5 Inbound exchange students

5.1 More students out, more students in

Through the Bologna Process, Norway has committed to ensuring that by 2020, at least 20 per cent of students will have had a study period or practical training abroad. In the longer term, the Government wants to increase this share to 50 per cent. The target set in the Bologna Process applies to outbound students; no similar target has been set for the proportion of inbound students – at the European level or in Norway. Although no target has been set for the number of inbound students, the basic idea behind student exchange is that there should be approximate balance in the number of inbound and outbound students, hence the term “exchange”. This means that the basic point of departure is that there should be roughly an equal number of inbound and outbound students at an institution. In other words, international cooperation must be based on reciprocity. The fact that the Government is now setting a target that 50 per cent of Norwegian students will have a learning period abroad during the course of their studies entails that Norway must also be prepared to accept more international exchange students, with a view to ensuring reciprocity.

However, there is an indisputable east-to-west imbalance in student mobility within Europe, and in connection with the Bologna Process, the partner countries have agreed to work to achieve a better geographical balance in student mobility.1 There is currently a clear tendency that some countries in Europe – primarily the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands – receive far more international students than they send abroad. Other countries are experiencing the inverse: they send out many students, but receive very few. This is especially true of countries in the Balkans, such as Moldova, Croatia and Albania, and Azerbaijan and Andorra.2 In this context, Norway belongs to the category of countries that send out significantly more students than they receive. It is worth noting that these figures also include degree students, i.e. students who take a full degree in another country. For Norway, the imbalance in these figures is due to the fact that significantly more Norwegian degree students choose to go abroad to study, compared with the number of international degree students who come to Norway – approximately 16,000 outbound degree students against approximately 12,300 inbound.3

By contrast, if we look only at exchange students and do not include full-degree students, a very different picture emerges. According to the figures in Status report on higher education in Norway 2020, there were approximately 7,400 Norwegian exchange students abroad in 2019, compared with just over 8,700 inbound exchange students.4 In other words, there was a clear preponderance of inbound exchange students to Norway in 2019.

Many countries have a proactive policy to attract international students, and to this end make use of promotional campaigns, dedicated websites, the foreign service and students who have previously been exchange students in the country but have now returned home, to increase the number of inbound students.5 Some of the campaigns are primarily aimed at attracting inbound degree students, whereas Germany’s “Study in Germany – land of ideas” campaign, for example, also targets students who also want to take only part of their degree in Germany. The Netherlands has also adopted a clear strategy to attract more international students through the “Make it in the Netherlands” and “Study in Holland” campaigns, as has Sweden through the “Study in Sweden” website and its active use of the Swedish Institute.6

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Institutions with three or fewer inbound and/or outbound students have been excluded for data protection reasons.

A target that 50 per cent of Norwegian students will have a learning period abroad puts the question of balance in the number of inbound and outbound students on the agenda. If 50 per cent of Norwegian students are to go abroad for study or training period, it will be important to attract more international students in order to maintain some degree of balance in the exchange. Several parties that have submitted input to the white paper refer to the importance of reciprocity in student mobility, and they ask precisely what consequences of an increase in the number of outbound students of this magnitude will have for the institutions, especially financially, unless the number of inbound students also increases accordingly. For example, Universities Norway (UHR) writes in its consultation response that a goal that half of students should spend time abroad ought to be matched with a corresponding goal of welcoming an equal number of international students to Norway.7

Reciprocity and balance in student mobility is also a central part of institutional partnerships and an important element in international cooperation programmes like UTFORSK.8 A preliminary report on student mobility between Norway and the Panorama countries shows that overall the UTFORSK programme has managed to achieve a very good balance in mobility between Norway and the Panorama countries, albeit with differences between the individual countries.9 This demonstrates that balance in student mobility can be achieved through programmes like UTFORSK.

With a target of ensuring that 50 per cent of Norwegian students have an overseas stay during the course of their studies, Norwegian higher education institutions must be ready to receive and work actively to attract inbound exchange students. Many Norwegian institutions work well to attract foreign exchange students, but there are major differences between the institutions, and some institutions have no inbound exchange students at all.

Although the institutions work systematically to attract exchange students, it seems unlikely that complete balance in student mobility will be achieved, and few countries have therefore set a target for the number of inbound exchange students. The Government does not want to set a specific target for the number of inbound exchange students to Norway; rather it wants Norwegian higher education institutions to continue to work systematically to attract foreign students.

