Guidance compass for teachers

As the closest supervisor of students, you play an important part in the support for students’ ability to study. The ‘What does student guidance include?’ page has information about the different roles of supervisors and how they support students’ agency and well-being.

Further information

• You can consult the study psychologist if you are concerned about a student or if a challenging guidance situation exceeds the limits of your own work.
• If students have health-related questions, they should contact the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS). Further information on the FSHS website.
• University chaplains can be contacted for dialogue-based support.
• The Nyyti association organises a wide range of interactive activities to support students’ mental wellbeing, life management skills and ability to study. Further information on the Nyyti website
• A variety of openly available student well-being events are held at Guidance Corner throughout the academic year. ​
• More Information on student well-being services, see the Health care and well-being theme on the Studies Service.
• On the UniSport page you will find materials to add movement to everyday life and lectures.

In general study-related guestions, you can refer the student to the Student Services via HelsinkiUni Help.  HelsinkiUni Help provides general advice and guidance on studies and helps students find the right services. Student Services performs duties relating to registration for the academic year, annual stickers for student cards, and transcripts and diplomas.

Further information

• Contact Student Services via HelsinkiUni Help.  

Creating a study plan in Sisu

Each student makes their personal study plan and enrolls on courses on Sisu. As a supervisor you can view and answer the study plan comments the students in your tutoring group have submitted. You can also comment on the students’ study plans. Supervisors do not need to approve applications on Sisu.

More detailed instructions for planning studies are available under Studies Service page. More information about Sisu as a tool for guidance is available in the user instructions for teachers: PSP guidance. Help for using Sisu is also available on the page for frequently asked questions.

Further information

• HelsinkiUni Help offers help for both students and teachers in any technical questions related to Sisu as well as general advice for how to select the right application type, for example.
• If a student requires help for understanding the structure of their studies or which courses they still lack, it is best to instruct the student to make an appointment with a student adviser or training officer who is familiar with their degree programme.

Optional studies

Students can find information about their degrees’ optional studies and the related requirements on their personal study plans on Sisu or in the ´Studies Service´ on the page Degree structure and scope of the degree.

In the ‘Instructions for students’ you can peruse the available optional study modules by faculty. Students can search for individual courses in the section Courses.

Tips for situations in which a student requires support for selecting optional studies:

• You can ask the student about their interests and plans for the future and you can discuss which courses or study modules would support the student’s hopes and goals the best.
• If necessary, you can also instruct the student to contact the Student Services of the studies that interest them.
• When necessary, you can instruct the student to look into the optional studies of Open University and to contact the Open University’s student services.

The Language Centre provides students with advice and guidance concerning the language and communication studies required for degrees, studying foreign languages, credit transfer for language and communication studies, and registration for language courses. Students who have questions about their language skills and language studies can contact one of the Language Centre’s teacher tutors. 

Key themes of language and communication studies to be taken into account in student guidance and supervision can be found at Guidance and supervision on the Language Centre’s language and communication studies.

Further information

You can find the contact details and office hours of the Language Centre’s Student Services, teachers and teacher tutors on the Language Centre website.

The Open University studies are courses the degree programmes of the University of Helsinki which are open to everyone. The courses are held year round.   

The Open University summer courses are particularly popular among degree students as they are free of charge (excluding possible material costs) for degree students registered as attending the University of Helsinki. The online courses of Open University are a flexible option that degree students can utilise even during the academic year.

Further information ​ 

• Open University of the University of Helsinki 
• Open University courses by degree programme
• Registration and fees 
• Open University contact information and student services

When you start supervising a new student, you should in the guidance meetings discuss the student’s possible previous studies or other skills that they could get recognised for their current degree. Instruct the student to review carefully the principles and instructions for credit transfer.

You and the student should decide whether they must submit an inclusion or substitution application. In a substitution case, the student substitutes a particular completed credit for a course in the curriculum with other completed credit. In an inclusion case, the student includes other appropriate studies in the degree as they are. Usually, studies to be included are placed in the category of optional studies.

Further information

• Credit transfer for previous studies and competence (Student Service)
• If the student is not sure how to submit a credit transfer application on Sisu, you can instruct them to contact HelsinkiUni Help.  

