Before starting your studies

A journey into the world of studies

Welcome to HAAGA-HELIA’s diverse student body. HAAGA-HELIA offers great opportunities to develop your skills whether you are seeking to build your professional competencies, a new career or a degree from one of our programmes at a later stage.

Studying at the Open University of Applied Sciences

The HAAGA-HELIA Open University of Applied Sciences offers you the opportunity to complete the same courses we offer in our degree programmes regardless of your earlier education or age. You can complete a variety of courses except for workplacement and the thesis, and the credit you earn will be accredited should you later be admitted to one of our degree programmes. The same does not hold true for the accreditation of studies completed in other institutes of higher education because in these cases the accreditation is separately decided upon by your student counsellor only after you have been admitted to a degree programme.

The studies you can complete are:

• Open University courses, mostly offered in evenings (in Pasila)
• Degree programme courses, mostly daytime and evenings
• Online courses, without restrictions of time and place

You cannot earn a degree at the Open University, but you can complete courses or study modules. The courses involve classes and independent study, or, alternatively, you can complete courses online. Online courses make use of the Moodle learning environments – all you need is an internet connection.

Welcome to study!

Course offering

You can choose Open University courses from our offering.  You are not limited to Open University courses because you can also take degree programme courses if there are spots available.

More information on the Open University course offering is available on HAAGA-HELIA's website at www.haaga-helia.fi > Education and application> Open University of Applied Sciences. Our degree programme and online course offering can be found under  Calendar and timetables > Pasila, Haaga, Vallila, Malmi... > Excel timetables.

Student services

Student advicing

You can contact Academic Advisor Marketta Yli-Hongisto (firstname.lastname@haaga-helia.fi) if you need help in planning your studies or with general matters relating to university studies.  This will ensure that you find the courses that suit your needs best from our offering. You should seek counselling especially if you are planning to complete a university of applied sciences degree at a later stage or if you are starting your studies in the middle of a semester. Advising times are reserved by e-mail.

You will find information on the contents and structures of our degree programmes on our website under Education ans application> Degree programmes. Course descriptions can be found  by clicking on the links provided on the last column of the Excel timetables.

Our Student Affairs Offices will help you with matters relating to course enrolment.

HAAGA-HELIA's Admissions Office will answer any questions you may have with regard to applying to a degree programme.

IT services and user IDs

• Open University students have access to student computers in the computer classrooms.
• Open University students receive user IDs for the following services for the duration of their studies: E-mail, WinhaWille student interface for course enrolment and course monitoring, and also the Moodle online learning environments
• You can get your user IDs from the Student Affairs Office by showing your tuition receipt.
• IT courses provide instruction on use of online course learning environments, and instructions are also available on our website under IT Services > Instructions. (Data security and Rules of use.)

 Student register

  The names of Open University students and their study attainments are recorded in HAAGA-HELIA’s Winha student register.

  You can get a transcript of studies from the Study Office as soon as your course completion is registered in the system.

Library service

Open University students have access to HAAGA-HELIA’s library and information services (Pasila Campus, 3rd floor).

The library has materials in both printed and electronic format. These include videos, CD ROMs and access to key databases.

A number of courses are taught on information retrieval, and the library also assists you with any information search questions you may have.

Student financial aid and student benefits

Student financial aid is not granted for Open University studies because these do not lead to a degree. Similarly, Open University students are not eligible for student benefits such as health care services and discounts (at least not yet). The services of the student cafeterias in the different campuses are available by paying the visitor price.

In general, Open University students finance their studies themselves. However, if your goal is to develop your professional skills, we recommend that you discuss with your employer about sharing the costs of your studies and the possibility to take courses during your working time. 

If you are unemployed, you should check with your unemployment office how many courses you can take without losing your unemployment benefits.

The Open University tuition fee is € 120 per semester and must be paid before course enrolment. The tuition fee is non-refundable. Please, make sure you have a seat on a course especially when starting your studies in the middle of a semester, before you pay the tuition fee.

