Visit of Prof. Carmen Bravo, Universidad Católica del

Visit of Prof. Carmen Bravo,

Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM, Chile),

to Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OUAS, Finland)

25.5.2010-01.7.2010.

Report

Prepared by: Professor Carmen Bravo-Castillo Forest Science Department Director Universidad Católica del Maule October 2010 Introduction

In 2008 the Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Faculty of Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM) Chile, in the framework of its internationalization program, contacted to the School of Renewable Natural Resources (SRNR) of Oulu University of Applied Sciences, in order to achieve a collaboration partner in the process of renewing degree program and in the progression of research and development. As a result of this contact and the common interests of both institutions, in 2009 the Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) and the Programme teaching staff visits to Argentina and Chile, financed the Visit Program of Dr. Jukka Tikkanen from OULU to UCM. The output of the visit and the stated proposals were important inputs for the formulation and implementation of the formative project of the Forest Engineer degree program and lead to define and plan the return visit from UCM to OULU. By this way at the end of 2009, UCM applied the Visit Programme of Mrs. Carmen Bravo from UCM to Oulu University of Applied Sciences as a CIMO Programme teaching staff visits to Argentina and Chile, the visit was accomplished from 24 May to 5 July of 2010. The programme responds to a joint collaboration from the results of Dr. Jukka Tikkanen visit and includes: (1) The new career of natural resource management. National profile of RNR profession

- Comparison of the survey results - Excursions in Finnish working life and educational institutions - Joint construction of the competences for the new careers in workshops - Joint recommendations for the pedagogy to implement the new career.

(2) The evaluation and quality control model especially at implementation level.

- Benchmarking of the quality management system of OUAS - Joint recommendations about the evaluation procedure for the

competence based teaching and learning. This report is about the results of the Visit of Mrs. Carmen Bravo-Castillo, and is structured by three parts, a methodology and material description, a benchmarking analysis of the 6 main topics stated in the visit programme and a proposal of joint collaboration.

Data and Methodology

The methodology used to accomplish the Visit objectives is the Functional Benchmarking (FB). The Benchmarking is a continuous process to measure and compare one organization with others leader, competitive or not, in every place of the world, to obtain information to help the execution of actions to improve the performance. The process has 5 phases, Planning, Analysis, Integration, Action and Maturity, Figure 1 shows the phases of Benchmarking model. Figure N° 1. Benchmarking model The FB identifies the products, services and work processes of other organizations that could be or not direct competitors of the subject organization. The objective of FB is identifying the best practices of any organization that has a high excellence in a specific area. It is functional because in this scope the B includes mainly specific activities of a determined functional area, as manufacture, marketing human resources and Engineer (Zhu, 2003).

Planning Phase Identify the object of Benchmark

Identify comparable organization

Determinate data collection method

Analysis Phase

Current practice

Operation differences

Organization features

Performance Gap

Projection of future performance level

Integration Phase

Findings communication and acceptation

Functional Goals

Action phase Action plan develop

Specific actions and progress supervision

Benchmark recalibrate

Maturity phase Best practice incorporation

Institutionalized process

The data was obtained from different sources, Finish public information, UCM internal information, primary information through interviews and meetings with representatives of Finish work place and the direct visit to OULU UAS. Functional Benchmarking analysis

To start the BF is necessary to take accounting the relevant background information from both countries. The Tables N°1 and N°2 present the Country recent economic indicators. More detailed information about the countries is presented in Annex I. Table N°1. Finland Economic Annual Data

Fact Annual data

2009a

Fact Historical averages

(%) 2005-2009

Population (m) 5.3 Population growth 0.4

GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate)

238.6b Real GDP growth 1.0

GDP (US$ bn; purchasing power parity)

177.4 Real domestic demand growth

1.3

GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate)

44,807 Inflation 1.8

GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity)

33,313 Current-account balance (% of GDP)

3.4

Exchange rate (av) €:US$ 0.7b FDI inflows (% of GDP) 2.2

a Economist Intelligence Unit estimates.

b Actual.

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd.

Table N°2. Chilean Economic Annual Data

Fact Annual data

2009a

Fact Historical averages

(%) 2005-2009

Population (m) 16.9 Population growth 1.0

GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate)

163.3 Real GDP growth 3.4

GDP (US$ bn; purchasing power parity)

243.7 Real domestic demand growth

5.1

GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate)

9,647 Inflation 4.2

GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity)

14,398 Current-account balance (% of GDP)

2.4

Exchange rate (av) Ps:US$

560.9 FDI inflows (% of GDP) 7.2

(a) Actual Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd.

Planning Phase The FB analysis is developed by topic of interest defined as processes: 1) Planning, implementation and evaluation of an individual study unit, 2) Competence based curricula development, new Degree programme, 3) Quality of education and 4) Strategic Plan. The object of the FB is to obtain information that helps Forestry Sciences Department and Forest Engineer School of UCM to develop actions to improve its current performance. It is important to note that the topics of the original programme were fitted to the available information of the host organization, so the original topic “Competence based curricula implementation and evaluation process” was replaced by “Competence based curricula development, new Degree programme” and the original topic “Planning and implementation of individual modules for professional competence” was replaced by “Planning, implementation and evaluation of an individual study unit”. The internal information for the process considers the UCM Strategy Plan, all the internal decrees and politics of the UCM, as well as the formative project of Forest engineer career, the formative referent and the new career project. The visit programme was organized by topic per week and each topic was coordinated by one specific lecturer of the SRNR OULU UAS. In this structure, the topics considered quantitative and qualitative information, meetings with the coordinator lecturer, with topic related lecturers of OULU UAS, with professors of other Universities, with OULU UAS university authorities if it corresponded and with representatives of the work place. The schedule of the visit programme and the source information is presented in Table 1.

Table1. Schedule of the visit Program

Week Topic/Host of the week Topic Lecturers of OULU UAS or professors of other Universities

Workplace meeting Documents

1 25-28 May

Start- Up Cooperation/Director of School Jukka Tikkanen

OULU UAS: Lecturer Arja Maunumäki, Principal Lecturer Tuomo Pesola, Rector, Dr. Jouko Paaso, Academic Vicerrector Risto Kimari

Finnish education system and OULU UAS SRNR degree programmes. Educational system of Chile and RNR-sector in Chile

2 31

May- 4 June

Planning, implementation and evaluation of an

individual study unit/Senior Lecturer Anu Hilli

OULU UAS: Senior Lecturer Anu Hilli, Ilkka Mikkonen, School of Business and Administration Director, Sanna Poikkimäki Project manager, Student councellor Jouko Karhunen and lecturer Sami Talonen Head of school: Alpo Kaisto

Visit to Metsähallitus: Pauli Määttä, and Finnish Forest Research Institute, Muhos Research Station. Dr Oili Taravinen.

Metla Presentation and Guidance, Educational and vocational Guidance in Finland

3 7-11 June

Competence Curricula development, New degree

programme/Principal Lecturer Tuomo Pesola

OULU UAS: Principal Lecturer Tuomo Pesola, Lecturer Kaisu Siipola (Poisoned herbs course), Marjo Pääskylä, Sami Niemelä, Katja Kurasto, Marianne Isola (Rector´s Office International Affairs) , Dr. Katariina Keikko (energy project)

Pro- Agria: Vesa Nuolioja

Development program of education and research (2007-2012), International Office Brochure and ProAgria Presenation

4 14-18 June

Quality of education/Principal Lectuer Raili Hokajärvi

OULU UAS: Paula Syri, Head of Department, Kaija Karhunen, Outi Virkkula, Pirjo Siipola, Principal Lectuer Raily Hokajärvi, Principal Lecturer Tuomo Pesola Rovaniemei UAS: Veli Juola

Metla Rovaniemi: Ari Nikula

Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council, The European Qualifications Framework for lifelong Learning. Rovaniemi UAS Strategy, Forest Engineer Curricular innovation at UCM, Strategic Plan of Forest Science Department

5 21- 24 June

Strategic Plan and Conclusion of the

visit/Director of School Jukka Tikkanen

University of Oulu: Laura Jaakkola and Hely Hägman OULU UAS: Toni Sankari and Rector Jouko Paaso

Visit to Metsäkeskus: Eljas Heikkinen and Markku Mehtätalo and Visit to Stora Enso

6 28-

june-2 July

Forest research/Director of School Jukka Tikkanen

OULU UAS:Director of School Jukka Tikkanen. UEF: Dr. Timo Pukkala and Jouni Pykäläinen Helsinki University: Professor Pekka Mäkinen,

Joensu Metla: Dr. Mikko Kurttila, Teppo Hujala and Katri Korhonen

Metla Presentation and Brochure

Analysis phase The results of this section are presented by topic or process according to the fitted visit programme, nevertheless it will taken account the original programme for the projection purposes. Planning, implementation and evaluation of an individual study unit, 2) Competence based curricula development, new Degree programme, 3) Quality of education and 4) Strategic Plan.

Process: Planning, implementation and evaluation of an individual study unit

Current practice

School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS Planning The model planning courses considers a plan for the students, a document of one page with the following information: Responsible Lecturer, credits, learning objectives, description (competences), contents, evaluation and literature. The lecturers could have an own version plan for their implementation. Implementation One of the most used methodologies to achieve the learning objectives is the work project. For this, the Lecturers agree with professionals of different organizations in the workplace, the work that the students will develop in the course. Other methodologies used are the work in a R&D project and the hypothetical situations. There is neither a contractual relation nor payment between the students, University and organizations, but it should be in some Lecturers opinion. The lecturer controls the student work. Depending on the course, it is possible the participation of other Lecturers in some specifics topics or required tools. The courses are programmed with a first part of contents and after that a visit to the field. The Lecturers have feedback from the students throughout: 1) An optional questioner applied by the responsible lecturer and 2) a feedback collection for large courses in virtual system that allows make specific questions (ZEF). They follow the progression of their students.

