New COVID-19 regulations and guidelines have raised many questions and concerns among students. METKA has discussed the current situation with Metropolia, and we have emphasized how important it is for students to feel safe, while also making sure that the quality of education does not drop.
Metropolia has decided that only studies that absolutely require contact teaching can be arranged in campuses. If there is not any clear reason, such as the need to use equipment at campus, teachers must get permission to organize contact teaching on campuses from Tapani Martti, (Director, Education).
Teaching that requires for example equipment referred earlier can be organized remotely only based on regulations surpassing Metropolia’s own decision-making powers, such as Finnish health authorities. It is good to know that the situation has changed compared to spring 2020, when the Emergency Powers Act (valmiuslaki) was in effect.
If students are not sure if the course or exam they are attending is absolutely necessary to be organized as contact teaching, it is a good idea to ask the teacher if they have gotten this permission to do so, and if needed, contact METKA Advocacy.
It is Metropolia’s responsibility to make sure that knowledge of course contents are tested appropriately also in these exceptional times. Consequently, adequate supervision is needed to ensure that. However, for example requiring students to take a remote exam, in which the screen and student are filmed, cannot be used as a method if the health authorities have not officially closed campuses.
Metropolia has also decided that starting on 30.11.2020, the maximum number of people in a exam in the same classroom at campus is 20. This leads evidently to special arrangements in exams as well.
METKA urges teachers to favor types of course exams that do not require supervision, and use supervised remote and contact exams as options for those. Quality of teaching must be taken into account also in remote teaching situations. It is certain that teachers in Metropolia are professionals, who can find solutions for teaching and exams that both make sure the quality is high-level while students’ safety and concerns are taken into consideration.
Any questions? Contact METKA Advocacy at tekla.kosonen@metkaweb.fi and janne.levanen@metkaweb.fi
This post is also available in Suomi.