NOKUT’s Academic Supervisions Regulations
Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher
Education (Academic Supervision Regulations)
Date: 9 February 2017
Legal basis: Adopted by NOKUT on 7 February 2017 pursuant to Sections 2-1 and 3-1 of the Act of 1 April
2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges (the University and University Colleges Act), cf.
Section 1-7 (2), Section 2-1 (3), Section 2-2 (4), Section 3-1 (5), Section 3-5 (6) and Section 4-3 of the
Regulations of 1 February 2010 No 96 concerning Quality Assurance and Quality Development in Higher
Education and Tertiary Vocational Education.
Corrected: 13 February 2017 (comments on Sections 2-1 (2) and 2-2 (3)).
Chapter 1. General provisions
Section 1-1. Scope
These regulations concern the accreditation of study programmes and institutions and the supervision
of quality in higher education pursuant to Sections 2-1, 3-1 and 3-3-of the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15
relating to Universities and University Colleges and Sections 1-7 (2), 2-1 (3), 2-2 (4), 3-1 (5), 3-5 (6)
and 4-3 of the Regulations of 1 February 2010 No 96 concerning Quality Assurance and Quality
Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational Education.
Chapter 2. Accreditation of programmes
Section 2-1. Requirements for accreditation
(1) The requirements of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and its corresponding
regulations must be met.
(2) Information provided about the programme must be correct and show the programme’s content,
structure and progression, as well as opportunities for student exchanges.
Section 2-2. Requirements for programmes
(1) The learning outcomes for the programme must be in accordance with the National Qualifications
Framework for Lifelong Learning, and the programme must have an appropriate title.
(2) The programme must be academically up-to-date and have clear academic relevance for further
studies and/or employment.
(3) The total workload of the programme must be between 1,500 and 1,800 hours per year for full-
time students.
(4) The programme’s content, structure and infrastructure must be adapted to the programme’s
learning outcomes.
(5) The teaching, learning and assessment methods must be adapted to the programme’s learning
outcomes. The programme must facilitate students taking an active role in the learning process.
(6) The programme must have relevant links to research and academic development work and/or
artistic research.
(7) The programme must have internationalisation arrangements adapted to the programme’s level,
scope and other characteristics.
(8) Programmes that lead to a degree must have arrangements for international student exchanges. The
content of the exchange programme must be academically relevant.
(9) Programmes that include supervised professional training must have formal agreements between
the institution and the host for the supervised professional training.
Section 2-3. Requirements for the academic environment
(1) The academic environment for each programme must be of a size proportionate to the number of
students and the programme’s characteristics, be stable over time in terms of competence and have a
composition that covers the programme’s topics and subjects.
(2) The academic environment must have relevant educational competence.
(3) The programme must have a clear academic leadership with defined responsibilities for quality
assurance and the development of the study programme.
(4) At least 50 per cent of the academic full-time equivalents affiliated to the programme must be staff
with their primary employment at the institution. Of these, academic staff with at least associate
professor qualifications must be represented among those who teach the core elements of the
programme. In addition, the following requirements apply to the academic environment’s level of
competence:
a) For first-cycle programmes, at least 20 per cent of the members of the academic
environment must have at least associate professor qualifications.
b) For second-cycle programmes, at least 50 per cent of the members of the academic
environment must have at least associate professor qualifications. Within this 50 per
cent, at least 10 per cent must have professor or docent qualifications.
c) For third-cycle programmes, the academic environment must consist of academic staff
with at least associate professor qualifications. At least 50 per cent must have
professor or docent qualifications.
(5) The academic environment must be actively engaged in research and academic development work
and/or artistic research, and be able to demonstrate documented results with a satisfactory quality and
scope in relation to the programme’s content and level.
(6) The academic environment for programmes that lead to a degree must actively participate in
national and international partnerships and networks that are relevant for the programme.
(7) For programmes involving mandatory supervised professional training, the members of the
academic environment must have relevant and updated knowledge from the field of the professional
training. The institution must ensure that professional training supervisors have relevant competence
and experience in the field of the professional training.
Section 2-4. Special provisions for the academic environment
The requirement for at least associate professor qualifications set out in Section 2-3 (4) first sentence
may be waived for programmes with a scope of 30 credits or less if the programme is offered in
partnership with external academic environments that engage in research and academic and/or artistic
research or academic development work at the same level as the institution’s own academic
environment. The institution must have a dedicated academic environment in the field of study or in a
related subject area and have overall responsibility for the programme.
