Sommaire:
- Informations officielles concernant la réforme de l'Université en Finlande
- Article du Helsingin Samonat: "Demonstrators offer chilly reception to new Universities Act"
- Article du YLE: "A student sit-in at the administration building of the Helsinki University ended peacefully Friday morning"
- Extrait du livre vert L'Espace européen de la recherche: nouvelles perspectives, présenté le 4 avril 2007 par le commissaire européen Janez Potocnik
Informations officielles concernant la réforme de l'Université en Finlande:
The Finnish Universities Act is under reform. The draft law will further extend the autonomy of universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations or as foundations under private law. At the same time, the universities' management and decision-making system will be reformed.
The Government is planning to submit its proposal for a new Universities Act to Parliament in the spring of 2009. If passed, the new law will replace the Universities Act of 1997.
The network of universities and institutions for higher education is also changing. For example universities of Joensuu and Kuopio have formed the University of Eastern Finland whereas the Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and University of Art and Design have together founded Aalto University. This will increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Objectives and key impacts
The reform will facilitate operation in an international environment. Its purpose is for universities to be better able to:
- react to changes in the operational environment
- diversify their funding base
- compete for international research funding
- cooperate with foreign universities and research institutes
- allocate resources to top-level research and their strategic focus areas
- ensure the quality and effectiveness of their research and teaching
- strengthen their role within the system of innovation
Universities to become independent legal personalities
In order to achieve the objectives, the reform will make the universities independent legal personalities. The universities will be separated from the State and they will have the choice of becoming either corporations subject to public law or foundations subject to private law. In practice this means that:
The autonomy of universities will enlarge further.
The reform will give universities more power by reducing the steering of universities by state administration. The universities will therefore no longer be developed as part of state administration, but in terms of their main mission: education and research.
Universities will take the place of the State as employers.
University staff will no longer be employed by the State. Civil-service employment relationships will become contractual employment relationships, and universities will negotiate in collective bargaining. The universities will be able to pursue independent human resources policies, improve their attractiveness as an employer and in this way strengthen their competitive advantage in order to recruit the best personnel. The interests of the staff will be safeguarded during the changeover.
Universities will have more latitude in the management of their finances.
The universities will be better placed to make the best use of their income from capital and to supplement their financing with donations and business activities. This will facilitate the targeting of research and education resources and allow the universities to develop stronger profiles on the basis of their strengths. This will improve their capacity for operating in the international environment. The government may also make financial investments for the universities. The capitalisation of the universities will safeguard their financial standing, solvency and creditworthiness.
The composition of the university boards will change in line with the strategic management responsibility.
The new independent legal status will make the universities fully responsible for their finances, which highlights the importance of strategic management. The aim is to enhance the community relations, influence and financial competence of the boards of the universities operating as public corporations. After the reform, the composition of the boards will continue to include the representation of the university community (professors, other personnel and students). In addition to these, half of the members will be persons external to the university community appointed by the university collegiate. The board will appoint the Rector, who must enjoy the confidence of the board.
Position of the students
Students will continue to be regarded as full members of the university. They are automatically members of the students' union and are represented on the governing bodies .
Degree education will still be provided free of charge. The legislative reforms will, however, make it possible to charge tuition fees on a trial basis to students from outside EU/EEA countries who are taking part in separate master's programmes, provided that the arrangements include a scholarship scheme.
Timetable and stages
- Circulation of the draft act for opinions. Deadline for opinions: 15 October 2008
- A series of seminars on the reform: Helsinki, 17 September 2008 Oulu, 8 October 2008 Jyväskylä, 7 November 2008
- The bill will come before Parliament in spring 2009
- The aim is for the law to come into force on 1 August 2009
- Organisation in line with the new act in autumn 2009
- Start of activities on 1 January 2010
Article du Helsingin Sanomat :
Demonstrators offer chilly reception to new Universities Act
A group of about 1,000 demonstrators took part in a protest in Helsinki's Aleksanterinkatu on Thursday afternoon, against reforms to the Finnish Universities Act.
University students organised further protests and walkouts in Tampere, Turku, Joensuu, Rovaniemi, and Oulu, while some students from Jyväskylä travelled by bus to Helsinki.
In the capital, the demonstration culminated in the occupation of the administration building of the University.
Early on Thursday evening, the number of occupants was 70, while some of them intended to stay overnight.
”Shame on you at the MInistry of Education, your law is stupid”, the demonstrators shouted. Most of them were students, while some staff members also took part.
Minister of Education Henna Virkkunen (National Coalition) was by contrast full of eagerness, coming from the government session in which the bill had just been passed.
”This is the second best thing that has happened to universities since they were founded”, Virkkunen announced with a glow of enthusiasm, defending the universities' new decision-making system.
”They are behind locks and keys”, she said, attempting to calm those who were concerned about potential tuition fees.
Virkkunen pointed out that even though the legislative reforms will make it possible to charge tuition fees on a trial basis to students from outside EU/EEA countries who are taking part in separate English-language master's programmes, they have to be agreed upon with the Ministry of Education first.
