West Finland College
West Finland College is a politically and religiously independent folk high school located in Huittinen, Satakunta. The college is maintained by Länsi-Suomen opistoyhdistys ry.
We offer high-quality, up-to-date education for different stages of life. We help people move towards something new, whether that is further studies, career development or a better life and personal wellbeing.
Our welcoming learning environment provides the setting for insight, growth and new discoveries. At a folk high school you learn important social skills and form friendships that can last a lifetime.
We support each student's development and future plans in line with the principles of lifelong learning. We meet our students, listen to them and engage with their individual needs.
Studying at West Finland College
Long programmes
Our long programmes last from three months to one academic year. Studying is full-time and entitles you to student financial aid from Kela. Depending on the programme, teaching takes place Mon–Fri or Mon–Thu, on average 25 lessons per week.
Our long programmes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Depending on the programme, you can study at our college for example after upper secondary school or vocational school, when changing jobs, during your working career or after retiring. Studying at a folk high school does not affect your status in the first-time applicant quota for higher education, nor does it use up the months of student financial aid granted for higher education studies.
Studying gives you the chance to immerse yourself in a field that interests you and to develop your own skills. The studies are practical and focus on exactly what you came to learn. Living in the dormitory, skilled staff and active students make studying a community experience. Studying at West Finland College does not, however, oblige you to live in our dormitory.
Short courses
Short courses can last a single weekend or longer. Our course selection offers options for people of all ages. Short courses give their participants knowledge and skills as well as recreation and unique experiences. Participants on short courses can also stay in the dormitories on the college campus.
History
Folk high schools arrived in Finland from the other Nordic countries in the 1890s, and West Finland Folk High School opened its doors as the first Finnish-language folk high school on 1 November 1892.
In the college's early years, the students were mainly residents of Huittinen and the surrounding area.
The subjects taught were farming and home economics skills. In the time of its first director, M.A. Knaapinen, the college did not yet receive state support; instead, its activities were funded by course fees, lotteries and donations.
Growing and evolving with the times
West Finland College has come through many difficult periods in our country's history. During the era of Imperial Russian rule, folk high school activity was viewed with suspicion in the east, and the college was troubled by financial problems. Only after independence and the suffering of the civil war that followed did its work begin to settle down.
The war years of 1939–1944 were also felt in the life of West Finland College - some of the students and teachers left for the front, and studies were carried out under exceptional arrangements. During the Winter War the college housed an artillery training centre, and during the Continuation War a military hospital.
As Finland became an industrial country in the 1960s, major changes began to take place at the college. Students started to stream in from all over the country, and the marketing of courses was launched. More and more often the students were upper secondary school graduates and the teachers held academic degrees. The subjects studied were also reformed. Language teaching began in the 1960s, and we are still known for it. The range of courses grew considerably in other ways too, once folk high schools were free to decide on their own offering. Slowly but surely the college began to grow into the centre of learning and education that it is today.
Today West Finland College is still riding the crest of the wave of development. We focus on the essentials and do, with a steady hand, what we have experience and know-how in. We do not try to master every field; instead we concentrate on what we do best. We provide education for today, with an eye on the future.