5.1.1 Conclusions and measures

The Government wants Norwegian higher education institutions to continue to work systematically to attract more international exchange students, both through their cooperation agreements with overseas universities and through programmes such as Erasmus+ (assuming Norway participates in the period 2021–2027), Nordplus, UTFORSK and Diku’s quality programmes.

5.2 Factors cited by students for their choice of Norway as a country of study

There are various reasons why international students choose Norway as a country of study. The Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku) regularly conducts a survey among international students in Norway about their reasons for choosing Norway as a country of study, and their expectations and their experiences of studying in Norway.10 The 2016 report shows that study programmes in English is the most important factor in international students choosing Norway as a country of study, followed by factors linked to Norway as a nation, such as Norwegian nature and unspoiled landscapes.11 The survey also reveals that more students choose Norway as a country of study because of aspects linked to education, as opposed to aspects linked to Norway as a nation, such as nature. However, the study also shows that it is the combination of these factors that is decisive. These are interesting and important findings in terms of what elements higher education institutions ought to emphasise in their work to recruit students. The survey includes both full-degree and exchange students, but more than 60 per cent of the respondents were exchange students.

In the 2019 survey, only 43 per cent of the respondents were exchange students, but the results largely mirror those from previous surveys: The quality of the education and study programmes taught in English, in addition to Norwegian nature, are cited as the main motivations for choosing to study in Norway, along with the fact that Norway is a safe, peaceful country.12 In the 2019 survey, Norwegian nature is ranked higher than the quality of the education as a motivational factor for exchange students. As regards what determines choice of institution, 73 per cent of the exchange students report that it is important that the Norwegian institution has an institutional agreement with their home institution, followed by the possibility of studying a particular subject, and the quality of the education.

In both surveys, the students state that the internet is their main source of information about Norway as a country of study, followed by the institutions’ own websites, and academic and administrative staff at their home institution. In the 2019 survey, the exchange students also cite other students as an important source of information. The website Study in Norway is primarily a source of information for degree students, as opposed to exchange students. This is only natural since most of the content on this website is information about entire study programmes taught in English at Norwegian institutions, with only limited information about individual courses taught in English and opportunities for exchange in Norway. There is no general website with information about exchange opportunities in Norway, as this is largely organised by the individual institutions themselves.

5.2.1 Conclusions and measures

• The Government will consider whether Diku ought to be given a more clearly defined role in coordinating and managing information for inbound exchange students to make the information better and more accessible to these students. In connection with this, it may also be appropriate to commission Diku to act as an adviser on recruitment measures aimed at this group.

5.3 International exchange students in the Norwegian study environment

The white paper Report no. 16 to the Storting (2016–2017) Quality culture in higher education set a goal that students in Norwegian higher education ought to be in a learning environment that also includes international students. Even if the number of Norwegian students who go abroad for study or training period increases significantly in the future, this goal can only be achieved if the Norwegian students who do not have the opportunity to go abroad meet and interact with international students during their studies in Norway.

Norwegian students who have a study period abroad during their studies bring international ideas back to their home institution and lessons learned from other ways of teaching and learning from their stay at a foreign institution. International students at Norwegian institutions will be able to contribute some of the same to Norwegian institutions by demonstrating other ways of learning, by questioning the way teaching is provided at Norwegian institutions, and by voicing other academic and social perspectives. In this way, international students contribute new perspectives and international competence and experience to Norwegian institutions. International exchange students are a resource for Norwegian higher education institutions, and much greater use ought to be made of their experience and expertise in the internationalisation of Norwegian institutions and Norwegian students.

However, studies from Norway and other countries show that simply receiving students from abroad is not sufficient to create a truly international learning environment where domestic and international students meet academically and socially.13 This is due to a variety of factors, but among the most important in Norway are the language and student housing policy.

