I am an ordinary student with only two years of
experience of working in academic field and no official competence in student
marketing. I base my thoughts on my
basic intuition, my personal feelings of being (partly) tackled by this reform
and comparisons. And I also partly base it on the feeling of confusion I faced
when my friends and visitors of student fairs in three different Russian cities
kept me asked about scholarship systems in Finnish universities back in autumn.Back
then, early birds were already getting their letters of acceptance from the
oldest universities of Europe. Pages with vital information on scholarships
were still under construction. However, they already had a pricelist for studying at the master degree.
I am a 22-year-old student from Russia. Back in
year 2014, I had my first experience of applying to master degree programs. At
that time, I knew that I would not have to pay tuition fees if I get admitted. I
applied for four master degree programs in the Netherlands and for two – in
Finland. From two out of three universities I applied for in the Netherlands I
got quite attractive scholarship offers that would secure my life there.
However, I had my own personal motivation to
apply to study in Finland. I knew Finnish already by that time and I had
already had experience of studying as an exchange student in Finland (quite
many students I knew from my exchange in Joensuu later returned to study and
work in Finland) and I wanted a two-year, not an one-year master degree
programme. The last argument is still standing, but all the others one have
become much less persuasive.
So far, the amount of applications to the
University of Helsinki have already dropped by third. Articles optimistically
cite that this drop is a filter for non-motivated students, the quality of
education is deciding factor and that according to some statistics,
internationality indicators stay the same. Is that true?
Well,
the student does not exist in the vacuum. To be determined to go to Finland,
you shall have reasons for strong motivation. Family ties? Most likely, then you
are already freed from paying tuition fees. Combining work with studies? The
same. And you are financially stable and eligible for a student loan which may
be an unachieveable dream for an average student.
So, we deal with a different target group. Namely,
introduction of tuition fees tackles mostly another category – flexible and
mobile students in search of open cultures, new experiences, innovation and
possible challenges. They may want to travel with reindeers, see the Northern
lights, study super-complicated Finnish language, but they are rational people
who are weighing all offers. By the time the application period at the
University of Helsinki ends, this student most likely already holds offers from
the universities from other countries. If the student is talented and
motivated, he or she most likely has a full scholarship offer that shall be
accepted… right, just before a Finnish educational institutional in question
starts to send out letters of acceptance. That was also my case, and it took long
for me to weigh all options and come to Finland.
Education is not only about dreams, values and
inspirations. It is also a market.
Decision to introduce tuition fees had an economic
rationale. I have no competence to discuss whether it was right or not. Moreover,
we cannot reverse the system back. However, it is obvious that now selling
Finnish education system as open-minded, accessible and welcoming becomes more
and more difficult. Talent hunting for Finnish universities has entered the
stage when they cannot slow down on their way. If the whole incentive to apply
to Finland changes, you cannot solve the problem just by putting “don`t forget
to pay your fee in time” clause in the old product. Even more effort, financial and mental, shall
be spent to restore this.
And it is not only about criticism. I believe,
that whatever the result is it, now other stakeholders may have the better
incentive for internationalization. The trade unions and private corporations
will have a stronger role in taking role of internationalization and support of
those who decide to come to Finland. Because those who decide to do so, will
definitely be dedicated to stay even more. Creating more internships where
“Finnish as a mother tongue” would not be a must, offering more feedback and
counseling would be a win-win situation. In a number of feedback forms I have
been filling in so far, there was no option even to insert that my study
language in Finland is English. Of course, you can write this comment in some
other field. But marketing and creating a brand is all about nuances, that we
cannot easily walk by.
