Uncertainty as Norway international student fee deadline looms

Norwegian universities have a busy summer ahead as politicians argue over the finer details of international student fees, which will be charged to those from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) from August.

Overall support for the plans from the Norwegian parliament’s education committee on 6 June confirms the late summer deadline, despite warnings from the University and College Council and others that levying fees would create costs and that similar changes in Sweden were brought in with two years’ notice, rather than two months.

Among the uncertainties are the exact scope of exemptions and a scholarship scheme promised by the government to ensure that some students from low-income countries can still come to Norway.

In a report on the committee decision, left-wing members of the panel said that fees were being introduced “without predictability, thorough analysis and with great haste. If the sector does not manage to collect the extra income, the government's proposal will in reality involve a cut in the allocations for higher education.”

Local media have reported that the University of Oslo, the University of Stavanger and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences have all collected fees from non-EEA applicants, with Oslo and Stavanger making their own decisions on exceptions for some. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology has said it has not yet levied fees, preferring to wait until a final vote on the amendment to the higher education law, which was due on 12 June.

Agnete Vabø, vice-dean at Oslo Metropolitan University, which has a particularly high share of international students, told Times Higher Education that her institution was among those waiting to hear from the ministry how fee exemptions would work.

“These things have been postponed [while we] wait and see what will be decided. It’s so complicated to decide and there are various opinions about it,” she said. She said she was “very surprised” that left-wing parties had chosen to shape the proposal rather than oppose it.

While universities prepare for a sprint finish setting up their fee systems, other parts of the system are yet to fall into place. Norway’s immigration agency, the UDI, which will issue the NKr6,000 (£439) study permits all internationals require, said it was “unfortunate” that the rules were not yet in place.

The introduction of international fees in one of Europe’s last free-for-all systems has faced opposition at home and abroad. Following the committee confirmation, Maika Marie Godal Dam, head of the Norwegian Student Organisation, said it was “a betrayal from many quarters” and “a sad day for students and for equal opportunities”.

Universities have warned of potential brain drain and skills shortages in industries key to the Norwegian economy and said that those programmes created with internationals in mind are likely to shut down.

The government has said it expects international student numbers to fall by 70 per cent and has pitched this as a saving for the sector, citing the experience of Sweden when it did the same in 2011. Dr Vabø said it was still too soon to know the effects of that change.

ben.upton@timeshighereducation.com