The Student Union of the University of Vaasa has autonomy and its operations are guided by the Finnish legislation in addition to its own rules. In addition to the Statute, VYY has General Rules of Procedure, the Representative Council’s Rules of Procedure, the Election Order, the Record of Tradition, as well as a number of by-laws. The rules are all only in Finnish. 

Student Union's Statute

Student Union's General Rules of Procedure

Election order

Administration Student Representative Election Standing Order

Student Union's Administration Standing Order

Record of Tradition

The policy paper defines VYY's political guidelines. The policy paper guides the board and staff's work. 

The linked document is an unofficial translation of the document, translated for informative purposes to international students. The translation was done in April 2026.

Read VYY's policy paper.

The Student Union of the University of Vaasa's activities are guided by a strategy and an action plan. Both documents are approved by the Representative Council. 

Read VYY's strategy. (This is an unofficial translation for informative purposes. Translated in 2026.)

Read the Action Plan for VYY's Executive Board for 2026. (This translation is for informative purposes. The Finnish version of this document was approved by the Representative Council in December 2025.)

The Student Union has made a Declaration of Equality. The Declaration of Equality gives the guidelines for equal activity in our community. 

Read the Declaration of Equality

The Student Uniuon has created Safer Space Policy. The Safer Space Policy strives to prevent unpleasant situations, and to create a safe and respectful space for everyone.

The executive board approved the Safer Space Policy on their meeting on 17.2.2022. 

Read the Student Union's Safer Space Policy

Reliable building blocks create a sustainable tomorrow: The Parliamentary Election Programme of University Students in Vaasa 2027

#PalikatPaikoilleen2027

Signing the programme are

• The Student Union of the University of Vaasa VYY
• The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University ÅAS
• The Student Association at Hanken School of Economics in Vaasa SSHV
• The subject organization for law students in the Vaasa department of the University of Helsinki

You can read the entire programme from the pdf document on our website.

All event organization and participation at the Student Union follows our Event Organizing Guidelines.

On 17.2.2022 the VYY board decided to adopt new Event Organizing Guidelines for the Student Union. The guidelines consist of principles that obligate both the event organizers and participants. All future VYY events adhere to the guidelines which are presented below.

VYY EVENTS ARE ORGANIZED RESPONSIBLY

• Events are designed to be as attainable and accessible as possible. Events are designed so that they do not put participants in humiliating or distressing situations.
• Our values and rules are communicated openly in event marketing and during the events
• Contact persons are clearly defined for each event and there is information about the anti-bullying persons, or “hyvis” in Finnish,  in the event description

ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE RESPECTED IN VYY EVENTS

• Harassment, discrimination, and bullying are not allowed
• We respect the physical integrity and privacy of all participants
• In our events we follow VYY’s safer space policy

AT VYY EVENTS WE INTERVENE IN PROBLEM SITUATIONS

• If there is a problem situation, we intervene as soon as possible and try to talk it out together with the events anti-bullying persons (“hyvis” in Finnish). In problem situations, we use our operating model for addressing harassment and bullying
• For possible problems that might occur in the event, the event organizers need to provide an option to contact the event’s organizers anonymously (for example, google forms)
• If the problem persists after the event and outside help from a neutral party is needed to resolve the situation, contact the VYY harassment contact person (​hairinta@vyy.fi​)

The Student Union of University of Vaasa has a investment strategy, which guides the management of the Student Union's investment assets. The investment strategy has been approved by VYY's Representative Council.

Read VYY's investment strategy (only in Finnish).

VYY's budget 2026 (Unofficial translation for informative purposes, translated in June 2026)

VYY's financial statement 31.12.2025 (Unofficial translation)

VYY's financial statement 31.12.2024 (in Finnish)

VYY's medium-term financial plan for 2026 - 2028 (pdf)

Carbon footprint report 8/2024-7/2025

Awards of the Student Union

In accordance with its traditions, the Student Union of the University of Vaasa has distributed Student Union’s acknowledgement awards among those involved in Student Union activities for their outstanding achievements. Awards are granted annually during the VYY anniversary ball in February.

Decisions on awarding acknowledgment awards are made by the Representative Council of VYY based on requests from the working group on badges of merit and honor.

VYY’s statutory working group on badges of merit and honor opens the application period for both category I and II insignia each year.

According to the VYY rules, anyone can apply for acknowledgement insignia. The insignia is applied for based on particularly distinguished participance in the activities of the Student Union of the University of Vaasa. The application form is defined by the working group and can be picked up at the office or requested by e-mail from the Student Union’s Secretary General.

In order for an application to be processed, it must be supported with enough signatures of Representative Council’s members. This list of names is available at the Student Union service office.

The merit badge application form must be submitted to the Secretary General of the Student Union by the announced deadline. Any applications submitted after the deadline will be ignored.

The working group will present the list to the Representative Council, which makes decisions on the basis of the applications received. Badges will be distributed at the Student Union’s anniversary ball in February.

Further information on the acknowledgement insignia and how to apply for them is available from the Secretary General of the Student Union.

Best International Teacher

Each year, the Student Union hands out acknowledgements to distinguished teachers. The Hyvä opettaja and the Best International Teacher awards go to teachers who display an inspirational attitude towards their work and are genuinely interested in their students’ learning. The Executive Board of VYY chooses the award recipients based on propositions made by student organizations operating within VYY.

Leipis sauna facility

Leipis Rules of Use for Leipis sauna & facilities

Guide to the Administration Student Representatives

You can find the guide (only in FInnish) from this website under the page Organization

Language policy recommendations

VYY's language policy recommendations for the University community (pdf)

Read the description of the personal data file

This is an accessibility statement for the Student union of the University of Vaasa website. The statement was created on the 13th of November 2020. The Student Union of the University of Vaasa’s website was launched on the 27th of August 2018. 

The accessibility has been assessed through self-assessment.

Status of accessibility

Conforms partly to the critical A & AA criteria.

Non-accessible content

We do not yet comply with the EU's accessibility directive.

The following things need to be fixed: 

• The purpose of the links is not clear from the context. It is not clear from the links whether the link will take the user away from the original page.
• PDF-documents are not accessible. 

The website is currently undergoing a technical review by a website service provider and the accessibility issues found in the review are being fixed.

Report an accessibility issue

Did you notice some accessibility deficiencies?

Let us know about it and we will do our best to correct the deficiency. Send your feedback to viestinta@vyy.fi. 

Contact information of the supervisory authority

First, give feedback to those maintaining the website if you notice that it has problems concerning accessibility. Response time can be 14 days. In case you are dissatisfied with the reply or you did not receive a reply within 14 days, you may give feedback to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland. You will find detailed information about making a complaint and how it is dealt with on the website of the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland.

Contact information of the supervisory authority

The Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland

The unit for supervising accessibility

www.saavutettavuusvaatimukset.fi

saavutettavuus@avi.fi

phone 0295 016 000 (switchboard)