Survey on International Degree Students and Students in Degree Programmes Given in English 2007

Transcription

1 Survey on International Degree Students and Students in Degree Programmes Given in English 2007 University of Tampere Department of Academic and International Affairs

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3 CONTENTS 1. Introduction Background information Survey Respondents backgrounds Before coming to UTA Choosing the university and the degree programme Application process Studying at UTA Starting studies Studies at UTA Teaching at UTA Study related online services Studies and training abroad Financing of Studies Sources of finance Working during studies Attitudes towards working during studies Obstacles to finding work in Tampere Student services Services provided by the Department of Academic and International Affairs Other services Plans for the future Conclusion...32 References...36

4 Survey and Report Ari Kurlin and Department of Academic and International Affairs Layout Ari Kurlin and Sirke Mäkinen Language editor Virginia Mattila

5 5 1. Introduction In 2007 the University of Tampere (UTA) had more than students and 908 of them have come from abroad 1. This means that there are almost as many international students at the University of Tampere as there are Master s degree students in the Faculty of Education. The number of international students has almost tripled since The number of incoming exchange students has even more than tripled and the number of international degree seeking students has grown two and a half fold. Each year the University of Tampere offers more than ten degree programmes through the medium of English, most of them Master s degree programmes. The International School of Social Sciences (ISSS), which is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences, has the longest tradition in coordinating degree programmes taught in English at our university. The first Master s degree programme was organized in Today, in addition to the ISSS, programmes are offered by the Faculties of Information Sciences (Departments of Computer Sciences and Information Studies), Medicine (Medical School, Institute of Medical Technology IMT and School of Public Health), Economics and Administration (Departments of Management Studies and Economics and Accounting), and Humanities (Department of Literature and the Arts). The impetus for internationalization and, e.g., for arranging teaching in English has come both from inside the university and from outside authorities, such as the Ministry of Education and the EU. In the new Development Plan for Education and Research the Government set the goal of increasing the 1 University of Tampere: Key facts Available at

6 6 number of international students at Finnish universities. 2 Moreover, in the agreement between the Ministry of Education and the University of Tampere, the University has agreed to develop and increase teaching offered in English and to recruit more international degree students, in particular for Master s degree programmes and researcher training. The University has also committed itself to improve the services provided to international students. 3 We can argue that together with the growing supply we have witnessed a growing demand demand for more programmes, for more international degree students, demand for quality of planning and teaching in these degree programmes and demand for better services for international degree students. A working group was established in autumn 2007 to discuss the administrative process of Master s degree programmes through the medium of English. The purpose in addition to describing the process (marketing, establishing, planning the programmes, and student selection, admission, administrative counselling), was to suggest improvements for the process. However, what was still missing were students opinions, a view from inside. All these serve as reasons for conducting a survey on international degree students and on students studying in degree programmes given in English. Moreover, since 2004 the Department of Academic and International Affairs of the University of Tampere has carried out several surveys assessing students opinions and attitudes towards student life at the University of Tampere (UTA). Prior to spring 2007, all surveys were conducted in Finnish and the target groups 2 Education and Research Development Plan Available in Finnish at 3 Opetusministeriön ja Tampereen yliopiston välinen tulossopimus kaudelle ja voimavarat vuodelle Available in Finnish at opistojen_tulossopimukset/tulossopimukset_2008/tay.pdf

7 7 were Finnish degree students. The first survey in English was conducted on international exchange and visiting students in spring 2007 and now with this survey, international degree students were included in the surveys. One of the purposes of this survey was to continue the same process which the previous surveys had already started, but now also including international degree students of the University of Tampere. The surveys work as a part of the quality assurance system of the University of Tampere and provide feedback material from students which can be used to improve the services offered by the University in general and the Department of Academic and International Affairs in particular. The survey was conducted as a web based online form in the late November early December The survey themes included students thoughts and experiences in choosing the degree programme and applying for it, starting their studies and studying at the University of Tampere in general, the ways in which they had financed their studies and doing paid work during their studies, student services offered at the University of Tampere and the respondents future plans. When reading the report of this survey, we must remember that international degree students and Finnish students studying on degree programmes given in English represent a very heterogeneous group. Therefore, comparisons made to previous surveys on students in the 3 rd or 5 th year of their studies must be regarded with some caution. Nevertheless, some of the previously collected data was used to compare the respondents answers between the surveys in order to see whether differences or similar patterns occurred between those studying in their 3 rd or 5 th year towards a degree given in Finnish and those studying on a

