The National Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (SAMOK) strongly opposes the government’s proposal to grant degree-awarding rights to open higher education and demands its withdrawal. SAMOK views the proposal as a direct strike to the very core of the Finnish education system: the principle of tuition-free education and equality. While the government’s goal of raising the level of education is correct, the proposed means work against this objective.

“If implemented, this degree-awarding right would create a clear bypass line within the system. Study admission would no longer be based on competence or performance in entrance exams, but rather on the applicant’s ability to pay. Degrees costing tens of thousands of euros would place students in an unequal position and jeopardize social mobility,” assesses Samuli Leppämäki, Senior Advisor in Higher Education Policy at SAMOK.

The justifications that the proposal would target only working adults or those pursuing a second degree do not hold up under closer scrutiny. The draft proposal lacks binding legislation to restrict the target group, leaving the door open for anyone who can afford it to buy their way past the joint application system. Consequently, genuine first-time applicants would have to compete for a limited number of free study places alongside those who have acquired a financial head start.

The open degree model would divide campus students into two tiers and leave some in a legislative vacuum. Students completing a degree through the open path would be denied the right to student financial aid, the meal subsidy, and student healthcare provided by FSHS.

“It is structurally unsustainable to have students sitting in the same course under different levels of support networks and competence criteria solely based on their admission route. In addition to the obvious risk to equality, this would pose unprecedented challenges for organizing teaching and guidance,” Leppämäki continues.

SAMOK finds it highly concerning how hastily the government is pushing through a fundamentally significant change in educational policy without comprehensive impact assessments or support from the higher education sector. In a financially constrained higher education landscape, there is a risk of a strong financial incentive emerging to cover core funding deficits with fully cost-covering tuition-fee degrees, at the expense of current open higher education provisions, the development of the open path, and the accessibility of education.

Currently, the educational mission of open higher education is defined as promoting accessibility and lifelong learning. Transforming open higher education into a paid degree route is therefore justly difficult, and SAMOK calls for the proposal to be overturned.

“Raising the educational level is an important goal, but it cannot be achieved by weakening equality or shifting the financial responsibility onto individuals. Instead of commercial loopholes, expanding educational capacity requires adequate public core funding and a genuinely accessible education system. A higher education degree must never become a commodity,” states Annu Suvilehto, Member of the Board of SAMOK.

Additional information:

Annu Suvilehto
Board Member
+358 44 736 1145
[email protected]

Samuli Leppämäki
Senior Advisor in Higher Education Policy
+358 44 902 8852
[email protected]