A government-appointed committee today presented proposals for changes to the rules for admission to higher education. Among other things, the committee will remove all additional points and discontinue the opportunity to improve grades by taking up subjects as a private student. Instead, among other things, a standardized entrance exam is proposed, and 20 per cent of the places are set aside for an “entrance exam quota”. COMMITTEE CHAIR: Marianne Aasen has looked at the system for admission to colleges and universities in Norway. Photo: Su thet mon / news – It’s an easier way to show that you can do better than the grades you had in high school, says committee leader Marianne Aasen to news. The exam tests applicants in core competence in their own language, English and basic mathematics. – Are you able to read and understand text? Are you able to understand difficult concepts? Are you able to interpret numbers? Aasen has not taken the whole test himself. – But I have looked at it and scrolled down, she says with a smile. – The maths part is difficult, at least for someone who has passed 50 and who has not been to school for a long time. The proposed standardized entrance exam is based on a Swedish model. This is how the Swedish college examination is Quantitative tasks: mathematical problem solving (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, functional theory and statistics) quantitative comparison (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, functional theory and statistics) quantitative reasoning (ability to handle mathematical and logical problems) diagrams, tables and maps (ability to interpret information from diagrams, tables and maps) Verbal tasks: word comprehension (ability to understand words and concepts) reading comprehension (ability to understand the content of Swedish texts) “meaning completion” (ability to understand words and concepts in context) English reading comprehension (ability to understand the content of English texts) (Source: Universitets- och högskolerådet (2022b). For ranking In Sweden, it is possible to enter higher education precisely by doing well on such a test. In in our neighboring country, the Högskoleprovet is a standardized, general test that is used as a basis for ranking. – This test functions as an alternative to having a solution for improving grades. There are approximately 100,000 people a year who take the test, and it is carried out twice a year, says the Norwegian investigation. – Applicants cannot qualify solely on the basis of the test, but they must also have general study skills, it says. Proposed changes in the admissions system for higher education Grades are retained as the ranking method for the vast majority. The system of first-time certificate quota and ordinary quota is replaced by a grade quota, where everyone competes with the grades from the first time the subjects were passed. The quota shall apply to 80 per cent of study places. 20 percent of the places are set aside for an entrance examination quota. Today, applicants without grades from upper secondary school can obtain study qualifications via other schemes, such as vocational training. These will be able to take the entrance exam in order to compete for admission to studies with more applicants than places. The committee will remove all additional points. This applies to points for age, first service, vocational school, folk high school or higher education. It is no longer possible to improve grades, but it should be possible to take new subjects after completing upper secondary school. Applicants who need a second chance can take an entrance exam. Replace gender points with gender quotas. The quotas will contribute to working life and individuals having access to professionals of both sexes. Discontinue the option to set grade requirements for entry into an education. Among other things, this grade requirement applies to teacher training and nursing training. Passing must mean that the person is qualified for a study place that is available. Grades are to be used for ranking, not for qualification. Continue the current arrangement with special quotas for Northern Norwegian applicants and applicants with Sami language skills. Fears favoritism The Norwegian Student Union (NSO) is positive about having more routes into higher education, but skeptical about entrance exams as a method. – Everyone must have equal opportunities to enter higher education, says NSO leader Maika Marie Godal Dam. – We are afraid that an entrance exam will favor a specific group, namely those who are good at studying and have enough resources to prepare for such an exam, she insists. NSO believes there is a better solution than the one proposed by the committee. – You can rather look at making a holistic assessment of individual students, based on what experience, motivation or other skills they have. For its part, the committee points out that entrance exams are widespread internationally, both to qualify applicants for higher education and to rank them. There are both general and subject-specific entrance exams. Aasen believes that an entrance exam will be more relevant than having to take up subjects that may not be relevant for further studies. – It’s a much more efficient way of doing it, at the same time that it generally very precisely measures what exactly is relevant for whether you are prepared for study. Here you can prepare yourself for questions from the Swedish test:
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This is how the Swedish entrance exam is – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