Section [Link] provisions for joint degrees
(1) The components of the joint degree that each of the partner institutions have responsibility for must
be clearly defined, and there must be satisfactory procedures for the development and quality
assurance of the joint degree as a whole.
(2) The components of the joint degree must constitute a whole and be in accordance with the learning
outcomes for the joint degree.
(3) For the accreditation of international joint degrees, components offered by institutions subject to
the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges must comply with the
standards and criteria for accreditation of programmes set out in Sections 2-1 to 2-4 of these
regulations.
Section 2-6. Special provisions for participation in institution-wide artistic
fellowship programme
(1) Regulations must be in place for participation in the programme. Participation in the programme
and the roles and responsibilities of the participating institution must be clearly defined.
(2) The institution and the research fellows’ rights and responsibilities must be clearly defined in
specific contracts.
(3) The size and competence of the academic environment must be adapted to the teaching and
supervision and the artistic research that must be carried out to assure and further develop the quality
of the programme.
(4) The institution must actively engage in relevant artistic research with satisfactory breadth at a high
international level related to the participation in the programme.
(5) The institution must demonstrate how the research fellows’ participation in the programme is
integrated in the institution’s own academic environment and development.
(6) The institution must actively engage in the compulsory common component of the programme.
(7) The institution must be able to offer its research fellows the necessary compulsory and elective
courses within their specialisation.
Chapter 3. Accreditation of institutions
Section 3-1. Requirements for the accreditation of higher education
institutions
(1) The institution must have education, research and/or artistic research and academic development
work at an academic level that meets the requirements set out in Sections 3-6 to 3-8 of the Regulations
concerning Quality Assurance and Quality Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational
Education.
(2) The institution must have a strategy for teaching, research and/or artistic research and academic
development work.
(3) The institution’s systematic quality assurance practices must be approved by NOKUT.
(4) The institution must have regular admission of students and a satisfactory number of candidates
who graduate within the normal length of study.
(5) The institution’s research and/or artistic research and academic development work must be
conducted in cooperation with the institution’s educational activities.
(6) The institution must have a relevant competence profile, and the overall competence must be
commensurate with comparable institutions in the same institutional category.
Chapter 4. Institutions’ systematic quality assurance
Section [Link] for systematic quality assurance
(1) Quality assurance practices must be set out in a strategy and cover all areas of importance to the
quality of the students’ learning outcomes.
(2) Quality assurance practices must be implemented at all levels of the institutions’ management.
Through their QA practices, institutions must promote a quality culture among staff and students.
(3) Institutions must systematically ensure that all study programmes meet the requirements set out in
national laws and regulations, including any additional regulations stipulated by the institutions
themselves.
(4) Institutions must systematically collect information from relevant sources in order to assess the
quality of all study programmes.
(5) Knowledge obtained through quality assurance practices must be used to enhance the quality of the
institutions’ study programmes and uncover instances of deficient quality. Deficient quality must be
rectified within a reasonable time.
(6) Results derived from quality assurance practices form part of the knowledge base used in assessing
and developing the institution’s overall portfolio of study programmes.
Chapter 5. NOKUT’s accreditation and supervision
Section 5-1. Applications for programme and institutional accreditation
(1) Accreditation is based on the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University
Colleges, Sections 3-1 to 3-8 of the Regulations concerning Quality Assurance and Quality
Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational Education, and the requirements set out in
Chapters 2 and 3 of these regulations.
(2) If an institution does not have the authority to accredit material changes to a programme, the
institution must inform NOKUT. NOKUT considers whether it is necessary to apply for new
accreditation.
(3) NOKUT may administratively reject applications for accreditation not found suitable for external
expert review.
(4) In special cases, NOKUT may establish a quarantine period of up to two years before considering a
new application from the same institution, cf. Section 3-11 (2) of the Regulations concerning Quality
Assurance and Quality Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational Education. The
applicant will be notified before a quarantine decision is made.
Section 5-2. Assessment of accredited programmes and institutions
(1) The assessment is based on the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, the
requirements set out in Sections 3-1 to 3-8 of the Regulations concerning Quality Assurance and
Quality Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational Education, and the requirements
set out in Chapters 2 and 3 of these regulations, in addition to the programme/institution’s status and
documented results.
(2) NOKUT may set a deadline for the institution to rectify any inadequacies.
Section 5-3. Periodic assessment of higher education institutions’ systematic
quality assurance practices
The assessment is based on the requirements listed in Chapter 4 of these regulations, Sections 2-1 and
2-2 of the Regulations concerning Quality Assurance and Quality Development in Higher Education
and Tertiary Vocational Education, and Section 1-6 of the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to
Universities and University Colleges.
