Sisu instructions: PSP guidance

• You can only access the “My tutored students” page when you are logged in to Sisu under your teacher profile. If you cannot access this page, click on your name at the top right corner of the Sisu homepage and verify that the drop-down menu has ‘Teacher’ ticked as your user role.
  • User rights for supervisors need not be applied for, as these user rights are automatically activated when the education planning officer adds the teacher as a coordinating supervisor for the relevant group. The “My tutored students” page can be viewed by all teachers, but unless the teacher is assigned as a coordinating supervisor for a tutoring group, they have no access to any student information under this tab
  • When necessary, administrative staff, such as education planning officers, may also be added as coordinating supervisors in the supervision groups, or as they are categorised in Sisu, tutoring groups.
• At the University of Helsinki, teachers only deal with comments related to their students’ study plans, which means that you do not need to react to notifications about applications and requests.
• As comments, messages, and notifications are displayed only in Sisu, you should agree on related practices with students at the outset.
• You can copy the email addresses of the students in the supervision group by opening the supervision group on the My tutored students page and clicking on the button above the student list. After that, you can paste them into the recipient field of an email message.
• Comments on the study plan are not saved if the student creates a new plan or copies the plan as a template for a new plan. Where necessary, you can instruct the students to update their degree programme or a certain module version to avoid having to create a new study plan from scratch.

If you wish to view the structure of degree programmes while you are viewing study plans, open the “Structure” tab in a new window on your browser. On this page you can verify those parts of the degree that are not, for one reason or another, visible in the student’s study plan. Through the “Structure” tab you can open course brochures that contain course descriptions and information on course methods of completion and on substituting courses. You can read more about course brochures on the Instructions for Students website.

Follow the instructions below to open the “Structure” tab:

1. On the black bar at the top of the page, click on “Curriculum planning”.
   
2. Click on the “Degree programmes” tab.
   
3. Click on the name of the degree programme that you are searching for under the heading “My degree programmes” or search for the programme by entering it in the search field under the heading “Search for degree programmes”.
   
4. Right-click on the “Structure” tab and select “Open link in new tab”.
   
5. You can open the part of the degree structure that you wish to view by clicking on its name or the > symbol next to the name.
   

1. On the black bar at the top of the page, click on the “My tutored students” tab.
   
2. To access the tutoring group that you wish to view, click on the circular button next to the group name.
3. When you click on a student’s name, their primary study plan will open for viewing.
   
4. By clicking the heading of the study plan, a list of all the study plans drawn up the student will appear. If you wish, you can view any of these plans.
   
5. Besides compulsory studies, the student's study plan will include elective or alternative studies that the student has already selected for the study plan. However, the student’s study track, language studies or optional studies may not necessarily be displayed in the study plan.
   

Viewing the timeline for studies

1. To view a study plan on the “My tutored students” page, see the instructions above.
2. Click on the “Timing” button above the heading of the study plan.
3. The “Timing” page displays an accordion menu for progress, studies missing from the timeline, course registrations not included in the study plan as well as studies and completed credits included in the timeline.
   

You can write comments on the study plans of students that you are supervising. When you have commented on the study plan, the student will receive a notification of this in the Sisu system. Similarly, you will receive a notification in Sisu when a student that you are supervising has commented on their study plan. You can see the most recent notifications on the “My tutored students” page. You can see all your notifications by clicking on the Messages icon on the black bar at the top of the page. Note that no notifications about these messages will be sent to your email or the students’ emails. These messages can only be accessed through Sisu.  

As comments, messages and notifications are displayed only in Sisu, you should agree on related practices with students at the outset.

Follow the instructions below to comment on the study plans of your supervised students:

1. To view a study plan on the “My tutored students” page, see the instructions under the heading Viewing personal study plans above.
2. Click on the “Show comments” button at the top right corner of the study plan page.
   
