Reputation analysis: Openness and responsibility are key success factors for Vaasa University of Applied Sciences

The reputation of Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK) has evolved from a moderate to a good level, says special study, Reputation&Trust. All in all, the overall reputation for the Vaasa University of Applied Sciences has improved in all the areas that were measured: in administration, economy, management, innovations, interaction, products & services, workplace and the sense of responsibility.

“Strategical development work and collaboration with the operators in Vaasa region can be seen in the results. Long-term work is required in order to build open, inclusive and transparent culture of leadership and operations where all the superiors and leaders are committed. Openness and sympathy, that are our strategical values, as well, show clearly in the results, says Kati Komulainen, CEO and rector of Vaasa University of Applied Sciences.

The action of administration and responsibility are VAMK’s strengths

Particularly, improvement in the reputation can be seen in the openness of administration, transparency in actions and in responsibility. According to respondents, VAMK is seen as an active operator that really cares for society and environment. On the other hand, the area that needs to be developed more was economy for VAMK which has, however, nearly achieved good level.

In addition, two other universities of applied sciences were compared to VAMK in the study. VAMK stood out especially in the two areas when compared to other two: the management and interaction were significantly in the higher level, whereas the support from the stakeholders was in the slightly weaker level than the other two. Brand awareness and familiarity, on the other hand, were higher in VAMK’s case.

“Results show that VAMK’s reputation is stable and at the healthy and good level, which is, all in all, a really good outcome! VAMK’s strengths in reputation are responsibility and products and services. The grades in these areas are good and appear to be rising in the future”, Susanna Saarenpää and Andrei Sergejeff summarize from the T-Media that conducted the study.

Stakeholders trust Vaasa University of Applied Sciences

The stakeholders’ support has also grown from the last year, especially when it comes to trust, where university of applied sciences is at its best. Accordingly, the enthusiasm to apply work at VAMK comes next in terms of positive development, whereas the willingness to donate for VAMK and the interactions to stakeholders can be further developed.

Reputation&Trust is a special study that is developed and conducted by T-Media. The target group of the study is Finnish people, ages 15–65 years. Overall 1999 people participated in the study. VAMK was evaluated more specifically by 200 people. The replies were gathered through online survey between 3 March and 16 March 2022. Seven universities of applied sciences participated in the study. The study is conducted every year in all the Finnish universities and in the most universities of applied sciences and other Finnish organizations.