Evaluation of Degree Reform in Finland 2010: University Faculties

The evaluation survey examined how well the objectives set for the Bologna Process had been achieved in Finnish university faculties and how well the new two-cycle degree structure functioned. Other main themes included student mobility and changes in degree requirements. First questions investigated to what extent the faculties had been aware of the goals set for the degree reform, what were the most important goals for the faculty and how well these goals had been achieved. Other topics included participation in field-specific projects connected to the reform at national or European level and the usefulness of such projects. Faculties were asked to evaluate the implementation of the reform in the university, to what extent different stakeholders had participated, how useful national level support for the implementation had been and how well the faculty had succeeded in transferring from the previous to the new degree structure. The functionality of the two-cycle system was studied with a number of questions relating to the status and feasibility of bachelor and master degrees. Further questions investigated the impact of the reform on the length of study, that is, how quickly students complete their courses. Next set of questions studied whether the reform had facilitated and increased domestic and international mobility of students and in what ways. Another theme focused on the impact of the reform on curricula and degree requirements. Questions covered, for instance, to what extent curricula had been changed in the faculty, what factors had been taken into account in planning them, equivalence between credits and workload and whether the needs of working life had been taken into account. Finally, the respondents were asked to evaluate the implementation and success of the degree reform in their own faculty. Background variables included the name of the university and field of study of the faculty.