8 8 degree programme given in English. Some similar sets of questions from the previous surveys were used if applicable. As appears in the chapters to follow, the percentage of the respondents is quite low, only 19 per cent. Therefore, we cannot claim that this survey is representative of the target group, that is, international degree students or students studying on degree programmes given in English. However, it may serve to tell us something about how some of international degree students perceive the application process, the supply of degree programmes given in English, and the services offered by the University.

9 9 2. Background information All background data were derived either from the student register database of the University of Tampere (OPSU) or from the survey itself. Students were asked, e.g., whether they came to Finland alone or with a spouse and/or children or whether they originally came as refugees. In addition, they were asked where they had studied before they came to study at our university. (See ENCLOSURE 1: Survey on International Degree Students questionnaire.) 2.1 Survey At the time of conducting the survey, there were 278 international students studying towards a Bachelor s or Master s degree at the University of Tampere or students studying on a Bachelor s or Master s degree programme given in English (regardless of their nationality). 4 Thus, the target group included all those students who were studying towards a Bachelor s or Master s degree on a degree programme taught in English as well as all those degree students of other than Finnish nationality. These criteria were applied because we wanted to hear not only about opinions of international degree students (on programmes taught in English or in Finnish) and those studying in degree programmes taught in English (regardless of the nationality), but both. This, we assumed, would give us more reliable information as these two groups are somewhat different from each other. Students were sent an e mail request to respond to the web based online survey form. Respondents could choose a basic user account authenticated survey or an anonymous survey. 52 degree students completed the authenticated form and one respondent chose to use the anonymous form. Students had one week to 4 Statistics provided by the UTA Computer Centre, November 2007.

10 10 reply to the survey, after which a reminder e mail about the survey was sent and again they were given one week to reply. In total, 53 students replied and the coverage was nineteen per cent of the whole target group. 2.2 Respondents backgrounds Respondents were between the ages of 21 and 42, while the whole target group s ages varied from 19 to 52 years. The average age (median) for the whole target population was 27 years while for the respondents it was one year less, 26. When divided into three age groups, those under 25, those between 25 and 30 and those 30 years and older, it seems that younger students were slightly more active in answering as the coverage for the youngest third of the degree students was 24 per cent, 20 per cent for the second third and only 13 per cent for the oldest third. Most of the respondents (71 per cent) who had come to Finland from abroad had come without a spouse and/or children. Only one respondent had come with children. None of the respondents had originally come to Finland as refugees. In the whole target group, 51 different nationalities were represented. The most numerous were Russian (45 students), Finnish (34) and Chinese (25). However, respondents represented only 25 nationalities. In particular, we should stress that the largest group of respondents were those with Finnish citizenship and that only two Russians out of 45 responded to our survey, even though they make up the largest group among international degree students (see below TABLE 1 for citizenships and gender comparisons between the whole target group and respondents). Therefore, in this survey, the results are not representative nationality wise, but the respondents group was almost dominated by Finnish students studying on degree programmes given in English (15% of all

11 11 respondents), as the next largest respondents groups (Pakistani and Chinese) make up both 7.5 per cent of all respondents. For gender, the survey data is balanced, 53 per cent of the respondents were women and 47 per cent men (see TABLE 1 below). TABLE 1. Target group vs. respondents (number of students) Whole target group Respondents Nationality (those with more than 10 students in the whole target group) Russian 45 2 Finnish 34 8 Chinese 25 4 Estonian 14 2 Pakistani 12 4 German 12 3 Indian 11 2 Gender Women Men Those who had just begun their degree studies in autumn 2007 responded most frequently to the survey. They accounted for as much as 47 per cent of all respondents even though they only were 21 per cent of the target group. Although about the same size in number, those who had started their degree programmes in 2005 and in 2006 only accounted for thirteen per cent of the respondents. The respondents had started their current degree studies at UTA between 1992 and However, the majority of respondents had enrolled on their current degree programme between 2005 and 2007 (74 per cent).

