Norwegian universities and colleges are gaining more and more new students. At the same time, the students are better than before and secure their qualifications on time.
More bachelor students are finishing on time. Over 51% completed their studies in 2020. It is the first time that more than half of the bachelor students have completed their studies without delay.
“It is good that we have increased to half, but I would like to see even better numbers. I have high expectations that the measures we are now taking to improve the quality of education and ensure better workforce relevance can lead to even more people completing their studies on time in the years ahead,” Minister of Research and Higher Education Henrik Asheim (H) said.
In total, including all degrees, around 50,700 people graduated from Norwegian universities and colleges, an increase of 2,400 compared to 2019.
The annual report on higher education in Norway has been prepared by Diku, the Directorate for Internationalization and Quality Development in Higher Education, for the Ministry of Education and Research.
273,000 students
The students and staff at the universities and colleges are affected by the corona situation. Among other things, there has been a marked growth in both the number of applicants and the number of students. In 2020, 273,000 students were registered – an increase of 4% from the previous year.
“More people than before have chosen to study now that many other plans have been put on hold due to corona. This is a demanding time to be a student, especially for the very newest, but I am glad that so many have used the time to learn something new,” Asheim said.
At the same time, there has been a large decline in exchange students, both to and from Norway. Just over 4,600 students came on exchange to Norway, and slightly more than 3,800 students went from Norwegian institutions in 2020. In 2019, the corresponding figures were close to 9,000 and 7,500 students.
34 hours a week
The Student Barometer shows that the students’ social lives have also been affected.
“Most students miss the social study environment, study motivation is reduced, and it has been difficult to structure the work with more time for self-study,” the report notes.
At the same time, three out of four students say that the situation has given them more peace of mind. There is still a minority who think this was good. And there are indications that many students experienced difficulties when autumn and winter came in 2020.
An average student in 2020 spends 34 hours on studies per week and eight hours on extra work.
“The time students spend on studies has been slightly declining since 2016. In 2020, there has been a slight decrease in total academic time use because the students spent less time on organized learning activities. This, in turn, can be attributed to closed campuses and reduced teaching time during the corona pandemic,” according to the report.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayEducation
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