In Virkkunen's opinion, there is no reason to delay ”a completed law” by a year, even though a petition to legislators demanded an extra 12 months to plan reforms.
Virkkunen noted further that the universities have already started preparing to adjust to the reforms.
The demonstrators were particularly worried about the future administration of faculties and institutions.
”The new system is likely to restrict democracy, at the same time threatening the freedom of scientific research”, felt Riitta Matilainen and Matleena Frisk, who are both research trainees in the Department of Social Science History of the University of Helsinki.
Most of the students occupying the administration building of the University had made a camp in front of the Rector's office yesterday evening.
”Our aim is to write an official statement, and in the morning we plan to present a no-confidence vote to the management of the University”, declared mathematics student Joonas Mäkinen.
Some students expressed concern about the future independence of research, fearing that the reforms could turn university research into merchandise.
”There has been a lot of talk about humanists, but I believe that scientific research is at the greatest risk. Will scientific research units be turned into corporations' outsourced product development departments?” asked Antti Karhunen who is studying mathematics and language technology.
FACTFILE: Autonomy of universities to be enlarged
The more independent universities are scheduled to start activities on January 1st, 2010.
The total number of universities is 15, two of them being foundations: the Aalto University and the Technical University of Tampere. All the others are public corporations.
The government will continue to be responsible for the basic funding of the universities, while the funds will be index-linked.
The universities will be better placed to make the best use of their income from capital and to supplement their financing with donations and business activities.
University staff will no longer be employed by the State. Civil-service employment relationships will become contractual employment relationships, and universities will negotiate in collective bargaining.
Students will be obliged to be members of the students' union even in the future.
The universities will be obliged to promote life-long learning.
Degree education will still be provided free of charge. The legislative reforms will, however, make it possible to charge tuition fees on a trial basis to students from outside EU/EEA countries.
A student sit-in at the administration building of the Helsinki University ended peacefully Friday morning.
The protestors held discussions with Helsinki University Chancellor Thomas Wilhelmsson about proposed regulatory reform, details of university legislation and the status of students.
Student representative Pijatta Heinonen said the talks were constructive and the goals of the sit-in were achieved.
The student body says it intends to follow the situation closely. However the demonstrators are not giving up the goal of buying more time to consider the proposed legal reforms before they are implemented. Another round of protest action is planned for March 13.
About 100 students occupied the university's administration building from Thursday afternoon. About two dozen protesters remained until morning.
Nationwide Protests
The students had occupied the building as part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations protesting a slew of legislative reforms approved by government the same day.
A group of about 100 students took over the building during the afternoon, and remained on the first and fourth floor of the building located at Yliopistonkatu 4.
“We have had prolonged discussions with different working groups. We need more time before these laws go forward, and the right to discuss the matter, and not just with marginal groups,” said Heinonen.
The students believe that Thursday's protest action, which also attracted staff members, was successful.
University students and faculty around the country held protests on Thursday over the timetable for university legislation reforms. Demonstrations were held in Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Oulu, and Joensuu.
Parliament will soon consider a package of sweeping reforms to university legislation, but opponents say the proposals have been railroaded through too quickly. However, the government gave its approval to the reforms on Thursday.
Thousands have signed an internet petition to legislators demanding an extra year to plan reforms. Under the reform, half of university governing body members would be recruited externally in order to promote financial expertise. Opponents say institutional independence is threatened as a result and that universities will be forced into a more corporate orientation.
Extrait (p. 16) du livre vert L'Espace européen de la recherche: nouvelles perspectives, présenté le 4 avril 2007 par le commissaire européen Janez Potocnik:
La plupart des institutions de recherche présentent un défaut de masse critique et, dans les limites de systèmes nationaux suboptimaux, peinent à répondre aux attentes avec les ressources dont ils disposent. Alors que la qualité moyenne de la recherche publique européenne est bonne, dans nombre d'institutions, elle n'est pas de classe mondiale21. Il faut donc réaliser une certaine concentration et spécialisation pour constituer des centres d'excellence européens compétitifs à l'échelle planétaire, ainsi qu'un riche réseau d'universités et d'organismes publics de recherche, englobant toute l'UE et excellant à répondre aux besoins de recherche et de formation aux niveaux national, régional et sectoriel.
Ces changements ne peuvent être obtenus que si les institutions de recherche, et notamment les universités, jouissent d'une autonomie suffisante pour se positionner, coopérer et tenir leur rang au niveau européen et international, et
relient davantage leurs activités de recherche aux besoins des entreprises et de la société. Cela doit aller de pair avec un professionnalisme accru dans la gestion de la recherche, et l'adhésion à des normes comptables plus transparentes. Les réformes en cours dans de nombreux pays doivent être menées à bien et étendues à toute l'Europe.
En particulier, l'allocation de crédits publics devrait encourager ces changements en tenant davantage compte des facteurs liés aux résultats et aux performances. Les partenariats public-privé innovants doivent également être encouragés, ainsi qu'un bon équilibre entre les financements institutionnels et concurrentiels.