Check list for new teachers

The responsibility for introducing a new employee to the work environment falls to the employee’s immediate supervisor. However, your supervisor may delegate practical orientation tasks to other people, and orientation practices may vary between the university’s different units. If you have questions concerning your orientation, you can always turn to your supervisor. Orientation is a collaborative effort that also requires you to read the relevant instructions and documents independently and participate actively by asking questions. When working as a teacher, it may be useful to clarify who the degree programme’s director is and which matters are processed by the degree programme steering group – you will participate in the planning and development of education under the degree programme’s leadership. More information on orientation at the university is available from Flamma.

Click here for more information on teaching at the university.  Information on the university’s strategic objectives is available in the university’s strategy.

Checklist for new employees

More information on orientation at the University of Helsinki is available from Flamma and the Checklist for new employees in Moodle. The checklist contains essential information on HR-related matters, such as employment contracts, as well as practical matters to be taken care of at the beginning of the employment.

Instructions for teaching contain information you may need in your work as a teacher at the University of Helsinki. To get started, please read the articles on the following themes (all the themes are listed on the front page):

• Teacher’s tools
• Basics of teaching
• Improving as a teacher and supervisor

When you are organising a course for the first time, please read at least the articles on the following themes (all the themes are listed on the front page):

• Planning and executing teaching activities
• Assessing learning and skills
• Curriculum and teaching programme

Getting to know the degree programme’s curriculum and intended learning outcomes will enable you to plan courses that fit the degree programme as a whole. You can find the curricula for the bachelor’s and master’s programmes on the Instructions for students page Curriculum and equivalence between curriculums and for the doctoral programmes on the page Scope and structure of doctoral degrees.

If you in your new job act as a supervising teacher (e.g. PSP supervisor / teacher tutor / assigned teacher), please also see the following instructions

• Student guidance and PSP-supervision
• Guidance and supervision compass

In the theme Guiding students you can find helpful materials relating to the guidance of students.

If you cannot find something you are looking for in the instructions, the University Services staff are happy to help you:

• Student Services (link to faculty-specific information at See also the Instructions for Students)
• Experts: Where to find help and support
• University People Finder

A university user account is needed for using most of the teaching tools. If you don’t have a user account yet, follow these instructions.

In your application for a user account, you will be asked to name a contact person. In teaching-related matters, the person should be your supervisor or similar. If you are not in an employment relationship with the university, the contact person you have named will be asked to approve your application. The teacher responsible for your course may approve your application.

The teacher responsible for the course at the university is in charge of overseeing that the teaching is carried out in accordance with the curriculum. As the responsible teacher, please ensure that the visiting lecturer has sufficient information on the course syllabus, assessment methods and criteria, as well as decisions concerning teaching at the university.

If the visiting lecturer does not have a user account for the university’s systems, you can apply for a limited user account on their behalf, allowing them to use platforms such as Moodle, Wiki and Flamma. Instructions for applying for a limited user account.

Please see the guidelines for salaries and fees for hourly paid teaching.

The working time devoted to hourly paid teaching and the hours serving as the basis for compensation are determined by the following 3 factors:

1. Giving lessons (excl. previously made recordings) or other real-time work with students or other work assigned by the employer at specific times of day
2. The time devoted to preparing teaching depends on the scope of the course (credits, cr) and on whether the course is a new, redesigned or recurrent one.
3. The time devoted to guidance and the marking and assessing of completed studies depends on the planned number of students.

Hourly paid teaching is compensated in accordance with the table below, depending on the teaching requirements and teacher qualifications involved. 

If teaching includes less demanding duties, such as those of a teaching assistant, the fees paid may be lower – in practice, 70% of the fees in the table above. When agreeing on hourly paid teaching, it must always be separately noted if lower fees are to be paid.

Exceptions to the above fees are possible with justification if the content of teaching is exceptional or the needs of the faculty or teaching require otherwise. 

Collaboratively prepared co-taught courses

If a course has several teachers (co-taught courses) who prepare the unit of teaching collaboratively, they must agree who will teach which lessons, and who will prepare teaching, guide students, mark and assess coursework, give feedback, and contribute to other necessary duties. The working time devoted by each teacher to hourly paid teaching is determined accordingly. If the teachers have not agreed on the division of teaching duties, the working time each devotes to teaching is considered equal.

Individual teaching session

If a teacher not employed by the University gives a single lecture or other teaching session, the working time is deemed to consist of one lesson, and the time spent on preparation, of two hours per lesson.

Example: A teacher gives a single lecture, with a total duration of 90 minutes of teaching. The time spent on preparation is deemed to be four hours (2 h x 2). The teacher receives a fee for a total of six hours.

Individual teaching sessions by several teachers

Teachers’ working time is similarly determined for courses consisting of individual teaching sessions by several teachers. Courses consisting of individual teaching sessions by several teachers can also have a teacher who has general responsibility for guiding students and marking and assessing coursework. The time spent by the teacher on guidance, marking and assessment is determined in accordance with the planned number of students as described in the table above.

Compensation paid to teachers not employed by the University for setting and marking examinations and supervising theses

If a teacher not employed by the University sets or marks an examination without such work being considered hourly paid teaching mentioned above, they will be paid compensation as follows:

• Setting an examination: €50
• Marking and assessing an examination: €50 per 10 students
• Marking and assessing a separate essay or learning assignment: €10 per student

The fees paid for supervising and examining theses are as follows:

• Examination of a first-cycle thesis: €50
• Examination of a second-cycle thesis: €125
• Examination of a licentiate thesis: €150
• Preliminary examination of a doctoral thesis: €400
• Opponent’s fee: €500

The compensation paid for supervising advanced studies (master’s theses) is €300, including at least 10 hours of supervision.

The compensation paid for supervising postgraduate studies is €500 per year, including at least 10 hours of supervision per year for up to four years. Units may decide on exceptions to the amount of compensation paid for supervising postgraduate studies and the working time devoted to supervision.