Applying study credits

Apply study credits for student activities

Have you worked in the campus team, sudent association or perhaps in the council of representatives? You can apply for study credits and digital Open badges!

By joining in on the student activities you acquire new competences that can be recogniced as part of your degree. By participating in student activities it is possible to do 5cr – 35cr of complementary competence study credits. These credits can be on top of all other study credits according to a decision of the vice president of Laurea and it will not block you from taking any other study unit from the curriculum. 

 Study credits for student activities can be applied by creating a portfolio to show the acquired competence and filling out the Open bage application form that can be found after the name of each study unit. Fill out the form and attach your portfolio. You can apply for the credits for one or more study units at a time. Also for example you can apply for the study credits for one study unit and later for another one. The credits will be marked for the semester that you apply them in.

You can use the open badge for example on your LinkedIn profile to show your acquired competence. The badge is valid for five years.

Laurea’s planner Nelli Roine is the module coordinator for the student activities study modules.

Applying for study credits

  1. Check out the learning objectives and sign up for the study units. Sign up is open all the time.
  2. Make a portfolio in which you describe your actions and how you have achieved the learning goals. You can apply for credits for several study units with the same portfolio, but separate the the different study units clearly with headlines.
  3. Fill out the application for the Open badge for each study unit separately.
  4. Assesment group goes through the applications continuously other than at holiday times (the end of the year and June-July).
  5. Assesment group either accepts or asks for additions to the portfolio.
  6. When the points are granted the evaluation is pass/fail and also the student receives the Open badge.
Return dates before summer and Christmas
  • Portfolios will be graded within three weeks of return.
  • If you wish to receive credits in the spring semester, the last chance to return your application is the 15th of May and if you are asked to complete your portfolio, a new version must be returned by the 1st of June.  The exception is Tutoring in Student Activities, for which the application must be submitted by May 5th.
  • After the summer, your portfolio will be assessed again after the 15th of August.
  • If you wish to receive credits in the autumn semester, the last opportunity to return your application is 15 November and if your portfolio is asked to be completed, a new version must be returned by 1st December. The exception is Tutoring in Student Activities, for which the application must be submitted by the 5th of November.
  • After Christmas, portfolios will be assessed again after the 15th of January.

The modules and the study units

Community influencer

This module focuses on the basic competence needed by anyone participating in student activities. Students can develop their competence in the fields of the module by, for example, organising events, participating in the bustling student activities of different campuses, actively developing communications in networks and social media and by engaging in tutoring activities.

After completing the module, students can demonstrate that they are able to promote initiatives, as well as serve as influencers and assume responsibility in various operating environments. 

 

Learning outcomes of the courses

Member Services in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in three areas:

  1. Customer service competence
    Student is able to:
    – describe the elements of excellent customer service and provide examples of this related to their own student activities
    – interact with different kinds of people in customer service situations, taking their individual needs into consideration
    – provide customer service in a constructive manner and promote community spirit
  1. Safety, security and data protection
    Student is able to:
    – ensure personal data protection and comply with the confidentiality obligation as well as describe related risks when organising member services
    – use membership registers and point-of sales systems safely
  1. Service development
    Student is able to:
    – identify indirect feedback
    – use feedback to develop services
    – take future trends into account in service development

Communication in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in three areas:

  1. External communication
    S
    tudent is able to:
    – make versatile use of communication channels
    – communicate effectively and inspiringly
    – monitor communication trends and use them in practice
  1. Internal communication
    Student is able to:
    – use the agreed communication channels
    – promote a constructive and open communication culture
    – report on their own activities following common practices
  1. Marketing
    Student is able to:
    – follow graphic and tone of voice guidelines
    – plan marketing activities and use the plan to communicate in different channels
    – draw on the interconnection between different products and services to generate additional sales

Organising Events in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in three areas:

  1. Event organisation
    Student is able to:
    – prepare an event and safety plan and follow it
    – plan an event budget and the use of personnel resources
    – act in and react to quickly changing situations
    – coordinate and carry out event communications and marketing
  1. Event development
    Student is able to:
    – identify the different target groups of events and describe the target groups’ expectations of the event
    – develop future events based on previous results and feedback
  1. Work with stakeholder
    Student is able to:
    – identify the stakeholders of events and describe their interest in cooperation regarding the events
    – conclude a cooperation agreement

Tutoring in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in three areas:

  1. Interacting with people and sense of community
    Student is able to:
    – work with people from diverse backgrounds and take all students equally into account in their activities
    – actively support new students in getting to know one another and forming a group
    – organise social events with other students
    – guide and support incoming exchange students according to their needs
    – create a sense of community and promote interaction in the online community
  1. Guiding students
    Student is able to:
    – present Laurea and introduce new students to Laurea’s operating methods and culture
    – use Laurea’s systems and provide support for their use
    – cooperate with other tutors, Laureamko student union representatives and Laurea’s staff
    – work safely and in accordance with the professional code of conduct– present the well-being services provided to students and cooperate with well-being experts

Further information

The language of activities can be either Finnish or English. The recognition of competence is based on a portfolio and the learning outcomes for the study unit.