Studying at the Open University of Applied Sciences

Finnish open universities of applied sciences offer the same courses as Finnish universities of applied sciences and are open for everyone regardless of educational background or age.

Teaching is provided through open university classes or degree programme classes (integrated teaching). Open universities of applied sciences combine theory with a practical focus on real-life issues.

Study formats include contact hours, multiform learning and online studies. Online studies can be completed without restrictions of time and place, but require that students take initiative and responsibility for their own learning. An online learning environment can include teaching materials, exercises, exams and discussion forums. We recommend that students choose their online courses from HAAGA-HELIA's offering because this ensures their accreditation as a part of a HAAGA-HELIA degree. Open university students pay the tuition for studies in other universities themselves.

Study formats can also include group work, problem-based learning and projects completed in cooperation with businesses and other organisations. Problem-based learning involves working in small groups where the aim is to simulate real-life situations or problems.

You can organise your studies according to your own schedule. Remember, however, that studies require initiative, time and planning. When embarking on your studies, it is good to familiarise yourself with different learning methods and study skills.

Studies at universities of applied sciences are measured in credits (cr). To earn one credit generally requires 26 hours of studies, consisting of contact hours, distance learning and independent study.  The recommended maximum number of credits earned by a student at a university of applied sciences within the span of one year is 60 credits.

Studies at the HAAGA-HELIA University of Applies Sciences are graded either numerically in the scale 1-5 or alternatively as pass-fail. Course completions can be exams, written assignments, essays, summaries, lecture diaries, learning diaries or portfolios. Students have the opportunity to take two re-examinations in the semester following any particular course.

After you have completed your course and it has been graded, you can request the Student Affairs Office to provide you with a transcript of studies.

These studies will be accredited if you are admitted to one of our degree programmes at a later date. Once you enrol in a degree programme, verify with your academic advisor that you receive accreditation for your earlier open university studies.

You are not considered to be a full-time student when you study at a university of applied sciences because these studies do not lead to a degree. For this reason you are not entitled to student financial aid or other student benefits such as student health care services or lunch discounts.

When you ask, you won’t be lost. The Open University's academic advisor will help you select your courses and in other matters relating to your studies, and teachers will help you with matters relating to the courses they teach. The Student Affairs Offices help you with matters relating to course enrolment.

Course completions

Exam: In universities of applied sciences, the written exam is a common way of assessing a student’s learning achievement. Exams can be of several types, for example a book exam, lecture exam or group exam.

Written assignment: Courses can involve a variety of written tasks from exam papers to broad essays. Writing is an excellent way to learn because it helps you to collect and organise your thoughts. At first, writing may seem difficult because it takes a lot of time, but it has the benefit that you can take the time to edit your text with care.

Essay: The essay is a reflective piece of writing in which you address a given topic while referring to source texts and sharing your own thoughts on the topic. Several sources are used and the essay has a defined structure: introduction, theoretical part and conclusion.

Summary: The summary briefly reviews the key points of what was heard or read. The summary is a review of the matter and usually does not contain your own thoughts or judgments.

Lecture diary: The lecture diary is built on the notes you have take during class and describes your own learning process. The learning diary reflects upon what was learned by means of your own ideas, experiences, observations and feelings.

Learning diary: The learning diary describes your own learning process and reflects upon what was learned by means of your own ideas, experiences, observations and feelings. The learning diary supports you in the process of learning to learn and helps you build your skills independently.

Portfolio: The portfolio is a compilation of selected work you have produced during your studies. The portfolio showcases your own development and achievements, and the process of preparing one is an excellent way to reflect upon your own ideas and learning.

Quality assurance

Quality assurance refers to the everyday practices we use to ensure and develop the quality of our education and other operations. HAAGA-HELIA has its own quality assurance system.

 The quality assurance system has the following objectives:

• to produce information for the continuous development of our university’s operations
• to identify good practices and development targets

The Open University of Applied Sciences uses student feedback to develop its operations and student services. The feedback is collected electronically after the course from students whether they have participated in Open University or degree programme courses. Students can also submit questions and provide feedback via the address marketta.yli-hongisto(at)haaga-helia.fi.