The Univer­si­ties of applied sciences entrance exam­i­na­tion will be organ­ised as a one-step in-person test between 31 May and 9 June.

Univer­si­ties of applied sciences (UAS) will select students for educa­tion start­ing next autumn in excep­tional circum­stances. Student admis­sions for the joint appli­ca­tion process start­ing in March will be imple­mented through a certifi­cate-based admis­sion and an UAS entrance exam­i­na­tion, which will be organ­ised in excep­tional circum­stances due to the covid-19 pandemic. The exam will be arranged between 31 May and 9 June 2021 as a one-step in-person test in facil­i­ties desig­nated by univer­si­ties of applied sciences. The number of exam days has been increased to eight.

Univer­si­ties of applied sciences have begun to prepare care­fully for student admis­sions in spring 2021. The aim is to make choices that ensure equal treat­ment of appli­cants and the organ­i­sa­tion of the entrance exam­i­na­tions in a safe manner for health. Entrance exam­i­na­tions are organ­ised through­out Finland in several loca­tions, follow­ing the instruc­tions and recom­men­da­tions issued by the author­i­ties (Ministry of Educa­tion and Culture and the Finnish Insti­tute for Health and Welfare).

-Prepa­ra­tion for student admis­sions in spring 2021 is completely differ­ent from last year. We have had time to assess the imple­men­ta­tion and prob­lems of the two-stage entrance exam­i­na­tion for univer­si­ties of applied sciences organ­ised in May and June 2020, says Exec­u­tive Direc­tor Petri Lempinen from Arene, the Rectors’ Confer­ence of Finnish Univer­si­ties of Applied Sciences.

Last March, due to the spread of the coro­n­avirus, Finland moved to emer­gency condi­tions at the same time as the joint appli­ca­tion process began. Changes to student admis­sions had to be made quickly. At that time, deci­sions on a two-stage remote and in-person exam­i­na­tion were made in a situ­a­tion where the author­i­ties had closed the facil­i­ties of educa­tional insti­tu­tions from teach­ing, and there were plenty of restric­tions in force in the country, for example, the shut­ting down of the Uusimaa district. 

During the covid-19 period, all activ­i­ties taking place on the campuses of univer­si­ties of applied sciences have been guided by instruc­tions and recom­men­da­tions issued by the author­i­ties (Ministry of Educa­tion and Culture, Finnish Insti­tute for Health and Welfare). The teach­ing has an estab­lished hybrid model in which neces­sary contact teach­ing is arranged on campuses, taking into account safety distances and hygiene. Other­wise, e-learn­ing is used.

The UAS entrance exam­i­na­tion was also organ­ised twice last year in excep­tional circum­stances. Around 36,000 appli­cants partic­i­pated in the in-person exam­i­na­tions held in June and October. There is no infor­ma­tion that the entrance exam­i­na­tions would have launched trans­mis­sion chains.

-By organ­is­ing a one-step commuter test, univer­si­ties of applied sciences want to remove the suspi­cions of the possi­bil­i­ties of fraud that were discussed in connec­tion with remote tests of higher educa­tion insti­tu­tions in 2020. Because of the equal treat­ment of appli­cants, it is impor­tant to elim­i­nate the possi­bil­ity of abuses during the exam perfor­mance, Lempinen explains the back­ground to decision-making.

Univer­sity of Applied Sciences entrance exam­i­na­tion in excep­tional circumstances

During the appli­ca­tion period for joint appli­ca­tions, appli­cants regis­ter for the UAS entrance exam­i­na­tion in the Studyinfo.fi service. Entrance exam­i­na­tions are organ­ised through­out Finland in several locations.

Appli­cants have the possi­bil­ity to choose the place and time of the exam from the avail­able options. The appli­cant may also choose an entrance exam­i­na­tion loca­tion in a univer­sity of applied sciences for which they have not applied, but which is located near their own place of resi­dence. This reduces travel related to partic­i­pa­tion in entrance examinations.

Univer­si­ties of applied sciences can organ­ise entrance exam­i­na­tions on eight differ­ent days, which divides the number of appli­cants into smaller groups than usual. This enables compli­ance with health and safety guide­lines. Univer­si­ties of applied sciences decide on the number of entrance exam­i­na­tions they use.

The joint entrance exam­i­na­tion is used in 22 univer­si­ties of applied sciences to select students for studies leading to a bachelor’s degree. The same exam can be used to apply to differ­ent univer­si­ties of applied sciences and educa­tion in differ­ent fields. Univer­si­ties of applied sciences have sepa­rate admis­sion proce­dures for studies leading to a master’s degree.

Joint appli­ca­tion period in March 2021

Appli­ca­tions for Finnish-language and Swedish-language train­ing for univer­si­ties of applied sciences start­ing in autumn 2021 will be submit­ted in the joint appli­ca­tion period from 17 March to 31 March 2021. In the joint appli­ca­tion process, appli­cants apply for studies leading to a bachelor’s degree (Poly­tech­nic) and a master’s degree. 22 univer­si­ties of applied sciences are involved in the joint appli­ca­tion process. The Police College of Finland and Högskolan på Åland organ­ise sepa­rate appli­ca­tion periods.

In March, the appli­cant may apply for a maximum of six train­ing programmes. Approx­i­mately half of the start­ing places of the univer­sity of applied sciences qual­i­fi­ca­tions are filled with a certifi­cate-based admis­sion and the rest with an UAS entrance exam­i­na­tion. Univer­si­ties of applied sciences decide for each study programmes how many start­ing places are reserved for students with certifi­cate-based admis­sion. The certifi­cate-based admis­sion has sepa­rate start­ing places for appli­cants with a matric­u­la­tion exam­i­na­tion (Finnish or inter­na­tional) and for those with a voca­tional upper secondary qualification.

All univer­si­ties of applied sciences use the same scoring models for matric­u­la­tion exam­i­na­tion and voca­tional upper secondary qual­i­fi­ca­tions completed after 1 August 2015. Those who have completed a double degree partic­i­pate in the certifi­cate-based admis­sion based on both the matric­u­la­tion exam­i­na­tion and the voca­tional upper secondary qual­i­fi­ca­tion. In addi­tion, inter­na­tional EB, IB and RP/DIA degrees are taken into account in the scoring models.

As a rule, all appli­cants may take the UAS entrance exam­i­na­tion from 31 May to 9 June. If the appli­cant has been selected through a certifi­cate-based admis­sion, they do not need to take the entrance exam­i­na­tion. However, in the entrance exam­i­na­tion, one can aim to be admit­ted in a possi­ble place to study that they placed higher in the order of preference.

After the certifi­cate-based admis­sion and the entrance exam­i­na­tion, the appli­cant is offered one study place. They can confirm only one study place in educa­tion that begins in the same acad­e­mic term.