When required, the services of the international education community offer help for matters related to international exchange and flexible right to study.​

When you have a discussion with a first-year student, you should approach the topic of diversifying their degree through studies at a higher education institution outside Finland. Exchange studies should be planned well in advance to ensure that the maximum scope of the degree is not exceeded ​(200 cr for a bachelor’s degree and 135 cr for a master’s degree).

Talk about your positive experiences at various host universities. Encourage the student to work on their thesis and complete a traineeship abroad.  If possible, also describe the best stage of studies for an exchange.

Further information in Instructions for Students

• Application instructions for student exchange and information on language requirements​
• Instructions to support the planning of exchange studies​
• Academic exchange opportunities​
• Eligibility of applicants for student exchange as well as selection criteria​
• Instructions for traineeships outside Finland​
• Contact details for exchange services

After completing a Bachelor’s degree, a student can then start a Master’s degree programme for which they have been granted an option right. For some Master’s degree programmes there is a separate registration procedure. Students can register for these Master’s degree programmes while completing their Bachelor’s degree, usually at the end of their Bachelor’s degree studies. Additionally, students can apply to international Master’s degree programmes via the student admission process.

The Master’s options for Bachelor’s degree programmes are mainly available to students on Sisu. Personal study plans can be created for different options in order to see the structure of the Master’s degree. Master’s options and their possible criteria are also available via the link below the ‘Instructions for students’.

Instruct the students to familiarise themselves with their Master’s options and their possible criteria and registrations times well in advance.

Further information

• Continuing on to a Master’s programme (Instructions for students)
• If necessary, further information can be requested from Student Services and the faculty responsible for the Master’s programme to which the student is moving on.

The general instructions related to writing a theses and support for academic writing are available at the Thesis theme of the ‘Instructions for students’.

Guidance Corner holds events and small group sessions that support information seeking and writing a thesis. More information available on the Guidance Corner page.

You can also encourage students to participate in the online courses or remote guidance the library services organise to support information seeking related to theses. The library services have also compiled a set of tips for information seeking and management, they are available in the ‘Instructions for students’. More information about all the services and usage possibilities provided by the library of the University of Helsinki is available on the library website.

If the limits of your work as a supervisor are reached, you can consult the study psychologist.

All Bachelor’s degrees provided by the University of Helsinki include a working life period of at least five credits. The period refers to either a traineeship or a working life project. All master’s degrees include working life orientation studies and career planning.

Career Services provide traineeship advice, especially concerning contracts and funding. Degree programmes are responsible for providing information related to the traineeship period’s content, completion and registration.

Encourage students to consider their career paths from the beginning of studies. Instruct students to learn more about the traineeship organisations that interest them and tell them about the traineeship opportunities you are familiar and satisfied with. Tell the students about the instructions for traineeships and instruct them, if necessary, not to hesitate contacting Career Services.

Further information

• Instructions for students are available in the theme Traineeships. Instructions for teachers are available in the teaching instructions in the section Career planning and training working life and expert duties.
• More information about drop-in guidance for traineeships matters at Guidance Corner is available on the Career Services instruction page.​
• Contact HelsinkiUni Help for advice on internships. ​

NB! The traineeship instructions and contact persons for traineeships resulting in professional qualifications is available on the page Degree programme-specific traineeship instructions. Instructions and contact information related to practice teaching are available on the page on the pedagogical studies for teachers.

The Kudin.fi tool for the assessment of guidance and supervision needs provides students with feedback on their career skills, and the feedback from the questionnaire can also be used as the basis for guidance and supervision discussions.​

Kudin guidance and supervision cards (PDF)  provide guidance and supervision staff with information and exercises associated with the assessment of related needs. 

The information and exercises in the material bank for career planning and professional growth can be used in guidance, supervision and teaching. ​

Further information

• Career Services offers students individual career guidance, as well as workshops, small group activities and advice to support job seeking, career planning and studying. ​
• Contact Career Services via HelsinkiUni Help.  ​
• Contact career counselors in matters related to career guidance as well as services related to career orientation and expert identity via HelsinkiUni Help.  
• Career Services coordinates an open network, Career Forum, of which the idea is to share information and good practice on working life issues and students' career readiness between the degree programmes and other staff.
• Support for job seeking under Job seeking on the Instructions for Students website as well as in the Job Seeking Guide
• Job portal administered by Career Services: helsinki.jobteaser.com

Individual arrangements

Individual arrangements refer to individual learning support that promotes equal learning opportunities when studying is made difficult by, for example, a long-term illness, disability, or impairment. There must be sufficient and verified grounds for the arrangements.

