QUALITY IN ACADEMIC LIFELONG LEARNING, THE CASE OF FINLAND EQUIPE PROJECT OUTCOMES

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QUALITY IN ACADEMIC LIFELONG LEARNING, THE CASE
OF FINLANDEQUIPE PROJECT OUTCOMES

• Kari Seppälä
• Director, University of Turku,
• Centre for Extension Studies
• DGWF Karlsruhe 13.9.2006

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WHERE I COME FROM

• University of Turku
• Founded 1640 and 1920
• Multidisciplinary research university
• Six faculties
• 18000 students, 1100 graduates, 120 doctors
• Staff 3000, budget 164 m.
• Second biggest university in Finland
• Quality University in LLL

• Centre for Extension Studies
• Founded 1985
• Multidisciplinary, new, learning, attractive
• Sections OU, CPD, RD
• Students 930022001900
• Staff 90, budget 7,2 m.
• Over 100 international projects from 1990s

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THE THREE TOPICS OF TODAY

• Lifelong learning in Finnish universities
• Quality initiatives for LLL in Finnish
  universities
• EQUIPE Project Outcomes

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LIFELONG LEARNING IN FINNISH UNIVERSITIES
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TYPICAL CONTEXTS OF LLL

• Open University/University Extension
  University Liberal adult education
• VIP Student
• Continuing Professional Development Scientific
  Professional sphere
• VIP Client of our student
• Regional Development University Region
• VIP People and firms in the region

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OPEN UNIVERSITY

• Corresponds to faculty courses
• No formal educational requirements for admission
• Credits without degrees
• Pioneering ODL, IT
• Virtual OU

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OPEN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

• The main fields are education, social sciences
  and humanities (over 70).
• 3/4 are women.
• 2/4 are 30 years or below, 1/4 between 30 and 40,
  1/4 over 40 years old.
• 3/4 are secondary school graduates.
• Geographical differences exist.

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CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

• Non-Degree
• Multidisciplinary
• Flexible, Tailor-Made
• Course Fees, Contracts
• Intensive and extensive programmes

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CONTINUING EDUCATION IN UNIVERSITIES

• Great variety of courses and programs
• For academic professionals, people who are
  training for a new profession, experts in need
  of research results
• More and more often courses are arranged on
  demand and planned together with the organization
  that ordered them.
• CE also includes training for the unemployed and
  those who are in danger of losing their jobs

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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Many universities are active in the development
  of learning regions.
• From 1.8.2005 the third mission is a legal task
  of the universities.
• The main aim is to construct
• a regionally innovative milieu.
• Typically funded by European Commission.

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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPLY

• RD had its roots in training for the unemployed
  and later in courses for entrepreneurs
• Regional development is implemented in (ever
  larger ) projects, where universities act as
  coordinators and partners.
• Projects often include service research,
  continuing education and training, consultation,
  networking and marketing.

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WHAT MAKES UCE ACADEMIC

• Typical statements
• University as the provider
• Services for university graduates
• Making use of knowledge production
• Making use of research approach

• Our way of saying it
• In search of the new
• Research-based education
• Multidisciplinarity
• Realizing university values
• ethicality
• criticality
• creativity
• communality

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THREE QUESTIONS OF BALANCE

• In Volumes
• ? Growth till late 1990s
• ? Decrease in early 2000s
• In Strategic Development
• ? Outreach - Mainstreaming
• In Profiles
• ? Task Expansion Core activities

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KEYS TO SUCCESS

• Student/Customer Orientation
• Teamwork of Scientific and Professional Experts
• Continuous Quality Improvement
• Flexibility
• Mixture of Government and Private Funding

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CHALLENGES FOR ACADEMIC LLL

• Academic standard
• Business skills
• Individual expertise
• Learning organisations
• Regional impact
• Renewal of working life

• Content
• Production Delivery
• Learning at work
• Information service
• eb-learning
• International cooperation
• Innovations

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QUALITY INITIATIVES FOR LIFELONG LEARNINGIN
FINNISH UNIVERSITIES
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EXAMPLES OF QUALITY INITIATIVES

• National study of adult education at universities
  in 1992-1994
• Accreditation of professional courses from 1999
  onwards
• Evaluation of adult education at the University
  of Turku in 1999-2000 (follow-up)
• National evaluation of the open university in
  2001-2002 (follow-up)
• Selecting adult education quality units in 2003
  (on-going 2005)

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ACADEMIC ADULT EDUCATION SURVEY

• National inquiry in 1992-1994
• Focus university adult education
• Because of Min.Eds need for a general view
• Themes Transition of offer, progress of
  procedures, new tasks
• Outcomes report and andvanced knowledge

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ACCREDITATION OF CPE

• by FINHEEC Board from 1999
• Focus CPE programs in HEIs
• Min.Ed aim to assure quality
• Voluntary, consultative expert review
• Process application, further data, site visit,
  expert statements. registration

• Criteria working-life orientation, contents and
  objectives, process, pedagogy, practices, quality
  assurance
• Outcomes accreditation, register, curriculum
  improvement
• Polytechnics more active than universities

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EVALUATION OF ADULT EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF TURKU

• Part of institutional evaluation in 1999-2000
  (Min.Ed.)
• Focus external impact
• Aim institutional development
• International peer review

• Process request, working plan, themes, data,
  self-evaluation, independent evaluator, peer
  review
• Themes quality, cooperation, networks,
  innovations, evaluation, future
• Report, new strategy, actions
• Follow-up 2002

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EVALUATION OF OPEN UNIVERSITY

• National 2001-2002
• By Min.Ed Clarification of basic values
  ?development in the university sector
• Focus entirety of open university
• Tailored, transparent, embedded

• Themes equality, access, equivalence,
  functionality of the system
• Process data collection, self-evaluation, mutual
  evaluations, national hearings, peer review
• Report ? Strategy, profile, allocation
• Follow-up 2005-2006

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FINNISH ACADEMIC LLL QUALITY APPROACH

• Development orientation
• Using international networks
• University autonomy
• Linking evaluation and strategy work

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TOPICAL AUDITS OF HEI QUALITY SYSTEMS

• International pressures
• All the HEIS to introduce a (total) quality
  system
• Aim to enhance quality assurance
• Also covers the third mission and LLL
• FINHEEC institutional audits by 2011
• Construction on the way gt internal audit gt
  external audit

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EQUIPE PROJECT OUTCOMES
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EQUIPE STEPS

• EUCEN interaction
• Expert exchange
• EQUAL 1998 - 2000
• EUCEN Quality Task Force
• EQUIPE 2002 - 2005
• EQUIPEPlus 2005 - 2008

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EQUIPE OUTCOMES

• Case Studies
• Quality links with introductions
• Expert Pool
• Consultancy Tool
• Benchmarking Tool
• EQUIPE Quality Learning Tool

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EQUIPEPlus

• Dissemination
• WWW-pages
• National Quality Reports
• Universities in Grundtvig
• Indicators examples, dos and donts, a set

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EQUIPE QUALITY LEARNING TOOL

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VIRTUAL BENCHMARKING TOOL