3. Select “General comment” as the comment type if you wish to comment on the study plan on a general level. Select “Targeted comment” as the comment type if you wish to comment on a specific section of the study plan.
4. For targeted comments, the study plan structure will open in a pop-up window. Click on the section that you wish to comment on. At the bottom of the page, click on “Select”.
   
5. Write your comment in the message field. Please note that sensitive personal data should not be written in this text field.
   
6. Click on the “Send” button. If the button is grey, your comment is incomplete. Check that you have ticked the appropriate box, indicating that you understand that the comment should not include sensitive personal data.

In your role as the supervisor, you have access to the following student information:

• Contact details
• Study rights
• Registrations
• Completed credits
• Qualifications, if any
• Memberships in different groups, such as tutoring groups

You can browse the above information on the “Student info” tab. Instructions:

1. To view a study plan on the “My tutored students” page, see the instructions under the heading Viewing personal study plans above.
2. Click on the “Student info” tab. The tab contains buttons for viewing each information type, such as study rights.
   

On the “My tutored students” page, you can see a notification window displaying the comments, applications and requests submitted by your students through their study plans.

Applications and requests include, for example, requests for the grading of modules, and applications for content that deviates from the pre-determined structure. You need not react to notifications about applications and requests, even if you can see them in Sisu because of your user right of supervisor. At the University of Helsinki, applications and requests are processed by the academic administration staff. You can direct your students to contact Student Services if they need advice pertaining to applications and requests. 

Below is a brief description of the applications that students can submit in Sisu:

Applications for content that deviates from the pre-determined structure

When students wish to complete a module in a way that deviates from the pre-determined method of completion, they must submit an application for content that deviates from the pre-determined structure. They may, for example, have completed an old course that is not listed as a substituting course for any current course. The application is submitted under the “Structure of studies” tab in the free edit mode. The applications are processed by the relevant education planning officer or student advisor, who will consult the teacher coordinating the course, if necessary.

Applications for substitution

Students must submit an application for substitution when they wish to substitute a compulsory course with studies completed at another institution of higher education and these credits have not yet been registered at the University of Helsinki. The application for substitution must be submitted using what is known as a course brochure in Sisu. The applications will be processed by Student Services.

Note that if the student has completed a compulsory course in accordance with the old degree structure and the degree programme lists this particular course as a substituting course for a current course, the student will obtain this substitution without a separate application. In such a case, the student must open the “Substitutions” tab on the course brochure and select the correct course from the list of equivalent courses.

Study draft, inclusion and custom course credit

Students must submit an application for inclusion in the following cases:

• The student has completed studies at another institution of higher education that they wish to include in their elective studies (e.g., optional modules or elective courses).
• The above-described studies have not yet been registered as completed credits at the University of Helsinki.

Students must submit an application for a custom course credit in the following cases:

• For example, due to reformed degree requirements, the scope of a module completed by the student falls short of the required number of credits, and the student agrees on a supplementary method of completion (e.g., an extra essay).
• The student has agreed to substitute one part of a compulsory course with studies completed at another institute of higher education and the other part with an assignment agreed separately (e.g., an essay).

When planning inclusion and custom course credits, students must devise in their study plans what is known as a study draft in Sisu. The study draft must be placed in the section of the structure of studies where the student plans to include the credits in question. The study draft need not be approved in Sisu, but once the credits are completed, the student must apply for their registration through the study draft. The application is approved either by the academic administration staff or the module or course coordinator.

Note that study drafts can only include course credits. If, for example, the student has completed a module at a university abroad, they must devise a separate study draft and application for inclusion for each course credit included in the module

Courses are displayed as icons in the students’ study plans. Below is a presentation of the most common features of course icons:

• The icon of a course included in a study plan features the number of credits, the course code and course name.
• The icon of a completed course features a laurel wreath to signify completion and below it, the grade.
• If the student has substituted a course required for the degree with an equivalent course in accordance with the old degree structure, the icon will feature arrows pointing in opposite directions.
  