Section 5-4. Duty of disclosure
(1) Institutions are obliged to obtain the information NOKUT needs to carry out accreditation and
assessment.
(2) Institutions must keep NOKUT updated about information related to the institution and its
accredited programmes.
Section 5-5. Appointment of external experts
(1) NOKUT appoints external experts for accreditation and revision of programmes and institutions, as
well as for the periodic assessment of institutions’ systematic quality assurance practices. The
institution is given an opportunity to comment on NOKUT’s proposal for the composition of the
committee before it is approved.
(2) External experts may not have any responsibilities at the institution or for the programme they are
assessing, or any other connection to the institution that may give rise to partiality.
Section 5-6. Expertise
(1) For the accreditation of first and second-cycle degree programmes, the expert committee must
collectively have competence related to and experience from the completion of relevant programmes.
In addition, the committee must have the following competence:
a) At least one expert must have formal qualifications at a level higher than the
programme under accreditation.
b) At least one expert must have relevant international competence in the assessment of
second-cycle programmes.
(2) For the accreditation of third-cycle degree programmes and the revision of accredited programmes
at all levels, the expert committee must collectively have competence related to and experience from
the completion of relevant programmes. In addition, the committee must have the following
competence:
a) at least one expert must have formal competence at a level higher than the programme
under accreditation. For third-cycle programmes, at least one member must have
professor qualifications.
b) at least one expert must have relevant international competence in assessing second
and third-cycle degree programmes.
c) at least one expert must be a student. For third-cycle degree programmes, at least one
expert must be a PhD candidate.
(3) For the accreditation of institutions and revision of institutional accreditation, the expert committee
must collectively have the following competence:
a) at least one expert must have management experience from a higher education
institution at at least the same level as the institution under accreditation or revision.
b) at least one expert must be affiliated to a relevant foreign institution.
c) at least one expert must have relevant competence from the labour market or society.
d) at least one expert must be a student and have experience from the board of an
institution, other central elected positions or work in the student democracy.
e) for the accreditation of a university college, at least one expert must have at least
associate professor qualifications.
f) for the accreditation of a specialised university institution, at least one expert must
have professor or docent qualifications.
(4) For NOKUT’s periodic assessment of higher education institutions’ systematic quality assurance
practices, expert committees must have the following competence:
a) at least one expert must have experience of quality assurance or periodic assessment.
b) at least one expert must have management experience from a higher education
institution.
c) at least one expert must be affiliated to a relevant foreign institution.
d) at least one expert must be a student and have experience from the board of an
institution, other central elected positions or work in the student democracy.
e) at least one expert must have professor or docent qualifications.
Chapter 6. Concluding provisions
Section 6-1. Entry into force
These regulations enter into force on 9 February 2017. From the same date, the Regulations of 28
February 2013 No 237 concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education shall
be repealed.
Section 6-2. Transitional provisions
(1) Applications for accreditation received by NOKUT before these regulations enter into force will be
considered under the previous regulations.
(2) Revisions of accreditations that NOKUT has commenced before these regulations enter into force
will be considered under the previous regulations.
(3) Institutions accredited under the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University
Colleges must meet the requirements listed in Chapter 3 for university colleges, specialised university
institutions and universities, respectively, by 31 December 2018. Accredited programmes must meet
the requirements for accreditation listed in Chapter 2 by 31 December 2018. Until this date, the
previous accreditation requirements apply.
(4) Institutions whose system for the quality assurance of education have been approved by NOKUT
are considered to be in compliance with Chapter 4 until the supervision of their systematic quality
assurance practices is completed.
Comments on the chapters and sections
Re Chapter 2. Accreditation of programmes
The term ‘programme’ in these regulations includes both programmes that lead to a degree and shorter
study programmes such as one-year programmes, continuing education programmes and courses held
independently of any programme. This is the same definition of a programme as provided in the
Ministry of Education and Research’s circular F-03-16.
For third-cycle degree programmes, the term ‘programme’ covers both the training component and the
scientific dissertation. For the accreditation of third-cycle programmes, the academic subject areas that
the third-cycle degree programme covers must be clearly stated.
The provisions of this section apply regardless of how the programme is organised (on campus,
session-based teaching, web-based learning, decentralised etc.).
