The audit team appointed by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) will visit the Police University College (Polamk) from 8 to 9 November 2023 to conduct a comprehensive audit of Polamk’s quality system and to highlight strengths and enhancement areas.
The audit is based on Polamk’s self-assessment, conducted in advance, other written materials and the audit team’s visit. During the two-day visit, the audit team will hear the views of some 140 people on Polamk’s quality system and its functionality.
“During the visit, the audit team will meet Polamk and Emergency Services Academy Finland staff members, students and stakeholder representatives for interviews and workshops. The audit will review operations from various angles and help in identifying strengths, good practices and development needs,” says Marko Laitinen, Director of the Police University College.
Emergency Services Academy Finland is involved in the audit regarding the Bachelor of Rescue Services degree, because degree students are Police University College students even though the education is organized in practice by Emergency Services Academy Finland.
Quality management is an integral part of all operations
The statutory quality system audit is one of the methods Polamk uses to evaluate and develop operations.
“The audit challenges us to consider whether all parts of the quality system are working as they should, and whether there is room for further improvement in some areas. FINEEC conducts the audit based on the principle of enhancement-led evaluation, which means that, for example, the workshops during the visit can provide a forum for new insights. From the two previous audits, we gained good observations for example for enhancing the efficiency of our processes, and it is delightful to witness that we have integrated the recommendations in the educational institution’s everyday operations,” says Director Laitinen.
Polamk’s quality system is described in the operational quality manual, available for all on our website.
“The operational quality manual makes Police University College operations visible for staff members, students, partners and everyone interested in Polamk. The manual describes how we plan, do, check and act in line with the model of continuous development. Quality management is an integral part of all our operations, not a separate procedure,” says Marika Puputti, Head of Quality Management.
FINEEC audits the quality systems of Finnish higher education institutions on a regular basis, and the quality label earned in the passed audit remains valid for six years. The Police University College’s previous quality label is valid until spring 2024. FINEEC will publish the results of this year’s audit in February–March 2024.
