5.2 Students
Rules and regulations
Most student- and study-related issues are regulated by the institutions delivering the programme. It is therefore not necessary to make detailed lists of student rights and obligations. A note on this state of affairs is enough in the agreement. What is important, though, is to make sure that the students are made aware that the rules, regulations and rights are determined by the institution where they are registered and whose courses they follow.
In cases where the responsibility for the course is shared among several partner institutions, e.g. joint delivery of a virtual or intensive course, rules and regulations are to be negotiated and agreed on before the courses are offered.
Student rights
The one important item to be included in the agreement is the fact that students admitted to the programme will be provided with education and supervision even in if the consortium ceases to exist.
Student selection
Are students admitted to the programme or are they selected directly to the institutions delivering the programme? This is a source of constant debate and wonder. The fact remains that students must be anchored in an institution while pursuing their studies. They can be registered at several institutions during their studies, especially if there is mobility involved.
Another fact to be borne in mind is that programme bodies do not have the power to admit students. A mechanism to process the applications and making a list of students to be admitted is to be agreed on. Usually, the Board or a separate selection committee drafts a list of successful candidates. But this is not enough. In the University of Helsinki, the faculty bears the responsibility of admitting students. Therefore, the programme usually prepares a list of students to be admitted and submits it to the faculty for final approval.
Details on student selection criteria and the number of students to be admitted are also to be approved by the faculty. It is therefore not advisable to include detailed information on these matters in the agreement. Procedures describing student admissions is enough. If there is a definite and clear maximum amount of students alloted to each partner, it should be included in the text.