feedback systems, and on conducting operational audits and other evaluations.
The university carries out regular self-assessments to further improve its operations. Annual evaluations and regular international research assessment exercises are carried out to assess the research performed at the university. The university also participates in evaluations of education, training and learning outcomes and various thematic and field-specific evaluations that the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) carries out nationally. The university also examines and evaluates its societal engagement and the impact of its activities on society.
The university also carries out management reviews, i.e., systematic assessments of the suitability, sufficiency, effectiveness and efficiency of the quality system with respect to the university’s quality policy and quality objectives and the university’s strategic objectives. Management reviews provide the university with information on the quality of its activities and the related development needs (information and knowledge management).
An audit is a systematic, independent and documented process in which the audit evidence acquired is assessed to determine the extent to which the agreed audit criteria have been met. Audits examine whether the organisation’s quality system complies with the objectives and is effective and fit for purpose. Audits are based on quality documentation and the selected standard or assessment model.
An internal audit is a periodic, independent development procedure for assessing the compliance of the organisation’s quality system with the agreed practices, stakeholder expectations and regulatory requirements. Internal audits are also performed to demonstrate that the quality system meets the needs of the university/unit. Internal audits are carried out by the university’s quality coordinators and internal auditors representing the university staff, who may be joined by representatives of the university’s students, if necessary.
The university’s internal audits assess the functionality and strengths of the quality system while paying special attention to the existing best practices and the identification of potential targets for development. The audit can be performed under a theme that is selected annually on the university level, or it can be based on a specific target for development decided by the audited unit.
The aim is to help the unit improve the quality of its activities and learn from the best practices of other units.
The Universities Act requires that universities evaluate their education, research and artistic activities, and the effectiveness thereof. In addition, universities have an obligation under the Universities Act to regularly participate in an external evaluation of their activities and quality systems. The results of the evaluations must be public. Audits of higher education institutions have been carried out in Finland since 2005 in accordance with the principles of enhancement-led evaluation. In Finland, the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) is responsible for evaluating education and training nationally.
Audits usually involve self-assessment by the academic community. Self-assessment provides a good opportunity to assess own activities, and their strengths and development targets. The actual audit also involves external auditors, and audit feedback supports the development of the university’s activities.
In Finland, the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) is responsible for evaluating education and training nationally. The audits are carried out using the evaluation procedure of FINEEC and a set of criteria, which follows the European University Association (EUA) and European Higher Education Area (EHEA) guidelines and recommendations (ESG: Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area) and focuses on a student-centred approach to learning and education and the related quality assurance in higher education.
Universities participate in FINEEC audits every six years in accordance with the national audit timetable. Finnish higher education institutions are currently undergoing the third cycle of audits (2018–2024) based on the audit framework and evaluation criteria. The measures by which a higher education institution maintains and develops the quality of its activities are under review.
The purpose of the audit framework is to assess whether the HEI’s quality work meets the European quality assurance standards, whether the quality system produces relevant information for the implementation of the strategy and the continuous development of the HEI’s activities, and whether it results in effective enhancement measures.
The objective of the audit is to ensure that the university has a system that supports the continuous enhancement of its activities. The audit is also a way to ensure that the university works according to its objectives and in a manner that is reliable even by international comparison. FINEEC audits assess the scope, functionality and effectiveness higher education institutions’ quality systems. The audit doesn’t take a stand on the objectives and outcomes of the activities as such; instead, it assesses the processes by which the university manages and enhances the quality of its activities.
The quality system of the University of Eastern Finland was first audited in late 2010, following the launch of the university’s operations earlier that year. The university passed the audit.
The second audit of the university took place in late 2016 as an international audit, with some of the audit team members being international quality experts, and the audit language was English. The FINEEC Higher Education Evaluation Committee confirmed that the university passed the audit in early spring 2017. The quality label received is valid for six years at a time.
The third audit of the University of Eastern Finland’s quality system took place on 9–10 March 2022 as an international audit. The FINEEC Higher Education Evaluation Committee confirmed that the university passed audit on 3 March 2023. The FINEEC quality label is valid for six years, until 3 March 2029.
The university’s audit report has been published on the FINEEC website.
