Norway

• Governmental membership
  Norway has been a Governmental Member of EQAR since June 2008.

  Map: EHEA countries by governmental membership

• General information on higher education

  Higher education is provided at universities, specialised university institutions, university colleges, university colleges of arts, other public university colleges not under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Research, and private higher education institutions.

  Higher education is offered at the three cycle degree system, with the exception of a number of short cycle study programmes.

  The regulation governing quality assurance and quality development in higher education and tertiary vocational education is set down in the Regulation no. 96, of February 2010 .

• National external quality assurance requirements

  Higher education in Norway fall into different external QA requirements as follows:

  • universities and specialised university institution have the authority to self-accredit at all levels.

  • university colleges may self-accredit their first cycle (BA). If university colleges had their third cycle accredited (PhD) they can also accredit their second cyle (MA) within their doctoral fields.

  • university colleges without institutional accreditation must have all their educational provisions accredited.

  • Initial institutional accreditation
    gives universities and colleges certain rights to award national degrees or diplomas.

  • Programme accreditation
    required for non-accredited university colleges on all levels and for university colleges or specialised university institutions that wish to establish a new doctoral or master programme outside their doctoral fields.

  • Audit
    carried out at least once in 8 years. The right to self-accredit programmes is conditional upon a positive evaluation of the higher education institution's internal QA system (audit).

• EHEA key commitment

  Fully aligned with the ESG

  A fully functioning quality assurance system is in operation nationwide, in which all higher education institutions are subject to regular external quality assurance by an agency that has successfully demonstrated compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG) through registration on EQAR

  Map: implementation of the EHEA key commitment

• Cross-border quality assurance

  Not recognising foreign agencies as part of the national external QA requirements

  Map: recognition of cross-border quality assurance

• European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes

  European Approach available to some higher education institutions or only under specific conditions

  The European Approach is available to institutions not subject to programme accreditation.

  Map: availability of the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes

• Permalink
  https://data.deqar.eu/country/129/
• Further information

  • Act relating to universities and university colleges, April 2005

  • Ministry responsible for higher education

  • Norway - European Higher Education Area

  • ENIC NARIC

  • Regulations concerning quality assurance, no. 96 of 1 February 2010

Registered agencies operating in Norway