Students' Role in the Quality Assurance of Education

The University shall be characterised by a high quality of education and shall work continuously on quality improvements in teaching and supervision. To develop our educations and the learning environment, NMBU depends on active and involved students who offer constructive feedback on teaching, supervision, courses, programmes and learning environment.

Below you may read more about how you as a student can contribute in the quality assurance.

• Feedback on courses

  All courses shall be evaluated each time they are offered. Both an evaluation during the course and a summative evaluation at the end of the course shall be conducted. For courses in the blocks, there is usually only an evaluation at the end of the course. In the evaluation, students can provide input and assessments for which of the courses they are registered. The course coordinator prepares a course report based on these evaluations and their own assessments. NMBU is working on a system to make these reports available, and until further notice, students may request access to course reports.

  The students can offer feedback on courses by:

  • Replying on the course evaluations, both during and at the end of the course.
  • Direct dialogue with the teacher/course coordinator.
  • Contacting the student representatives and using the student democracy when needed.
  • Contacting the Faculty (study advisors, programme coordinator, head of teaching).

  Quality assurance of courses
• Feedback on programme quality

  All programmes must report annually on the status of the quality of the programme (September - October). Results from course evaluations, Studiebarometeret (a national student survey), the study start survey etc. are used when reporting. The report shall be prepared by the programme coordinator and shall be discussed by the Programme Council, the Faculty Academic Affairs Committee (FAK-SU) and Faculty Board before being approved. There are student representatives on the Programme Council, Faculty Academic Affairs Committee (FAK-SU) and the Faculty Board.

  All programmes must go through a more extensive evaluation by external peers every 7-10 years. Students shall be represented in the Faculty project group that works on the documentation for the evaluation (self-evaluation report, goals for the evaluation, proposed evaluation committee and work on the follow-up of the evaluation). A student shall also sit on the evaluation committee. Student participation is also ensured through the permanent presence of student representatives in the Faculty Board and Faculty Academic Affairs Committee, which are also involved in this process.

  The students can offer feedback on their programme of study by:

  • Register items to the Programme Council, for instance through student representatives at the Faculty
  • Participate in the annual national student survey on quality in education – Studiebarometeret (Nokut)
  • Participate in NMBU's Student Start Survey
  • Provide feedback to student representatives before processing and approval of programme reports at the Faculty
  • Participate as student representative in the periodic evaluation of the programme
  • Participate in NMBU's candidate survey after having successfully terminated your studies - here you may also provide feedback on the relevance in your programme of study

  More information on programme evaluations is available in Norwegian
• Feedback on the learning environment

  Challenges regarding the psychosocial learning environment shall first be raised where the challenge is. The students can contact the study advisor, teacher, course coordinator, programme coordinator or head of teaching. Students can also seek advice from student representatives, the student information centre (SIT) or the student life centre (SiÅs).

  If requests are not followed-up, or the issue is of such a character that this is difficult, it is possible to report issues in the deviation system for quality of education. Speak up - report deviation. Here you can also report deviations relating to:

  • The physical learning environment
  • Examination
  • Health, environment and safety
  • Information security and privacy protection
  • Serious and critical issues

  Universities and university colleges in Norway have together set up sikresiden.no/en, where students can get preventive training and advice on what to do in an emergency as violence, threats, fire, sexual harassment, first aid etc.

• Surveys on well-being, learning environment and quality of education

  In addition to conducting our own surveys and evaluations, NMBU participate in national surveys. The Faculties also conduct some surveys on their own in addition to there more sporadically is conducted some subject specific surveys. Good participation is decisive for the validity of the results from the surveys, and the results are used in the development of the programmes.

  These student surveys are conducted on a regular basis across Faculties and programmes of study:

  • Course evaluation every time a course is held
  • NMBU's study start survey (annual survey among all first-year students, conducted in January/February)
  • Studiebarometeret (a national student survey), under the auspices of NOKUT. Conducted annually in November/December, and is sent to all second and fifth year students.
  • The SHoT survey, under the auspices of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Conducted every four years, and is sent to all Norwegian students.
  • NMBU's candidate survey. Conducted every five years, and is sent to all candidates who graduated from NMBU during the five previous years. NMBU is now developing a shorter survey to be sent more frequently.
• Representation on boards and committees

  For student participation at NMBU, it is crucial that students run for election in boards and committees with student representation. For most positions, it is necessary to master the Norwegian language.

