Finnish University Network for East and Southeast Asian Studies

Study Guide for the Advanced MA level online courses

Asia Network's Policy on Plagiarism

Rules applied when plagiarism is suspected

If a teacher suspects plagiarism in a student's work he or she will show it to a colleague for a second opinion. If they feel that plagiarism has occurred, the teacher will contact the student.
The student will not be given a grade for the exam/work in question, unless he/she can show that it is properly cited, or represents his/her own ideas.
In the case of grave or repeated plagiarism, the teacher may take other punitive measures in accordance with the rules of his or her Faculty. The usual punishment is a failed grade for the whole course.

Plagiarism

(from the CEAS Writing and Research Guide http://aasia.utu.fi/files/CEAS-WritingResearchGuide.pdf )

Derived from the Latin word plagiarius (”kidnapper”), plagiarism refers to the act of presenting another author’s work as your own. Although some plagiarism is intentional cheating (e.g., copying text from the internet and presenting it as your own work), some is unintentional and a result of poor documentation and citation practices.

The easiest way to make sure you do not commit plagiarism is to follow the established citation practices. […] When you feel that a phrase used by another scholar is significant enough to be repeated verbatim, you can do so by quoting it directly and referencing it appropriately. Make sure that you don’t overuse quotations in your text, though.

As a general rule, you don’t need to reference facts that are common knowledge or widely shared cultural references. But if you are discussing particular interpretations of such material, you should document your sources.

GOALS

The purpose of the advanced level online courses* (later called MA courses)* on Asian Studies is to provide students of the Finnish University Network member universities with a well-rounded selection of multidisciplinary lectures that concentrate on different kinds of research topics. These lectures are always given by specialists in the relevant fields.

The MA level courses offered through the Network can be used to supplement the student’s studies as part of the degree provided by the student’s own university.

Our objective is to expand the selection of courses on Asia available for Finnish university students.

These courses are aimed at students who have already acquired some knowledge about Asia or on the specialty of the particular course (i.e. students who have studied in the Asian Programme, those who have studied abroad in one of the East or Southeast Asian countries or those who have acquired some knowledge of the topic of the course through other means).

Students can include these courses in their own MA level degree in their home university. However, this has to be checked and agreed with the department in question before the course begins. Students can also take these courses as additional elective courses.

Note: The MA level courses offered by Finnish University Network do not constitute a study programme in itself. Therefore, it is not possible to receive a grade point average by only completing MA level courses offered by the Finnish University Network of Asian Studies. Note also that it is not possible to use MA-level courses as a part of the Asian programme.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSES AND TIMETABLES

Students must apply for each course separately.

The application period for each course starts approximately two weeks before the course begins.

Some of the courses have continuous application, which means that there is no specified aplication period. Participating in these courses means that students conduct their studies independently and register to take the required examinations when they are ready to do so. Examination dates are published on the websites of each course.

Most of the courses run on specific schedules. Check the course descriptions for more details.

STUDENT SELECTION

The following persons are eligible to apply MA-level courses:

Students of member universities of the University Network can take courses for free
Students of other universities can apply to the course as self-paying independent students

The courses are suitable for students who have already finished their BA degree or those who possess adequate knowledge of the relevant subjects.

Applications are made online. Please check the course information page for a list of courses, course descriptions and maximum number of students accepted in each course. These courses are NOT open to students from polytechnics.

CANCELLATIONS

In case students are unable to take the course they are accepted into, they are required to inform the Finnish university network’s University teacher as soon as possible.

WORKING AND TEACHING METHODS

MA level courses consist of distance learning courses, web lectures, book examinations, and/or essay assignments.

Most of the courses are organized on the Moodle (an e-learning platform) or on specific websites. More detailed information, see the course descriptions.

Lectures

All the lectures are available for viewing on the Internet as streaming video. They are either recorded lectures or produced specifically for these courses. Some are recordings in the form of video conference proceedings.

Most of the videos are in Flash format, which can be viewed with a web browser that has the Flash Player, which usually is already installed on most computers. You can download the latest version of the Flash Player from Adobe’s webpage.

Some of the videos are available in MPEG4 format, which can be viewed with the QuickTime program. Make sure you have the latest version installed.

Most computers in computer labs should be adequate for viewing the lecture videos.

If you cannot find a suitable computer or encounter any problems on one of those computers please contact your local IT support at your own university.

It is advised to bring your own headphones if you are using the computers in a computer lab. If you are not sure where to plug in the headphones, again please contact the IT-support. (Usually headphones are plugged in either to the speaker or to the headset/output socket located at the rear of the PC.)

Essays, learning diaries, articles

Instructions for the essays and other writing assignments are given on each course’s own webpage (e.g. Moodle).

EXAMINATIONS

All exams are so-called home exams (explained in more detail later).

