Provisions on studies and examinations

11 § General examination requirements

An academic year is divided into 4 periods and is 60 ECTS credits in scope with the workload distributed as evenly as possible over the 4 periods. An academic year involves a work contribution of 1600h on the part of the student and the curricula should be designed so that a student can earn at least 60 ECTS credits during an academic year.

The academic year begins in the last week of August and end in the turn of the month May-June.

Studies leading to a polytechnic Master´s degree can be carried out as part time studies.

12 § Language skills

A student shall in the framework of studies leading to the polytechnic degree, or in some other way, gain

1. such knowledge of Finnish and Swedish, which, pursuant to the Act on linguistic skills (424/2003) is required by civil servants for a position in a bilingual administrative area for which a tertiary level degree is a requirement and which the student needs to conduct professional duties and to foster his/her professional development.

2. such written and oral skills in at least one foreign language needed by the student to conduct his/her professional duties and to foster professional development.

Subsection 1 shall not apply to a student who has gained his/her education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish or who has gained his education abroad.

A student who has gained his/her education abroad shall complete 10 ECTS credits in Swedish and 5 ECTS credits in English. In addition a student shall be offered at least 15 ECTS credits in Finnish within the framework of the extension study options.

The President can for special reasons exempt a student wholly or partly from language skill requirements provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2. The student shall submit the request for exemption to the Language Centre which forwards its opinion on the matter to the President. The President makes a decision and informs the Language Centre which takes responsibility for informing the programme leader and student affairs office of the decision.

13 § Maturity examination

A students who graduates from Arcada shall pass a written maturity examination. The purpose of the maturity examination is to indicate that the student is familiar with the area of study addressed by the Bachelor´s or Master´s thesis and that the student has an acceptable command of Swedish and Finnish. The examination consists of the writing of a supervised essay in which familiarity with the field of study is displayed.

On the basis of the maturity examination the student may be assessed to have officially attained such competence in Finnish or Swedish required of a person holding a civil service position provided that the maturity examination is written in the same language as that in which the student has received his/her education. A student is considered to have received his/her education in that language, either Finnish or Swedish, which is stated as the mother tongue on the school leaving certificate as required by the Finnish law on comprehensive education (628/1998) or upper-secondary education (629/1998) or in other equivalent studies where the student has attained a passing grade in mother tongue.

A student who has gained his/her education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish, or has been educated abroad, shall pass the maturity examination in the language of the degree programme. The President may decide otherwise in special cases.

If the student has already passed a maturity examination for a polytechnic, Bachelor´s or Master´s degree the student does not have to undergo a formal assessment of Swedish or Finnish in another maturity examination. However, a written examination is required in which factual content is assessed. Language used in the test has to meet the standards normally required for factual prose.

14 § Accreditation of study attainments

Within the framework of degree studies at Arcada, a student can apply to have accredited studies carried out at another tertiary institution or at another institution of learning of the same standard or with corresponding practical training or work experience (Decree on Polytechnics, 352/2003, § 14)

Also such knowledge that has been attained by informal means from working or organisational life can be accredited. The initiative for the accreditation of study attainments shall be taken by the student who also assumes responsibility for providing sufficient evidence to enable an assessment to be made of the study attainment.

The application is made to the head of department, who makes the decision on the basis of a submission by the programme director.  In the case of the transfer/substitution of a particular course, the examiner can decide.

The decision on accreditation of the head of department shall be conveyed to the student within three (3) weeks of the submission of the application. Accreditation of studies completed at another institution of higher education also involves a qualitative appraisal of the study attainment.

For a student to be able to have accredited studies that he/she intends to complete at another institution of higher education at home or abroad or at the Virtual Polytechnic, an individual study plan shall be formulated beforehand.

The President´s directives concerning the validation of competence and accreditation are included in Arcada’s Study Guide at www.arcada.fi.

15 § Assessment of study attainments

The examination requirements for a course shall be clearly stated in the course description.

The examination requirements should be in accord with the learning outcomes expected in a course.

Examinations take the following forms at Arcada:

1. Exams

2. Demonstrations and presentations

3. Reports and productions

4. Independent essays

The student shall be informed of the results of his/her attainments within three weeks of the examination or submission date.

The assessed material shall be kept in its original form for twelve (12) months after the student has been informed of the results.

A course that has been assessed by examination can be re-examined within a year of the completion of the course. During this period two re-examinations shall be arranged. After this period the results of partly fulfilled study attainments will become invalid unless the examiner named in the course description decides otherwise.

An approved study attainment is assessed with the grades

- excellent (5)

- good (4-3) or

- satisfactory (2-1).

In specific cases student attainment may be assessed with the grade "accomplished" or "pass".

The evaluation of the Bachelor´s and Master´s thesis is done by an assessor together with the supervisor. The assessor should draft a statement evaluating the degree thesis as a whole. The statement should also be signed by the supervisor.

The Bachelor´s and Master´s thesis is assessed with the grades satisfactory, good or excellent. The grade is justified in the statement on the degree thesis and is determined on the basis of the thesis itself, the maturity examination and the presentation.

16 § The degree certificate

When all study achievements required for the polytechnic Bachelor´s and for the Master´s degree are completed, application can be made for the degree certificate on a form intended for the purpose. An appendix intended for international use is attached to the degree certificate. This provides information on the polytechnic, the studies and academic attainments indicated in the degree certificate, as well as their level and position in the educational system.

17 § Guidelines on ethics and sanctions for cheating

Arcada follows the rules of the Committee on Research Ethics pertaining to good research practice and the procedures to follow in the case of non-adherence and the internal rules 'Good scientific practice in education and research at Arcada' and 'Good scientific practice in studies at Arcada'. The ethical guidelines applied at Arcada can be found on Arcada´s website.

A student who has cheated or in some other way has broken the rules of the polytechnic can be punished by being issued a warning or by being suspended for a limited period, one year at most, according to what is prescribed in 'Good scientific practice in education and research at Arcada' and 'Good scientific practice in studies at Arcada'. Before the matter is decided, the student shall be given the opportunity to be heard in the matter. The Rector decides on warnings and the board of the polytechnic on suspension. (Act on Polytechnics 351/2003 and Decree on Polytechnics 352/2003).

Read the document "Good scientific practice in studies at Arcada" (pdf)