The matter summed up The Storting decided last year that all students from countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland must pay to study in Norway. This has led to a large decrease in the number of international students, and is costing the university dearly. Nord University in Bodø expects to lose 20 million every year from the international students who do not come. Several international students express that they would not have chosen to study in Norway if they had to pay. The Ministry of Education is not worried and believes that Norway is now in line with the rest of Europe. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The Storting decided last year that all students from countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland had to pay to study in Norway. This has led to a large decrease in the number of international students, and is costing the university dearly. Nord University in Bodø expects to lose 20 million every year from the international students who do not come. According to the nine universities news has spoken to, they will lose a total of over NOK 130 million. I think Norway is way down on the wish list 25-year-old Abdenour Brahmi from Algeria is an international student at Nord University. He now has to pay to study at Nord University. But he is lucky. He got a scholarship before he left. – If not, it would not have been possible for me to study here. The student fee is very expensive, he says to news. And he is not the only student who thinks Norway loses when the international students have to pay. Juan Carlos Silas 22-year-old Juan Carlos Silas from Mexico studies biology at Nord University. – When I came I didn’t have to pay. But if I change my course now, I have to pay. – If you had to start all over again, or were to start now, would you have studied here in Bodø? – Probably not. I would probably have chosen another country in the USA or Europe, or just completed my degree in Mexico. He says different perspectives have a lot to say in a research context. – Science is very universal. Therefore, diversity is very important. Julie Chauvet 21-year-old Julie Chauvet also came to Bodø to study marine biology. She does not have to pay because she is part of the Erasmus programme. That is why her university pays for her studies. But if she had to pay, the study period in Norway would have been much more difficult for her to complete. – What do you think it will do to the research environment? – Perhaps there will be fewer people interested in studying if it is too expensive to come. Then there will also be fewer opportunities for the research community, says Chauvet and adds: – It is not right to do it now. Leonie JoanLeonie Joan is now a teacher at Nord University, but she actually came to Norway as an international student herself at the University of Bergen. She went on an Erasmus study, and therefore didn’t have to pay. – I probably wouldn’t have come if I had to pay. Before, people came to the Scandinavian countries precisely because they didn’t have to pay. She believes that the international students have great value because they come with different points of view and ideas. Melissa FrantzenMelissa Frantzen is a Norwegian student at Nord Univeristet. She believes that the international students give an insight in other cultures. – Last year I shared a kitchen with a girl from Germany. It was very pleasant, series ho. – In addition, you have to learn a little English, and you get to practice it. Pro-rector: – Student program must be closed Those who had already started studying before the decision that international students should pay can complete their degree. These students do not pay semester fees Refugees People who have been expelled from Ukraine, with collective protection in Norway Students who come to Norway on exchange through agreements between Norwegian and foreign institutions Foreign nationals who are entitled to loans and grants from Lånekassen, for example because they are married with a Norwegian citizen, or have worked or studied in Norway for a period Foreign citizens who have the right to be treated equally with Norwegian citizens Doctoral candidates The ministry will regulate several exceptions in regulations to the law, including for participants in one of the nationally funded cooperation programs which is aimed at the global south (for example for the programme, NORHED and NORPART), for the Students at Risk scheme and for the Sami university. This is discussed in more detail in the bill. But those who start now must pay, if there is no reason for them to skip. Levi Gårseth-Nesbakk is vice-chancellor for education at Nord University. He says the international students have been important in keeping several study programs at Nord University alive. – This means that some student programs must be closed. In the academic year 2024–2025, NTNU will offer 31 international study programmes, compared to 54 the previous year. – In every way and for many years, it has been a win-win situation. It is very regrettable that the possibility for this has now become more limited, says the vice-chancellor for education at NTNU, Marit Reitan. Now it is difficult for them to fill up the study places for international applicants. They only fill up 60 percent of the places on the international master’s. At UiA, they hope that scholarship schemes can increase the number of students. – But it will hardly make up for the cut. This means that the university’s finances and room for action are permanently reduced, says Chancellor Sunniva Whittaker at UiA. This is how much the universities will lose: NTNU: NOK 50 million – tuition fees cover NOK 5 million for now. UiA: NOK 7.7 million – the tuition fees initially cover NOK 390,000. Nord University: 20 million – gets 40 per cent covered in tuition fees. UiO: The tuition fees that UiO received for the entire academic year 2023/24 covered about half of UiO’s budget cuts for 2023 and about one sixth of UiO’s budget cuts for 2024 Oslo Met: No financial consequences as they can fill up the places with students from EU and EEA. UiT: Has received a cut in the budget of NOK 5.2 million in 2023. For 2024, a cut of around NOK 10.4 million is expected. In addition, the loss is connected to far fewer international students on campus than before. An estimated loss here can amount to several million kroner. USN: Gets a reduction in the framework license of a total of NOK 20 million in 2024. UiB: The total cut for UiB is around NOK 26 million annually. NMBU: The institutions’ framework has been reduced by NOK 6.1 million in 2024 as a result of the introduction of tuition fees for students outside the EU/EEA area. Norway in line with the rest of the world State Secretary Ivar B. Prestbakmo in the Ministry of Education says that there are few countries that do not require tuition fees from foreign students. – With the introduction of tuition fees, Norway is now more in line with the rest of the world, he says. That is why Prestbakmo is not worried. State Secretary Ivar B. Prestbakmo in the Ministry of Education says that the international students from outside the EEA and Switzerland today make up between 2 and 3 percent of the approx. The 300,000 students at Norwegian universities and colleges. Photo: CHRISTIAN KRÅKENES / CHRISTIAN KRÅKENES The State Secretary says they had also expected that there would be a reduction in the number of students when they introduced the fee. – Does this mean that the professional environment and the research environment in Norway are in danger? – The universities and colleges are responsible for dimensioning their study offer in line with the wishes of the applicants and the needs in working life. I trust that they make good assessments of this. Results must provide income in the future The Ministry of Education wrote in an e-mail to news that the institutions have received, and will receive, a reduction in the license in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 as a result of the tuition fees for international students. – This is because the institutions will receive new income from the tuition fee and the license has been reduced in line with an estimate of the new income, they write. But they do not think that it is only negative with fewer international students. The Ministry of Education has reduced the permission they give to universities and colleges. It is because they expect that the institutions will earn more with the new student fee. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news – The decline in international students gives the institutions room to offer places to more Norwegian applicants and other applicants from the EEA. In addition, they say that there will be changes in the funding system for universities and colleges from 2025. – What will count in the future for results-based payment are credits completed and the percentage of students who take a full degree, who complete in the normal time, they write. Gets a lower reputation But the 25-year-old student from Algeria is not sure that the Ministry of Education has thought of everything. He thinks it will affect what foreign students know about Norway. And it will also affect the Norwegian students, believes the 25-year-old. – There will be fewer opportunities for cultural exchange and meeting new people from other places who give new perspectives on life. All this counts for us as human beings.
ttn-69
International students must pay semester fees – universities in Norway lose millions – news Nordland
