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Student marketing and recruitment 

As a programme director, together with your academic community and those responsible for student marketing and recruitment, your task is to maintain and develop the appeal and visibility of the degree programme in order to attract suitable students. 

The main content for marketing purposes is the programme description, the accuracy of which you, as a programme director, are responsible. The programme description should include the distinctive features of the programme, the background expected of students and examples of possible career paths. 

Communications Services provide comprehensive guidelines for marketing degree programmes and recruiting new students. You can explore the guidelines on the service page (link takes you outside the Programme director’s handbook).

The annual clock for programme directors (link takes you to Aalto’s service platform) provides more detailed information on schedules and activities related to marketing. 

The Degree Programme Report Tool (link takes you to the PowerBI reporting tool; see specifically the student marketing report) provides a wide range of statistics on applicants and on students who have started their studies. 

Student admissions 

Admission quotas and selection criteria are set by the schools. Admissions are particularly affected by the degree level (bachelor’s or master’s) and the language of the programme. The most important matters and dates related to student admissions can be found in the programme director’s annual clock. For details you can get help from the coordinator of your degree programme.  

Tuition fees and scholarships  

Tuition fees are charged from students coming from outside the EU/EEA area and Switzerland and who study in a bachelor’s and master’s programme taught in a languages other than Finnish or Swedish. Aalto's president makes the decisions on tuition fees; the fee amount is determined according to the field, the level of the degree, and the starting date of the right to study. International joint programmes may have fees and scholarships that differ from Aalto’s own tuition-fee levels.   

The vice president decides annually on the maximum number of scholarships to be awarded in connection with admissions. Where necessary, school deans may also define a smaller number of scholarships to be awarded for a programme. The scholarships granted in admissions are 100% tuition-fee waivers. As programme director you are responsible, where necessary, for allocating scholarships between a programme’s study options if there are not enough scholarships to distribute evenly to everyone.   

Programmes may also offer scholarships based on donations. You will receive support from the Donor Relations team if an Aalto partner, alumni or other contact is interested in giving a financial donation to support students with tuition-fee liabilities.  

Taking into account tuition-fee students in the programme’s annual processes  

Taking into account tuition-fee students in the programme’s annual processes  

The special needs of students with tuition feesshould be taken into account in study guidance and in annual processes related to studies. They pay for their studies annually, and flexibility in tuition fees can only be granted in exceptional cases, as the fees are based on the Universities Act.  

It is important that programmes ensure their studies can be completed within the target time so that delays do not occur and cause additional tuition-fee costs for the student. Study guidance should consider the special needs of tuition-fee students as concerns, for example, their entry to Finland and residence permits as well as the special fees they are subject to and their possible scholarships. Their orientation, thesis and graduation processes should be developed to support their completion of studies and graduation within the target time and without unnecessary delays. You can receive support from the tuition-fee experts in the school and in Programme Management Services for any questions about tuition fees or potential problems.  

Student orientation 

The overall aim of orientation is to support students’ commitment to studies and their integration into the study community during their first academic year. This helps students to make steady progress through studies and graduate within the target time. Specific aims of the orientation have been gathered under the heading AFYE – Aalto First Year Experience. In line with AFYE, the new student will: 

• Get off to smooth start wuth studies, and have the necessary knowledge and skills to study in a planned, systematic way 
• Have a positive attitude towards studying and be motivated and committed to their studies
• Feels that they belong not only to the student community, but to the entire university community
• In addition, the services intended to support studying will offer comprehensive coverage and be known to the student; it is important to instill in the student the feeling that they are not alone, but that help is available when needed. 

 You can find more information about student orientation on the following service page (the link leads outside the Programme director’s handbook).

Programme director’s annual clock provides more detailed information on the schedules and tasks related to student orientation. 

New students’ integration into the degree programme   

Studies have identified commitment to one’s studies as being associated with better study motivation, higher grades and a lower risk of dropping out. The work of the academic staff in the degree programme and successful orientation of new students are both key to students getting a smooth start to studies and support dedication to them.  

The first study year and teaching 

From the perspective of integration into studies, the first year of study in the degree programme is the most important. According to research, well-organised, coherent teaching, teaching methods that encourage student engagement and the feedback students receive all support integration into studies. 

Academic advising  

The duties of the programme director include ensuring that the students in their programme have an academic advisor. The academic advisor is a representative of the programme, a person the student will become familiar with and with whom the student can discuss their study-related goals, as well as matters related to research and to the field of study. Detailed practices vary between the schools. You can find more information on the following page (the link leads outside the Programme director’s handbook). 

Internationality of the degree programme 

Aalto University encourages its students to gain international experience during their studies. One of the best ways to acquire the global competence and language skills required in working life is to go on exchange. Aalto University has student exchange cooperation with top universities around the world. As a programme director, your task is to help ensure that your programme offers genuine opportunities for going on exchange and, correspondingly, willingness to receive incoming international exchange students. The application periods for student exchange are marked in the programme director’s annual calendar. 

Other mobility opportunities include internships abroad and the various short-term mobility periods that are available to Aalto University students through Aalto's international networks and university cooperation. 

The internationality of the programme also stems from its international degree students. As programme director, you can contribute to the integration of international students and the internationalisation of Finnish students by taking the international students into consideration in the development of the programme, it’s activities and various interactive situations. 

Theses 

For theses, the programme director’s task is to ensure that the programme’s studies, advising practices and the actual thesis advising process support the writing of the thesis. The thesis is an independent piece of work by the student, but the student has both the right to receive advice and the obligation to ensure the quality of the work by discussing it with their thesis advisor during the process. 

The form of advising and the practices for matching thesis advisors and students vary between schools. The thesis functionality of the Student Success Hub implements and supports the master’s thesis process. In some schools, programme directors have a role in approving the thesis advisors in the Student Success Hub. More information about the thesis process is available on the following page (the link leads outside the Programme Director’s Handbook). 

On the education programme data report you can find statistics and infomration about completed and in-progress theses. 

Graduation 

Students in your degree programme can apply for a degree certificate and graduate when all studies for the degree, including the thesis, have been completed and recorded in the student information system. It is good to remember that some international students are subject to tuition fees. It is therefore important that the programme develop teaching, guidance and the graduation processin such a way that they allow such students to complete their studies and graduate without unnecessary delays.

Programme director’s annual clock provides the annual graduation schedules.  

The degree programme report tool contains the results of graduate feedback surveys and alumni surveys.