12 12 Respondents were divided by faculties as shown in GRAPH 1. There were twenty respondents from the Faculty of Social Sciences, eleven respondents from the Faculty of Information Sciences, nine respondents from the Faculty of Medicine, seven respondents from the Faculty Economics and Administration and six respondents from the Faculty of Humanities. There were no respondents from the Faculty of Education. Accordingly, the most common degrees pursued were Master of Science and Master of Social Sciences, one third of the respondents each, followed by Master of Health Sciences (13%). The most common major subjects were International Relations (9 respondents), Computer Sciences (8 respondents) and Sociology (6 respondents). GRAPH 1 Respondents by faculties 38 % 0 % 13 % 11 % Faculty of Economics and Administration Faculty of Humanities Faculty of Information Sciences Faculty of Medicine 17 % 21 % Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Education

13 13 Most of the respondents had taken their previous studies before coming to UTA in the country whose citizenship they had. Five respondents had taken their secondary education and nine respondents university level studies in a country other than their citizenship before coming to UTA. What should be emphasized is that three out of eight Finns had taken their Bachelor s degree in the United Kingdom and one Indian and one Chinese had taken a Bachelor s degree in Finland. Eleven respondents had also taken studies at UTA before their current degree programme. However, only two of them had taken a degree; five had been exchange students; two visiting students and two had taken other studies. Here it emerges that an exchange period, or in particular, positive experiences during that exchange period, may be conducive to applying for a degree programme at the host university. What we also claim is that international experience is cumulative: those who have studied abroad once will most likely to do it again.

14 14 3. Before coming to UTA Students were asked how they chose their degree programme, where they searched for information, and why they chose the University of Tampere. In addition, they were asked about the application process. 3.1 Choosing the university and the degree programme The most common reason for choosing the University of Tampere was the degree programme itself. 36 per cent of respondents named it as their primary reason and all in all 79 per cent named it as one of the three most important reasons. The second most common reason after the degree was the quality of education. 70 per cent chose it as one of the top three reasons. 21 per cent of the respondents also named Finland as a destination as their primary reason for choosing UTA. The degree programme was also the most common reason for the respondents with Finnish citizenship. Five out of eight of them named it as their most important reason for choosing UTA. However, whereas quality of education was the second most important among all respondents, it was surpassed by the options courses offered, the city of Tampere as a destination and Finland as a destination among the Finnish citizens. The reasons behind choosing their current degree programme were quite similar for most respondents. In the open ended question the answers were formed differently but there was one similarity in reasons for choosing the programme: the degree programme was compatible with their previous studies and extended them. Some respondents had also had good experiences of UTA in their previous studies as an exchange student and wanted to come back later. The

15 15 multidisciplinary studies in the programme content also encouraged some respondents to make their choice. University web pages had been almost the only sources of information when the respondents had looked for information on potential degree programmes. Only a couple of respondents had attended student fairs, used (commercial) portals or had been given information by other universities. The same applied to finding information on the degree programme and the University of Tampere in general. In addition to the UTA web pages, 22 per cent of the respondents had also learnt about the degree programme and UTA in general from their acquaintances. 3.2 Application process According to the respondents, the application process itself had been easy. Three fourths of the respondents found it very easy or easy and one fourth thought it had been not easy, not difficult. Again, the university website had been the most important source of information. 77 per cent of the respondents had used the UTA English website and 24 per cent the Finnish website. 17 per cent of the respondents had also used the printed guide for applicants. As many as 83 per cent had contacted UTA during the application process. Most often they had contacted the International Office (43 per cent), departmental advisors (28 per cent) and faculty level advisors (25 per cent). Half of the respondents felt that during the application process they had had sufficient information on the content of the degree programme and studying at UTA and in Finland in general. However, nine respondents (17 per cent) said that they did not have sufficient information at that point. Two thirds had also had sufficient information on Finnish society and culture when they selected the

16 16 degree programme. By contrast, two respondents said they had not had any information at all and ten respondents had not had sufficient information. According to the open ended answers, many respondents would have liked to have more detailed information about the content of the degree programme instead of the short course titles and descriptions. The most satisfied with the information were the respondents from the Faculty of Medicine; all of them agreed with the statement that information was sufficient.

