Fresher life in Tampere University

Educational affairs refer to issues related to studies, teaching, students’ legal protection and the university administration.

In practice, the educational affairs sector deals with issues that concern all the Tampere University students’ everyday lives.

In the student union, the educational affairs advocacy work is done by the educational affairs sector. The sector comprises the Specialists in Educational Affairs and the board’s educational affairs organisers. Their job is to ensure that the students’ voices are heard everywhere at the university, that the quality of education is emphasised at Tampere University and that students are considered in decision-making.

If you have any study-related problems, you can contact the Student Union by email at kopo-help@trey.fi.

Students’ rights and responsibilities

The university community is made up of three parties: teaching, research and other staff, professors and students. Each party has rights and responsibilities in relation to the other community members. To ensure that the University is a good place to learn and do research and that it has a notable role in society, each member of the university community must recognise their rights and responsibilities.

A student has the right to:

  • receive tutoring, study guidance and thesis supervision
  • study flexibly
  • study accessibly
  • receive feedback for an exam, essay or other course work
  • study without encountering harassment or discrimination
  • study in a safe and healthy environment
  • seek recognition of prior learning in their degree

The responsibilities of a student are a short list of matters that each student must bear in mind in all phases of their studies. Many of them are not solely the students’ responsibility, but they must still be taken into consideration.

A student has the responsibility to:

  • give feedback for teaching and guidance
  • draft a personal study plan (PSP) and further their studies based on the plan
  • not discriminate or harass anyone and study by taking others into consideration
  • return their coursework on time
  • enrol as attending at the University before the deadline
  • follow good scientific practices
  • adhere to the University’s rules

Students’ rights and responsibilities are explained in further detail on TREY’s website.

Student representation in the university administration

The Student Union has a special legal duty to elect student representatives in the University’s administrative bodies. These student representatives represent other students in the different bodies of the University’s administration. Their work is extremely important, as they have the task to bring the students’ perspective and voice into the administrative work. In their positions, the student representatives get to decide on matters such as curricula and the development of teaching.

The work of student representatives is coordinated by the Student Union, which appoints the student representatives and trains and assists them in their duties. At the moment, most positions require fluent Finnish skills. Read more about being and becoming a student representative on TREY’s website.