Evaluation

1. Report of the project work. For this purposes the lecturers deliver to the students the list of the contents required in the document.

2. Exam. The exam is an integrative evaluation with three stages: practice, information processing and a decision making.

The system used to evaluate the achievement of the competences is based on concept learning and decision making. Forest Engineer School at UCM

Planning The model to plan the pedagogical activities sets up a per term syllabus in which is described the competence unit, a detailed list of the contents, the methodology strategy, the specific activities and the evaluation tools to be implemented. “The learning objectives as well as contents are well described in the plans contributing focused learning” (Tikkanen, 2009). The module, as a pedagogical activity of the matrix, states the competences of the pedagogical activity, the expected performance and the evaluation criteria; thus the detailed plan, syllabus, ought to include information about methodology and evaluation strategies in order to achieve the competence according the module definition. There is a simple version plan for the students. The formative project of this curricular innovation takes into account an evaluation plan and a graduate professional profile monitoring as a process of formative continuous improvement. This process is constituted by planning, organization, Control, evaluation and a feedback, which require the proper documentation to develop the continuous improvement process. Implementation The implementation procedure indicates the allocation of a module coordinator whose responsibility is to design and carry out the syllabus. The coordinator functions are: Activities organization, professors and resources coordination. Depending on the module, the implementation take into consideration different practical and theoretical activities developed in the university environment as laboratories, classrooms, experimental centres, nursery and enterprise visits, as well. The new curriculum started in 2008 with the disciplinary modules. To support the implementation of professional modules in 2009, there was an external consulting in strategies and didactical methodologies to achieve professional competences for three UCM program degrees. The final report of this consulting contents the results of the activities in terms of module design, methodological strategy planning, enterprises visit and field work planning, design of work guides, evaluative procedure planning, Basic Science Diagnostic test and disciplinary introductory modules.

Currently this final report is a curricular innovation guide for all the professors with participation in the modules. Evaluation The evaluation is stated in each syllabus and considers different tools. As Dr. Jukka Tikkanen reported there is not an established evaluation model even though “A tentative model towards that direction was given, but not used”.

The evaluation of the learning is mainly focusing on the final examination taken after the course implementation. The examinations are versatile and include normally theoretical written and oral elements and practical tasks (Tikkanen, 2009). Currently, UCM is developing tree projects related to curricular innovation implementation: 1) The Centre to support teaching and learning has one action line oriented to the definition of the competences achievement level, 2) MECESUP UCM 072 project considers a professor training program in learning and evaluation methods and 3) MECESUP UCH 0610 project assess the credit allocation through a workload analysis.



Planning School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS The current degree programs in the SRNR at OULU are, at the moment of the visit, designed in a traditional way as is showed in the courses plans, thus each course responds to learning objectives. At the SRNR there is not a standardized formal framework to plan the courses. The plan for the students is built in order to teaching-learning objectives and it is based in contents. The lecturer’s plan has more detail in the activities programming, but there is not a description of the methodology, contents and evaluation in relation to each teaching-learning objectives and therefore evaluation criteria. Forest Engineer School at UCM In FES at UCM the current degree program is designed by competences and each module responds to a sub competence described by a set of realization criteria that can be evaluated by specifics evaluation criteria. There is a standardized framework to plan the modules (pedagogical activities) in relation to each sub competence and competence in the curricular structure. This framework includes the

professional sub competences and general competences, the methodology applied for each activity and the evaluation criteria. This plan is the basis to control and evaluate the competence achievement and is a tool to evidence or verify the quality of the learning process. Implementation School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS The pedagogical activities implementation in each school is suited to the organization structure. Oulu University has direct dependence to the regional municipalities so there is a strong relation to the external environment and the workplace. Currently there is an effective initiative to link the teaching with the workplace at OULU UAS, InnoMajakka project, a development and research project involving enterprises. The Project began on 2008 and the main goal of the project is to develop teaching in the institution in a way of practical training, thesis, etc, with a company.

The project is orientated to answer the question How to combine R&D with teaching? The relevant actions developed in the project are:

Coordination to the cooperation

Communication Culture creation

Optimal task Allocation for Research interest and developing teaching

Funds searching and Management

The project encourages teachers to take more roles in the interaction with company throughout projects, coordination work, contacts and writing easy articles. Figure N°2 shows the internal organization of IM project.

Figure N°2. IM project, internal organization.

North eurobothnia

Themes

Coordinator

Consultant: contacts to know what the media needs

Companies. 40 Small and medium. Ideas, reports, R&D support, projects, marketing

OAMK

Oulu Outcomes: Practical training Research reports Employment New companies Thesis

Guiding group Project Local companies Authorities Teachers Others

Oulu Companies, local associations

There is a Guidance system (GS) in UAS, this system is part of the Educational and Vocational Guidance in Finland. The goal of the guidance and counseling services is to help individuals make choices concerning their education, training and career planning at different stages of their lives. In the SRNR, the GS organization considers a Counselor, two lecturer tutors, one per degree program, and student’s tutors too. This team prepares a tutoring plan with some documents as evidences. The Counselor states that they need to be more connected. Lecturer tutors have 4 hours per week for an amount of 300 students, they take more care to the student university life, so they know all the students, make groups, share information and make advises to the students work. The students are free to ask everything and they reveal that they feel good in the group. Student’s tutors help to make groups and social programs, for this work they get study points. After autumn lecturer tutors meet with the students and discuss about their studies: How do they feel? What are they doing? What are they going to do after studies in summer time? And they work with students in their career’s planning. Some common conflicts are inside the group, between them and with lecturers. The students with academic difficulties need to report periodically to the counselor. Student’s Counselors have a training in which they get a Counselor qualification by doing a degree program, participating in an in-service training program or by completing a minor. The job in the Guidance System has a meaning at UOULU UAS, because it impacts in some efficiency indicators like n° of student’s interruptions in High education. The tools used to do the work in SRNR are mail and social media, but the main is the personal contact in meeting or by call phone. Forest Engineer School at UCM UCM hasn’t a direct relation with regional municipalities; indeed one of strategic objectives of UCM strategic plan is strengthen the relationship with external environment. Even though UCM has a Development and Technological Transference Direction (DTTD), it is a productive unit that depends of the Managing and finance Vice rector office, so it is independent of the Faculties. UCM doesn´t have a GS, the students have the counseling of the School Director. Nevertheless there is an internal proposal to name some tutors at the school in order to have more a more close relation with the students and help them with their study’s problems.

Evaluation School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS According to the study units analysed at the SRNR in OULU UAS, the evaluation strategies seem to be appropriated to the learning methods. The Lecturers point that the strategies are well known by the students, but there is not evidence of the evaluation criteria used to demonstrate that the educational objectives are achieved with the results of the evaluations or a progressive relation between the evaluations tools. Although there is Quality system implemented in teaching process, that allows detecting courses problems and take actions to solve them, the analyses is based on the perceptions of the participants, but doesn’t work with objective information about the attributes of a high level quality course. Forest Engineer School at UCM At UCM the competences evaluation strategies is one of the main issues in teaching area, since curricular committee started the curricular innovation, methodological and evaluation strategies arise as implementation challenges in this new paradigm. Furthermore, one of the weaknesses stated by the external auditors in the accreditation process is the lack of a formal mechanism to evaluate competences.



School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS

The OULU UAS is an Educational Establishment of OSEKK, the Oulu Region Joint Authority of Education. OSEKK, belongs to 14 regional municipalities of Ostrobothnia, and offers multidisciplinary and multi-level education in both, vocational education and polytechnic education. The Oulu Region Joint Authority for Education was founded December 15th, 1994.The actual work started August 1st, 1995. From 15.12.1994 to 31.7.2006 the organization’s name was The Oulu Region Joint Authority for Vocational Training, OSAKK. Oulu University of Applied Sciences began to offer higher vocational education in 1992. It responds to the business and employment needs of Northern Finland by arranging and developing training at the higher vocational education level. Oulu University of Applied Sciences has schools in Oulu, Oulainen and Raahe. The hierarchical dependence organization of OULU UAS is presented in Figure N°3.

Figure N°3. Hierarchical dependence Organization of OULU UAS

Forest Engineer School at UCM The “Universidad Católica del Maule” (UCM) owes its origin to the Catholic Bishop of Talca, in 1955. In 1991 UCM was recognized, by State decree, as a Corporation of Public Law and as an institution of higher private education derived from the “Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.” The “Universidad Católica del Maule” was developed as a Catholic, regional and independent institution. The Figure N°4 shows the hierarchical dependence Organization of UCM

The Oulu Region joint Authority for Education Manager Director OSEKK

Oulu University of applied Science Rector and Vice Rector

Faculty services

Vocational Schools

Directors of schools SRNR

Own by several Municipalities

Figure N°4. Hierarchical dependence Organization of UCM


Performance Gap

Planning UCM has a positive GAP in pedagogical activities planning, since there is a formal framework to plan pedagogical activities with the competence and sub competence description, the contents, the methodology and the evaluation strategies applied according to explicit evaluation criteria.

Pastoral University

Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences

Council Faculty

Agricultural School

Forestry Sciences Dpt.

Forest Engineer School

Management and Finance Vice rector

Academic Vice Rector

Great Chancellor. Bishop

Higher Council

RECTOR

Planning and development Dpt.

Linking Dpt.

Quality assurance Dpt.

Campus Curicó Dir.

