Checklist before the Introduction Days

Checklist

• Assure that you know the date, time and place for your Introduction Days. Participation is mandatory.
• Activate your IT account.
• Download and activate the Tuudo app.
• Find out how to accredit previous studies.
• Familiarise yourself with the study plan of your programme.

Read on for more information about the points mentioned above.

Introduction Days

All new students should begin their studies at Arcada by participating in the Introduction Days. You will get all the information you need to begin your studies at Arcada during these days. On the Introduction Days pages you will find all the information you need when beginning your studies at Arcada, including the schedule for, content of and material from the Introduction Days. If you arrive after the Introduction Days please read the chapter below, about arriving late, carefully!

Arriving late

If you are a degree student coming from abroad, and have missed the Introduction Days due to not having received your residerence permit or visa on time, here are some quick tips and links to get you started with your studies as quickly as possible. Beginning your studies in a new country is a bit of a challenge, and we understand the extra stress you might feel if arriving late.

• Let Arcada know that you will be arriving late. Please notify the Admissions Services and your study counsellor at Arcada. Let us know approximately when you will be able to arrive at Arcada and keep us updated if things change.
• If you have missed the Introduction Days, but arrive within the next week, begin with contacting your study counsellor to inform them that you will miss the first days of teaching. The study counsellor will then give you more detailed instructions on how to proceed.
• To be able to use Arcada’s IT services and online study tools, you will need access to your personal Arcada User Account from the very beginning. See the instructions on the IT support pages about how to verify your identity to acquire your User Account.
• Visit the Introduction Days page for important information on the beginning of your studies. Pay special attention to the presentations available for download on this page. They are presentations given during the Introduction Days and hence contain information that can answer a lot of your questions.

If you know that you will miss the start of the lectures by more than just a few days, please read the following carefully! Contact your study counsellor well in advance before the studies start by email to inform them that you will be arriving very late. The study counsellor will then give you more detailed instructions on how to proceed. You will receive a list of courses that you are supposed to complete during the first period, some of which are suitable for online self-studies via our internet-based learning platform Itslearning . You will also have to contact the teachers of these courses via email to let them know that you will be following the course via Itslearning before you arrive. Please follow any instructions they might give you closely. It is very important that you take responsibility for your studies even though you are not physically on campus. If you do not follow the instructions given, it will unfortunately affect your academic achievements (courses completed, grades received etc.).

If you are a transfer student, and have missed the Introduction Days, most of the information above applies to you as well. If your previous studies have not yet been accredited at Arcada, and you thus do not yet have a study plan and are unsure of which courses you are supposed to take, it is important that you contact your programme’s study counsellor or degree programme director immediately in order to plan what courses you should attend, while waiting for the accreditation procedure to be completed. Make sure to start the accreditation process as soon as possible!

Remember, the more you plan for your late arrival the easier it will be for you to get started properly once you are here.

Activate your IT account

Activate your Arcada IT account before your studies start to make sure that you have access to all of the systems that you will need for your studies. If you have a Finnish bank log-in you can do it yourself, it only takes a minute. Read more about how to activate your account here.

Download and activate the Tuudo app

Tuudo is a mobile application designed to make your everyday studies easier. In Tuudo you can also download a student card for free. Learn more on our Tuudo page.

Accredit previous studies

If you have previously studied at another university/university of applied sciences and taken courses that are relevant to your degree at Arcada, you may be able to apply for accreditation of your previous studies. Please contact your programme's study counsellor to discuss this. You can read more about accreditation here but do not apply before you have talked to your study counsellor.

Your study plan (curriculum)

You are probably curious about what kind of courses you will be taking at Arcada. All of our English-language degree programmes are listed on Start. Find your own programme and have a look at the sub pages Study plan and/or Structure of studies for a detailed list of what courses and modules are included in your degree.