The study plan

What is a primary study plan?

You will always have one study plan as your primary plan connected to your study right. If you have several study rights you should create a primary study plan for each of them. If you have created only one study plan, this will automatically be your primary plan. You can see whether the study plan is primary or not in the Structure of studies page. If the study plan in question is the primary plan, you will see a text reading Primary plan on the right side of the heading My study plan. 

Sisu has several functions which you can only perform with your primary study plan and which you cannot move to another study plan. Such functions include the following:

• Creation of new content or content that deviates from the predetermined structure of the study plan
• Graduation requests and graduation
• Requests for the recognition of prior learning and related decisions
• Applications for an extension of the right to study and related decisions

It is therefore important that you keep your primary study plan updated. If you wish to have another study plan as your primary plan, click on the button with three black dots in the upper right corner of the ” page.  A drop-down menu will appear; click on “Select as the primary plan”.

Creating a study plan

1. Start creating your study plan by opening the Structure of studies -page from the navigation pane.
   
2. Click on the button “New study plan” at the top of the page.
   
3. Select My educations from the pop-up window which appears. On this tab, you can select the study plan template that applies to your right to study. If you have several study rights, the Learning opportunity drop-down menu will display a list of all study plan templates that correspond to the study rights that you have been granted.
4. Please select the curriculum period 2020-2023. This also applies, for technical reasons, if you started studying before 2020.
5. If you wish, you can name your study plan. The default name is “My study plan” and the date of creation. If you create several study plans, you should name them clearly, so that you can tell them apart later.
6. Finally, click on the button “Create a plan” at the bottom of the pop-up window. Your new study plan will open and be ready for editing.
   

Deleting a study plan

First, open the study plan that you wish to delete. Click on the button with three black dots in the upper right corner of the study plan. In the drop-down menu, click on “Delete plan”. A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete the plan. A deleted study plan will be permanently erased and cannot be retrieved.

Please note that you cannot delete your primary study plan in Sisu. In order to be able to delete a study plan you need to have at least one more study plan than the one you plan to delete. If you only have one study plan, or try to delete your primary study plan, the “Delete plan” option in the drop-down menu will be in grey font and cannot be selected.

Printing a study plan 

You can print your study plan on paper or save it as a PDF file. The print will display the status of the study plan as well as scheduled and completed studies. Note that for the time being, study drafts are not displayed in print-outs. 

Click on the button with three black dots in the upper right corner of the study plan. Select “Print plan” from the drop-down menu.

If no such window pops up, you can open one by clicking on the “Print” button in the top right corner of the study plan that you wish to print. If you wish to return to the edit mode, click on the button “Go back to structure”.

Copy as a new plan

With this function you can copy the open study plan as a basis for a new study plan. This can be useful for example when you want to compare how your study plan would change with different selections of subjects/courses. When you create a new study plan with this function it will have the name COPY.

First, select the study plan that you wish to edit on the Structure of studies page. You can change the study plan you wish to edit by clicking on the study plan heading.

Basic functions

Your study plan will list all the modules and courses that you need to complete in order to graduate. Elective and optional studies also have their own section in the study plan, which, however, contains no pre-filled modules or courses. Sisu marks the courses that you have completed with a laurel wreath icon and includes the grade. A completed course will be displayed in Sisu within 24 hours from the time the teacher has completed its assessment in the system.

When you create your study plan in Sisu the system will help you with keeping track of the rules which are set in the structure. Sisu will tell you if all selections have been made under a section, as well as when everything is completed under the section. For example when you have to select a certain amount of study credits in a section Sisu will tell you how many are still missing. All the changes you do in the study plan are saved automatically. Your study counsellors can also see your study plan in Sisu.

Planning compulsory studies

The study plan displays the pre-filled compulsory courses with their icons. You do not need to make any selections for them.

You can substitute a compulsory course with another course only if you have completed this other course in accordance with the previous degree requirements and under a different code, or if you apply for and are granted permission to substitute the course with studies completed at another institution of higher education. See further instructions for substituting studies in the section “Adding missing course credits to your study plan” below.

