This English translation is for information purposes only. For all legal purposes, the original document in Norwegian is the authoritative version. This document relates to the Norwegian grading system and structure of education.
1. Objectives and structure
The UiO quality system shall help to ensure high quality education, a good learning and working environment for students, PhD candidates and employees, and society’s confidence in the competence of candidates. The quality system shall support the UiO's unique opportunities to connect education and research, utilise its academic strengths and apply knowledge.
The quality system shall support academic activities and research-based knowledge about learning and education. The quality system shall contribute towards developing the quality of education and the learning environment by:
- establishing a broad knowledge base for quality work
- ensuring input from students, PhD candidates and other stakeholders
- identifying and collecting data to support quality assessment
- facilitating collegiate involvement and interaction
The quality system covers all education offered by the university. It shall ensure regular assessments of quality and development measures in respect of both individual education and educational activities as a whole. It shall allow for local adaptation of quality work based on academic requirements, unit organisation and different educational levels. It shall also promote the sharing of experience and the spread of good practice.
The quality system shall help the UiO to regularly and systematically assess whether or not the objectives and ambitions of its educational activities and learning environment are being realised. These objectives are enshrined in the UiO’s and the faculties' strategic and annual plans, as well as in their programme and course descriptions.
The quality system has three main components:
Common system description
Framework provisions that allocate responsibilities and set minimum requirements for quality work and the evaluation of educational quality (this document).
Routine descriptions and mandates/function descriptions
Faculties, departments and UiO's joint administration establish routine descriptions for the UiO’s activities in the quality system in line with the division of labour between levels. The routine descriptions shall specify:
- how activities are carried out
- who will be responsible for how they are carried out
- how the results are processed (formal forums)
- who (which roles) are responsible for follow-up
The routine descriptions shall be available on the UiO's website.
In addition, there shall be mandates/functional descriptions for the roles of heads of education and formal educational quality bodies that show responsibilities for the implementation and follow-up of the activities in the quality system.
Sharing of experience
All levels shall contribute towards joint and local initiatives that facilitate experience-sharing and learning at individual and organisational level.
2. Responsibilities and involvement
Quality work is part of the UiO’s ordinary governance and management structure and shall normally be based on existing procedures, arrangements and bodies.
The faculties can adapt the division of responsibilities or add duties in accordance with their own priority areas and organisational structures. There are therefore local variations in the organisation of quality work.
University board
The university board has overall responsibility for the quality of UiO's educations and adopts the university's strategic plan. The board exercises its responsibility by adopting annual plans and budgets and by regularly and comprehensively following up UiO's activities and results. The board discusses and decides on issues related to UiO’s education portfolio and other relevant topics in the field of education.
University management team
The university management team is responsible for the overall coordination of quality work and for following up the results. In particular the team is responsible for facilitating the quality development of educational activities and serving as a driving force behind internal quality work and the exchange of experience.
Joint committees
The UiO has three joint committees that are essential in respect of the quality of education:
- The Education committee deals with education at bachelor's and master's level.
- The Research committee deals with education at PhD level.
- The Learning environment committee deals with the physical and psychosocial learning environment.
All three are advisory committees and contribute towards the development of quality in UiO education and realisation of the objectives of the UiO’s educational activities. They serve respectively as meeting places and venues for strategic discussions between the university management team, the faculties and students and PhD candidates.
The Education committee has a particular responsibility for the integrity of quality work, e.g. when reviewing system descriptions. The Education committee also serves as an important link between academic and administrative line management by engaging in cooperation with the head of studies network.
Faculty and departmental levels
Deans and heads of department are responsible for quality work at their levels and are responsible for following up the results. They are particularly responsible for facilitating the quality development of educational activities and for ensuring the existence of faculty and departmental roles such as head of education.
Deans and heads of department shall provide up-to-date details about heads of education at faculty and departmental level, programme council members, programme managers and course managers. An overview of heads of education and programme managers shall be available on UiO's website, while the faculties shall keep an overview of programme council members and course managers.
The faculties and departments have different ways of organising and naming committees, but they shall all have meeting places and venues for conducting strategic discussions about the educational quality of those involved in quality work. Students and PhD candidates shall be represented.
The administration sections of the faculties and departments provide support for academic managers and academic development work. They have an important role in the practical implementation of quality work and the facilitation of cooperation.
The following roles shall exist:
Heads of education at faculty level
Heads of education at faculty level (study deans, vice-deans for tuition/research education) are responsible for the management, development and coordination of the unity of faculty programme portfolios and are drivers of faculty quality work.