Gral. Students affairs

Dir.

Communication and public relations Dpt.

General Secretary Contralor

Agricultural Sc. Dpt.

Implementation UCM has a negative GAP in implementation. The organizational features of UCM and the internal culture have keeping the formation process mainly based in the internal orientations and internal activities until 2005, so even when there is a new approach in professional formation it is not easy to start to work with the workplace. There is not enough experience with the learning process in relation with the workplace, even though every professor has personal contact with professionals in the work life On the other hand, UCM doesn’t have a GS, although the School Director is conducting part of this work .A GS is a good support to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the formation process. Evaluation There is parity in evaluation’s operations between both degree programs. There are not big differences in the evaluations tools and in evaluation strategies, but at UCM there are explicit evaluation criteria that are well known for the students, so the evaluation is an objective and clear process.



The future performance in CI implementation is projected to have identified and planned a set of pedagogical activities related to real workplace situations and R&D projects within 2 years. These activities will be developed in the frame of the Faculty Strategic Action Plan.

Process: Competence based curricula development, new Degree program

Current practice:

School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS Undergraduate profile The first project option in curricular innovation at the SRNR was a new degree program ministry proposal. The plan for the new degree programs started in December 2009 with the Proposal Preparation and finished in June 2010 with the Final Decision. Table N°3 shows the schedule for this project.

Table N° 3.New degree program project schedule

Process Date Observations

Proposal Preparation December 2009-February 2010

New degree program December 2009-February 2010

It is needed to be accepted by both Universities

Feedback April 2010

Meeting university and Ministry

May 2010

Decision of Degree program

June 2010

Agreement September 2010

The standard proposal framework in Finish educational system is based in 8 questions, which ought to be answered in a short space:

1) Whence does come the idea? Give the name of the person who start with the idea 2) Does the program have relation with the strategic topics of the university? What? 3) How this new program does complete the recent program? What is the additional value? 4) Is there other educational program with support of this program in the area? Where? And

what other programs? 5) What is the level of competences in the University in relation to the sector? 6) How and who (enterprises and associations) will participate in the planning of the program? 7) How you asses that students will have work compared to others degree programs? 8) Justify if you want special options like special exam

Mr. Tuomo Pesola prepared and presented the proposal in 9.2.2010, in which was considered two new programs degree: 1) Bioeconomic and 2) Green landscape planning.

The reasons to make this proposal are:

1) The structure development of the University. There is a minimum size of 40 students per degree program they are under so they need to increase the number of students

2) Nowadays Horticulture area is not so important and landscaping is increasing, because there is space available and the people demand this kind of nice environment. Today everything is bio-based.

In June 2010 the SRNR was informed that they didn’t get the permit for the new degrees programs, the reason of it rejection is because the Finland system is trying to get a low number of programs degree.

In this scenario, the SRNR decided to follow the second option project; a renewal of the current three degree programs to two new degree programmes with a curriculum innovation based on competence orientated to environment and business areas. The reason for this structural change is because the workplace is changing and today they have small groups in each current degree program. Table N° 4 shows the project calendar This two new degree programs will start in 2011; the names and the grades are given by the University based on the competence description (something possible to be measured). The program will include general goals or aims from preschool to university.

Process to consult the external media

The consult process had two steps. 1) Material delivered to the relevant people, and 2) Thematic interviews asking for the professional competences. The relevant people considered in the process were the people from the workplace, parents (father) and lectures.

The main conclusions of the interviews are:

Change in the structure of farm (bigger enterprises and low number of farms)

Skills for own management, own values, strength and weakness, self knowing

Skills for manage the changes

Skills for practical leaders of enterprise, they need to read indicators and make decision

Skills for networking

The main professional competences identified in the process are:

Entrepreneurship

Multifunctional rural entrepreneurship services

Producing values like landscape (general policy)

Bioeconomic, bioenergy, bioproducts and agrobiotecnia

Plants suitable for long day in northern conditions

Expert services

Table N° 4.Renewal degree programs Plan

Date Activity

26-10-2009 SWOT

07-01-2010 Scenarios of the future and base line

08-02-2010 Ideas concerning to the professional profile, needed professional areas competences

15-03-2010 Define competences/SWOT again for groups and the final solutions. University point of view and working life conclusions

Core and subjects Next work

Main core subjects May 2010

Structure of DP June 2010

Modules plan June 2010

Planning individual course October and November 2010?

Put the things into the register system Feb 2011

The new degree programs formalization points out that the process decision is in charge of the Head of school and the final decision is in charge of the University Rector. Once the decision to implement the curricular innovation is positive, starts the marketing for student and working life.

Curricular structure definition

The curricular structure consists of five stages: 1) Basic Sciences with 60 EST, 2) Professional area with 120 EST, distributed in 8 modules of 15 EST, 3) Free choice modules with 15 EST, 4) Practical training with 30 EST and 5) Bachelor Thesis with 15 EST. Figure N°6 shows the general structure. Every second year there are serving modules offer, of which the students can make their selection. The traditional degree programs usually have quite many compulsory courses, in the new structure there is more student’s free choice. Professional Competences in the new degree programs:

Farmer, farmer production related to ruminants

Experts in bioenergy production

Entrepreneur services

Expert in environmental management

Expert in special plants

Figure N°6. New degree program curricular structure Professional Modules of 15 EST The professional modules of 15 EST consist of 5 courses of 3 EST in productive modules; these modules are associated with selected studies research projects. This is the main strengthen in this innovation design, since the introduction to R&D projects will the keep students motivation to continue their studies and will improve one of the main efficiency indicators.

International cooperation

The SRNR have a plan of joint degree program with IP (Intensive program) courses in Water management and Biotechnology. The partners are: REMS University in France, Padua and Potensa Universities in Italy, Luviana in Stonia and others Universities in Slovakia, Check republic and Ireland.

They planned the structure of the cooperation plan and made the application to EU. If they don’t succeed they will use the normal funds that are available now (bachelors).

Competences Assessment framework OULU UAS have a qualifications framework for different formation levels, as a steer for the competences definition and assessment. The framework has 4 general competences areas:

1) Professional knowledge 2) Professional skills 3) Group working skill management 4) Responsibility

The competence assessment uses a grading scale from 1 to 5. There is guidance to assess the competences grade based on descriptors. Currently are defined 3 outcomes:

Basic (60 cr)

Free choice (15 cr)

Practical training (30 cr)

Bachelor thesis (15 cr)

15 cr 15 cr 15 cr 15 cr

Grade level

1 Past

2 Good

3 Excellent

All degree programs need these competences but not all the courses. A Course Program is a course description, the aim of education, the contents and the assessment framework. Forest Engineer School at UCM UCM started the Curricular Innovation process in 2005 with the Curricular Committee (CC) creation per degree program. Even so, FES and FSD, as an academic Unit, developed an internal evaluation in 2003 throughout the hiring of an external consulting to reformulate the products and services of the Unit; after that, in 2004 the staff of the FSD formulated the first Forest Engineer professional profile. The outputs of those two internal initiatives were input part information for the Curricular Innovation (CI). Undergraduate profile Teaching Direction designed the CI process with a series of motivation meetings, training seminars and CC specific works. In this context, between November 2005 and June o 2006, FES, Faculty and FSD as an academic unit, hired an external consulting to set up the workplace referent and formulate the FE professional profile, graduated profile, professional competences and sub competences; with a workplace querying methodology. Flow process diagram to formulate the Forest Engineer professional profile are presented in Annex II. Curricular structure definition The CI Formative Referent was developed by the CC and the academic unit staff, guided by the UCM internal normative and with the support of Teaching Direction. By this way, with the Formative Referent reviewed by Teaching Direction in 2007, the new curricula started in 2008. During 2008 and 2009, UCM developed new internal normative for CI, thus the earlier Formative referent was updated with the new indications and in January 2010 was sanctioned the Formative project of FE program degree. The Diagram Flow Process for module identification and curricular activities are available in Annex II. The curricular structure for FE, based on competences, degree program has three stages. The first stage is mainly constituted by disciplinary formation modules and general professional modules, the second stage by professional competences modules and the third stage by more complex professional competences modules. Figure N°7 shows the current curricular structure matrix.

Where the following color code represents the different formation plans

General Training Plan

Disciplinary Training Plan

Professional Training Plan

Professional Competences Integration Practice Plan

Figure N°7. Curricular structure matrix of Forest engineer degree program

Term Modules (credits)

1 Introduction to Mathematics and Physics (5)

Introduction to Biology and Chemistry (5)

Basic Computer Tools (4)

English I (4) The Forestry and Timber Sector (4)

2 Basic Mathematics for Forest Activity (11)

Fundamentals of Chemistry for Forest Activity (8)

The Earth our system (6)

Dendrology () The man in silvotimber workplace(4)

3 Plants Dynamics and their interactions (8)

Fundamentals of Physics for Forest Activity (8)

The forest enterprise (6)

English II (4) Forest resources creation (6)

4 Statistics and experimental Design (8)

Protection and Phitosanitary Control Plans (4)

Reproductive material management (6)

Computer Tools for management (6)

Silvicultural interventions (8)

Practice: The world of work (6)

5 Advanced Mathematics for forestry (8)

Fire management Plans (4)

Cultural Treatments in nursery (6)

Introduction to Faith (5)

Certification 1 (5)

6 The Timber as a row Material (4)

Property, Assessment and Forest land Valuation (8)

Planning and Scheduling harvest (6)

Christian Ethic (5) Certification 2 (5)

7 Genetic Improvement and y biotechnology (5)

Resources for production (7)

Management and Forest production Control (6)

The role of small and medium forest owner (6)

Certification 3 (5)

8 The environmental impacts and control (6)

Sawmill production and associated mills (4)

Health protection Planning activities (4)

Development and agro forestry project management (4)

Thesis (10)

Practice: The professional reality (14)

9 The quality assurance (8)

Management of Forest Plans (6)

Legal Regulations of forestry (2)

Silvoagricultural management of SMEs (6)

10 Certification of forestry production (6)

The management of wilderness areas (6)

Human resources in a value perspectives (6)

Training in the Professional Social Responsibility (4)

Parallel to this process from 2009, the academic unit has been working in a new program degree related to Renewable Natural resources management. Starting from the workplace referent, the background achieved from the FE competence based curricula and the new perspectives of regional development and competitive agenda, the academic Unit proposed to the Teaching Direction, the curricular structure for the new degree program. Figure N°8 shows the general curricular structure for the new program degree. Figure N°8 .General curricular structure for the new program degree.