17 17 4. Studying at UTA Students were asked questions on the information which they were sent together with the Letter of Acceptance, about the orientation course for international students, and about planning of their studies. In addition, they were given some statements about their studies and were asked to choose the option which best described their opinion. These statements were the same or very similar to the statements given in Finnish surveys addressed to students in their 3 rd or 5 th year of studies. Therefore, in this section, we have made some comparisons between the respondents of this survey and the respondents to the previous surveys addressed to Finnish students studying on a degree programme given in Finnish. In comparisons, we must remember that the groups compared are very different from each other, regarding the stage of their studies, their physical age, their educational background. The third or fifth year students in surveys conducted in Finnish are a more homogenous group, as the respondents of this survey are a very heterogeneous group, not to mention the fact that 15 per cent of the respondents of this survey are Finnish citizens, too. 4.1 Starting studies The respondents were mostly very satisfied with the information package they had received with their Letter of Acceptance. Two thirds found it very or quite relevant and sufficient and one fourth thought it had been somewhat relevant and sufficient. Seventy per cent of the respondents had attended the orientation course at the beginning of their studies. While it was most often reportedly good, many degree students would have liked to have it organized separately from the exchange students orientation and perhaps more connected with the Finnish degree students instead.

18 18 The open ended answers commented that planning one s studies can be very different in the Finnish academic system compared to other universities worldwide, and thus many respondents said they would have needed more information on practical everyday studying matters such as using the library resources, taking book exams and enrolling on courses. However, 43 out of 53 respondents (81 per cent) still said that they had received sufficient information and support from the University for planning their studies. Most often this help was received from the department advisors, professors and the International Office. Those most satisfied with the faculty study counselling were the students from the Faculty of Information Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine. Seven out of eight respondents from the Faculty of Medicine and eight out of ten from the Faculty of Information Sciences rated it either excellent or good. Two thirds of all respondents also rated the study counselling offered by their department excellent or good. On the other side, eight out of twelve respondents from the Faculty of Social Sciences rated their faculty s study counselling adequate or poor. Again we must remember that the respondents group was not necessarily representative of the whole target group. However, for example, nationality or gender did not play any role in the rating. 4.2 Studies at UTA Three fourths of the respondents felt that studying at UTA had met their expectations. Twenty six per cent strongly agreed to this statement whereas in the student surveys on Finnish degree students, generally only twelve per cent did so. International degree students also believed more often than the fifth year respondents to the Finnish surveys that they had spent sufficient time to progress in their studies. Half of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement I believe that I spend sufficient time to progress in my studies, whereas

19 19 only just over one third of fifth year students in the previous surveys on Finnish degree students did so. However, compared to the Finnish student surveys, the international degree students also more often felt disappointed with the way their studies had progressed so far. Thirty two per cent of the international students agreed with the statement my studies have progressed more slowly than I originally thought and seventeen per cent strongly agreed with it, while in the previous surveys only eighteen per cent of the Finnish fifth year degree students had agreed and seven per cent strongly agreed with the statement. Graduating as fast as possible also seems to be an objective for the international degree students more often than it had been for their Finnish fifth year counterparts in the previous surveys. Sixty per cent of the international students agreed or strongly agreed with this statement while in the Finnish surveys 43 per cent of the fifth year students did so. International degree students were presented with several statements related to different factors which might delay studies. The second, third and fifth year students had also rated the same statements in the previous Finnish surveys, thus it was possible to compare the answers. International degree students had had less trouble with various course entrance requirements and limitations than the respondents to the Finnish surveys. Seventy one per cent of them had not really had or had not had any difficulties because of these prerequisites whereas in the Finnish surveys usually about half of the respondents had had at least some difficulties. This must also have to do with different degree structures; Master s degree programmes have less flexibility than traditional Bachelor s or Master s degrees, and students have no need to look for courses in minor subjects, for example. 5 Furthermore, international degree students less often reported that they had had trouble with courses overlapping. Twenty seven per 5 See e.g. ECTS Study Guide II , which comprises the curricula of the Master s degree programmes taught in English.