Typical duties in respect of education and research education are:
- managing and coordinating work on following up faculty strategy and annual plans
- initiating faculty quality development processes
- serving as a link between faculty management and education and research heads of education at departmental level
- serving as faculty representatives on the UiO's joint bodies
Heads of education at departmental level
Head of education at the departmental level (heads of education, heads of studies, heads of research education or the equivalent) have overall and coordinating responsibility for all departmental programmes and courses and are drivers of quality work.
Typical duties in respect of education and research education are:
- managing the work involved in following up departmental strategy and annual plans
- facilitating the development of the collegiate community in education
- managing academic development projects
- providing a good exchange of information between faculties and departments and serving as a link between departmental administrative and the scientific employees
Programme councils and programme heads
Units that are responsible for programmes are regarded as being the owner of the programme concerned and are responsible for appointing a programme council and head of programme in line with the UiO’s normal rules. Programme councils and programme heads are responsible for ensuring:
- the unity and cohesion of a programme and ensuring good connections between learning objectives, teaching methods, evaluation and assessment methods and learning outcomes
- that programmes are quality assured and developed in line with requirements
- that improvement needs are assessed and that measures are initiated and followed up
- that students/PhD candidates receive information about evaluation results
Programme councils should consist of persons who are active in the implementation and development of programmes. Programme heads should normally chair programme councils.
Course managers
Units which are responsible for a course are regarded as being the owner of the course in question and for appointing a course manager. Course managers are responsible for ensuring:
- that courses are quality assured and developed in line with requirements
- that improvement needs are assessed and that measures are initiated and followed up
- that students/PhD candidates receive information about evaluation results
Students and PhD candidates
The involvement of students and PhD candidates in quality work takes place through participation in evaluations, through their representatives in student bodies at all levels, through representation in UiO's committees and working groups and through hearings. This is handled in line with UiO's guidelines for student participation.
Joint coordination of quality work
The Department of Study Administration is the system owner of the quality system and supports the educational quality work of the faculties and the University Management Team. This department has overall responsibility for managing administrative support functions relating to education.
Administrative networks in which both the faculties and UiO's joint administration participate are arenas for consultations throughout the University of Oslo and they contribute to the exchange of experiences. As regards quality work this applies in particular to the network for administrative heads of study and the forum for research education.
The Section for Business and Financial Management assists and advises the University Management Team on corporate governance, financial management and analysis. This section coordinates the UiO's work on corporate governance and reporting.
Internal auditing unit
The purpose of the Internal auditing unit is to promote and protect UiO's values by providing risk-based and objective confirmations, advice and insight. The unit reports directly to the board and is professionally independent of the university management. The Internal auditing unit carries out its work according to international standards for internal auditing and annually prepares an audit plan, approved by the university board, which regularly includes processes and activities of importance to the quality work.
3. Knowledge base for quality work
It is a fundamental objective that the UiO’s quality work shall be based on up-to-date academic and educational knowledge. The quality system shall contribute to a broad knowledge base which includes both qualitative and quantitative information and research and development activities. The system is designed to enable students, PhD candidates, tutors and others to provide input.
The knowledge base shall provide tutors, students and PhD candidates with information, analyses and data for development and learning and also provide leaders at all levels with a basis for decision-making. Follow-up takes place as part of management’s responsibilities, through collegiate involvement and through corporate governance and the work carried out on the Education Portfolio.
Course evaluation
Courses shall be evaluated each time they are held. The purpose of the evaluation is to facilitate regular and systematic further development of the course. As part of the evaluation, the students/PhD candidates must be given the opportunity to give input to and engage in a dialogue with the course manager about the quality of the course.
Evaluation shall include an assessment of the course's learning outcomes, teaching methods and organisation. Other key topics are the course's learning environment, the work effort of the students'/PhD candidates and, when relevant, the course's assessment methods.
The course manager prepares a brief summary with an assessment of the quality of the course, the students’/PhD candidates’ most important feedback, any adjustments made and the opportunities for further development of the course. Such summaries shall be shared with the course owner and the students/PhD candidates who have participated.
As regards the tuition aspect of PhD programmes, the faculty concerned may find other appropriate quality assurance procedures in line with the intentions which relate to course evaluation.
The results of evaluation are primarily followed up by the course manager with the support of the academic community and the course owner, but they are also included in the regular development of the education portfolio, cf. chapter 4.
Periodic programme evaluation
Within a six-year period, an evaluation of the integrity of each programme shall be carried out. The purpose of such evaluation is to assess the quality of the programme and any opportunities for programme development.
Periodic programme evaluation shall be carried out for all programmes. For programmes of less than 60 ECTS, it is possible to make appropriate adjustments to the carrying out of the evaluation. The faculty can evaluate several programmes in a joint process.
The periodic programme evaluation consists of a self-evalua