Institutions without self-accreditation authority may not establish new subjects or courses outside the
subject area of an accredited programme at the relevant level, cf. Section 3-3 of the Act of 1 April
2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges. This means that any changes to an
accredited programme must take place within the subject area that the accreditation concerns. It is a
prerequisite that the overall learning outcomes of the study programme will not be changed.
Re Section 2-1. Conditions for accreditation
(1) The provisions of this section entail a clarification of the requirements listed in Section 3-1 (4) of
the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education.
NOKUT expects that the requirements listed in Section 2-1 of the Regulations concerning Supervision
of the Educational Quality in Higher Education will be met by the institutions at all times.
When considering applications for accreditation of programmes at institutions without institutional
accreditation, NOKUT will assess whether the institution meets the requirements of the Act of 1 April
2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges concerning internal regulations and
governance, appeals boards, learning environment committees, education plans, diplomas and diploma
supplements and quality assurance systems.
This provision entails a clarification of the requirements set out in Section 3-1 (4) of the Regulations
concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education.
In this context, the term ‘regulations’ includes both formal regulations and other guiding documents
for the institution that are relevant to the quality provided by the higher education institution.
Regulations must contain provisions for the recognition of previous education, cf. Section 3-5 of the
Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges.
(2) In this context, the term ‘information’ refers to what is indicated in the programme description and
associated information about the programme. In accordance with Section 3-3 of the Act of 1 April
2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges, the board of the institution adopts the
programme description for the academic content of the study programme. The Standards and
Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) 2015 standard 1.8
states that institutions should publish information about their activities, including programmes, that is
clear, accurate, objective, up to date and readily accessible. The Regulations concerning Supervision
of the Educational Quality in Higher Education set a requirement for compliance with this and Section
3-3 (3) of the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges.
Re Section 2-2. Requirements for the programme
(1) The learning outcome must be described as what a candidate shall have achieved upon completion
of the programme. The learning outcome for programmes subject to professional requirements, for
example programmes subject to national curriculum regulations, must meet both the professional
requirements and the requirements of the National Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning
(NQF).
(2) The requirement that the programme must be academically up to date means that it must be up to
date in relation to knowledge development in both academic and professional arenas, society and the
labour market. Relevance and updated knowledge in academic and professional arenas, society and the
labour market are ensured through programmes for interaction with the labour market and/or society
adapted to the programme’s content and level. The institution is expected to have assessed the
recruitment base based on the expected demand/need and overall capacity related to the same or
similar programmes at its own and other institutions.
(3) Pursuant to Section 3-8 (1) of the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University
Colleges, a full academic year is equivalent to 60 credits. This is in accordance with the European
Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). The ECTS Users’ Guide indicates that a
programme worth 60 credits normally has a total workload of approximately 1,500–1,800 hours per
full-time academic year, divided into categories of organised learning activities, self-study and exam
preparation. This entails that a full-time student who maintains the determined workload/work effort
should normally be able to achieve the learning outcome and complete the programme within the
normal length of study.
(4) In this context, infrastructure refers to appropriate facilities, equipment, library, administrative and
technical services, adequate and appropriate IT resources, web support, appropriate learning platforms,
etc. that support the students’ learning and learning environment, as well as the academic staff’s
teaching and research and/or artistic research and academic development work.
(5) The different teaching and learning methods must be adapted to the programme’s content and
structure. This means that the teaching, learning and assessment methods must be adapted to the
digital society.
For programmes with few students and/or geographically dispersed student groups, this provision
requires that institutions take measures to ensure a good study environment that facilitates academic
interaction between students and/or between students and the academic environment.
The requirement for students’ active role in the learning process is in accordance with ESG 2015
standard 1.3 on student-centred learning.
(6) This provision requires a clear connection between the programme and research and/or artistic
research and academic development work, in accordance with the requirement set out in Section 1-3
(a) of the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges, a full academic
year is equivalent to 60 credits.
(8) This provision entails that the institution must ensure that students in all programmes that lead to a
degree are offered an opportunity for academic exchange through updated and binding agreements,
and that the relevance of the exchange is guaranteed by the programme’s academic environment.
(9) Agreements must regulate the completion of supervised professional training and other matters of
importance to the students’ learning outcomes and the quality of the supervised professional training.
This means that the agreement must describe the parties’ rights and obligations.
Re Section 2-3. Requirements for the academic environment
(1) The academic environment associated with the programme includes people who directly and
regularly contribute to the development, organisation and completion of the programme. This
specification is meant to include people with different types of contributions to the programme, in
addition to teaching, supervision or other forms of facilitating learning. This can include laboratory
work, research and development work, transfer of experience from supervised professional training,
educational and academic use of digital technology, innovation and cooperation with the labour
market.