The new program degree project will be improved with the information obtained from the Competence formation Centre, a Faculty project, which will determine the region competences requirements. Competences Assessment framework UCM has an institutional framework to formulate the formative project of a degree program. This framework has a guide to define Professional, Complementary and transversal competences and sub competences, the undergraduate profile and the module design. The competences assessment must be formulated by each Curricular Committee, so in the case of FE degree program the committee currently is formulating a curricular assessment plan for the formative management, which includes:

Achievement level for sub competence in a module

Achievement level in curricular matrix

A monitoring system of each competence in the undergraduate profile

Forest Engineer Specialization

RNR Engineer

4 semesters 6 semesters 2 semesters

Bachelor Licensed Magister

Process: Competence based curricula development, new Degree programme


School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS The Education Ministry demands a list of indicators goal success to allocate the budget, currently the SRNR at UAS is closer to the goal of: degree given compared with the students that started to study 3 years ago, number of students working compared with the students that stated 3 years ago and Number of credits connected to research work and Students/teachers.

In this context of economic incentive, the University and the SRNR have developed action plans to reach indicators goals. For the indicators management, Statistical tools for all the process at UAS are available. Each school collects the student level information for internal use and communicates it to the centralized system.

Some management considerations at the SRNR are:

The SRNR considers the research as a high level of the investigations and development as a local level.

They apply to open funds sources like: academic of Finland, EU framework, research and technological organizations

The applicants can apply to different degree programs, so UAS considers only the applicants that apply to their degree programs in the first choice.

There is an excellent intranet system in which is available all the processes of the University, with a calendar of the activities and processes.

ETC Standards

Work Standard: 40 hr/week, 40 week/year, and 1600 hr/year.

Credit Standard: 60 cr/year

Hours per credit: 1600h/year/60cr/year=26,66 hr/cr

Bachelor total hours: 1600*4=6.400 hour Forest Engineer School at UCM In Chile HEIs are those universities, professional institutes and technical training centers that have obtained the official recognition of the state and are currently developing educational activities. The official recognition of a HEI is the authorization granted by the State to operate as such and to grant diplomas and degrees. Such recognition can be achieved through a Law or by Ministry of Education Decree, after completing the requirements defines in the LGE (General Law of Education) and the pertinent articles of LOCE (Organic constitutional Law of Education) that hold their HEI’s can be autonomous or be subjected from the beginning to a system of external supervision.

The autonomous institutions are empowered to award diplomas and degrees that apply independently developing their duties in concordance with its statutes, and include academic economic and administrative autonomy. CTS at UCM

Credits of engineering in Chile: 300 credits

1 credit means 30 hrs of effective study work

Length of program degree: 5 years

Annual credits: 60 credits

Effective study work: 1800 hours per year

Weeks per year: 36 weeks

Hours of effective study per week: 50 hours The module’s credits have been allocated by the Analytic method in which a Qualitative methodology was applied to consult professors about module importance grade, in time required to achieve the sub competence, after a proportional transformation with the TCS standards were obtained the credits per modules. The module’s position in the curricular matrix was allocated by an heuristic method, taking into account the internal normative, TCS standards and learning progression.

Competence assessment School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS The European qualifications framework (EQF) for lifelong learning is a common European reference system which will link different countries’ national qualifications system and frameworks together. This is a voluntary framework, so there are no formal legal obligations on the countries. The EQF uses 8 reference levels based on learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence. This framework is compatible to Bologna Process.

The National Framework for qualifications and other learning in Finland

A committee appointed by the Ministry of Education has completed its proposal for a National Framework for qualifications and other learning. Preparation of the National Framework is part of the process of relating Finnish qualifications to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). At the same time, another aim of preparing the National Qualifications Framework was to improve the effectiveness and transparency of the Finnish qualifications system.

According to the proposal, the National Framework consists of eight levels, similar to the EQF. The Framework describes the competence required by Finnish qualifications in terms of knowledge, skills and competences based on the EQF level descriptions, while further specifying the EQF level descriptions from a national perspective.

The proposal places Finnish qualifications at the following requirements levels of the National Qualifications Framework:

completion of the basic education syllabus at level 2;

the matriculation examination and completion of the upper secondary syllabus at level 4;

vocational upper secondary qualifications and further vocational qualifications at level 4 and specialist vocational qualifications at level 5 (notwithstanding, an individual vocational qualification may be placed at a higher level in an exceptional case, if the qualification clearly and justifiably has higher requirements than other qualifications of the same type);

university and polytechnic Bachelor’s Degrees at level 6;

university and polytechnic Master’s degrees at level 7;

scientific and artistic postgraduate degrees, such as licentiate and doctoral degrees, at level 8.

Forest Engineer School at UCM In Chile, the qualification framework is in a project level. The Ministry of education (MINEDUC), the technical state agency that relates government with Ministry of labor and Social prevention (SENCE) and CHILECALIFICA program started the project “Building the qualification framework in the lifelong learning system framework” in 2009. This project is programmed to accomplish the main objective in 2014, currently there are some partial outputs related with problems identification, purposes, qualifications levels framework descriptors and qualifications structure.



School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS

University Budget

The University budget framework has two components: 1) A basic budget depending on the number of degree programs and 2) A variable budget, as extra money, if the University demonstrates the realization of research and development projects and international activities.

From Ministry of Education and in the university structure, the indicators affecting the amount of money are:

The proportion of the indicator structure: 15%

Student enrollment: 10%

Effectiveness and quality learning process: 20%

Internationalization:15%

Research and development: 20%

Cooperation to working life and district development: 20%

Every university accomplishes a negotiation with the Educational Ministry each 3 years with a goal control, but every year there is an update meeting.

In UAS the relevant indicators are and their respective goals for 2012 are showed in Table N° 5.

Table N° 5.The SRNR Goals for 2012

Indicator Goal 2012

N° students (FTE)/teachers 16,3

Corp degree/teacher 3,5

Publication/teacher and … () 0,44

Student credit in RD project/N° student 3,3

International exchange period by teach and research (1 week)/N° teacher full time

1,0

How many students have been graduated after 5 years (%)

65

% students with at least 45 credits, per year 61

N° students graduated/N° students graduated+ N° students that stopped their studies

70%

National competing research funding, share of total budget

0,8%

Incomes from services share to total budget 14%

The share of employed people related to total amount of graduated

65%

Statistics data are collected in the school of each degree program and they are processed in a centralized system.

The government program in Educational issues is detailed in the official document “Development program of education and research (2007-2012) of the Education Ministry”. In the appendix there is information about the places available for different sectors for years 2005, 2015 and 2020.

The sector with more places is technological and transportation, because the exportation is focused on this area. Food industry and biotechnology is not increasing. The information technology as Nokia and mining sector is increasing.

In relation to student’s fields professional preferences, statistics information regarding to fields applied in UAS an SU from 2008 , shows that the most popular profession are: Social Care and sport (29,117), Technology (20,843) Transport (17,000), Society sciences and business administration, culture and media, renewable resources and environment (3,421). In the high level education, students can apply to both universities.

Although education is free in Finland, all the students have an amount of months to finish the program degree if they don’t finish it they will lose the free.

Curricular innovation process at OULU UAS

Figure N° 9 shows the New organization for curricular innovation process

Figure N° 9. OULU UAS organization for curricular innovation process

(1) Agreements on resources to carrying of Quality management, evaluation and monitoring (2) New role

Rector’s office (1)

School of vocational teaching education (2)

Vocational college

Pedagogical team Development of teaching group (3)

Additional education

Teaching education

Schools

School Director

Development group (1-2 meetings per term) (4)

Head of DP

Head of students affairs

Head of R&D DP Team

(3-5 students member) (5)

Head of Department

(3) Makes big lines of pedagogical education with lecturers staff and students (4) Develop Program degree, study plans, internal pedagogical in the DP, operational level,

concerning to quality work, give feedback; do some activities and monitoring work information. How students do study? Support needed. Report to School Director

(5) Plan of strategically lines, goals, coordinate projects or development work, managing quality results, reports.

Forest Engineer School at UCM

University Budget High education institutions receive public fund by the following ways: Direct Fiscal support (DFS) Public Funds are available only for Rectors Council of Chilean Universities RCCHU. The amount allocated depends on the number of student’s undergraduate degree programs, academics with Magister and Doctor Grade and research projects that compete for funds and publications. Indirect Fiscal Support (IFS) This fund rewards institutions that enroll the 27,500 students con the higher score in admission test. These students are divided in 5 groups of 5,500 students; the support for 5,500 best students is 12 times higher than the students that are in the places 22,000 and 27,500. IFS was created to promote the quality by stimulating competence to attract the best students.

