The Student Union of the University of Lapland states that the administration of the University of Lapland needs to have a thorough conversation about the university’s state on equality and the students’ place in decision-making.

LYY has been actively following the current news on the case about the recruitment of the vice-rector of research. The Student Union does not take a side on this one individual case but highlights the necessity of respectful conversation and the transparency of the decision-making process in a public education institution.

The Student Union’s work is based on equality. LYY is concerned about the actions that the University has done lately regarding equality.

The Student Union proposes that a new equality report would be done at the University. The report investigation shall be monitored, and the necessary actions shall be performed. The previous report was done in 2016 when the university was given six different tasks on how to improve equality within. Almost none of the six tasks have been fulfilled.

A Comment from The Chair of the Executive Board Esa-Pekka Tuppi: “The University of Lapland’s greatest strength has always been its sense of community. To keep this community intact, it is important that trust remains among operators about the actualisation of equality. Only in a good atmosphere that exudes a strong sense of community can the University of Lapland be a bigger factor than it has been.”

At the same time LYY wishes from the administration more open conversation on what is the students’ position as a decision maker in the University of Lapland. Students are a vital part of an active community and are a big factor in the realization of the university’s basic funding.

Student Union’s Adviser of Educational and Social Affairs Antti Eteläaho comments that “We have gotten the feeling that the students’ position in the decision-making process in the University of Lapland has weakened during the last year. The new management arrangements at the university need a more detailed examination so that we can determine whether it is merely a feeling or genuinely concrete. Conversations about the issue have already started with University’s administration and we hope it will yield results.”

LYY sees that students are presented as a strong part of the university’s decision-making principals in the regulation about administration and insists that it is uphold.

For more information contact:
Esa-Pekka Tuppi, The Chair of the Executive Board, puheenjohtaja(at)lyy.fi
Antti Eteläaho, Adviser of Educational and Social Affairs, edunvalvonta(at)lyy.fi