On April 25th, students in health care fields received a bulletin regarding the increase in remote teaching starting from the autumn semester. Prior to this, there had already been speculation among both students and teachers. METKA has been following the discussion and trying its best to gather information, as conflicting details have been circulating. So, what do we know about the situation now?
Is All Teaching Moving to Remote Learning?
No. Only theoretical teaching will be moved online. This means that all lectures will be removed from the curriculum and replaced with online assignments. Simulations, lab sessions, and other practical exercises will still be held on campus. In practice, remote teaching will increase by about 15 hours per study module.
Why Is This Change Being Made?
The change is primarily related to Metropolia’s new strategy, which aims to guide teaching more strongly towards digital pedagogy. It has also been observed that very few students attend in-person theoretical classes. This may be related to the historically weak financial situation of students, many of whom need to work more alongside their studies. Online-focused teaching better supports the combination of work and study.
What if Remote Learning Doesn’t Work for Me?
There are many different types of learners, and METKA shares the concern for those who focus much better in a classroom environment and need a lot of face-to-face interaction. For first-year students, there will still be some study modules offered in person. METKA hopes that programs will closely monitor the situation and, if needed, arrange in-person teaching for students in other years as well. Students should genuinely have the option to choose the study methods that work best for them. While many students have expressed a desire for more remote teaching, Finland’s largest university of applied sciences also has many who prefer traditional classroom-based theory teaching. METKA hopes that this option will be provided alongside remote learning.
Why Is the Change Happening So Soon, And Why Weren’t Students Consulted?
METKA believes that students should have been consulted and informed much earlier. However, timetables and room bookings for the autumn semester have already been completed, and changes are no longer possible due to the large number of students and a lack of sufficiently large classrooms. However, the program has stated that student feedback on study modules will be carefully considered and that changes can be made for the next semester.
What if I don’t See My Teacher for Weeks And Can’t Reach Them by Email?
Metropolia has promised that students will have the opportunity to meet with each course’s teacher every week. This will mainly happen during lab sessions or simulations. If neither is scheduled for a particular week, students can independently arrange a meeting with the teacher, either remotely or in a hybrid format.
Metropolia has stated that these meetings are the primary way for students to get answers to questions that arise during independent study. However, no additional time has been allocated for questions during labs or simulations, so it’s unclear whether there will be enough time for discussion.
Will Studies Become More Demanding?
Students will have to take more personal responsibility for their learning and progress in each course. However, course implementations will now span an entire period (9 weeks instead of the previous 5), allowing more time to complete online assignments. According to the ECTS standard, 1 credit equals 27 hours of student work, which remains unchanged. If the workload feels significantly heavier, we hope you will provide feedback on the course. METKA, TXO, and MysteRy also welcome feedback.
Still Have Questions? Send us a message at advocacy@metkaweb.fi and we’ll look into it!
This post is also available in Suomi.