20 20 cent of them had had this problem while half of the respondents in the previous Finnish surveys reported the same. The international degree students also felt more often than the fifth year students in the Finnish surveys that factors related to the Master's thesis had held back their studies. While almost two thirds of the fifth year students said that these factors had not held their studies back at all, or not really, only just under one third of the international degree students said the same. Instead, one third of the international degree student respondents had had these problems quite a lot or very much indeed while only 21 per cent of the fifth year student survey respondents had. 4.3 Teaching at UTA In general, international degree students had positive opinions of teaching at UTA. 77 per cent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed to both that the teachers had prepared the courses with care and the students opinions were taken into account. Differences occurred between the respondents, however. The most satisfied seemed to be the respondents from the Faculty of Medicine. All nine of them either agreed or strongly agreed that there had been sufficient discussion in the classes while generally only fifty per cent of the other respondents did so. However, students of the Faculty of Social Sciences would have liked to have more discussions. The teachers prepared the courses with care was also a statement where differences emerged. While most of the respondents either agreed (50 per cent) or strongly agreed (25 per cent) with the statement, there were twelve respondents who were uncertain and five respondents who disagreed with it. Most of them came from the Faculty of Social Sciences.

21 Study related online services Students were also asked to rate the online services of NettiOpsu and Moodle (see the website of NettiOpsu at In NettiOpsu, students of the University of Tampere can update their contact information, view their academic transcripts, send their academic transcripts via e mail to any e mail address, enrol for examinations and courses, view their examination results and inform the University personnel of a study period or a traineeship abroad. In the survey, students were asked about course and exam enrolment. Almost all respondents (98 per cent) had used NettiOpsu to enrol on courses and the majority had used it to enrol for exams. Moodle service had also been used by 86 per cent of the respondents. NettiOpsu exam enrolment received the best reviews from its users, as 38 per cent found it excellent and fifty per cent good. 31 per cent of those who had used NettiOpsu course enrolment thought it was excellent and 45 found it good, while 26 per cent of those who had used Moodle found it excellent and 49 per cent thought it was good. Comments suggested that more attention should be paid to the accuracy of the English titles and descriptions and that all the course titles should be in English as well. 4.5 Studies and training abroad Students were asked whether they had been abroad as an exchange student or taken training abroad during their current studies or if they still planned to do so. They were also asked if they felt they had received enough information about these options. Eight respondents or 15 per cent (one Finnish student) had been abroad as an exchange or a visiting student while studying at UTA. Two of them still intended to go for a second time; seven respondents planned to go to study abroad through an exchange programme for the first time (17 per cent in total). Regarding training abroad, seven respondents had already taken it in another

22 22 country (14 per cent) and 14 respondents (29 per cent) intended to take it in some other country than Finland. Three of them had already been in training abroad. According to the open ended answers, it seemed that there had been some deficiencies in the information given to international degree students for planning their studies and training abroad: only forty per cent of respondents reported receiving sufficient information concerning it. Many respondents were not sure if they had even had such an option on their degree programme and would have welcomed more information about the opportunities. On the other hand, many respondents had not even really been interested in that option and said that if they were to become interested they could find the information themselves.

23 23 5. Financing of Studies Students were asked how they had financed their studies and whether they had worked during their studies, and, also what perceived to be the main obstacles to finding work in Tampere. Respondents were also asked to respond to almost the same set of statements related to working while studying which had been used in the previous Finnish surveys on third and fifth year students. 5.1 Sources of finance Almost half of respondents (41 per cent; 22 respondents including eight Finns) were entitled to the Finnish study grant and eight of them had so far taken out a study loan. Our assumption is that this in no way corresponds to the situation of international degree students in the whole target group: most of them are not entitled to any Finnish study grant. In addition to the study grant, the most common ways of financing studies for international degree students were doing paid work (11 respondents), using own savings (8 respondents), and family support (6 respondents). Only one respondent was financing his studies by a scholarship. 5.2 Working during studies While only eleven respondents named doing paid work as the main way of financing their studies, two thirds of the respondents had done paid work while studying (35 respondents). Most of them (29 respondents) had worked both during holidays and semesters. Ten respondents said that they are still intending to find work and eight respondents had been trying to find work but so far had been unsuccessful. Only four respondents said they would not like to work

