Open Education

Principles:

• The reliability of the content of teaching and the open educational resources developed in connection with it as well as other aspects of quality are assessed in addition to transparency.
• The development and utilisation of open education and open educational resources respect copyright, data protection, and ethical practices.
• The development of open education and associated educational resources considers accessibility and suitability for a wide range of learners.
• The work done to improve the openness of education and educational resources is valued in the criteria of merit and in the planning of work tasks. 

Objectives:

Open education is an important part of the social interaction of the University of Eastern Finland. The University is a pioneer and promoter of open education nationally and internationally. The University of Eastern Finland offers and markets education that is open to all. The production, preservation, distribution, and opening of education and educational resources are governed by legislation, agreements, and research ethics principles (Finnish National Board on Research Integrity, Responsible Conduct of Research). Teaching and learning practices aimed at transparency will be supported by strategic actions.

The opening of educational resources is encouraged, and open educational methods are developed and utilised extensively. The teacher’s merits in promoting open education and the opening of educational resources are appreciated. Students are offered opportunities and support for open education. The support services of the University of Eastern Finland have sufficient resources and competence to provide training, guidance, and support for the implementation of open education and open educational resources.

1. It is encouraged to use existing open educational resources in teaching.
2. The production of open educational resources and various open digital contents complies with accessibility requirements.
3. Adequate knowledge of, for example, copyright and data protection must be ensured by producers of teaching and open educational resources (the authors). The author is responsible for ensuring compliance with the guidelines of the University of Eastern Finland and has the necessary rights for opening the material. The university offers ready-made contract models for this.
4. The use of CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution) licenses is recommended for open educational resources.
5. The use of ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) in educational resources is recommended to identify the author.
6. It is recommended that the metadata of open educational resources be stored in the National Library of Open Educational Resources (aoe.fi).
7. It is recommended that open educational resources be linked or stored on a suitable storage platform according to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles.  
8. The use of open learning environments and the production and use of accessible educational resources are supported and promoted through the platforms offered by the university. The use of open learning and collaboration platforms and the interoperability of open educational services is promoted.
9. Authors of open educational resources are encouraged to act as mentors and peer reviewers of each other.
10. The production and opening of high-quality education and educational resources as well as the promotion of an open operating principle will be considered as merits.

The Open Education Action Plan presents six objectives and the related measures, which are compiled below. Each measure also includes a more detailed description, responsible and collaborating parties, schedules, and monitoring, all of which can be found in the Open Education Action Plan. The Open Education Action Plan complements the University of Eastern Finland’s Open Science and Research Policy.
 

Objective 1: Open education and openness-oriented teaching and learning practices are supported through the university’s strategic measures.

• Building a shared UEF-wide understanding of open education, taking national and international guidelines into account.
• Preparing an assessment of the current state and goals of open education and teaching at UEF.
• Exploring options for tracking produced open educational resources and open courses.
   

Objective 2: Open education is a significant part of the University of Eastern Finland’s societal interaction. The university is a forerunner and promoter of open education nationally and internationally.

• Open education and teaching are offered and marketed to everyone.
• Participating in promoting science education and science communication.
• Participating in national and international open education networks and in development and research projects.

Objective 3: Open education and open educational practices are developed and widely utilised.

• Increasing teachers’ and learners’ awareness of existing open educational resources.
• Supporting teachers in producing open educational resources.
• Introducing UEF’s publishing platform and utilising other publishing platforms for open educational resources produced at UEF.
• Encouraging promoters of open education to act as mentors and peer reviewers for each other.
• Developing teaching staff competence in open educational practices.
• Including open education in the staff’s university pedagogy training and doctoral education.
• Defining the relationship between UEF’s open education and the Opin.fi service and other services related to open education.
   

Objective 4: Teachers’ merits in promoting open education, and in opening educational resources and teaching, are recognised and valued.

• Promoting the recognition of open education tasks in teachers’ working time allocation and merit evaluation.

Objective 5: Students are offered opportunities and support for open education.

• Students have access to high-quality open courses and educational materials.
• Students participate in the development of open education.
• The university makes use of digital badges or certificates for open education achievements.
   

Objective 6: The Support Services of the University of Eastern Finland have sufficient resources and expertise to provide training, guidance and support for implementing open education and open educational resources.

• Establishing a centralised service (service address) to support open education.