Finnish Universities (XAMK etc.) (incl. CS/IT courses!)

[jamshid666]

However! Today I found a way around this!!!   XAMK is part of a network (HAKA) of universities that all use the same user sign-on. Meaning if you register for a course at XAMK and have the lovely folks set you up a Finnish student ID, you can use that same user ID at the other Finnish universities that are part of HAKA too.

Thanks for the info Sarahmac! Have you documented the process on who we would need to contact at XAMK to request the Finnish student ID? This sounds like something that should be added to the DegreeForum Wiki so it doesn't get buried under all these other threads.

[rachel83az]

The Finnish student ID is what you get when you register with XAMK to take any of their courses. So you take one XAMK course, it opens up the other HAKA universities for you.

[jamshid666]

The Finnish student ID is what you get when you register with XAMK to take any of their courses. So you take one XAMK course, it opens up the other HAKA universities for you.

Awesome! Thank you!

[jamshid666]

OK, based solely on this thread, I went and registered for XAMK's video game creation course. I already finished the first module and earned my first ECTS. Does this mean I can declare myself as an international scholar now?

[rachel83az]

I have updated XAMK's wiki page to clarify how the process works. The video game creation course is valid for ECTS but it doesn't grant you access to Peppi or Learn and, thus, no access to HAKA either. If you want to take a course elsewhere, you'll first need to sign up for another course at XAMK.

[asianphd]

OK, based solely on this thread, I went and registered for XAMK's video game creation course. I already finished the first module and earned my first ECTS. Does this mean I can declare myself as an international scholar now?

Yes, you can. But you should always mention the "open study".

[sarahmac]

I have updated XAMK's wiki page to clarify how the process works. The video game creation course is valid for ECTS but it doesn't grant you access to Peppi or Learn and, thus, no access to HAKA either. If you want to take a course elsewhere, you'll first need to sign up for another course at XAMK.

Rachel I wanted to update you, since you seemed interested in actual Helsinki login credentials (plus it may make a nice addition to the Wiki).

There is a free course here https://studies.helsinki.fi/courses/cur/...e_teaching that is still available for sign-up. I first registered using my HAKA login, and then I contacted the IT Services (from my XAMK email) and filled out a form requesting a Helsinki username.

Since I don't have banking codes etc. they are letting me confirm my identify over Zoom!!  

It was super easy, I had to chat to Jasmin (who is a guy), show my passport, answer some questions, and then my identity is "hard" confirmed. They are so nice, and honestly I am super grateful. Now I will have access to Sisu (their Peppi), and can store credits there for OU courses, MOOC course credits etc. just the same as XAMK. He initially gave me an account for one year, but he said I can email him if I need to extend. I told him I knew some people who were also interested and asked if this is a usual process, and he said he does this every day for people all over the world, and its not a problem for him to Zoom to confirm identity.

Since this OU course is free I didn't even have to pay anything. They do have some nice other OU courses I may pay for now just because I am grateful lol. One in marine archaeology looks really interesting.

Their MOOC's are free, CS courses are free, and other courses are cheap etc. so this is a potential goldmine of RA credits. Sending one from Helsinki and another from XAMK at the same time will be max credits for minimum cost since you generally get a discount with international evaluators for the second, third etc. transcript.

[rachel83az]

That's great! For CS students, I think that this is another free course that would grant you a Helsinki login: https://fullstackopen.com/en/ It says you need a Finnish SSN but, if you go digging, it says that having a HAKA login is sufficient. So, I suspect the process is similar to yours in that they'll confirm your identity over Zoom and then give you the username.

[sarahmac]

That's great! For CS students, I think that this is another free course that would grant you a Helsinki login: https://fullstackopen.com/en/ It says you need a Finnish SSN but, if you go digging, it says that having a HAKA login is sufficient. So, I suspect the process is similar to yours in that they'll confirm your identity over Zoom and then give you the username.

Spoke to ECE earlier too. They were not aware of the changes re digital transcripts in Finland so I spent a couple hours talking to a guy at ECE named Billie. 

Tentatively, the resolution we reached is that if XAMK is willing to verify a digital transcript sent in is real, ECE will look at evaluating them. By that I mean, they understand XAMK refuses to send one directly, but if we send one in they will look at it as long as they are able to email XAMK student services and at that point XAMK are willing to go "real: yes or no".

I am not ready to guinea pig this (too many classes left to finish), but if anyone else is it may be worth reaching out to XAMK. This would open up COSC and Excelsior.

[rachel83az]

There is a XAMK verification page. It's linked to from the transcript itself. It's supposed to be self-verifying. Someone uploads the PDF to the XAMK website and the website says "Yes, this is real." or "No, this has been tampered with."