University of Helsinki calls for quality assessment

The University of Helsinki has published its election demands, which include the establishment of a national system to assess education and teaching quality.

The university published its list of nine demands in March, ahead of the general election on 19 May. Jukka Kola, rector of the university, said in a statement on 12 March that he hopes that all Finnish universities will be subject to quality assessments under the incoming government.

“The Academy of Finland already assesses research quality, but we think that there should also be an assessment of teaching,” said Kola. The assessment results could help universities to identify how they can specialise and strengthen their profiles, he said.