Finns float plans for tuition fees for second degrees

Finnish universities are nudging politicians to flirt with a Nordic taboo – the introduction of domestic tuition fees – ahead of parliamentary elections in April. Their case is strengthened by an economy hungry for skilled labour, with state funding for students’ second degrees closest to the cross hairs.

Prime minister Sanna Marin’s centre-left coalition wants at least half of young adults to be university graduates by 2030, up from 40 per cent in 2021. To get there, the government wants to increase intakes and cut dropouts, but universities and experts also want students to think seriously about not taking second degrees at the same level.

“It’s not very uncommon to reapply to another programme once you have been accepted,” Roope Uusitalo, professor of public economics at the University of Helsinki, told Times Higher Education. Adding that it was also not unusual for students to enrol on two programmes in parallel, he suggested that introducing bigger quotas for first-time applicants and making it easier to take elective modules could potentially help to curb the practice.

The Ministry of Finance has suggested that charging tuition fees for second degrees could increase resources, help to select the strongest students and be paired with scholarships and flexible loan repayments. But this was roundly rejected by the national students’ union (SYL) and by the researchers’ association, with both telling local media that the move would create a two-tier, elitist system.

SYL’s policy lead Heidi Rättyä has written that second degree fees would delay graduations because students might take longer to decide what and where to study, fearful of losing their first-time applicant status. In her view, the focus should instead be on helping them to switch courses, because “there must be room for trial and error”. She added that those wanting to use second degree fees to curb dual enrolment should be honest about their intentions rather than pitching them as a source of university income.

The umbrella body Finnish Education Employers wants universities to have the option of charging second degree fees, noting that 11 per cent of the students who enrolled in 2020 already had a degree at the same level. The group’s policy director, Heikki Kuutti Uusitalo, said those who enrol on second degrees take places from their younger peers, do not raise the general level of education and stunt the development of alternatives, such as continuous adult education.

Piia Björn, vice-rector for education at the University of Turku, said that the number of Finns taking duplicate degrees was a “critical financial question” for universities, and that it was “wise” to consider fees for those who already had one. “I personally think that the base of the whole Finnish education system is the right for relatively affordable studies until the completion of the first university degree, and even doctoral studies. But if there is a need for another whole degree, then I think more financial responsibility should be maybe put on the student’s own shoulders,” she said.

With Finland’s top civil servants having described labour shortages as an “increasing challenge” earlier this month, the option of slightly expanding tuition fees – first introduced for non-European Union students in 2016 – could become less unpalatable for campaigning politicians and the public.

ben.upton@timeshighereducation.com