Students usually contact teachers themselves when they need individual arrangements. When necessary, your role as a teacher is to discuss and determine, as a rule before the course begins, individual arrangements with the student; for example additional time for returning an assignment or alternative course completion methods.  

The student service points have accessibility liaisons. They maintain a record of students who have been granted the right to individual arrangements. The information is confidential. However, the accessibility liaisons can, if necessary, provide information about the individual arrangements recommended for a specific student. For more information and to contact the accessibility liaisons, please send an email to specialneeds@helsinki.fi.s. 

Further information

• Email for accessibility liaisons: specialneeds@helsinki.fi​
• Email for the expert panel on individual arrangements: erityisjarjestelyryhma@helsinki.fi ​
• Information on the website on instructions for individual arrangements and the website on individual arrangements for examinations

The University is responsible for the students’ teaching, guidance and traineeships. Units must ensure that the students do not experience inappropriate treatment in these situations.

If a student experiences harassment, bullying, discrimination or other inappropriate behaviour, instruct them to contact the University’s harassment contact persons. Ensure that students will not hesitate to talk to appropriate bodies about harassment. Harassment contacts persons provide help and advice for processing the incident and support the student throughout the process.

Further information

• Responsible interaction in the University community (contact people for harassment)
• You can report any problems you encounter in student life to Student Union advisory team. You can find more information Student Union website.​
• You can read more on Flamma (requires login) about the University’s efforts to promote equality, diversity and accessibility.
• Further information on equality, diversity and accessibility on the Instructions for Students website 

If a student is returning to their studies after a long break, they may require help with restarting their studies. If a student requires additional support for drawing up a personal study plan, you can instruct them to make an appointment at a local service point of Student Services. 

Further information

• Practical instructions for returning to studies are available in the ‘Student Service’.
• Student Services contact information

Admission Services offer help for questions related to study opportunities, for example, if a student is considering applying to another programme via the student admission process.

Further information

• The contact details, opening hours and chat services are available on the Admissions Services instruction page.

• For guidance related to applying to another degree programme contact HelsinkiUni Help.   

   

Helpdesk offers help for issues related to IT, such as user accounts, Office 365 and other information systems. Concerning technological problems related to Sisu you can instruct students to contact Student Services.

Further information

• The Helpdesk page has comprehensive instructions and a 24/7 chatbot. If the instructions site yields no solution, contact Helpdesk by email or phone.
• Additional information about the IT services for students is available in the ‘Instructions for students’.
• Instructions for students also contains the compiled Sisu user instructions for students.

Interrupting long sedentary periods has positive effects on health and learning, so it would be beneficial to incorporate movement into teaching.

See our videos for tips on how to add movement to teaching 

The videos provide easy tips that teaching staff can make use of in teaching materials and during lectures. The videos are available in Finnish and English, and all the videos also have Finnish, English and Swedish subtitles available. 

Videos in English 

Video 1– Encourage standing up during the lecture 

Video 2 – Take breaks during the lecture 

Video 3 – List movement options in teaching materials 

Add a movement symbol to the teaching materials 

Add a movement symbol to the top corner of the lecture materials to promote activity. The movement symbol reminds participants to take a break from sitting and gives participants permission to stand up or do break exercise during the lecture.  

Under the Heading “UniSport movement symbols” select the desired movement symbol and save it by clicking the left mouse button and selecting "Save image". Explain the purpose of the movement symbol to the participants at the start of the lecture. You can find more movement symbols in the Word icons if you search by the term "sport".  

Organise break exercise for the students 

On the UniSport website, you can find break exercise videos with instructions. During a break in the lecture, you can organise break exercise by playing a short break exercise video on the screen. You can find the videos on the UniSport video recordings. 

Also make use of the Break Pro break exercise program in your teaching. It is free for everyone at the university and offers short and refreshing 1–3-minute break workouts and mindfulness exercises in Finnish, English and Swedish, among other languages. You can schedule the program to remind you to take breaks according to your own timetable and needs. You can find the installation instructions in Flamma.