If a course has a continuous intake of students, students have to register themselves for an examination when appropriate.

Check the instructions on how to register for an examination on each course’s own webpage (e.g. Moodle).

If the course runs according to a specific schedule, there are three possible dates to take the examination allowing the student to choose the most appropriate one.

Students are not required to take all three examinations, one passed exam is enough. However, if the first examination is failed, the student is allowed to try again on the next date, and the one after if necessary.

The same applies if a student wishes to take the examination again to improve the grade.

If the student does not pass any of the three examinations, s/he can redo the whole course, if and when it is arranged again.

Please check each course’s own webpage (e.g. on Moodle) for more detailed information about the examinations and how they are arranged.

”Home Exam”

In the home exams the questions are available for students in the morning of the examination date at 9.00 am (Finnish Time) on the course’s own webpage (i.e. for example on Moodle) or they are sent to students by email.

The examination can be taken wherever and whenever the student find appropriate within the time period stated in the examination instructions.

Examinations are done individually; any cooperation is strictly prohibited if not otherwise mentioned in the instructions of the specified courses.

If you encounter any problem during the process of the examination contact immediately either to the course teacher or the Finnish University Network’s University Teacher.

Grades

All courses are graded from 1 to 5, where
0=failed
1=fair
2=satisfactory
3=good
4=very good
5=excellent

STUDY MATERIALS

Most of the study materials are available on the course’s own webpage (e.g. Moodle). Library databases and books are used also as study material.

Literature

The Finnish University Network and the course providers try to use course books that are as widely available as possible. However, please bear in mind that all books might not be readily available in all libraries.

If you can't find a specific course book in your local university library, check the availability in other university libraries in Finland. Remember that it is possible to borrow books through inter-library services.

Others

Other study materials, for example lecture outlines and other material handed out by the lecturer, are distributed to students either through email or the course’s own webpage (e.g. Moodle).

STUDENT ADMINISTRATION

The University Network’s coordination unit or the university organizing the course will apply for a the local student number when deemed necessary. This will not incur any expenses for the student.

REGISTRATION OF CREDITS

Note! Students must seek prior approval from their own university for credit transfers of the MA level courses before the course starts.

The credits will be registered either at the University of Turku or the organizing university. The Finnish University Network only maintains registers of the applications and credits.

Courses offered by the University of Turku:
Transcripts are sent to each university’s contact person two (2) times a year (at the end of each semester). You can find the contact persons on our web site.

Courses offered by the Universities of Oulu, Jyväskylä, Helsinki:
Transcripts are sent to each student after the course has finished and the teacher has done all the markings.

Students should pick up their transcripts from the contact person (or print out the transcrip sent by email) and then handle the credit transfers by themselves. Credits are not automatically transferred to the student register and students are responsible for applying for transferring credits to their own university/department. If your university requires confirmation for the printed transcripts please direct the enquiries to the Network University teacher.

Students from the University of Turku do not have to apply for the credit transfers, all credits are registered by the Network.

All students should go through their transcripts as soon as they receive them and check the information thoroughly. If there are any mistakes they should contact the Network University teacher immediately.

TRANSFERING OF CREDITS AND COURSE EXEMPTIONS

The university where the student is studying decides on transfering the credits as well as possible course exemptions. Students must seek approval for credit transfers or course exemptions at their home university prior to enroling in a course.

Note: The MA-level courses offered by the Finnish University Network do not constitute a study programme in and of themselves, so it is not possible to receive a grade point average by only completing courses offered by the Finnish University Network.

COSTS OF STUDIES

Participating in the courses is free for all the students who are studying at the member universities of the Finnish University Network.

Students from other universities can take courses as self-paying independent students. The course fee is 50 euro/ECTS.

If you want to take part as a self-paying independent student please contact
University teacher.

STUDY GUIDE

This Study guide is only available online at www.asianet.fi. It is advised that students print their own version of it.

TEACHING ARRANGEMENTS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

The MA-level courses on Asian studies are coordinated by the Finnish University Network for East and Southeast Asian Studies. The coordination unit is located at the Centre of East Asian Studies at the University of Turku.

Address:

Finnish University Network for Asian Studies
c/o Centre for East Asian Studies
Arwidssoninkatu 1, building 12
20014 University of Turku

University Teacher Minna Lindstedt-Lempa
minna.lindstedt-lempa(at)utu.fi
tel. +358 2 333 8897
fax. +358 2 333 6270

Coordinator Outi Luova
outi.luova(at)utu.fi
tel. +358 2 333 5017
fax. +358 2 333 6270

University Network's OnlineTeaching:

BA LEVEL ASIAN PROGRAMME:

A: Cultural History in East and Southeast Asia

B: Society and Politics in East and Southeast Asia

C: Business in East and Southeast Asia

D: Language and Communication in East and Southeast Asia

E: India in World Politics

Study Guide