(2) The institution is responsible for ensuring the academic environment’s educational competence, cf.
Sections 1-2 to 1-7 of the Regulations concerning Appointment and Promotion, and for ensuring that
this competence is updated and develped.
In these regulations, educational competence refers to university and university college pedagogy and
didactics and includes the competence to use digital technology in the promotion of learning.
(4) In this context, principal position means that the institution is the employee’s main employer, i.e.
that the employee is employed in at least a 50 per cent position at the institution. For institutions that
can otherwise document a stable and robust academic environment within the academic subject area,
adjunct positions down to 20 per cent may count towards the requirement for at least 50 per cent of the
academic environment.
The term ‘at least associate professor qualifications’ refers to the positions associate professor,
postdoctoral fellow, docent and professor.
Section 2-3 (4) (b) applies to all five years of integrated second-cycle degree programmes.
For joint degrees, ‘the institution’ refers to the participating institutions. This means that 50 per cent of
the academic staff who contribute to the joint degree must have their principal position at one or more
of the participating institutions.
(5) The requirements for the academic environment’s documented results are regulated in the
Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education as regards second
and third-cycle level, cf. Sections 3-2 (3) and 3-3 (3) of the Regulations concerning Supervision of
Educational Quality in Higher Education. For first-cycle degree programmes, only this provision
applies.
‘A scope satisfactory for the programme’s content and level’ means, for example, that greater activity
in research and/or artistic research is needed in a second-cycle degree programme than a first-cycle
degree programme.
(7) The term ‘professional training supervisors’ refers to persons who facilitate and supervise students
during the professional training period, cf. the comments on Section 2-2 (9).
The term ‘relevant competence’ in the second sentence refers to relevant academic knowledge of and
competence in supervision and support.
For programmes that include supervised professional training, institutions and academic environments
are expected to ensure systematic contact with the professional field so that the programmes’ and
academic environments’ own professional experience is up to date and in line with developments in
the professional field. It is important for the quality of the programme that there is continuous
interaction between competent individuals in the professional field and key individuals who have their
principal position at the institutions.
Re Section 2-4. Special provision concerning the academic environment
The purpose of this provision is to allow the institutions to offer specialisations and continuing
education programmes in academic subject areas in which external environments have special
expertise. This provision means that the institution may be responsible for shorter programmes
affiliated to an academic environment in which fewer than 50 per cent of the members of the
programme’s academic environment have their principal position at the institution in question. The
institution is responsible for the programme and must assure the quality of the programme in
accordance with the provisions of these regulations.
Re Section 2-5. Supplementary provision for joint degrees
(1) Satisfactory procedures for the development and quality assurance of the joint degree as a whole
entail developing and implementing a strategy for development and quality assurance at the
consortium level.
(2) If a joint degree is offered in cooperation with one or more foreign institutions, it must be specified
which country’s qualifications framework the learning outcomes of the joint degree are based on. If
the country in the cooperation does not have its own qualifications framework, it may follow the
European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF).
Re Chapter 3. Accreditation of institutions
Re Section 3-1. Requirements for accreditation of institutions
(1) Sections 3-5 to 3-8 of the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher
Education contain provisions on requirements for accreditation of institutions.
In the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education, it is a
requirement that university colleges provide education and have stable research activity and/or artistic
research and academic development work of high quality, cf. Section 3-6 (1). Specialised university
institutions must have a clear academic profile and stable study programmes, research and/or artistic
research and academic development work of high international quality, cf. Section 3-7 (1).
Universities must have stable study programmes, research and/or artistic research and academic
development work of high international quality, cf. Section 3-7 (1).
For university colleges, the assessment of high quality will be based on the programmes underlying
the accreditation application. It is a condition that the programmes cover a substantial part of the
institution’s programme portfolio, in order for NOKUT to be able to make an overall assessment, cf.
Section 3-5 (4) of the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher
Education.
For specialised university institutions, the assessment of high international quality will be based on the
academic subject area for the third-cycle degree programme, cf. Section 3-7 (4) of the Regulations
concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education.
For universities, the assessment of high international quality will be based on the material components
that cover the institution’s academic profile, cf. Sections 3-8 (3) and (4) of the Regulations concerning
Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education.
The institution must document and substantiate that the academic level of the study programmes,
research and/or artistic research and academic development work is of high quality and high
international quality, respectively. For study programmes, the requirement applies to first, second and
third-cycle degree programmes.