Planning optional studies

Your study plan contains sections which allow you to freely select studies that you wish to complete. There are both sections in your major subject where you can choose among listed courses, as well as other sections for both minor subjects and other optional studies.

To make your selections under a section, click on the heading of the section you wish to open. Note that the circular button with the > symbol in front of a heading opens an accordion menu that may be empty.

By clicking on the heading, a new window opens on the right side. At the top of it, you can see detailed instructions provided by your degree programme for making selections in the section at hand, eg. "Select min. 7cr". Read the instructions carefully. If there are courses or modules listed you can choose from them. You make the selections by clicking on the small "switch" at the course or module listed. Finance is selected below.

If selecting courses freely is allowed, you will find a search field under the small heading "Add to plan" in the window on the right side. The course you searched for will be transferred to your study plan when you click on it in the drop-drown menu that opens in the search field. You can delete this selection by clicking on the recycle bin icon.

Adding missing course credits to the study plan

All the studies you have completed may not automatically display in the study plan, and may have to be added manually.

Under the bar Add to the plan on the left-hand side of the Structure of studies page, you can find all the completed courses that are not included in your study plan. By clicking the arrow Sisu will show you where in your plan you can place the course. Similarly, if you delete a course from your study plan, you can then find it among the courses listed under the Add to the plan bar. 

If you wish to substitute a compulsory or an alternative course with a previously completed course (e.g., a course completed under a different code, in accordance with the previous degree requirements, or a course at the Open university), you have to select it as a substituting course. Closer instructions for this can be found on the Completed credits page.

If the course you have completed is not indicated as a substituting course, you can apply for credit transfer. Instructions for this can be found here.

Sisu offers you two functions for searching for courses. The first one is the search that opens in the study plan when clicking on a header that allows for freely selected optional courses. A more versatile search function is available from the top bar, on the “Search” page.

Searching for courses and study modules in the study plan

You can use this search function on the "Structure of studies" page. The search field will show only if it is possible to add any studies to the section that you have clicked on. When doing a search, any selected courses or modules will directly be added to your study plan when you click on them.

On the “Structure of studies” page, first click on the heading of the section that allows you to add any studies. The new window will open on the right side of the study plan. Below the heading "Add to plan", you will see a search field which you can use to search for and add individual courses or modules to your study plan. If you want to remove the selections from your study plan, click the trash can at the course/module in question. 

Searching for courses and study modules on the Search page

It is recommended that you use the Search page when you wish to do a search using filters. The filters available on the Search page include the language of completion, method of completion and the teaching period, among others. Please note, that not all information has been transferred to Sisu yet, such as language of completion. If you wish, you can also browse courses offered by other universities in the Sisu system. Note, however, that you cannot register for courses offered by other universities without the relevant right to study.

NB! Do not register for instruction through the Search page. You must always first add your chosen course to your study plan and select the method of completion on the Study calendar page. (from period 2 onwards)

Basic search

When you enter a search term in the search field, e.g., “econom”, Sisu will list all courses with the word “econom” in the course title. Next to the heading, there is the text “Hanken School of Economics” in a smaller font. If you wish, you can click on the text, select another university from the Sisu network, and browse their courses.

Filtering search results

On right side of the search field, you will see the “Filter” button. By clicking on this button, a drop-down menu will open from which you can select a suitable filter, such as the language of completion. By clicking on one of the available filters, you can open a small selection window displaying the relevant filtering options.

When you have made your selections, click on OK. The search criteria that you selected will now be displayed below the search field. If there are more results than what Sisu can retrieve, the notification “Too many results, please specify your search” will appear. In such a case, specify the text you entered in the search field or add more filters by clicking on the “Filter” button.

The course cart

If you want to "save" courses in Sisu without adding them to your study plan you can use the Course cart function. This is done by doing a search on the Search page. When you have found the course you want to save, click on "Add to course cart". You can then find the courses in the course cart, which can be found through one of the round symbols in the top menu.