With a handful of exceptions, international students will generally not be able to follow teaching conducted in Norwegian, meaning teaching in English is a prerequisite for international students to come to Norway. However, it is a challenge that in many cases Norwegian and international students follow completely separate study programmes, with surveys suggesting that many Norwegian students opt out of courses taught in English wherever possible. This was one of the findings of the EUROMA project, among others, where parallel study programmes are offered with an integrated five-year master’s degree in Norwegian and a 3+2 variant where the master’s part is in English. The expert panels in the project held this could lead to segregation between the Norwegian students and the international students.14 Surveys among international students in Norway provide a slightly more nuanced understanding of separate courses of study. In the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku)’s report International Students in Norway. Contributors to Quality in Higher Education, international students state that on average between 40 and 50 per cent of their fellow students on the programme or course are Norwegian.15 The figures are roughly the same for exchange students and degree students.16 The most successful inbound student mobility, in terms of interaction, is programmes where the visiting international students take the same courses as the domestic students. If the study programmes are organised with a specific semester set aside for either a study period overseas or an international semester with teaching in English for the Norwegian students, this may make it easier to include the international exchange students, since the Norwegian and international students can then take the same courses. However, even in cases where domestic and international students follow the same classes, we see that it can be challenging to ensure good interaction and establish a real sense of community, both academically and socially, between the Norwegian students and the international students. This was one of the findings of the 2017 “Study Barometer” national student survey, which showed inadequate interaction between Norwegian and international students.17 In order to achieve the desired effects, the institutions must work systematically to ensure better interaction and contact between Norwegian and international students in a number of areas.

A lack of academic and social interaction with the domestic students is not necessarily a major problem for the international students. These students meet people from all over the world while they are in Norway, exposing them to international perspectives and ideas and enabling them to acquire intercultural skills and understanding. However, for the Norwegian institutions and for Norwegian students who do not go abroad, this constitutes a missed opportunity to benefit from the resource that international students represent.

5.3.1 Conclusions and measures

• The Government expects the higher education institutions to become better at tapping into the potential that international students represent as a resource to add an international dimension at Norwegian universities and university colleges. Among other things, the institutions ought to pave the way for better interaction between Norwegian and international students.

5.4 Housing for international exchange students

The vast majority of the student welfare organisations ensure that international students who come to Norway have a preferential right to student accommodation. This is natural, since it will be difficult for international students to find accommodation on the private market. Inbound exchange students who come to Norway to study for one semester often come in the autumn semester, and thus only use the student accommodation in the autumn semester. By contrast, Norwegian students often go abroad for study or training period during the spring semester. As a result, many student rooms remain empty in the spring semester, since it is difficult for the student welfare organisations to rent out student accommodation for only the spring semester. This results in a loss of revenue for the student welfare organisations and represents inefficient use of resources. Norwegian students who wish to have a study or training period abroad cite fear that they will lose their student accommodation during the time they are away as one of the obstacles to actually going abroad. With certain restrictions, these students can sublet their student accommodation during the period they are away. Here there is an unexploited potential to coordinate the respective rules and processes related to student accommodation for outbound domestic students and inbound international exchange students. The institutions and the student welfare organisations work together to ensure better coordination of these processes. Students who wish to go abroad for a period must be given good information about the opportunities available to them to sublet their student accommodation, and the institutions and the student welfare organisations must work together to make it as easy as possible for students to sublet their rooms in student housing.

5.4.1 Conclusions and measures

• The Government will ask the student welfare organisations to facilitate more flexible rental contracts for student accommodation in order to make better use of the resources for outbound and inbound exchange students. In this context, the possibility of allowing Norwegian students who are on a learning period abroad to sublet their student accommodation ought to be considered, as this would also help resolve the accommodation situation for inbound exchange students.

• The Government will ask the institutions and the student welfare organisations to calculate the costs of student accommodation being left empty in some semesters as a result of visiting exchange students leaving, and would encourage the institutions and the student welfare organisations to establish agreements governing this.

5.5 Courses in English

A wide, varied range of courses taught in English at both the bachelor’s and master’s level is one of the main factors and prerequisites for attracting international students. There has been a clear increase in the number of programmes and courses taught in English at the public higher education institutions over the past ten years. Courses in English are also important to be able to offer Norwegian students who do not go abroad an international dimension to their education by, for example, being able to follow teaching in English for one semester alongside visiting international students.

According to the Status report on higher education in Norway 2020, education taught in a language other than Norwegian constituted 25.8 per cent of the total study options in the public sector in 2019, up from about 13.6 per cent in 2009.18 However, there was large variance between the different institutions and academic communities as well as within the institutions. Some institutions offered no education taught in a foreign language, while others had well over 30 per cent and even as high as 60 per cent. By comparison, the private institutions had an average of 14.6 per cent of their education taught in a language other than Norwegian in 2019. They had not seen a similar development as the public institutions, as the corresponding figure for 2009 was 13.3 per cent.19

Several of the institutions acknowledge in their consultation input that they have too few courses taught in English, especially at the bachelor’s level, and state that they need to have a broader range of courses in English to attract more international students. At the same time, they point out that teaching in English can be a challenge for the employees, and that it can be difficult to get both the academic staff and the Norwegian students to accept courses taught in English. They also point out that it can be difficult to plan which courses to teach in English, since the number of inbound students varies from semester to semester, and that it can be challenging to strike a good balance between the number of courses taught in English and the number taught in Norwegian. They stress that it is expensive to develop and maintain a varied portfolio of subjects taught in English, and that this is often an additional cost for the academic communities.

