Evaluation method
On 22 October 2007 the Finnish Ministry of Education requested the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC) to submit its proposal for centres of excellence in university education by 30 November 2008 as a basis for the allocation of performance-based funding for the performance agreement period 2010–2012.
FINHEEC will carry out the process as a two-phase international peer evaluation, in which the first phase is based on applications submitted in English. The first phase will be anonymous, so that the international evaluation team is not able to identify the applicants. Initially there will be at most 47 applications, out of which the team will select a shortlist of some 20 applications for the second round.
In the second phase, the international evaluators will visit the selected units together with Finnish experts. During the visits, the evaluators verify the facts presented in the application and evaluate the education provided by the unit. The visit is an independent part of the application process and, as such, can either augment or reduce the applicant's weighting in the final choice. The visits follow a plan but the evaluators are entitled to deviate from it in order to elicit the best possible information concerning the quality of the education provided by the unit.
After the visits, all the evaluators and secretaries convene at a workshop led by the Finnish chair to discuss the results of the visits and to formulate a recommendation as to the centres of excellence in university education to be rewarded. The team will give written feedback on all the applications submitted. Based on the evaluation team's proposal, FINHEEC will decide on the centres of excellence to be proposed to the Ministry of Education.
The evaluation results will be compiled into a report, which will be published in the FINHEEC publication series. It will describe the applications of the units proposed to the Ministry of Education, the results of the visits and the feedback on these, and the evaluation process.
The evaluation process will end in an international seminar where the designated centres of excellence in university education will present themselves. The purpose is to highlight the quality of Finnish university education and make the evaluation process visible.
Form of application, and content and criteria are described in a letter send to Finnish universities at the 7th of March 2008. The letter is available here:
englanninkielinen (doc) (64.5 KB)
The application must include the background and statistical information appendix.
Each university may submit at least one application. Universities with more than 1000 students may nominate two. Universities with more than 10,000 students may submit one nomination for each starting 10,000 registered students. A calculation based on the KOTA database as to the number of applications for each university:
englanninkielinen (doc) (51 KB)
For additional technical information relating to the applications and their submission, please turn to Project Manager Kirsi Hiltunen (09–1607 6918), kirsi.hiltunen(at)minedu.fi.