24 24 while they study. None of the respondents had had any difficulties obtaining a work permit. Mostly the respondents were employed in communications or information (7 respondents). After that came service or commercial work, clerical or administrative work and teaching, training or research (5 respondents each). The respondents from the School of Modern Languages and Translation Studies and from the Department of Computer Sciences had most often found work in the field of their studies. One third of all respondents reported that their present job was connected to the field of their studies, but eight out of ten of the respondents from the Department of Computer Sciences and three out of six respondents from the School of Modern Languages and Translation Studies did so. The most common employers for all respondents were private companies and the second most common were organizations. 36 per cent (19 respondents) had most recently worked for a private employer and fifteen per cent for an organization (8 respondents). 5.3 Attitudes towards working during studies Of the various work related statements presented in the survey, the respondents agreed most emphatically with the statements I work in order to be sure of a basic income (40 per cent strongly agreed, 30 per cent agreed) and Working during studies provides valuable working experience (25 per cent strongly agreed and 43 per cent agreed). Having a little more spending money also seemed to be a quite common reason for doing paid work, as half of the respondents also agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. However, sixty per cent of the respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that working takes away time from their studies. Nevertheless, half of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Working and studies are mutually supportive and only twenty per cent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement Working is unnecessarily delaying my studies.

25 25 Compared to the previous Finnish surveys, international degree students (including Finnish students on programmes taught in English) had worked more often in order to secure their basic income and they also said more often that they worked in order to have a little more spending money. These answers make clear sense when only forty per cent of them were entitled to the study grant compared to the ninety per cent of the respondents in the Finnish surveys. The international degree students (and students on international degree programmes) also believed more often than the respondents in the Finnish surveys that working during studies provides valuable working experience and working and studies are mutually supportive. Seventy five per cent of them agreed or strongly agreed with the first statement and 52 per cent with the second, while in the Finnish surveys only just over half of respondents agreed with the first and 23 per cent with the second statement. 5.4 Obstacles to finding work in Tampere The respondents found the lack of language skills (33 respondents), lack of connections to local employers (26 respondents) and lack of information about job opportunities (18 respondents) the most common obstacles to finding work in Tampere. Several of those who had not worked during their studies also pointed out that they would be interested if they could find work related to their studies. However, according to several respondents, the main problem is that basic Finnish skills are often not considered enough and fluent Finnish language skills are expected even in jobs requiring little communication. Still, only seven respondents felt that they had experienced discrimination when applying for a job.

26 26 6. Student services 6.1 Services provided by the Department of Academic and International Affairs Students were asked to rate the services offered by the Department of Academic and International Affairs from very poor to excellent. These services included the Information Booth (Opastus), the International Office, the Registrar s Office, the Financial Aid Office, Study Counselling (in Finnish), and the University Sports Services. The respondents had used these services varyingly but the ratings were mostly positive and there were only a few poor or very poor ratings. (GRAPH 2) GRAPH 2 Respondents ratings of services provided by the Department of Academic and International Affairs Registrar's Office Study counselling (in Finnish), n University sports Financial Aid Office n International Office Information booth (Opastus) n 51 respondents Very poor Poor Adequate Good Excellent Not used

27 27 As seen in GRAPH 2, the most commonly used services were those provided by the Registrar s Office and the International Office. Only three respondents had not used the services of the Registrar s Office and five the services of the International Office. Approximately 75 per cent rated them either good or excellent. The services of the Information Booth (Opastus) had been used by more than half of the respondents and this service was most often rated good (58 per cent). The services of the Financial Aid Office had also been used by almost half of the respondents (note again that the group of respondents constitutes an exception; usually international degree students are not entitled to any Finnish study grant). Half rated them either excellent or good and one fourth found them adequate. Study counselling in Finnish had only been used by twelve respondents. Four of them found the services good and six thought they had been adequate. The university sports facilities had been used by just over half of the respondents. 43 per cent of them found the facilities good and 40 per cent adequate. The comments on the services were not very explicit, but in general the university personnel was said to be very helpful and kind. A few remarks stated again that attention was often paid to exchange students, and international degree students were often considered to be part of the same group even though international degree students would like to be grouped with other degree students. 6.2 Other services The respondents were also asked to rate some other student services. These included student health care, library services, the Student Union, student housing and student tutors. ( See GRAPH 3).