Grants funds and competitive mechanisms try to improve the undergraduate, graduate and technical quality formation, research and institutional administration. These include the Competitive Fund (CF), Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) and Performance Agreements (PA). All of them are supported by Mundial Bank and Chilean Government under MECESUP program. There are many grants programs, mainly focused to groups of low income. Major part of them requires a minimum academic yield, generally an Admission Test score, and not to frequently media education qualifies. Some of these grants are available only for RCCHU universities and private accredited universities; some are available only for students of municipalized schools or private subsidized schools; and one is specific for High technical education. Maintenance Grants are automatic once the enrolment grant is delivered. These grants consist in feeding bonus and subsistence money. However, these grants only cover between 63% and 70% tariff real cost thus the students have to get loans. There are two loans programs guaranteed by the state, one of them is only for RCCHU; both require a minimum Admission Score; and a new program through the students can obtain private bank loans. The Chilean Education Ministry has implemented a tariff reference methodology for RCCHU universities and private universities accredited. The methodology for 2010 is described as follow:

1. Group’s configuration

To group universities in 4 groups according to the institutional indicators outputs (academics and teaching efficiency). The institutional indicators consider two areas, academic and teaching. Academic indicators

N° of equivalent full time (EFT) (hours allocated/44) with magister and doctorate (magister=1/3 doctor)/ pre grade students. Indicator’s weight: 18%.

N° of FONDECYT and FONDEF projects/EFT with magister and doctorate. Indicator’s weight: 21%.

N° of ISI and Scielo (Scielo=1/3 ISI) publications/EFT with magister and doctorate. Indicator’s weight: 21%.

Teaching efficiency indictors

Opportune title rate in pre grade: Percentage (%) of the students that started in t and are titled in t+d, with d: theoretical program degree duration. Proxy: N° pre grade titled in 2005, 2006 and 2007/matriculated in first year 2000, 2001 and 2002. Further, to correct distortions, will be used the average indicator for the 3 years mentioned. Indicator’s weight: 20%.

Retention rate in the first year: Percentage (%) of students that started in year t-1 and that continue in the degree program in year t. Formula: N° of 1st year students in 2006/ N° students in 2007 that stated in 2006. Indicator’s weight: 20%.

All the data are standardized. Furthermore, will be considered upper and lower boundaries in title and retention indicators, corresponding to +/- 1,96 of standard deviation. For the grouping process, it will be considered only one chart for all the universities private and publics.

2. Criteria for definition tariff per program degree Grouping all the program degree in academic offer for the next process (2010).For the grouping will be considered the criteria of similar names and formal duration (range of one year). In each group, for a particular program degree, reference tariff shall govern as:

The reference tariff of the University that had been accredited for more years, according to the accreditation years informed by NAC Chile in December 2009.

In the case of equal accredited years, shall govern the low value, that can’t be lower to the average reference tariff of the group for each degree program. Therefore, when the value is lower than the average, it will be assumed the media value of the universities group’s reference tariff.

The situation for the reference tariff that is over and under the reference tariff of the group will be:

The tariff that governs in the group is indexed according the adjustment of public sector pay.

The tariff that is over the reference will be frozen nominally until it converges with the reference group.

The tariffs that are under the reference will converge; throughout an adjustment more than the reference level, only if:

The improving of the 3 academic (10% of the adjustment of sector public pay)

The improving of both teaching efficiency indictors (10% of the adjustment of sector public pay). In both cases, will be used, the reference tariffs adjustment used for the tariff definition in 2009.

Equally, the adjustment of tariffs that are under the tariff of the group will be less to the public sector pay index if the mentioned indicators are getting worst.

The inflator informed is of 4.5% for adjust the reference tariff (correspondent to the adjustment public sector pay) In relation to the study fields, the largest number of enrolments is in Technology, education, Social Sciences and Health. Table N°6 and Table N°7 show the High education enrolment per study field in 2007 and 2008.

Table N°6. High Education Enrolment per study field 2007 (mil)

Study Field Universities % Professional

Institutes %

Technical professional

Centre % Total %

Business and administration

49,103 11 22,292 17 23,201 29 94,596 14

Agriculture and fishing

26,893 6 3,305 2 3,103 4 33,301 5

Art and Architecture

30,370 7 16,637 13 2,141 3 49,148 7

Sciences 14,802 3 272 0 738 1 15,812 2

Social Science

52,479 12 10,201 8 1,014 1 63,694 10

Law 32,851 7 7,382 6 6,932 9 47,165 7

Education 79,936 18 14,825 11 4,360 6 99,121 15

Humanities 9,234 2 1,116 1 339 0 10,689 2

Health 70,590 16 10,878 8 15,330 19 96,798 15

Technology 82,355 18 46,170 35 21,668 27 150,193 23

Total 448,613 100 133,078 100 78,826 100 660,517 100

Source High education Council, Index 2008

Table N°7. High Education Enrolment per study field 2008 (mil)

Study Field Universities % Professional

Institutes %

Technical professional

Centre % Total %

Business and administration

31,909 6 32,926 20 29,362 31 94,197 12

Agriculture and fishing

21,253 4 3,311 2 2,557 3 27,121 4

Art and Architecture

29,171 6 18,119 11 2,131 2 49,421 6

Sciences 11,268 2 24 0

0 11,292 1

Social Science

86,797 17 17,680 11 1,323 1 105,800 14

Law 35,807 7 4,429 3 6,710 7 46,946 6

Education 91,938 18 14,273 9 5,348 6 111,559 15

Humanities 8,873 2 1,857 1 441 0 11,171 1

Health 80,820 16 16,319 10 19,,444 20 116,583 15

Technology 111,328 22 53,910 33 28575 30 193,813 25

No defined 948 0

948 0

Total 510,112 100 162,848 100 95,891 100 767,903 100

Source High education Council, Index 2008

Curricular innovation process at UCM

The Figure N° 10 shows the current organization for CI. Figure N°10. Organization for Curricular Innovation at UCM

Research and training

Direction

Post graduate Direction.

Library systems Direction

Management and Finance Vice Rector

Academic Vice Rector

RECTOR

Planning and development Dpt.

Linking Dpt.

Quality assurance Dpt.

Campus Curicó Dir.

Gral. Students affairs

Dir.

Communication and public relations Dpt.

Evaluation and Academic promotion Committee

Council Faculty

Faculty of Agricultural and Forest Sciences

Forest Engineer School Curricular

Committee

Agricultural Engineer School Curricular

Committee

Functional relation

Teaching Direction


Performance Gap

Undergraduate profile definition In this process FSS UCM has a positive GAP in terms of profile description, competences, sub competences, expected performances and realizations. Both schools have obtained the professional profile from the workplace by an external consultation process. With respect to a new career, the SRNR has focused its effort in a renewing process of the traditional degree programs, so they will not increase the number of degree programs at the School. Whereas that DFS is developing a new degree program related with the current curricular innovation of FE degree program, this task has been postponed until the accreditation output from NAC. Curricular structure design There is parity in this design process, in relation to the general curricular structure; nevertheless FSS UCM is ahead in the curricular matrix for Forest engineer degree program. Both schools are working with the transferable credit with their respective Country’s standards. Organization for Curricular Innovation UCM has a positive GAP in this scope, with 5 years of experience in curricular innovation process. The organization for this process was formalized in 2008 with the creation of the curricular committee by School as a functional temporal structure. In SRNR OULU UAS case, the organization for CI was created in 2010, so they are starting the process. The FES is ahead in curricular innovation process, the current task is to plan the teaching implementation with learning situation suited to competences achievement and the design of mechanisms and instruments to assess competences and the CI process.



Despite this positive GAP in organization for CI, the current organization in OULU University is more complete in functional relations than in UCM organization, this advantage would allow to carry out all the steps of the CI with more integration and fluidity. On the other hand, the European

qualifications framework (EQF) for lifelong learning, compatible to Bologna Process, is a powerful tool to the curricular innovation. FES has undergone to the third Auto evaluation and accreditation process, the weaknesses founded in this process and recognized by the external auditors, require of the identification of the functional relations with all the universities units that will support the implementation and evaluation stages of the process, inasmuch as this stages demand a formal mechanisms to professor training in competence learning, a validate competences evaluation system and an institutional system to evaluate de CI process. Parts of these tasks are committed in Action plan of Accreditation report and they must be developed within 3 years.

Process: Quality of education

Current practice

School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS QA system in SRNR

At SRNS QA system is applied to the following processes:

Strategic management

Teaching and learning (T&L)

Research and development (R&D)

Supporting processes: library, networks, and data The organizational Structure in SRNR has two authorities:

Head of teaching and learning (T&L) in the school: Mrs. Paula Syri

Head of R&D in the school: Dr. Jukka Tikkanen

T&L Quality In the T&L process every step of Deming cycle has its own timetable plan, in which are defined the activities and internal processes. The implementation considers a schedule for each degree program’s year, so there are four schedules for one degree program. The schedule is disaggregated in a month program and continues with a week program originating a weekly timetable. The plan starts on January with the feedback from the degree programs teams, these teams are conformed by lecturers and students. In this groups the discussion is regarding the T&L quality every second month, it is compulsory for all degree programs.

All the changes from the Deming Circle are informed to the Rector’s office through a preliminary plan with change suggestions; the final decision maker is the Rector.

Some examples of the improvements from Deming cycle are the position change of the practical training from the spring to autumn and a course division in two courses.

By this way, every year is possible to have changes in curricular matrix and structure as of position changes or even more, the number of courses and length. The matrix structure has courses with different length and time in the academic year.

In the scope of lecturer’s workload, there is an individual annual programming of 1.600 hours. The activities are planned with the Department Head and for the courses are used a factor of 2 for real time (depends on lecturer responsibility).

