Operating principles

Under the relevant Decree, the mission of FINHEEC is to assist universities, polytechnics, and the Ministry of Education in matters relating to evaluation. The aim of FINHEEC is to improve Finnish HEIs and their international competitiveness through evaluations, support for quality work, the provision of benchmarking data, improvement recommendations and the dissemination of best practices. The Ministry of Education and other stakeholders are provided with up-to-date evaluation data to support decision-making and development. FINHEEC observes the following principles:

Independent action

Decision-making at FINHEEC and the contents of the evaluations are independent. Regardless of the close cooperation with stakeholders and the funding from the Ministry of Education, any decisions regarding evaluations are taken independently in accordance with pre-determined evaluation criteria, giving FINHEEC national and international credibility as an evaluation body.

Enhancement-led evaluation

The FINHEEC evaluations use an enhancement-led approach. The aim is to help higher education institutions to identify the strengths and good practices in their operations as well as development targets. Enhancement-led evaluation supports the institutions in realising their own strategic aims and targeting their future development and also engenders constant development. The key procedures in enhancement-led evaluation are varied, inclusive evaluation methods and the incorporation of external evaluation into the everyday work and normal development of the higher education institutions. The enhancement-led approach is used in all the phases of the FINHEEC evaluation process: as part of planning, implementation, reporting and follow-up.

International bridge-building

FINHEEC is actively involved in cooperation in the sector at the international and the European level in particular. FINHEEC builds and maintains ties with evaluation organisations and networks in various countries. FINHEEC serves as a bridge-builder between the European Higher Education Area and the HEI sector in Finland, especially in respect of evaluations.

Proactive force

In its activities, FINHEEC seeks to anticipate the national and international need for change. FINHEEC wishes to make a strong Finnish contribution to the construction of the European Higher Education Area and to lead the way in the development of evaluation in cooperation with actors in the field of higher education in Finland.