Arcada's rector leads and is responsible for the operational activities and represents the UAS in the external communication and community relations.

The rectorate works with operational management and follow-up as well as overall strategy issues with the aim of developing Arcada's operational activities.

Rector and CEO

Mona Forsskåhl

Arcada offers vocationally oriented higher education and engages in research and development to ensure the availability of a Swedish-speaking workforce and contribute to a vital bilingualism. The research and development activities are an integrated part of the education and are focused on strategically selected profile fields, where research and development take place in teaching teams lead by a principal lecturer. Research and development are conducted in in networks of research institutes and other universities nationally and internationally.

Arcada's educational and research activities are organised into three academies:

• Graduate school and research
• School of Business and Healthcare
• School of Engineering, Culture and Wellbeing

Each academy is headed by a dean.

Languages unit

The Languages unit is responsible for teaching language and communication skills at Arcada. In addition, the unit offers language support for Arcada's students and employees and is responsible for the evaluation of student competence in the domestic languages ​required by public employees by law.

The teachers participate actively, nationally and internationally, in language teacher collaboration and various development projects regarding teaching and evaluation.

Organisationally, the language unit belongs to the School of Business and Healthcare.

Continuing education

Arcada also offers continuing education opportunities in the form of courses, specialisation studies, simulation-based learning and open UAS courses. Continuing education is administrated by the School of Business and Healthcare.

Arcada services works to support students' study, career, and life management skills. The unit offers support through individual counselling on campus or online. Arcada services is also responsible for the library and information activities.

The unit consist of three smaller teams:

Working life cooperation and career support

• centralised sustainable career support for students and alumni with a focus on skills needed in future studies and working life
• responsible for Arcada's data collection and analysis of the national surveys AVOP at graduation and Career Monitoring five years after graduation
• in charge of developing Arcada's SIMHE-services

Counselling and student wellbeing

• individual counselling and support
• special educational support
• psychologist services
• Arcada's contact person to FSHS (Finnish Student Health Service)
• student representative in issues related to wellbeing

Library and information services

The library offers user-friendly and web-based library and information services for Arcada's students and staff, but the library is also open to the public. The library's central activities are customer service, maintenance of the collections, development of information competence, the electronic services, statistical follow-up and key figures, as well as cooperation with other actors.

The main tasks of Arcada’s communications include maintaining and developing the UAS’s brand, making the UAS an inspiring environment for students and co-workers and through communicational means support the UAS in reaching its operational targets. The unit is responsible for offering a good infrastructure and tools for communicational work and has a co-ordinating, supportive and advisory role in questions regarding communications.

The unit also includes campus services, which work to ensure that Arcada's building is a functioning, pleasant and safe study and work environment for students, employees and guests. The campus team also handles event and rental services and is responsible for student and customer service as well as the telephone switchboard.

The main tasks are:

• Planning of Arcada’s communications
• Maintaining and developing the UAS’s identity, image and profile
• Marketing and student recruitment
• Contacts and relations with media
• Events and conferences
• Contacts and relations with alumni
• Coordinating and developing Arcada’s fundraising
• Facilitating internal communication with co-workers and students
• Advise and support in questions regarding communications

The unit is responsible for Arcada’s finances, IT structure and student and staff mobility. Within the unit three smaller teams operate.

Finance and quality

This team manages the financial control and financial follow-up at Arcada. The main tasks include:

• Annual reports and Budgeting
• Salaries
• Project Accounting
• Quality System
• Data analysis, reporting and follow-ups of the strategic goals.

IT

IT is an administrative service unit that serves the entire organisation. The unit is responsible for the operation and strategic development of Arcada's IT environment. The unit takes care of IT-related issues and supports both students and staff in these matters.

The tasks include:

• User accounts
• Hardware and other equipment
• Software
• Network and web-based communication
• Registers and information systems
• Data protection and information security
• Internal and external services and integrations between them
• AV services
• Telephony

Mobility

Arcada has a wide network of partner universities around the world. The mobility team works with student and staff mobility and supports both incoming and outgoing students and staff in the exchange processes. The unit collaborates with the degree programmes and our international partners to create interesting exchange opportunities all over the world.

With the help of well-thought-out processes and structures, the HR and administration unit creates the conditions for Arcada’s operations to function smoothly and professionally. Arcada's student affairs and admission services belong to this unit.

HR and administration

The unit works for an active and strategic supply of skills in a health-promoting work environment, which creates the conditions for a work career where employees feel job satisfaction and can take responsibility for their own work well-being.

The main tasks include:

• To prepare and implement decisions by the rector or collegial administrative bodies and assist the rector in the organisational development work
• Responsibility for the general administration and to further develop structures and processes
• To offer legal advice and support to the units
• Responsibility for Arcada's employer tasks and HR functions, including recruitment processes and salaries
• To offer tools, advice and support for managers in personnel matters
• Create paths for skills and career development
• Offer health-promoting activities for employees to support work well-being
• Responsible for occupational safety and to act as a contact link to occupational health care
• Follow up on gender equality work at the university

Student affairs and admissions services

Student affairs provide information to and serve the degree students. Arcada's study coordinators help students with, among other things, registration for the academic year, study certificates and study extracts, application for accreditation or degree certificates. Student affairs also serve our alumni in matters concerning transcripts and certificates.

The admissions services provide service and information to all applicants and potential applicants to degree programmes at Arcada. The admissions services also manage the administration associated with applications and admissions. The team implements the statutory official responsibilities incumbent on universities of applied sciences.