• If there is a problem with the substitution selected by the student, a warning triangle with the text “incorrect selection” will appear below the course icon. The problem might be that the scope of the previously completed course differs from the scope of the equivalent current course. Education planning officers or student advisors will help the student in such situations.
  
• The course icon features the text “Study draft” instead of the course code. This is because the study draft is a course planned by the student for which no equivalent course is available at the University of Helsinki. Such courses planned by the student may include exchange studies or studies to be completed under the JOO Flexible Study Right scheme.
  
  Once the student has completed the course in question and the academic administration staff has transferred the credit, the icon will transform into a regular course icon, and the text “Study draft” will be replaced by a code generated by Sisu.
  
• If a course planned or completed by the student is placed in a section or category that does not correspond to the degree structure of the degree programme, the course icon will feature the text 'Not part of the degree structure'. This notification will appear when courses in the study draft have been included in modules containing only compulsory or alternative studies. Education planning officers or student advisors will help the student in such situations.
  

Below is a list of explanations for the most common notifications related to study plans. Many of these notifications first concern a section of the study plan and later apply to the entire plan. If, for example, the student has included completed studies under the category of compulsory studies, when in reality they are not compulsory studies, the relevant error message will be displayed as applicable to the entire degree programme. In such cases, verify the section of the study plan that the notification applies to and advise the student to correct the relevant section of the plan or apply for approval for the content of this particular section.

Note that at the University of Helsinki, education planning officers or student advisors approve applications related to personal study plans in Sisu. Hence, you need not process these applications.

“You do not have a study right that corresponds to your study plan or you have not registered for the current semester”

Possible reasons for this notification:

• The student does not have a right to study in the degree programme for which the study plan has been drafted.
• The student has not registered for the academic year.
• If the student's study right and enrolment are in order, he/she must create a new study plan. More information on Instructions for students page Frequently asked questions about Sisu.

“Selections missing”

This notification appears when at least one section of the study plan lacks some of the required studies. The notification first applies to the section in question and then to the entire study plan. For example, if this notification appears under the section “Optional courses”, it can also be seen on the line displaying the name of the degree programme. The notification disappears from the upper level with the name of the degree programme once the necessary selections have been completed in the correct section of the study plan.

“Optional selections”

This notification is displayed in connection with those sections of the study plan where students are free to select a certain number of any courses, but may choose to select no courses. This may apply, for example, to sections of such optional studies that require students to select courses only as needed.

“Indirect selections”

This notification is displayed in the study plan when the student has selected the same course for two different sections. The notification first applies to the section in question and then to the entire study plan. If such a notification appears on the line with the name of the degree programme, you should also check the section where the notification is displayed. Once this section is corrected, the notification also disappears from the degree programme level.

“Incorrect selection”

This error message appears in the course icon if there is a problem with the course selected by the student. For example, if the student has selected a course from the old degree requirements to substitute for a current course, it may be that the scope of this course is not enough to completely substitute for the current course. You can advise the student to contact the relevant education planning officer or student advisor.

“Selections against the rules”

Some section of the study plan contains selections that are in conflict with the regulations governing the selections. This notification may appear if the scope of credits in a given section of the study plan exceeds the allowed scope, or when the student has added a study draft to a module containing only compulsory studies. It also appears when the student has made changes to the plan under the free edit mode, but has not applied for approval for these changes. The notification first applies to the section in question and then to the entire study plan. Once this section is corrected, the notification also disappears from the degree programme level.

“Approval required”

This notification is relevant to modules. Students must submit an application in Sisu for the approval of module contents before the module in question can be included in their degree. The applications are processed by the relevant education planning officer or student advisor, who will consult the teacher coordinating the module, if necessary.

“Approval requested”

The student, after having added content in the study plan that deviates from the pre-determined structure, is applying for approval to the content.  This notification appears only in the relevant section of the plan.

Video tutorial for study plan supervision in Sisu (on Unitube)

You can find all the user instructions on the page Sisu instructions for teachers.

Frequently asked questions about Sisu

You can find compiled Sisu instructions for students on page Sisu instructions for students.