(3) NOKUT conducts supervision of each individual institution’s systematic quality assurance
practices. No more than eight years shall elapse between each supervision, cf. Section 2-2 (2) of the
Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher Education.
Upon application for accreditation, NOKUT will assess whether the procedures for accreditation,
supervision and revision of programmes are satisfactory, regardless of whether the systematic quality
assurance practices are approved by NOKUT.
Re Chapter 4. Institutions’ systematic quality assurance
Re Section 4-1. Requirements for systematic quality assurance
(1) The term ‘quality assurance practices’ in these regulations refers to the work that is carried out
through a quality assurance system, cf. Section 1-6 of the University and University Colleges Act.
Quality assurance practices shall assure and develop the quality of education.
The institutions’ quality assurance practices shall help the students to achieve the learning outcomes of
the various programmes. ‘Areas of importance to the quality of the students’ learning outcomes’ refers
to areas of specific concern for the institutions in relation to facilitating learning. It is also important
that, through its quality assurance practices, the institution considers the extent to which students
actually achieve the intended learning outcomes.
(3) This entails that the institution has satisfactory procedures and practices for the accreditation of
programmes and the revision of accreditations.
In this context, the term ‘revision of accreditation’ entails a review of whether the programme meets
the requirements for accreditation and whether it produces satisfactory results. The requirements for
accreditation of programmes are set out in the Regulations concerning Quality Assurance and Quality
Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational Education and Section 2 of these
regulations.
(4) The institution determines the remit for and interval between each periodic assessment, cf. Section
2-1 (2) of the Regulations concerning Quality Assurance and Quality Development in Higher
Education and Tertiary Vocational Education. The periodic assessments may part of the systematic
information the institution collects to assess the quality of the programmes.
Re Chapter 5. NOKUT’s accreditation and supervision
Re Section 5-1. Applications for accreditation of programmes and institutions
(2) Examples of material changes to accredited programmes are:
a) changes in the programme’s overall learning outcome
b) new title of the programme
c) the establishment of programmes in new locations
d) a change from session-based teaching to web-based learning or vice versa
(3) Applications without adequate information and documentation may be rejected on an
administrative basis. Applications for the accreditation of programmes that do not comply with the
requirements set out in Section 2-1 of the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational
Quality in Higher Education, cf. the comments, are not considered suitable for expert assessment.
Re Section 5-2. Supervision of accredited programmes and institutions
It is NOKUT that initiates all supervision procedures and determines the form of supervision.
(1) Examples of status and documented results are the admission of students, the production of
graduates/student throughput, achievement of learning outcomes, research and development-based
education etc.
Re Section 5-5. Appointment of external experts
(1) NOKUT may use permanent expert committees in cases necessitated by the volume of
accreditation applications, supervision and/or revisions of accreditation. In certain cases, permanent
academic expert committees may conduct a pre-qualification screening of the academic environment
before an institution submits an application for accreditation. When permanent committees are used,
the committee’s legitimacy is ensured by appointing experts in dialogue with representatives of the
sector.
Re Section 5-6. Expertise
(1) In this context, ‘relevant programme’ refers to the same or a similar programme.
(2) The student is not required to have competence in or experience from the completion of a relevant
programme. The student must be affiliated to a relevant programme.
For both (1) b and (2) b: Relevant international competence normally refers to a person whose
principal position is at an institution outside Norway.
Re Chapter 6. Final provisions
Re Section 6-2. Transitional provisions
(3) In a set of amending regulations to the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational
Quality in Higher Education, the Ministry of Education and Research has decided that existing
universities and university colleges must meet the new standards and criteria for institutional
accreditation for university colleges, specialised university institutions and universities, respectively,
by the end of 2018, cf. Sections 3-5 to 3-8 of the Regulations concerning Supervision of the
Educational Quality in Higher Education.
Accredited programmes must meet the requirements for accreditation by the same date, cf. Section 8-
1, cf. Sections 3-1 to 3-4 of the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in
Higher Education. Since the Regulations concerning Supervision of the Educational Quality in Higher
Education are closely linked to the Regulations concerning Quality Assurance and Quality
Development in Higher Education and Tertiary Vocational Education, NOKUT finds it most
expedient to stipulate the same transitional provision.
NOKUT’s proposal for provisions on the entry into force and transitional arrangements entails in brief
that all ongoing accreditation and supervision cases follow the previous regulations. Accreditation
applications submitted after these regulations enter into force will be considered in accordance with
the new regulations.
The regulations entered into force on 9 February 2017.