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP OF THE FUTURE

In the Future management module, the focus is on developing management competence through practical student activities.

After completing the module, students can demonstrate that they are capable of both managing issues and leading people. Students will be familiar with influencing methods and decision-making procedures in the activities of student organisations. They will know how to lead projects and take people leadership and management, as well as financial aspects, into consideration in their project management approach.

Learning outcomes of the courses

Leadership in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in three areas:
1. Self-management
Student is able to:
– set goals for their activities
– manage their use of time
– assess the strengths and areas for development in their own activities and competence

2. Strategic management
Student is able to:
– describe the difference between strategic and operational activities
– carry out strategic planning, including setting goals and measuring performance
– anticipate changing conditions and react to them

3. People leadership
Student is able to:
– be responsible leaders
– lead their team successfully and handle challenging interactions
– inspire, encourage and support their team

Influencing in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in three areas:
1. Influencing and advocacy
Student is able to:
– carry out independent and goal-oriented influencing
– draw up a plan to achieve their goal for protection of interests
– communicate effectively about protection of interests

2. Decision-making
Student is able to:
– follow appropriate meeting procedures and prepare meeting documents
– report on their activities in line with common practices
– seize the opportunity to influence decision-making processes

3. Tools for influencing
Students is able to:
– use documents central to their activities, including legislation and Laurea’s or the student organisation’s guiding documents
– use student feedback in protection of interests
– engage in constructive interaction with different interest groups

Project Management in Student Activities (5cr), apply for credits here

The goal is to develop competence in two areas:
1. Teamwork
Student is able to:
– efficiently assign tasks in teams and responsibly delegate tasks using digital tools
– act in line with the team’s goals together with other team members
– organise an efficient meeting and run it successfully
– assess their own and their team’s work and use the results to develop their activities

2. Finances
Student is able to:
– interpret and use financial documents, such as the income statement, balance sheet and budget
– describe the importance of financial planning and monitoring
– draw up a budget
– carry out an inventory of the student organisation’s products

 

Further information

In this module, students can develop their competence by, for example, participating in student activities. You can gain competence in the specified areas of expertise by serving as the chairperson of your student union or as the leader of a large project or an association. The language of activities can be either Finnish or English. The recognition of competence is based on a portfolio and the learning outcomes for the study unit.

More detailed portfolio assignment 

  • First, familiarise yourself with the learning outcomes of the course. 
  • Introduce yourself and tell us what positions you have held in student union activities. A self-portrait would be nice, but not mandatory. 
  • Use the practical examples about you have learned to describe how your skills have developed in different areas. The growth in skills can be described, for example explaining what the starting point is, what didn’t work in it, and then describing how the operation was changed. E.g. In the case of Member Services in Student Activities, you must both describe the features of good customer service and what you have learned from it, information security and also report on the development of the services. Please discuss all the learning outcomes of the course with the portfolio. 
  • Tell us what your contribution was to the work. 
  • At the end of each study unit, add a summary of what you have learned about student activity. 

Please also note: 

  • Please use good general language in your portfolio to tell the employer about your work. Type with whole sentences. 
  • For example, you can attach an ad, project plan, marketing plan, or an image of an event budget to a work sample portfolio. 
  • You can make your portfolio for an electronic portfolio platform (Microsoft Sway, Bulb, or otherwise), Powerpoint, or Word.   
  • With pictures, you can make your portfolio more alive and especially when telling about communication skills, they are useful, but otherwise not mandatory. 
  • An acceptable performance cannot be obtained with a portfolio that only lists events without a description of the development of the competence.  
How to get Open Badge in use

How to get started with Open Badge

When the badge is awarded, the student will receive the following message and link from [email protected] (search for the message in your email):

(Olet saavuttanut opiskelija-aktiivitoimintasi perusteella osaamista, josta sinulle myönnetään osaamismerkki Laureamko XX-opintojakson opiskelijatoiminnassa…)

You have achieved competences based on your student activity for which you are awarded a competency badge in the Laureamko XX student activity.

Create your free Open Passport account and claim your badge. Earned badges will accumulate in your Passport and stay in it to share your badges via LinkedIn, for example.

https://openbadgepassport.com/1etusivu/

Tutorial Open Badge Passport – How to create a badge (video duration 2:42 min)

How to get started on LinkedIn

The badge then needs to be published on Linkedin.

Go to your LinkedIn profile page and select Add to profile and from there to Recommended and Licenses & Certifications and click on the plus sign
Add the link name to your badge page and add the address copied from the Open Badge Factory in the Credential URL field and other necessary information.
Finally, click Save.

More information

Nelli Roine, Module Coordinator
[email protected]

Annika Sievinen, Specialist of the Student Union
[email protected]