The news article has been updated 14 May: Q&A has been added
At Haaga-Helia you can study in full-time and blended learning. The new policies on attendance will affect full-time studies and contact learning courses in particular. Blended studies are organised to be flexible alongside work, and will continue to be largely independent and distance studies: by default, there is less contact teaching. Master's programmes are offered in the form of blended learning.
In particular, first-year students will be offered a greater emphasis on contact learning, as the networks and team and working life skills they build up at the beginning of their studies will help them in their future careers. For more advanced students, we will offer more independent implementation options.
Different implementation options will be available in the future too
We understand students' pressures and different situations in life. The attendance requirement will not be 100% in the future, it will be flexible within common limits. In addition, Haaga-Helia will continue to offer a variety of course implementations, such as virtual online courses, which are fully self-paced and can be taken independently of time and place. In addition, about 2/3 of the workload of contact courses will continue to be independent work, which can be adapted to your own schedule. The Work & Study model also allows work-based learning, i.e. the acquisition of the skills required for a degree by doing work.
Since the pandemic, there have been different practices in contact learning and the new policy aims to harmonise contact learning. Common ground rules will promote equal treatment of students.
Developing together - give feedback
The demand for more presence has been raised by teachers, students, and the Haaga-Helia student well-being team. Loneliness, mental health problems, and deteriorating wellbeing are reflected in courses, in consultations with study psychologists and coaches, and in survey results.
The issue was discussed with the Haaga-Helia student union Helga and the student organisations at an earlier stage of planning, when the reform was not yet in the form now proposed. In these forums, the reception has been largely positive, as the concern about a lack of community and feelings of loneliness is shared. We are thankful for the feedback we have received on social media and in response to our questionnaire, and will take this feedback into account when developing attendance guidelines.
We are still welcoming feedback: please leave your comments here.