  Boards and committees with student representation

  What	Period	Number	Information
  Chair of the Student Board (AU)	1 July - 30 June	1	Elected by electronic voting by ballots (the student election), 100 %, paid.
  Member of the Student Board (AU)	1 July - 30 June	2	Elected by electronic voting by ballots (the student election), 100 %, paid.
  University Board (one representative of each legal sex + deputy members, cf. University and University Colleges Act)	1. Aug. - 31. July for the spring election, 1 Jan. - 31 Dec. for the autumn election	2	Elected by electronic voting by ballots (the student election), paid.
  University's Management Team (ULT)	1 year	*	*The chair of AU sits here.
  University's Academic Affairs Committee (NMBU-SU)	1 year	3	Elected by the Student Parliament, paid.
  Research Committee (NMBU-FU)	1 year, starting on 1 July	2	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Learning Environment Committee (LMU)	1 July - 30 June	4	One from AU and three are elected by the Student Parliament, paid.
  Working environment committee (AMU)		*	*The chair of AU has the right to meet and speak.
  Appeals Committee	1 July - 30 June	2	Elected by the Student Parliament, paid.
  Central Admissions Committee		2
  Suitability Committee	1. Aug. - 31. July	2	One from REALTEK and one from VET from 1 Aug. 2024.
  Research Ethics Committee	1 year	2	Elected by the Student Parliament, paid.
  Faculty board (FAK-SU) ( one representative of each legal sex + deputy members)	1 July - 30 June for the spring election, 1 Jan. - 31 Dec. for the autumn election	2 x 7	Elected by electronic voting by ballots (the student election), paid.
  Faculty Academic Affairs Committee (FAK-SU)	1 year	2 or more	Elected by the Faculty General Assembly.
  Faculty Research Committee (FAK-FU)	1 year	2	Elected by the Faculty General Assembly.
  Programme Council	1 year	Number decided by the Faculty	Elected by the Faculty General Assembly.
  Central Nomination Committee	1 year	*	Two from AU.
  Nomination Committee (Faculty)	1 year	2 x 7	Elected by the Faculty General Assembly.
  Appointments Committee (Faculty)	1 year	2 x 7	Elected by the Faculty General Assembly.
  Student Council (at the Faculty)	1 year	2 (Chair and Vice-Chairman)	Elected by the Faculty General Assembly. Other representatives in the Council: class representatives and the Faculty's student representatives to the Student Parliament, the Faculty Board, as well as in the Faculty's Academic Affairs Committee, programme councils, Faculty Research Committee, Nomination Committee and Appointments Committee.
  Class Representative	1 year	1	Elected from each class.
  Student Parliament	1 year	25	Representatives of the student council from each faculty sit here. Elected by the Faculty General Assembly.
  Election Committee	1 year	4	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Supervisory Board	1 year	3	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Moderator	1 year	2	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Board of the Student Association in Ås (SiÅs)	2 years (1 year for deputy members). Starting 1 July	2	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Buddy General	1 year	1	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Buddy Board	1 year		Lead by the Buddy General. Buddy leaders, NMBU, AU and Samfunnet are also represented on the Board.
  Committee for best educator of the semester	1 year	4	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Committee for the allocation of welfare funds	1 year	2	Elected by the Student Parliament. Other representatives on the committee: two members of AU, the financial controller at Samfunnet, one student representative from the board of SiÅs and one person who previously sat on the committee.
  Delegates for the annual meeting of the National Union of Students in Norway (NSO)		Number of allocated delegates	Elected by the Student Parliament.
  Representative for the Euroleague Student Association (ELSA)	1 year	2	One from AU, and one elected by the Student Parliament.
  Board of the International Student Union (ISU) at NMBU			The board of the local organisation at NMBU is elected by international students at NMBU.

  Deputy members

  Most positions have designated deputy members. The deputy will attend meetings if the permanent representative cannot attend.

  Do you wish more information?

  • Most positions are described on the Student Parliament's webpage (text in Norwegian).
  • Please contact the Student Parliament or the secretary of the board/committee in question.
• Student democracy

  The students can use the student democracy at NMBU to promote their point of view. The Student Parliament is the highest decision-making student body at NMBU. The Student Board (AU) is the working group of the Student Parliament and shall promote their policy.

  Through the student democracy, all students can raise issues regarding all students at NMBU. Examples of issues can regard the learning environment, campus policy, student welfare and student housing.

  More information on the organisation of the student democracy, their role and contact information
• Society of doctoral candidates

  The Society of Doctoral Candidates at NMBU (SoDoC) is a free and non-political interest organisation for PhD candidates and postdocs at the University. The doctoral research fellows shall be represented on different committees at NMBU.

  You can read more on SoDoc's web page
• NMBU's Learning Philosophy

  NMBU has a learning philosophy that reflects how NMBU shall accommodate for learning. However, it also treats how NMBU expects that our students participate actively in their own learning.

  Read about the Learning Philosophy

Read more about quality assurance of education (QAE)