The new instructions to build courses programming consider the following elements:

Contents

Timetable, detailed in blackboard (contents manager)

Requirements of course (what do the students have to do for the course? different kind of tasks)

Grading scale (1-5)

Advice of the grading

Literature

Contacts Auditory In the checking stage, the auditory is mainly a discussion process with students and lecturers, based on interviews and documentation. The quantitative information tool in this stage is the intranet on line statistics system. In the Act stage the main tool used to make the changes is Balance Score Cards.

For example, the statistics system informs for 2009 that in the SRNR, 39% of the students pass the courses and the desertion rate is 11.9%, meanwhile the University desertion rate is 10.7%. The team has to explain these results and design measures to improve them. In the case of desertion they have found that their students not only come from farms but also to the city, so this last don’t know too much in relation about the degree program. In relation to applicants per place they had a rate of 2.7 applicants per place, so for 65 places in 2010 there were 150 applicants. Forest Engineer School at UCM

In recent years, UCM has developed different actions to implement a support structure to the processes of quality management. Thus, in 2007 was established the Council of Institutional Quality, and in 2008, was enacted a Policy of Quality Assurance, which provides a quality concept to be applied to all the university fields of action.

This Policy incorporates the concepts of institutional quality and promotes the creation of a Quality Management Model (QMM), which must be implemented in all academic and administrative processes to achieve the vocation of service at the highest level, since that the current Higher Education Institutions requirements, in a globalized and competitive society, poses increasing challenges for the services it offers, and the aim of achieving self-regulation in all university

activities, as well. Consequently in 2010 has been approved the UCM Quality Management System (QMS-UCM), which fundament is the users-internal and external- requirements satisfaction. In this context, until this year the Quality assurance at UCM has been carried out through the Institutional and Degree program accreditation by the National Accreditation Commission. Currently, UCM has been accredited by a period of 5 years and FE degree program is going on its third accreditation process.



University Quality assurance system School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS OULU University has a quality assurance system based on Deming Circle methodology. This methodology is applied to the main processes at University. One relevant feature is that OULU UAS doesn´t consider the infrastructure management process in the quality system because it belongs to the municipality. In terms of Teaching and learning, each school has a different process depending on their own features. One of the main problem in the free education, is that the students can change of degree program easily because they don´t pay for their studies. The mean desertion rate at the University is not low (10.7%) and in the SRNR it is over the University mean (11.9%). There is a very good system to collect information and to obtain the statistics of the main effectiveness indicators, this system started in the school with the student’s information and after that is processed by a centralized system. There is a specific intranet tool for the Quality system which contains the documentation, the calendar of activities and the responsible of every process. This tool allows to control the Quality system and to appropriate the quality culture by the staff. Forest Engineer School at UCM There is not a Quality assurance system currently operating at FES, DFS and at UCM. There is an intranet system -SINAI- available only for the School Director, Department Director and Faculty Dean, with different privileges, associated with their functions and responsibilities. This system is still in a probe phase and need to be improved in terms of the data and updating.

National Quality assurance of HEI School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS There is not a specific system of degree program accreditation in Finland. The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC) audits the QA systems of HEIs and the auditing targets are focused on QA system: Target 1. Definition of the objectives, functions, actors and responsibilities of the HEI’s QA system

and relevant information. Target 2. The comprehensiveness and efficiency of QA procedures and structures related to HEI’s

basic mission Target 3.Interface between QA system and HEI’s management and steering of operations Target 4. Participation of HEI staff and external stakeholders in QA Target 5. Relevance of, and access to, the information generated by QA system Target 6. Monitoring, evaluation and continuous development of QA system Target 7. QA system as a whole OULU University will be evaluated by FINHEEC in 2011, because the calendar system and the audits are done every six years. Forest Engineer School at UCM The FES has submitted its degree program to the National accreditation system in three times, the first accreditation process was in 2004 with a result of two years accreditation, the second in 2006 with a result of two years accreditation again, and the last process is being conducted during this year. The process review three dimension and nine criteria: Dimension 1. Undergraduate profile and output Criteria

Undergraduate profile formulation

Curricular structure

Effectiveness of Teaching and Learning process and results of formation process

Linking with external environment Dimension 2. Minimal operation conditions

Organizational structure

Human resources

Effectiveness of T&L process

Infrastructure and resources to learning Dimension 3. Self-regulating capacity

Purposes

Integrity

Report and process of auto evaluation process



FINHEEC-FINLAD Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC) implements the audits of the quality assurance (QA) systems of the higher education institutions (HEIs) in line with the Bologna process. The Finnish HEI system is fairly ‘mature’ by European standards, and therefore auditing is a suitable procedure for the evaluation of QA in Finland. Operating on the basis of respective legislation, FINHEEC has been mainly in charge of the external evaluation of HEIs in Finland. The task of FINHEEC is to assist the HEIs and the Ministry in evaluation-related issues and to organize the HEI evaluations. If they wish, the HEIs can also participate in evaluations organized by other parties. Scientific research is evaluated by the Academy of Finland. The auditing of QA systems is one of the evaluations performed by FINHEEC. The audit operations have been developed not only to support the quality work at the HEIs but also to demonstrate that Finland has competent and coherent national quality assurance in place at the level of HEIs. In the Finnish audit model, the HEI can decide on its own QA system, and FINHEEC evaluates its performance. Another benefit of auditing is that it contributes to the enhancement-led evaluation principle adopted by FINHEEC, also recognized by the HEIs as a procedure that supports their own work and autonomy. The HEIs remain responsible for the quality of their own operations. This audit model was developed in 2005–2007, and the QA systems of 12 HEIs were audited during this period. The HEIs and FINHEEC have agreed on an overall timetable, and each university and polytechnic will undergo an audit by the end of 2011. The national quality assurance of higher education has three components: national higher education policy, the HEIs’ own quality assurance and national auditing. The Ministry of Education is in charge of steering the national higher education policy. In practice, the national steering by the Ministry of Education materializes in the triennial agreements on objectives and performance negotiated between the Ministry and each HEI. In line with the principle of the autonomy of HEIs, the Finnish system starts with the premise that the HEIs are ultimately responsible for the quality of their own education and other operations. Each HEI can set up a QA system that best suits its own needs. Thus the HEI is responsible for the special QA objectives and methods as well as for their development.

Based on the audit targets and criteria, the audit group appraises the fitness for purpose and performance of the QA system, issuing recommendations for its improvement and highlighting best practices. The audit group issues an appraisal of the development stage of the QA system by each audit target, using this criteria to make a proposal to FINHEEC as to whether the HEI passes the audit or whether a re-audit is needed. The audit group can propose that the HEI passes the audit if all audit targets meet the minimum criteria of an “emerging” system, and that the QA system as a whole (audit target 7) is at least “developing”. On the basis of the proposal of the audit group, FINHEEC will decide whether the HEI’s QA system passes the audit or whether a re-audit is needed. Further, FINHEEC may decide to deviate from the proposal of the audit group. If a re-audit of the HEI’s QA is required, it will take place in about two years from the audit proper, and it will focus especially on the improvement proposals made. FINHEEC maintains a register of HEIs that have undergone an audit on its website. FINHEEC issues an audit certificate to the HEIs passing the audit. The audit of the HEI’s QA system is repeated every six year. School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS The QA system adopted by OULU UAS is based in Deming Circle, a continuous quality improvement model consisting of a logical sequence of four repetitive steps for continuous improvement and learning: Plan, Do, Study (check) and Act.

The QA system is an Academic Vice Rector responsibility and it means his main job in the three years period charge. Currently, in 2010, the work is focused into prepare the organization for the next year in Quality policy knowledge and check the daily work.

The detecting processes are: 1) Education and learning 2) Research and development

There is a robust framework to develop the system in which are clearly identified the objectives, components, the activities of each process, the agenda, the working group and the responsible. All the system information is available in the intranet.

Some tools used in this system are Balance Score Card, Check and Doing things, and EQS, Check and Doing things in a right way. As opinion of Vice Rector, ISO 9000 is a better tool than Score Balance Card, because it is systematic. The system implementation has two levels, the general level is the same for all the schools, and the other specific level follows the internal working instructions. It is difficult to set up the limit between the levels. The model implementation requires the feedback of each detecting process, the information is communicated to the staff and after a critical analysis the staff decides what to do. People must know the process, rules, and the feedback cover and must know the influence level of each participant.

There is an internal inspection which purpose is to be prepared for the external audit. Every second year the internal inspection check some process, for this purposes there are 70 persons trained (3 days of training). This people guide every school internal Committee. The Committee is integrated by: Students, staff, Director and stakeholders. The Committee collects the feedback and after a few days delivers a report.

NAC-CHILE In Chile, National Quality Assurance in Higher Education is guided by the National Accreditation Commission (NAC-Chile), a public, autonomous institution, whose function is to verify and improve the quality of the Universities, Professional Institutes and autonomous Technical Training Centre, and the courses and programs they offer. The NAC is part of the Law on Quality Assurance in Higher Education N° 20,129, promulgated by the President of the Republic in October 2006 and published in the Official Journal on 17 November of that year. The functions of the NAC-Chile incumbent undertake the following:

Institutional Accreditation: decide on the institutional accreditation of universities, professional institutes and autonomous technical training institutions.

Authorization of accrediting agencies: is the work of the Commission to rule on applications for authorization to submit the agencies responsible for accreditation of courses and undergraduate programs, master's programs and specialty programs in the area of health and supervise its operation.

Accreditation of undergraduate and graduate programs: decide on the accreditation of undergraduate programs of autonomous institutions, in the case that there is no agency authorized to accredit vocational / technical or undergraduate programs in a particular area of knowledge. This last, if is required by a higher education institution.

