Financial sources and provision of infrastructure

9. Financial sources and provision of infrastructure

Studies in RSU Communication faculty in the Department of Sociology and Psychology are charged studies. Tuition fee in academic year 2007/2008 was 820 Ls, but in 2008/2009, taking into account effects of inflation and increase in expenses, it was 950 Ls for first-year students and 902 Ls for second-year students. Tuition fee can be dividend into two payments – for each term separately. Division of the tuition fee by expenses is the following: about 70% are comprised by salaries and state social insurance obligatory payments for academics; 15% - expenses for maintenance of organisation; 10% - expenses for RSU development, 5% - purchase of books, different materials necessary for studies, and payment for services necessary to maintain study process.

RSU provides students with well-arranged premises, computers and access to the Internet. In 2006 building of a new block was completed and several new rooms for studies were arranged. In general, classes and lecture halls are wide, light, with heating and ventilation systems, connection to the Internet, screens and comfortable furniture. Lecture halls and seminar rooms are equipped with boards of good quality, overhead projectors, computers, video projectors, so that it would be possible to use POWER POINT in lectures.

Computers, sound equipment and video projector are accessible to the academics ordering them for certain classes and lectures. By lecturers’ request lecture halls can be provided with video equipment. For presentations of students’ works and conferences lecture halls are used which may contain more than 100 people.

Students can use computers of the Information centre (30 computers), which is situated in RSU library, and computers in lecture halls, thus, at students’ disposal there are 89 computers. The Information centre is open daily from 9.00 to 21.00.

Studies at the University are essentially facilitated by the library of European level and its informative resources. In the library there are 1327 copies of books referring to social sciences and psychology, of them 342 are specialised in psychology. The library subscribes 6 foreign and Latvian periodicals in psychology, data base contains 163 periodicals.

Library resources are accessible to any students or academics of RSU or other universities and are disposed in accordance with international decimal UBK classification. The library funds totally contain about 293979 units (data from May 1, 2009). The library resources are regularly replenished.

The students of the programme with their reader’s card can have access to electronic catalogues and books of other eight scientific libraries of Riga. Students have also Access to several direct data bases and electronic catalogues:– Sciencedirect, EBSCO, OVID, Springerlink, Proquest, Lursoft, NAIS, Letonika. US National Medical Library, Evidence Based Medicine Reviews - EBMR, ProQuest Information and Learning, SAGE Publications, Cambridge Journals Online (CJO), RSU library electronic catalogue, electronic catalogue of eight state libraries, data base of National bibliography analytics, data base of monographies and publications of National bibliography, Authoritative data base, Universal decimal classification (UDK).

10. External communication

Co-operation with employers is organised in two ways – as guest lectures and as praxis in different work environments, where students have possibility to get acquainted with potential employers and they with potential employees. Aim of praxis is to acquaint students with work of a psychologist and psychologist’s assistant in specific clinical environment, applying the acquired knowledge and skills in client examination, counselling, correction and rehabilitation working with different clients. In the period of praxis students try to work with clients of different age and gender. Students get acquainted with practical work of different organisations, they find possibility to apply the acquired theoretical knowledge in practical work, carrying tasks of praxis, as well as make empiric basis for study and Bachelor’s work.

Organisation of praxis is based on regulations of study praxis.

Intention contracts on places of praxis have been signed with the following organisations: P. Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Children Clinical University Hospital, National Rehabilitation centre „Vaivari”, Riga Health Centre „Pļavnieki”, Riga Municipality Ltd „Riga Maternity home”, Rehabilitation centre for handicapped children „Mēs esam līdzās”, Ltd „Health resort rehabilitation centre „Jaunķemeri”, VSIA “Vidzeme Rehabilitation Centre “Līgatne”, Riga Municipality Ltd “Health centre 5”, State Agency of Mental health, etc.

The Department actively establish contacts with both other universities of Latvia (Liepaja University, Jelgava Agricultural University) and foreign universities and organisations. A contract has bee signed with the departments of Sociology and social psychology of Umea University (Sweden) and Tampere University (Finland) in the framework of SOKRATES higher education programme ERASMUS on Exchange of students and academics. In January, 2007 the dean of Communication faculty T. Lāce in the ERASMUS programme gave lectures to students of Umea University. Daina Eglitis, sociology profesor of US Washington University, in academic year 2007/2008 in the elective course acquainted students with trends in society development in the US.

Students of the faculty are also involved in the EU programme „Erasmus Mundus”, and studied in universities of Turkey, Finland, Germany and other countries. In the programmes of the faculty overseas students from Norway, Turkey and Germany studied as well.

As the Professional programme in Psychology has just started its work in RSU, it does not have stable partners yet, therefore looking for partners for co-operation in Latvia and other countries is one of the basic tasks in near future.

In March 5, 2007 a contract was signed between Riga Stradins University (RSU) and Riga Higher Institution of pedagogy and education management (RPIVA). This contract certifies that if the Professional higher education Bachelor’s study programme in Psychology in RSU is discontinued, RPIVA provides RSU students with possibility to continue acquisition of education in RPIVA Bachelor’s study programme „Bachelor in Psychology”. RPIVA undertakes, after receiving of application, to assess conformity of the courses in RSU study programme to RPIVA study programme, as well as number of credit points, and enrol the students in corresponding study year in RPIVA study programme.