- 2020Legislative process
- 2021Legislative process
- 2022Legislative process
Background
All universities and university colleges are regulated by the act relating to universities and university colleges, adopted in 2005. This was the first time there was a common regulation for both private and public institutions. This resulted in more equal regulation of private and State institutions. The act includes prior learning assessment and admission requirements, affecting students with a vocational background.
However, a complete review of all the provisions that had been in previous legislation was not undertaken. Several statutory provisions, therefore, mainly continued, and the result is that many statutory provisions have remained largely unchanged for decades. Since 2005, the University and College Act has been revised several times, but changes have only been made to limited parts of the law.
A committee was appointed to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of the regulation of the higher education sector.
Objectives
The goal of the committee's work is to design a framework that clearly describes responsibilities, rights and obligations, both for universities and university colleges, and for students and staff.
Description
The committee proposed:
- a new act for universities and university colleges;
- amendments to the regulations given on the basis of the University and University College Act;
- amendments to the Student Welfare Organisation Act and regulations.
The committee assessed:
- the structure of the regulations, including the relationship between this act and national and local regulations;
- the relationship to adjacent laws and regulations;
- provisions on students' rights, learning environment and duties;
- the provisions for examinations and appeals;
- provision for employment, including questions of temporary employment.
The committee, based on the assessments, is to submit a proposal for a new act on universities and university colleges. The committee may consider whether the Student Union Act should be included in this new act. The committee should also consider the efficient use of society's resources.
A proposal was published on 13 February 2020 and underwent a public consultation.
The ministry submitted a proposal for a new law on universities and university colleges to the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) during the spring of 2021.
The recommendations to the law were approved by the Minister of State on 26 March 2021 and come into force in August 2021.
The Ministry of Education and Science submitted amendments to the draft Universities and Colleges Act for public consultation. The public consultation round, together with the legislative changes implemented in 2021 and 2022, NOU 2020: 3 and the consultation input to the NOU, form the basis for a new bill on universities and colleges. The consultation input proposed, among other things, changes to the requirement for two examiners, changes to the rules on temporary employment and changes to the authority to decide on the closure of study centres. Study centres offer higher vocational education in rural areas, in cooperation with a vocational college.
The law was adopted 1.1.2023.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education and Research (KD)
Target groups
Learners
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Adult learners
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers to the integration of VET into economic, industrial, innovation, social and employment strategies, including those linked to recovery, green and digital transitions, and where VET is seen as a driver for innovation and growth. It includes national, regional, sectoral strategic documents or initiatives that make VET an integral part of broader policies, or applying a mix of policies to address an issue VET is part of, e.g. in addressing youth unemployment measures through VET, social and active labour market policies that are implemented in combination. National skill strategies aiming at quality and inclusive lifelong learning also fall into this sub-category.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to providing the possibility for individuals who are already in the labour market/in employment to reskill and/or acquire higher levels of skills, and to ensuring targeted information resources on the benefits of CVET and lifelong learning. It also covers the availability of CVET programmes adaptable to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and reskilling needs. The sub-category includes working with respective stakeholders to develop digital learning solutions supporting access to CVET opportunities and awarding CVET credentials and certificates.
This thematic sub-category refers to making VET pathways and programmes inclusive and accessible for all. It concerns measures and targeted actions to increase access and participation in VET and lifelong learning for learners from all vulnerable groups, and to support their school/training-to-work transitions. It includes measures to prevent early leaving from education and training. The thematic sub-category covers measures promoting gender balance in traditionally ‘male’ and ‘female’ professions and addressing gender-related and other stereotypes. The vulnerable groups are, but not limited to: persons with disabilities; the low-qualified/-skilled; minorities; persons of migrant background, including refugees; people with fewer opportunities due to their geographical location and/or their socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances.