17 - Norway - Private education
One act is common to all higher education institutions, both public (state) and private institutions. This
is the Act of 1 April 2005 No 15 on Universities and University Colleges. Chapter 8 is on private
institutions.
Earlier, private higher education in Norway was regulated by the Act of 11 June 1986 No 53 on the
Recognition of Study Programmes at, and the State Funding of, Private Colleges.
Among the 33 private higher education institutions, one institution has been accredited by the
Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) as a specialised university and two
institutions have been accredited as university colleges.
Private higher education institutions may only receive state funding for recognised study programmes,
but they are not automatically entitled to such support. In 2007, there are 33 private higher education
institutions with recognised study programmes, of which 24 institutions receive state funding for (part
of) their activities. All of these have to send budget proposals, and yearly accounts and reports on
examination procedures, numbers of registered students, graduates, etc. to the Ministry.
The private higher education institutions cover a wide spectre of study programmes: ballet, music,
theology and religious studies, teacher education, nursing and social work, engineering, computer
technology, business administration and marketing. These programmes are either recognised as
similar to programmes in public higher education, e.g. in nursing and social work, or as alternatives at
the same level, e.g. teacher training for anthroposophist (Rudolf Steiner) schools.
Most of the private institutions offer programmes at bachelor level, some have programmes at master
level. The Norwegian School of Theology, the School of Mission and Theology and the Norwegian
School of Management BI can confer doctor's degrees.
Although there are many private higher education institutions in Norway, these are on the whole
relatively small. Only 14 % of all students attended private higher education institutions in 2006/07.
The Norwegian School of Management BI, however, is a major actor within the field of business
studies. It has about 18,000 students (half of which follow part-time courses) and 12 branches located
in all parts of Norway. This makes BI by far the largest private higher education institution in
Scandinavia.
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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