FAQ: Teaching arrangements
General questions frequently asked by teachers
The academic year is divided into two semesters: the autumn semester begins annually on 1 August and ends on 31 December of the same year. The spring semester begins annually on 1 January and ends on 31 July of the same year.
A course unit is a part of the curriculum that can be completed as part of one's studies. In the curriculum, a course unit is defined by its name, scope, learning objectives, key content, and other information valid throughout the entire curriculum period. In everyday language, course units are simply referred to as courses.
Implementation of teaching refers to the individual occasion of organising the course unit. The implementation of teaching a course may differ, for example, in the teaching and assessment methods or languages used.
One basic principle of well-aligned teaching is that the teacher provides sufficient time for students to study and learn so as to be able to understand the taught content and achieve the intended learning outcomes of the course. This is called study-time allocation. Workload refers to a student’s sense of how studying burdens them.
To calculate the workload, you can use the workload estimation tool. Feedback collected from students during and after the course provides useful information about their experience regarding the course's workload.
Each course must be assigned a teacher-in-charge (responsible teacher in Sisu) who is responsible for grading the course and organising it to follow the curriculum and academic timetable. The teacher-in-charge participates in preparing the curriculum and is responsible for ensuring that the teaching implementations meet the intended learning outcomes and that the credits awarded correspond to the workload. In addition to the teacher-in-charge, several people may be involved in teaching the course and grading its study attainments.
A teacher-in-charge may be a professor, lecturer, university teacher and, on reasonable grounds, some other member of staff who is in a contractual employment relationship with Aalto University.
Visiting teachers may teach teaching implementations, but cannot be designated as teachers-in-charge.
Open university students have the same rights and responsibilities as degree students. Read the details at
A syllabus is created, if necessary, for each implementation of a study unit to provide details of the confirmed information of the study unit. The syllabus is public and accessible without logging in to MyCourses. It must not conflict with the curriculum information.
The syllabus is published at least three weeks before the start of the implementation. It may specify, for example:
- Contact information for the implementation of the study module
- Assessment criteria and methods, and information on the assessment
- Content of the implementation
- Workload calculation
- Learning materials
- Schedules
- Other additional information.
Sisu
A teacher can log in to Sisu no earlier than 80 days before the start of teaching. If your employment contract is valid, you have upcoming teaching that begins within 80 days, but you aren't able to log in to Sisu, please contact sisu@aalto.fi.
Teachers receive their teacher role in Sisu based on being designated as a teacher for a teaching implementation in Sisu. The teacher role becomes active 80 days before the teaching implementation begins. Check with the learning services of your school/unit to ensure that you are marked as a teacher in Sisu for the implementations you are teaching. If this has been done and there are fewer than 80 days until the start of your implementation, please contact sisu@aalto.fi.
Teachers cannot use the 'move to approved' function in Sisu with teacher rights; instead, participants must be confirmed using the 'Confirm participants' button (see the Sisu instructions). If you are unable to approve students using the 'Confirm participants' button, please contact sisu@aalto.fi.
Study achievements and assessment
A student can retake a course for which they do not have an accepted achievement as long as opportunities to complete the course are offered. A student can attempt to improve a grade by retaking an accepted course only once, as long as opportunities to complete the course are offered. The method of completion for a course retake may differ from the original method of completion.
A student who has participated in a course may retake a failed or accepted exam or other study achievement required by the course without re-enrolling if the course provides an opportunity to retake this study achievement.
A student cannot redo an accepted thesis or retake the associated accepted thesis seminar.
It is possible to both substitute and include study credits completed elsewhere in one’s degree. Read more on the page Substitution and inclusion of studies on Sisu | Aalto University.
Information on assessment at Aalto university:
Evaluation and study attainmentsAalto University’s recommendations for assessment
Individual study arrangements
Each Aalto student has the right to receive reasonable individual study arrangements for medical reasons. A medical reason may be dyslexia, a sensory impairment, a mental-health condition, or learning difficulties. Individual study arrangements should not be seen as a reason to compromise on the set learning outcomes. Instead, they are a way to support the student in achieving the learning outcomes.
Examples of individual study arrangements include additional time for examinations (1 hour at Aalto), a private space or computer for examinations, or adjusted schedules. To receive individual study arrangements, the student must show the teacher a written recommendation, and they must agree to the arrangements.
Aalto University has had a partnership agreement with the Metropolitan Sports Academy Urhea since 2015. Through this agreement, Aalto University is committed to supporting the combination of students' competitive sports with their studies. In practice, this support may include flexibility in assignment deadlines and submission methods, mandatory attendance, or exam formats, or alternative completion methods if the student is unable to complete the study module in the usual way due to competitive sports. The intended learning outcomes of the course unit should not be compromised, and the authority regarding flexibility always lies with the course's teacher-in-charge.
If necessary, you can contact Aalto University's Professor of Practice Sami Itani (sami.itani@aalto.fi) or your school's Urhea contact person (contact information can be found via the link below) to discuss practical examples of flexibility opportunities for athlete students.
Read more on the subject: Combining an athletic career with studying at Aalto