Alternative routes to university and equality of access to higher education (VAIHTAS)

The VAIHTAS research project is producing new information about the equality of access to higher education in Finland. The project examines the open university path, which in the Finnish context represents the so-called alternative route to higher education. The popularity of the open university path has increased in recent years in Finland, and higher education institutions have also more consciously started to plan the open university path as one of the selection methods.

In the research project, we analyze what kind of requirements and assumptions are included in the selection criteria and the organizational methods of open university paths. In addition, we analyze what kind of tensions are connected to the development of the open university paths, and what kind of opportunities the pathways enable for applicants. The overall goal of the project is to analyze, what kind of equality of access to higher education is being built by the open university path along with other selection methods. The Finnish higher education application system and the open university path are also placed in the Nordic context and examined in relation to how the main selections and alternative routes have been implemented in other Nordic countries.

The research is conducted at the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) of the University of Turku Department of Education. The research project has funding from the Turku University Foundation for autumn 2023.