Audit of the Laurea University of Applied Sciences 2022

Laurea University of Applied Sciences passed FINEEC's audit with excellent results – long-term development of education the institution's strength

FINEEC's audit team especially appreciated Laurea University of Applied Sciences’ long-term development of education and the key partnership model for developing the region. Students and external stakeholders have been successfully engaged in the development work.

Laurea’s development-based operating model supports the working life relevance and student-centred nature of the degree programmes

Laurea University of Applied Sciences has carried out long-term development of Learning by Developing (LbD), its development-based operating model for learning. The operating model supports the working-life relevance and student-centred nature of the degree programmes in an excellent manner and promotes networking of both the students and the teachers with the world of work. Laurea provides diverse guidance and support services to students and these services are also actively developed. Students, staff, working life representatives and alumni participate systematically in the development of the education.

Laurea could further develop the methods of assessing competence and the internationalisation of education in a goal-oriented manner and ensure their equal implementation in different degree programmes. The staff’s field-specific content knowledge should also be updated and the related competence developed more systematically.

Laurea’s key partnership model develops the entire Uusimaa region

Laurea’s key partnership model for developing the region is innovative, develops the organisations and has clear objectives. The key partnership model is successful in binding different key partners together.

"The key partnership model for developing the region gives Laurea an excellent opportunity to develop into a key influencer as the developer of working life competence and vitality in the whole Uusimaa region," says Heidi Fagerholm, the chair of the audit team and President of Oulu University of Applied Sciences.

In addition to the key partner model, Laurea’s Living Lab activities and its national and international networks create an atmosphere that encourages long-term development.

Research, development, and innovation activities (RDI) are also an essential part of the implementation of Laurea's overall strategy. RDI activities are carried out by the entire higher education institution and the attitude towards the activities is enthusiastic and goal oriented. Laurea could still further increase awareness of the RDI activities with the help of its key partners, create new joint projects with them and use these projects to increase the amount of RDI activities in the higher education institution.

The quality system works as a tool for the development of everyday work

The quality system of the higher education institution is an accepted tool and is used at Laurea daily. Internal and external stakeholders have been widely engaged in the development of Laurea’s quality system. The staff have successfully internalised Laurea’s critical change projects, which have been established to introduce the strategic enhancement areas in the entire institution.  However, the audit group recommends that, instead of a yearly review, the strategy be updated at intervals of 2 to 3 years. This would make it possible to consult external stakeholders even better and engage the Board of Directors in the strategy work. The well-being and coping of staff must also be monitored more systematically and activities supporting it must be developed more actively.

Laurea University of Applied Sciences passed the audit conducted by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) and was awarded a quality label for six years. Passing the audit shows that the activities and the quality system of the university of applied sciences meet both the national criteria and the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. The audit focuses on higher education institutions’ procedures for maintaining and enhancing the quality of education, RDI activities and societal interaction. The audit criteria have been published in FINEEC's Audit manual for higher education institutions. The audits of higher education institutions’ quality systems were launched Finland in 2005.

The audit report is available on FINEEC’s audit platform.