Concepts

Main concepts that a student could/should know in order to successfully carry out their studies:

1. ÕKE – Organisation of studies, or ÕKE, are established by each higher education institution separately, and it contains the basics of study organisation, including the rights and obligations of students and the organisation of examinations.

2. Scholarships in higher education institutions managed by the Ministry of Education and Research:

a. professional scholarships

is intended for students who study full-time with very good academic results.

is intended to cover living expenses for doctoral students. Doctoral students starting in the fall of 2022 will study under the new system, where most doctoral students will receive a salary and thus will no longer receive a stipend.

which aims to support students with special needs in obtaining higher education. Students with moderate, severe or severe disabilities can apply for the scholarship.

e. scholarship supporting the acquisition of higher education for students who have been in foster care or lived in a guardian’s family

f. Depending on the higher education institution, additional scholarships may also be available

3. Scholarships at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences managed by the Ministry of the Interior

a. Basic stipend €260 per month

b. Additional scholarship for students who have particularly excelled in their studies or contributed in some way to the activities of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences

which aims to motivate young people from the region to start working in the same region.

which aims to motivate athletes with outstanding results.

4. Study grants, the purpose of which is to ensure access to higher education and to motivate effective full-time study.

is intended for students from less well-off families (monthly household income per family member is less than €762.50). A student who studies full-time and fulfils the requirements of the curriculum to the extent of 75% qualifies for the grant, while the calculation of the amount of study is cumulative across semesters. When applying for a study grant in the first semester, only fulfilling the full-time requirement is sufficient;

is intended for students who did not qualify for need-based study allowance, but whose financial situation and/or ability to work has since deteriorated. Need-based special study allowance is determined and paid by the higher educational institutions, which ask applicants for additional documents if necessary. Different higher education institutions set their own conditions on the basis of which special needs-based special study allowance is requested. Therefore, it is necessary to familiarise yourself with the information on the website of your higher education institution. If you have any questions, please contact an academic advisor.

a. You can apply for a student loan once a year.

b. The interest rate of the student loan is fixed at 5%, and a guarantee of two Estonian citizens or real estate located in Estonia is required.

c. It is possible to apply for a student loan if the applicant:

      • is an Estonian citizen or a person staying in the Republic of Estonia on the basis of a long-term resident’s residence permit or permanent right of residence;
      • the duration of studies according to the curriculum is six calendar months or more;
      • is a full-time or part-time student at an Estonian university, university of applied sciences or vocational education institution or;
      • is a student with a secondary education in an Estonian vocational education institution or university of applied sciences who is studying in vocational education, or;
      • studies in a foreign country in an educational institution and form of education equivalent to an Estonian higher education institution or vocational education institution.

The task of the student council is to stand up for the interests and needs of students and support them in protecting their rights. If you have a problem at the university, feel free to contact your student council!

One credit point corresponds to 26 hours of work spent by the student, which includes contact learning (including e-learning), practical work (including internship), independent work and assessment of learning outcomes.

The nominal duration of the curriculum refers to the study time related to the curriculum, during which the student should complete the curriculum, taking into account that the student completes 30 ECTS per semester and 60 ECTS per academic year. For example, the nominal duration of the study program is 3 years in undergraduate studies, 2 years in master’s studies.

In case of full time studying, the student completes at least 75% of the calculated volume of the curriculum at the end of each academic year (45 ECTS per academic year). If the requirements for full-time study are not met, the university transfers the student to part-time study.

In case of part-time study, the study volume is 50–75% (30–44 ECTS per academic year). Part-time study is fee-based.

The extern is not a student, but he is allowed to complete the curriculum, including exams and calculations (up to 30 ECTS per academic year), do an internship (except for Erasmus+ internships) and defend a thesis or take a final exam. External status is granted for a semester or a year at a time. The student’s rights and obligations extend to the external student in matters of educational organisation.

Academic leave is the release of a student from study and research obligations, but keeping them on the student list. During the academic leave, the student’s nominal study time stops and during this time the student is not transferred to the next year (or course). The end date of the student’s studies is postponed by the time spent on leave. It is possible to go on academic leave at any time. It should be noted, however, that if you go on an academic leave on a date when half or more of the semester has passed, the semester is considered a studied semester and 30 ECTS are added to the mandatory study volume. Therefore, it is advisable to choose either a semester or an academic year as the length of the academic leave, so that studies stopped during the academic leave can be continued in the best way.

The purpose of the office is to organise education from student admission up until the university graduation. The department organises reception, accepts and sends out visiting students, sends university students to study abroad, manages study information systems (SIS) and advises students, coordinates feedback surveys and issues certificates and duplicates of diplomas and academic transcripts.

SIS is an information exchange environment for educational organisations. The purpose of the school’s electronic study information system is to ensure better availability of learning information. In SIS, the student can find the necessary information about study programs, lesson plans and their own learning results.

The academic calendar displays the calendar events of the current academic year. For example, the opening ceremony of the new academic year, application submission, declaration period, exam session, breaks, graduation ceremonies and other events.

Recognition of prior learning and experience (VÕTA)

a. helps make visible and value a person’s knowledge, skills and competences, regardless of the way they were acquired;

b. allows you to take into account previous studies and work experience, for example as part of your studies or when applying for a profession.

c. allows you to take into account previous studies in educational institutions, continuing education or what you learned independently, knowledge and skills gained from work and other experiences.

Student satisfaction and feedback is one of the criteria for institutional accreditation* of higher education institutions, so it plays a major role in the work and development of higher education institutions. 

Feedback is given by the students in the environment where the study is conducted within the subject or centrally in the school’s IT system, where the possibility of giving feedback must be ensured. 

Feedback not only helps the student to reflect on his learning experience, but also provides input for the development of the lecturer, the institute and the university as a whole. 

The student has the right to give feedback with the aim of making his opinion heard, the obligation to contribute to the development of the university, and the responsibility to follow good practice and ethics when giving feedback. 

*Institutional accreditation is an external evaluation, during which the compliance of the university’s management, work organisation, teaching and research activities, and the teaching and research environment with legislation, the university’s goals and development plan is assessed, and it is carried out by the Estonian Quality Agency for Education. You can learn more about the institutional accreditation from Tarktudeng’s video training on quality and from Tarktudeng’s subpage Students Quality Network.

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