28 28 GRAPH 3 Respondents ratings on other services IT services Student health care Library services Student Union Student housing Student tutors n 51 respondents Very poor Poor Adequate Good Excellent Not used The IT services, the library services and the Student Union services had been used most and the IT services also received the best ratings. Fifty out of 51 respondents found them either excellent or good. Forty one respondents, i.e. more than 80 per cent of users, thought that the library services had been excellent or good. The Student Union received adequate ratings slightly more often than the previous two, but still 38 respondents found these services either excellent or good. Just over three fourths of the respondents had used the student health care services, student housing services and student tutors. The student health care services received the best ratings of these three: thirty eight respondents found them either excellent or good and only four respondents reported them to be adequate. Student housing received some poor ratings (seven respondents), but compared to the results of the exchange student survey of 2007, the ratings were

29 29 much better. Six respondents thought that the student housing had been excellent and nineteen respondents found it good. Concerning student tutoring, the open ended comments suggested the same as the ratings. Some tutors had been very good while some other had not been very committed to their work. The differences between the departments indicated that the respondents from the Department of Computer Sciences had used the student tutor service most often (all ten had used them) and they also gave the student tutors the best ratings. By contrast, none of the four respondents from the Medical School had used the services of student tutors while all the other five respondents from the Faculty of Medicine had.

30 30 7. Plans for the future Half of the respondents reported planning definitely or probably to stay in Finland after graduation. Those respondents who had lived in Finland for a longer time often had families here and were more certain about their decision to stay. If the respondents had planned to continue their academic career, they had most often planned to do it at the University of Tampere. Forty per cent of respondents reported definitely or probably continuing their studies towards a Master s or Doctor s degree at UTA while only seventeen per cent reported similar plans in another Finnish higher education institution and only fifteen per cent had planned to do it elsewhere than Finland. Forty six per cent of the respondents had definitely planned to find a job in Finland in the future and 26 per cent said they would probably try to do so. Only two respondents thought that they would probably not seek work in Finland. Three factors had a significant impact on the decision to staying in Finland after graduation. First, staying in Finland depended heavily on work/study opportunities in the future. Second, it depended on family. However, for some respondents the family in Finland was keeping them here while for others the family was abroad, hence they would probably leave Finland after graduation. The third factor was related to Finnish society, in particular to attitudes towards foreigners. Openness and a welcoming attitude would make them stay in the future, however, if international degree students cannot make contacts and find friends they would rather go somewhere else. Almost all, i.e. 87 per cent of respondents would recommend the University of Tampere to prospective students. However, many respondents said that the degree

31 31 programmes should be better integrated into Finnish society and business. They wanted more job opportunities and training. Some respondents also had taken academic freedom for laziness and wanted stricter rules and schedules, while some respondents valued the freedom and the option to exercise their personal sense of responsibility to advance in their studies.

32 32 8. Conclusion Even though we cannot claim that the group of respondents was a representative sample of all international degree students or students studying on degree programmes given in English, we believe that this survey provided us with valuable information on the opinions of some of this very heterogeneous group. Our purpose is to disseminate this information to all those planning and implementing degree programmes through the medium of English at our University and to those who offer the services assessed in this survey. What we can say on the basis of this survey is that it is the degree programme itself and the quality of education in general which attract international degree students to the University of Tampere. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the planning of degree programmes and to giving more precise, more comprehensive, more detailed information on the content of the degree programmes. Only half of the respondents reported receiving sufficient information on the content of the degree programme and studying at UTA and in Finland in general before they actually got here. Thus in addition to the programme itself, there should be more information on studying at UTA to help students get a clearer idea about everyday student life. Here we should mention that in spring 2007 all those offering Master s degree programmes were actually encouraged to describe their curricula according to the criteria used in the ECTS study guides and in the OPSI electronic database. These curricula descriptions were then published as a separate ECTS Study Guide. Therefore, the information now available is more structured and comprehensive than at the time when our present respondents applied and enrolled. Moreover, the results of this survey may help the University in its marketing efforts. In addition to the expressed need for more comprehensive information about degree programmes, we also learnt that for applicants and students alike the most important source of

