NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

I. Higher education system
In Finland, the overall framework of educational policy is decided by Parliament. Parliament passes legislation concerning all
levels of education, and decides on funds for education from the State budget. The implementation of the decisions is the
responsibility of the Council of State (government) and the Ministry of Education. There has been a recent move to reduce
centralised control over educational institutions. The role of the government is to decide the framework for quantitative and
qualitative development of the education system, but decision-making is increasingly being handed to local authorities,
schools, and institutions of higher education.
Nearly all publicly funded education, from primary education to higher education, is subordinate to or supervised by the
Ministry of Education. Training relating to national defence, order, and some training in communication and transport are
administered by other, relevant ministries. Most existing private institutions are in the vocational sector, but they, too, rely
heavily on public funding, and the education they provide is subject to public supervision. The universities are State
institutions and funded directly from the budget; the State and local authorities provide most of the funds for the other
educational institutions.
The Ministry of Education (opetusministeriö/undervisningsministeriet ( 1 )) is responsible for the overall development and
planning of education and research. The ministry prepares educational legislation and drafts
relevant resolutions for the government.
The National Board of Education (opetushallitus/utbildningsstyrelsen), subordinate to the Ministry of Education, is an office
responsible for developing and evaluating general, vocational and adult education; it develops and confirms the qualifications
and the core curricula for schools, and provides certain supporting services for them.
The Higher Education Evaluation Concil (Korkeakoulujen arviointineuvosto/Rådet för utvärdering av högskolorna) was
established in January 1996 to advise the Ministry of Education and to assist universities and ammattikorkeakoulut (AMK
institutions, institutes of professional higher education, also called polytechnics) in self-evaluation. The council proposes
initiatives regarding the institutions and their development, and promotes research on and international cooperation in
evaluation. It assesses applications for the accreditation of AMK institutions and plans new experimental AMKs. The council
comprises 12 experts appointed for a four-year term. The majority of its members are teachers at universities and AMK
institutions, but students as well as business and industry are also represented.
The Council of Finnish University Rectors (Suomen korkeakoulujen rehtorien neuvosto/Finska högskolerektorernas råd) is a
board promoting cooperation between the universities. It makes recommendations and declarations in matters concerning
university education.
The Council of Presidents of Finnish Institutes of Professional Higher Education (ARENE — Ammattikorkeakoulujen
rehtorineuvosto/Rådet för yrkeshögskolornas rektorer) is a board promoting cooperation between the AMK institutions. The
board discusses matters relating to the planning and development of AMK education and makes recommendations and policy
statements. It may also perform special tasks at the request of the institutions or the authorities.
The universities are under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education, where the department for higher education and
research deals with matters pertaining to university education and research. Even though they are State institutions, they have
considerable autonomy in internal affairs, including teaching and research.
The annual negotiations between the Ministry of Education and the universities lead to agreements on performance (for the
next four years), in which the overall goals as well as funds for the universities are agreed. The universities have recently
transferred to budgeting by results and some resources are allocated to universities on the basis of their achievements.
As for the legislation, each university is governed by a separate act and decree concerning its administration. There is a reform
taking place aiming to replace the separate acts by one law governing all universities. Other provisions are included in
legislation concerning teacher education and in decrees pertaining to degrees in different fields of education. The latter
decrees define the objectives, extent and overall structure of the degrees, but the institutions themselves issue more explicit
directions for the content and structure of the degrees.