There are the following accreditation processes independent of each other: institutional accreditation, the accreditation of courses, accreditation of graduate programs and health area specialties. Institutional accreditation certifies compliance with the project of the institution and the existence, implementation and results of self-regulation mechanisms and quality assurance, within them. The degree programs accreditation certifies the quality programs based on their stated purposes and criteria set by the respective academic and professional communities. The number of years of accreditation is given in accordance with the level of compliance with the evaluation criteria and purposes of the institutions or programs. After the deadline, the institutions may repeat the process in order to qualify for a further period of accreditation. The accreditation years by HEI are as follow:

Institutional accreditation, up to 7 years.

Accreditation of courses, up to 7 years.

Accreditation of graduate programs, up to 10 years.

The accreditation is a voluntary process in which the autonomous HEIs undergo, as well as undergraduate, graduate programs and health area specialties that they teach, to have a quality certification of its internal processes and results. In the case of medicine and pedagogy degree programs, accreditation is compulsory, as established by Law 20,129. When an institution, degree program or career is accredited, gets a NAC-Chile certification on the implementation of its mechanisms of quality assurance and results. In addition, new students of accredited institutions may qualify for state funding or resources with state guarantee to finance their studies. In the case of accredited graduate programs, students will be eligible for funding from state-funded scholarships. Forest Engineer School at UCM The QMS-UCM is based on the requirements of Law 20,129, the International Standards of Quality Assurance on university processes, the interaction between them and with special attention the users perception about the services generated by the UCM, which enables the continuous improvement. The necessary steps to implement the QMS-are:

i. Acknowledge and embrace the organization. ii. Identify all University (Academic and Administrative).processes iii. Determine the sequence and interaction of processes. iv. Determine criteria and methods to ensure effectiveness. v. Ensure of resources availability and information. vi. Monitoring vii. Actions implementation to achieve goals and continuous improvement

The Quality Management Model (QMM) considers the external environment from which is obtained the quality requirements to be satisfied, and the internal environment with four components, the High Direction Responsibility, Resource Management, UCM Processes, Measurement, Analysis and Improvement. Figure N°11 shows the QMM.

Figure N°11 .Quality management model at UCM

Requirements

Satisfaction

External

environment

High Direction

Responsabiliy

Resources

management

Measurement, analysis

and improvement

External

environment

UCM

ProfessionalsStudents

Quality Management Model

UCM Processes- T&L

-Research

-Institucional Management

-Linking with external

environment

Source: Assurance Quality Head. In the framework of UCM organizational structure, Rector’s Office will define the responsibilities and authorities within the University and will communicate it to all the organization. The general processes map sets up the relations between the central processes, the support process, the QM process and the external environment.


Performance Gap

There is a negative Gap in UCM Quality Assurance system in terms of current implementation. Some relevant aspects of the QAS observed at OULU SRNR are:

The academic plan of every year is planned with the results of the evaluation stage of Deming circle, so it is possible to make some changes with the Rector’s office approbation.

In the teaching and learning process there are teams of quality management formed by lecturers and students; it is a good way to keep the students informed about the processes at the University and to keep a quality culture.

There is a good system of internationalization and practical training.

Intranet is a good tool to assure that all the staff has access to the information.

UAS of Oulu has an environmental strategy plan. The SNR has an ISO 14001 certification

and is ahead in this area.

Although UAS of Oulu doesn’t manage infrastructure it has very good facilities to develop the universities activities. The SNR have a good library, study spaces, dorms, laboratories, gym and auditoriums.

There is a positive Gap in UCM Quality Assurance system in terms of system design. UCM QAS is based on the user’s satisfaction and all the institutional processes are connected with a processes map, this design provides a clear interaction between the processes in order to achieve user’s satisfaction. OULU QAS in teaching process doesn’t have a close relation with the school global indicators; it is not feasible to make a direct relation between the actions and the outcomes.



It is expected to implement the Quality Assurance System at the Forest School and Forest Sciences Department during 2011 for the following processes:

- Teaching and Learning - Research - Linking with external environment

To improve intranet tool by implementing T&L control and evaluation. To develop the basis to support the student’s mobility, starting with diagnostic of their general situation during 2011.

Process: Strategic Plan

Current practice

School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS Bearing to OSEKK´s objective The main OSEKK requirement to the SRNR is to response to the working life vision and objectives in terms of numbers of students and future professionals.

This requirement implies an increase in degree program structure changes, ending horticulture and focusing in bioeconomic and green degree programs. The next year 2011, the SRNR will begin the study of the need to launch a sustainable development degree program. One proposed action for this requirement is to deep the cooperation with technical and business schools at OULU UAS and with vocational school by offering courses to them. In the case of vocational schools the main motivation of this action is to learn about the students and to promote to continue the follow step in SRNR. Environmental impact and friendlessness The SRNR have to continue with SGA and lead the sustainable development of OULU UAS Bearing to Ministry of Education’s objective Steering by money indicators: The SRNR put its own objective in most valuable areas, some of them are:

Degree/ lecturer

Publication/N° of teachers (1.5)

Amount of credit units connected to RD projects/N° students

Mobility

N° students finishing studies in 5 years (50%)

N° of students with at least 45 credits a year

Percentage of students will finalize studies in 5 years.

Percentage of students will do more than 45 credits per year (56%)

Percentage of students will finalize a particular course next year. In the case of managing planning course (10 credits) lecturer promised that 80% of students will finalize the course.

Percentage of research founding from outside,

Short courses, developing projects.

Student employment rate of students after studies Currently, the SRNR has not achieved 3 goals and they are under OULU UAS mean. Bearing action approved together with University leader, Rector, Vice Rectors, Department Heads, etc. The SRNR has proposed a list of actions for accomplish the goals:

Cooperation between technical schools. Improve the cooperation and negotiation.

Network knowledge. Create a network of knowledge in order to have a continuous technological transfer

Internationalization. Prioritize partners, select 1 to 3 most important and make deep cooperation in joint degree programs.

The objectives to fulfill the new OULU UAS strategy are centered in four focus areas:

1. Internet. ID base innovation and services (technological development) 2. Sustainable production, environment and energy solution

3. New solution in health care 4. Contents of culture

Economic situation of the SRNR The main problem at the school is. How to maintain students in a good balance in relation to annually increasing internal rent of facilities.. The desertion rate is high compared with the University mean so they need a concrete plan to deal with it. The proposed plan is focused in: Teaching and curriculum renewing, Teaching and R&D in practice and handle a Total Quality Management System R&D funding at OULU UAS comes in 80% from EU and Finnish state and the 20% left comes from own investment. The R&D project budgets don´t have a royalty item the royalty is considered indirectly applied in the University costs. Rector’s office has One million of EU to support school projects.

Forest Engineer School at UCM Faculty Strategic Plan (2009-2013) was approved in 2010 and states the following strategic axes and prioritization:

Development and consolidation of under graduate programs (1)

Post graduate development (3)

Research development and pertinence (2)

Strengthens of linking (4)

Culture development based on excellence management (5) For these strategic axes it has been defined 35 strategic objectives, with their respective indicators. In this context, Forest Sciences Department Strategic Plan (2009-2013) is focused on its proper strategic objectives, according with the Faculty strategic axes prioritization. Table N°6. Strategic Objectives and main goals for FSD

Strategic Objectives Main Goals

Improving Teaching Competency and Educational Management

• Teachers trained to teach by competences

• Work with a Teaching management system

Strengthening links with external agencies to support teaching, research and services

• To relate the department with the academic environment steadily

• To have a wide network of permanent links

Improve and manage the growing infrastructure and capacity for Research and Service Delivery

• Improve and increase the growing infrastructure of laboratories

• Improve infrastructure management

• Improve infrastructure facilities

Achieving Sustainability of the academic activities of FSD in the Medium Term

• Increase income



School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS At the school level there is an Action plan that responds to the objectives of two estates: OSEKK and Ministry of Education. The goals per objectives are expressed by indicators measures. The total numbers of indicators goals committed are only 9 and there is a list of actions to accomplish the goals. Forest Engineer School at UCM The Faculty of Agricultural and Forest Sciences has a Strategic Plan with 5 strategic axes and 35 strategic objectives with 21 indicators. FSD has an Action plan with four specifics strategic objectives with their respective goals.



School of Renewable Natural Resources at OULU UAS At school level, the Action plan meets the strategic objectives of OULU UAS. Forest Engineer School at UCM The Strategic plan at the Faculty was developed in two steps:

1. Initial internal work. A debate process and group work on the strategic axes with the guidance and support of an external assessor. Revision of relevant internal and external information.

2. External work. Interviews and focus groups with entrepreneurs, public authorities, ex students and university administrative personal.

3. SWOT definition 4. Strategic Plan. Mission and vision definition and development of strategic Axes in the

Faculty. 5. Council Faculty revision and approbation 6. External validation with the support of the Planning and Development Direction.


Performance Gap

UCM has a negative Gap in the indicator’s goals definition. Although UCM and Faculty strategic plans have defined strategic objectives, the indicators formulation and the associated projects, there are not goals expressed by indicator measures. This lack of information will not allow the annual projects evaluation in terms of objectives measures.



At Department level will be defined the indicators measures associated to the current goals during the current academic year.

Proposal of functional Goals and action at UCM As a result s of the visit and the functional benchmarking analysis, the proposed actions to be implemented at UCM are: Study units

To develop a standard planning framework with the relevant information required for the quality control model.

To formulate a linking project as “Innomajakka project”, suitable to the regional requirements in order to encourage professors to develop projects with the workplace.