33 33 information is the world wide web. We also found that the application process was relatively easy for our applicants. We assumed that having positive experiences as an exchange student (either first or second hand) would be decisive in the choice to apply for degree studies at the same university, which the results of this survey confirmed. Teaching in general was rated positively, even though the respondents from the Faculty of Social Sciences were not as satisfied with teaching and study counselling as those from other faculties. Teaching is, of course, the responsibility of faculties, departments and separate degree programmes, and the International Office as part of the Department of Academic and International Affairs is not in a position to bring about improvements in it. After all, 40 per cent said they definitely or probably planned to continue their studies towards a Master s or Doctor s degree at UTA, and 87 per cent would recommend UTA to others. Two thirds of the respondents in this survey had worked at some point during their studies and over two thirds planned to find a job in Finland after they graduate. However, one of the obstacles to finding work in Tampere seems to be the lack of Finnish language skills. Therefore, programme planners might consider incorporating more Finnish into their requirements. Mention should be made here of the Working in Tampere Region Project a joint project of Unipoli SITR & RekryTampere, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education. This project has gathered useful information for international students on seeking work in Tampere (work permits, taxation, practical information on looking for a job) at their website < and organized a Career evening for international students. Thus, services are being developed in this field too.

34 34 In general, the degree students were happy with the services provided by the Department of Academic and International Affairs, the IT services, the Library, the Student Union and the tutoring system, the Tampere Student Housing Foundation (TOAS), and the student health services. The NettiOpsu course and exam enrolment system were highly appreciated. However, the tutoring system and the housing foundation received some criticism. Concerning the services of the International Office, criticism was addressed to the fact that there is not sufficient information available in English on opportunities for study abroad on exchange programmes. Since autumn 2007 however, the International Office has published the announcements and application forms for study abroad in English both on paper and on line, and face to face advice is also available. In the future, we plan to have the same information available in English as there is in Finnish on the website Opiskelu ja harjoittelu ulkomailla (Studying and Training Abroad). One of the wishes expressed in the survey was that international degree students would like to be addressed as a group of their own or like other degree students and not as international exchange students. International degree students also wanted a separate orientation course, and were not fully satisfied with the course arranged for exchange and visiting students by the International Office. This need has also been recognized and discussed in the working group for Master s degree programmes (maisteriohjelmatyöryhmä) in autumn 2007 and in the KEHRÄ group (Tampereen yliopiston opiskelijoiden hyvinvointityöryhmä a working group to promote wellbeing of UTA students). The KEHRÄ group has decided to arrange an additional orientation course for international degree students in September This half day orientation will address matters such as academic culture in Finland (studying at the University, what it means to be a university student), alternative study methods and how to cope with study pressures. Moreover, the City of Tampere will arrange an event called Welcome to Tampere, in which they will introduce the services offered by the City of Tampere.

35 35 To conclude, we should emphasize that the situation concerning international degree students constantly changes. For example, the application process (from the administrative aspect) will change if and when the University of Tampere joins the Finnish Universities International Marketing and Admissions FUNIMA application system ( The situation will also change if and when tuition fees are introduced for non EU students, as suggested by the Government in the Education and Research Development Plan ( ). We conclude by saying that even though the percentage of the respondents was quite low in this survey, it provided us with information which was previously not available. It would be desirable to carry out a corresponding survey every other year, and hopefully reach a larger number of respondents.

36 36 References University of Tampere: Key facts WWW document. Available at Education and Research Development Plan Koulutus ja tutkimus Kehittämissuunnitelma. Opetusministeriön julkaisuja 2008:9. Opetusministeriö WWW document. Available in Finnish at m09.pdf?lang=fi Opetusministeriön ja Tampereen yliopiston välinen tulossopimus kaudelle ja voimavarat vuodelle WWW document. Available in Finnish at s/hallinto_ohjaus_ja_rahoitus/yliopistojen_tulossopimukset/tulossopimukset_2 008/TaY.pdf Statistics provided by the Computer Centre of the University of Tampere, System Specialist Irja Satri, November ECTS Study Guide II Master s Degree Programmes Taught in English University of Tampere. Department of Academic and International Affairs. Juvenes Print Also available at