You can add new content or content that deviates from the pre-determined structure of the study plan in two ways: either in the free edit mode or by creating a study draft. New content or content that deviates from the structure may include the following:

• An exemption from completing a given course
• Including a course which is not listed as an alternative
• Studies completed during a student exchange
• Studies completed at another Finnish higher education institution
• Studies completed at Hanken in accordance with the old degree requirements, which for some reason or another are not displayed in your study plan

The free edit mode

Use the free edit mode for example when:

• you have been exempted from completing a given course
• you are not able to add the course to the place in your study plan where you would like it to be

Please note that you should not change the content of a heading after having used the free edit mode. If you change you mind later and add another course, for example from the listed ones, the system will tell you your selections deviate from the approval you have gotten and you need to submit another application. You should therefore add all the courses you plan to complete under the heading in question before you apply for approval of the deviation.

When applying for approval for deviating content it is also important that you keep track of the amount of credits in a heading/module (for example 25 credits in a minor subject). The free edit mode overrules the set rule for amount of credits in the system, and therefore will not let you know if the amount of credits is too low.

Instructions

In order to change your study plan in Sisu to for example not include the normally mandatory courses in a module, or add courses than otherwise can't be added, follow these steps:

1. Open your study plan in Sisu on the Structure of studies page

2. Scroll down to the heading you want to change. It is important that you pick the correct heading on the correct level. Here we will use the minor subjet Accounting as an example. Click on the heading Basic studies in Accounting.

3. Click on the three point menu in the new window which opens on the right side, and click Free edit mode.
   

4. Add the course you could not add earlier. Here 2164 is used as an example. Find the course through the search field and select it. Be sure to select the correct course for your place of studying. If the module contains courses you will not be completing, remove them from the module by clicking the trash can at the course(s) in question. Remember that all the courses to be included in this heading should be listed here at this point, as you cannot edit the content after the approval has been given.
   

5. At this point Sisu will tell you the selection is against the rules.

6. Click on Apply for approval in order to get the deviation in your study plan approved.
   
7. Type in the reason to why you want to complete your studies with this deviation in Grounds for deviation and click on Submit application. Please note this does not mean the deviation is automatically approved, the application needs to be approved first. You get a message in Sisu when the application has been taken care of. If you have a decision on a deviation from the usual study plan from before, please mention that in the grounds in the application in Sisu. Type in when the decision was made and by whom.

Use a study draft in Sisu when
•    you are planning on completing a course somewhere else than at Hanken, for example on a student exchange or at another Finnish university
•    you have not yet completed the planned course and the credits have not yet been transferred to Hanken, and
•    the course is not directly equivalent to a course at Hanken (if the course is directly equivalent to a course at Hanken, an application should be made through the course).

Please note that you need to create a separate study draft in Sisu for each course. Also note that if the course has already been registered in Oodi, you must instead follow the instructions on the page Completed credits in Sisu to insert the course to the study plan.

Instructions

1. Open your study plan in Sisu on the Structure of studies page.
2. Scroll down to the heading where you want to add your study draft. It is important that you pick the correct heading on the correct level. Here we will use the MOOC Starting Up at Aalto University as an example. We are planning on including it as an optional course in the degree. Then you first click on Optional studies.
   
3. Scroll down in the new window that opens on the right side. Click on Add a study draft.
   
4. Enter the required information about the course you are planning to take in the window that opened: course name, number of credits, university where you plan to take the course, and course description. Then click Add.
   
5. The study draft is now displayed under the heading where you created it in your study plan.
   

After completing the course outside of Hanken you need to apply for a credit for it through Sisu according to these instructions.

In Sisu you confirm your minor subject directly in your study plan. Your study right will immediately be updated with the information about it. Please note that you should only confirm a minor subject in your study plan once you are certain you want to have it as a minor subject. You can begin completing courses without confirming it.

Confirm the minor subject

To select and confirm your minor subject, scroll down in your study plan to the heading Optional minor subject under Optional studies and click on it.

Search for the minor subject in the search field and select it. Make sure to select the correct module for your study location, H for Helsinki and V for Vaasa.

Click on Show at the minor subject.

Click on Yes, confirm selection in the pop-up window to confirm the minor subject. Please note that you can't remove the confirmation for the minor subject yourself if you change your mind. In that case you need to contact the study services to remove the confirmation.