To develop an internal Teaching evaluation tool.

Quality education

To develop a computational system to support the Teaching and learning process Quality Assurance. The system must include the planning process, the execution, control and the final evaluation.

To design the evaluation module process and implement it on January.

To build the competence descriptors for the grading scale.

To implement the QAS in the DFS and improve the intranet system with a calendar activities services.

Since there is no such a Guidance System in HEI’s in Chile, it is not compulsory to implement it in FES, thus is necessary to create an internal politic to support this kind of system to be recognized by the professors.

Strategic Plan

To identify the relevant indicators from Faculty Strategic Plan that can be applied in the Action plan of FSD and define their goal measures.

To develop some initiatives to increase the number of students in FE degree program as special courses in technical schools.

Proposal of joint collaboration As a result of the Benchmarking analysis it is possible to identify the following areas of the international cooperation with OULU UAS:

Research and development projects in Biotechnology, Bioenergy, technological transfer and Rural Development subjects. The common interest projects could be:

o Biotechnology to solve RNR problems as Biodiversity conservation of Templates Forest and their ecosystem and resources sustainable use.

o Bioenergy and biodiesel production. o Extension and technological transfer. A network analysis o Rural Development and sustainability

Pedagogical activities in the new degree program and Intensive Courses in current program degree. In this area it is possible to define:

o A set of common pedagogical activities in the new curriculum in order to have a joint degree.

o Two Intensive courses into the current program degree and plan the implementation

Curricular innovation and anew degree program. In this area it is possible to develop: o A design of a standard framework plan for the pedagogical activities in the CI by

competences o A similar curricular structure of a new degree program.

References FHEEC, 2007. Audits of Quality Assurance Systems of Finnish Higher Education Institutions. MINEDUC, 2010. http://www.divesup.cl/ NAC, 2010. http://www.cnachile.cl/ OCDE /BIRF, 2009. La Educación Superior en Chile. Tikkanen, Jukka. 2009. Report about the Visit of Dr. Jukka Tikkanen, Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OUAS, Finland) to Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM). Zhu, Joe. 2003. Quantitative models for performance and benchmarking: data envelopment analysis with spreadsheets and DEA Excel Solver. Boston: Kluwer Academic. Finnish National Board of Education. http://www.oph.fi/mobility/qualifications_frameworks

http://www.divesup.cl/

http://www.cnachile.cl/

http://www.oph.fi/mobility/qualifications_frameworks

ANNEX 1

Fact sheet

September 1st 2010 Annual data 2009

a Historical averages (%) 2005-09

Population (m) 5.3 Population growth 0.4 GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate) 238.6

b Real GDP growth 1.0

GDP (US$ bn; purchasing power parity) 177.4 Real domestic demand growth 1.3 GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) 44,807 Inflation 1.8 GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) 33,313 Current-account balance (% of GDP) 3.4 Exchange rate (av) €:US$ 0.7

b FDI inflows (% of GDP) 2.2

a Economist Intelligence Unit estimates.

b Actual.

Background: Finland has been an independent republic since 1917. Although its language is different, its social and legal system is similar to that of other Nordic countries. There are three main political parties, the Centre Party (KESK, formerly the Agrarians), the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK), as well as the Left Alliance (VAS), the Swedish People's Party (RKP) and the Greens. Finland has been non-aligned since the second world war, but joined the EU in 1995. Its currency has been the euro since 1999. It is an active member of the UN and its peacekeeping activities.

Political structure: The head of state is the president, who is elected for a six-year term in a two-round popular ballot. The parliament (Eduskunta) is elected by citizens aged over 18 and has 200 members, who serve for four years. The next election is due in March 2011. The present coalition government consists of the KESK, KOK, the Greens and the RKP, led by a KESK prime minister, Matti Vanhanen, until June 2010 and, since then, Mari Kiviniemi.

Policy issues: In the short term, policy will remain focused on supporting the weak economy. Over the longer term, the government's main economic policy priorities are energy and environmental policy, entrepreneurship and employment, an overhaul of Finland's municipal and public services structure, and reforming social benefits. Among the main foreign policy issues are continued integration with the EU, closer relations with NATO and maintaining reasonably good relations with Russia.

Taxation: Corporation tax is uniform for all types of corporate income, including sales profits, interest income, dividends, royalties and rental income; it was reduced from 29% to 26% in 2005. The standard rate of value-added tax (VAT) was raised from 22% to 23% in July 2010. The top rate of personal income tax is about 50% (with slight variations according to locality). The rate of tax payable on capital gains is 26% for companies and 28% for individuals.

Foreign trade: Exports and imports accounted for 36% and 33% of GDP respectively in 2009. The EU remains Finland's most important trading zone. The current-account surplus totalled €2.3bn (US$3.4bn) in 2009 (equivalent to 1.4% of GDP).

Major exports 2009 % of total Major imports 2009 % of total Machinery, transport equipment 40.4 Machinery, transport equipment 32.1 Basic manufactures 28.1 Mineral fuels etc 16.8

Chemicals & related products 10.2 Basic manufactures 12.0 Mineral fuels etc 6.4 Chemicals & related products 11.7 Main destinations of exports 2009 % of total Main origins of imports 2009 % of total Germany 10.3 Russia 16.2 Sweden 9.8 Germany 14.6 Russia 9.0 Sweden 10.0 US 7.8 China 7.9 EU 55.6 EU 56.4

Chile: Country fact sheet 7 April 2010 Economist Intelligence Unit - ViewsWire EIUCP (C) 2010 The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd.

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Annual data 2009(a) Historical averages (%) 2005-09 Population (m) 16.9 Population growth 1.0 GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate) 163.3 Real GDP growth 3.4 GDP (US$ bn; purchasing power parity) 243.7 Real domestic demand growth 5.1 GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) 9,647 Inflation 4.2 GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) 14,398 Current-account balance (% of GDP) 2.4 Exchange rate (av) Ps:US$ 560.9 FDI inflows (% of GDP) 7.2 (a) Actual.

Background: In a 1988 referendum, mandated under the 1980 constitution, the then military ruler, Augusto Pinochet, failed to obtain the majority that would have enabled him to remain in office for a further eight years. Democratic presidential and congressional elections were held in December 1989, when the candidate of the centre-left coalition, Concertacion de Partidos por la Democracia (Concertacion), Patricio Aylwin, was elected president for four years. Concertacion candidates won four subsequent presidential elections, but splits in the ruling coalition and a gradual realignment of political forces after 20 years of Concertacion rule helped produce a victory for Sebastian Pinera of the centre-right Coalicion por el Cambio coalition in the second-round presidential election held in January 2010. He takes office in March 2010.

Political structure: The political system is presidential, with a bicameral legislature that comprises a 38-seat Senate (the upper house) and a 120-seat Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). The constitutional presidential term is four years and immediate re-election is not allowed. The judiciary is nominally independent, but in practice the executive exerts influence through the nomination of temporary judges and the control of promotions to the Supreme Court. Monetary policy is in the hands of an autonomous Central Bank. Chile has 13 regions, 51 provinces, and 343 municipalities.

Policy issues: Organising reconstruction following a massive earthquake in February 2010 will dominate the Pinera government's agenda. Policy differences between the two major coalitions tend to be a matter of degree, rather than substance. The most heated differences centre on the labour regime and the electoral system. Reform is under way to improve the transparency and efficiency of the civil service. The public healthcare and education systems have received

substantial additional resources since 1990, with good improvement in healthcare, but only modest improvements in education, which remains a weakness.

Taxation: Corporate income tax is paid in two stages. Declared profit is subject to a 17% first-category income tax (FCIT). When profit is distributed to shareholders or partners, companies pay 35%, minus the FCIT credit. Tax on dividends and interest payments to non-banks is levied at 35%. Royalties and fees transferred abroad are subject to a withholding tax of 20%. The value-added tax (VAT) rate is 19%.

Foreign trade: Chile's general import tariff rate is 6%, but its trade-weighted effective average tariff rate is below 2%, owing to tariff preferences granted through trade accords, most importantly free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the EU, the US, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, China and Japan. In 2009 exports were an estimated US$52.1bn and imports US$39.7bn.

Major exports 2008% of total Major imports 2008% of total Copper 49.4 Intermediate goods 57.7 Cellulose 5.0 Consumer goods 18.8 Fresh fruit 5.0 Capital goods 14.9 Leading markets 2008 % of total Leading suppliers 2008 % of total China 14.8 US 17.3 US 11.8 China 10.8 Japan 10.7 Brazil 8.4 Brazil 6.2 Argentina 7.9

Diagram Flow Process, tools and documents for professional profile formulation

Surveys and interview to workplace representatives

Curricular Conference. Professional profile validation workshop

Professional profile validation

Fundamental Information

Workplace referent Formulation

Workplace referent

Workplace referent Analysis and professional profile

formulation

Professional profile Competences professional silvo agricultural and livestock sector for the next ten years

Yes

No

Figure N°8 . Diagram Flow Process for module identification and curricular activities

Proffesional profile

Orientations

Lineaments

Institucional National and

international

Orientations

Educational

perspectives

Graduated profile formulation • Orientations to formulate graduated profile

components

• Graduated Professional Formative Project

at UCM • Professional work area

• Competences

• Competences units: work with value

and significance in workplace

• Realizations

Professional formation Plan

Graduated profile

formulation

General formation Plan

Gradated profile formulation

Disciplinary Formation Plan

Graduated profile

formulation

• Competences

• Competences units

• Realizations

• Competences

• Competences units

• Realizations

Professional modules identification:

Formation associated to Competences units

Realization Formulation. Conditions

Established educative conditions

Accreditation conditions