PSP – personal study plan

A personal study plan, or PSP (HOPS), is drawn up at the beginning of your studies as part of the orientation studies. PSP is a tool for planning your studies that you will use throughout your studies. It helps you monitor your study progress, ensures that you complete the compulsory studies required for your degree, and allows you to plan your elective studies.

The HOPS is based on the degree structure. The study guide shows you how your degree is structured and how many credits each part of the HOPS should contain, for example, language studies, major studies, minor studies, and methodology studies. When you start your studies, the Peppi student information system will provide you with a HOPS template based on your degree and study program, which you can customize into your own study plan:

  • choose which elective courses you want to take from the available options
  • choose your minor subjects – you can change your choices later and update your HOPS if necessary
  • schedule your studies using the timetable in your degree program’s study guide as a starting point.

Plan your PSP using the instructions and information you received during orientation week. You can find help on how to use Peppi in the University of Lapland’s Peppi instructions. MyTeacher will help you plan the content of your PSP and will meet with you either in person or remotely in a HOPS discussion, and finally approve your PSP in Peppi.  In addition, we organize HOPS workshops for new students, where you can learn how to use Peppi with support. 

Modes of teaching delivery

In teaching, priority should be given to those pedagogical approaches that best support teaching, learning and wellbeing, and create a meaningful learning experience. From the teacher’s perspective, teaching profiles are different ways of delivering teaching and engaging learners, whereas for students, the profiles provide information on the forms of assessment available for each course.

Teaching and learning are guided by profiles that are published along with the course description. They provide an overall framework for shared modes of operation. It is essential that the student knows the course implementations when the course starts.

Hybrid teaching refers to a combination of face-to-face teaching on campus and online teaching that best supports learning and working. Hybrid teaching is a combination of various face-to-face and online teaching solutions within the same course. Hybrid teaching can be asynchronous, i.e. a combination of face-to-face-teaching and online teaching delivered separately, or synchronous, i.e. a combination of face-to-face teaching and online teaching delivered simultaneously. Synchronous face-to-face and online teaching is the most challenging mode of teaching for the teacher and the student. The teaching profiles include ‘face-to-face only’, ‘online only’, as well as various hybrid teaching solutions.

Implementations usually include some independent study. Independent study may consist of independent work or group work as specified in the description of the implementation.

Teaching profiles

Information on teaching profiles is provided yearly along with the other details of the implementation in Peppi. If different modes of implementation are available for different groups under the same implementation, the details will be published in Peppi. Synchronous activities must always be planned and information on teaching delivery must be made available well in advance, so that the student will know whether remote participation in the activity (teaching, group work, seminar etc.) is possible. The teaching profiles are intended to guide teaching delivery, support course and study planning, as well as provide information on digital pedagogical support and equipment needs. As a rule, nobody works or studies entirely online unless the degree can be completed entirely online (as is the case with the Master of Education in Adult Education degree).

Teaching is delivered face-to-face. The teacher and the student are in the same physical space. In addition to face-to-face teaching, the implementation includes independent study and assignments to be completed independently. The description of the implementation includes details on the obligation to be present in the course. Face-to-face teaching is delivered according to a pre-determined, published schedule.

Teachers should note: The FACE-TO-FACE profile does not include online teaching or pre-recorded teaching sessions.

Students should note: The FACE-TO-FACE profile requires that students are physically present at all teaching sessions on campus.

Teaching is delivered in real time, face-to-face, and students are required to be physically present at the teaching sessions on campus. The implementation also includes teaching and learning that take place online. Teaching is delivered according to a pre-determined, published schedule. The description of the implementation must include all relevant details on the obligation to be present at each teaching session. If the implementation includes several face-to-face teaching sessions, they should, where possible, be scheduled for consecutive days, provided that this is appropriate to the objectives of the implementation. In addition, the implementation includes independent study and assignments to be completed independently.

Teachers should note: The HYBRID 1 profile combines face-to-face and online teaching, but face-to-face and online teaching are not delivered simultaneously.

Students should note: The HYBRID 1 profile always also requires physical  presence at the face-to-face teaching sessions on campus.

Teaching is delivered in real time, both face-to-face and online, and the student is free to choose either face-to-face or online participation. In both cases, participation takes place in real time. Teaching is delivered according to a pre-determined, published schedule. In addition, the implementation includes independent study and assignments to be completed independently.

Teachers should note: The HYBRID 2 profile offers face-to-face and online teaching as alternatives, but face-to-face and online teaching are not delivered simultaneously.

Students should note: The HYBRID 2 profile allows you to choose whether you want to participate in the implementation face-to-face or online, but you should stick to one mode of participation throughout the implementation.

Teaching is delivered face-to-face and online, and in addition to real-time participation, it is possible to access the teaching sessions later by viewing video recordings of them. Teaching is, thus, a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities. Teaching is delivered according to a pre-determined, published schedule, but in addition to real-time participation, the student has the option to learn the content covered at the real-time teaching sessions by viewing video recordings of them. In addition, the implementation includes independent study and assignments to be completed independently.

Teachers should note: The HYBRID 3 profile is the most challenging mode of teaching delivery, because teaching is delivered in real time, both face-to-face and online participants are simultaneously present, and the teaching session is recorded to be accessed later by learners.

Students should note: The HYBRID 3 profile allows both synchronous and asynchronous participation in the implementation, which means that you can study on your preferred schedule and the implementation includes no obligation to be physically present at face-to-face teaching sessions on campus.

Teaching is delivered in real time and entirely online according to a pre-determined, published schedule. The course may include pre-recorded study materials, assignments to be completed independently, and self-scheduled study.

Teachers should note: The ONLINE 1 profile includes no face-to-face teaching or learning.

Students should note: The ONLINE 1 profile includes implementations that take place entirely online, which means that there is no obligation to be physically present at face-to-face teaching sessions on campus.

The implementation only includes assignments that are completed independently and assessed by the teacher. There is no pre-determined schedule for the implementation.

Teachers should note: The ONLINE 2 profile includes implementations, for example book exams, MOOC courses, and other implementations, that can be completed independently on the student’s preferred schedule.

Students should note: The ONLINE 2 profile includes implementations that have no real-time teaching, but the implementation completed independently may include, for example, participation in an electronic exam through the EXAM system on locations where the EXAM service is provided.

Last updated: 13.11.2025