The Universities and University Colleges Act Section 1-7 states that universities and university colleges are responsible for maintaining and further developing Norwegian academic language.20 In its consultation response, the Language Council of Norway voices concern about the lack of awareness in the sector about choice of language of instruction in the education, and believes that predictability is important for students when it comes to language in the education. In their view, it almost seems as if “ensuring that inbound international students are able to follow teaching is regarded as more important than ensuring that students who speak Norwegian are able to master Norwegian academic and technical language when they enter the world of work”.21 The Language Council of Norway proposes that inbound students should be offered classes on Norwegian culture and language, even if they only come for semester, and that there must be a plan for which courses are to be taught in English, and which are to be taught in Norwegian, to avoid ad hoc decisions. The Language Council of Norway holds that this is the only way the institutions can meet the obligation set out in the Universities and University Colleges Act that universities and university colleges are responsible for maintaining and further developing Norwegian academic language. By contrast, Universities Norway (UHR) says that it will be impossible to achieve a target of more inbound students without the institutions having a broad selection of courses taught in English, and believes that the language debate in the sector must also take this into account.

It will be essential to achieve a good balance in the number of courses taught in English and Norwegian respectively, and between the interests and needs of visiting exchange students and those of the Norwegian students. The institutions need to be aware of this balancing act in their language strategies and adopt a strategic approach to which courses are to be taught in Norwegian and which are to be taught in English. The institutions’ responsibility for the further development of Norwegian academic and technical language has been discussed in more detail in the Ministry of Culture’s white paper on language.22

5.5.1 Conclusions and measures

• The Government expects the higher education institutions to continue their work to offer a sufficient number of educational opportunities in English to be able to attract international students.

• The Government expects an appropriate balance to be achieved between the proportion of courses taught in English and Norwegian respectively, and that the institutions clarify well before the start of the semester which courses are taught in English and which are taught in Norwegian.

• The Government expects the higher education institutions to be aware of and follow up on their responsibility to maintain and further develop Norwegian as an academic and technical language.

5.6 Training for international students within the professional study programmes

Many of the professional study programmes include a compulsory period of supervised professional training. The compulsory supervised professional training is defined in the national curriculum for the individual programme: it must be supervised and assessed, and it is an integral part of the education. The institutions are responsible for finding opportunities for training where the students can do their supervised professional training in partnership with employers and industry. See also chapter 4. Training and work placement opportunities are in short supply in Norway, and it is already challenging for institutions to find enough such opportunities for ordinary students in Norway, especially in the health sciences. To remedy this, some Norwegian institutions send their students on training abroad.

When Norwegian higher education institutions establish agreements with overseas institutions about sending their students abroad to do their supervised professional training, there is an expectation of reciprocity in the agreements – that is, the foreign institutions expect to be able to send their students to Norwegian institutions for supervised professional training in, for example, Norwegian health institutions, schools, kindergartens, etc. This point is also stressed in several of the consultation responses to the white paper. Some institutions, such as Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education (DMMH), report that supervised professional training for inbound students works well. DMMH has a successful scheme where international students have 35 days’ supervised professional training in a Norwegian kindergarten.23 See also box 4.6. Nevertheless, several of the institutions point out in their consultation responses that it can be challenging to find suitable opportunities for international students in Norway. Institutions such as Lovisenberg Diaconal University College (LDH), Østfold University College (HiØ) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) state that it can be difficult to find suitable training opportunities for international students, primarily related to the fact that the students need to have a good command of Norwegian to be able to participate in e.g., patient care. The fact that Norwegian institutions have limited opportunities to receive inbound students in supervised professional training makes it harder for them to motivate their partners abroad to accept Norwegian students. This lack of reciprocity can make it difficult to enter into appropriate agreements with overseas institutions on supervised professional training. In order for Norwegian higher education institutions and host institutions for supervised professional training to be able to maintain good cooperation with overseas host institutions for supervised professional training, it is important that the Norwegian institutions also have capacity to accept international students for supervised professional training.

5.6.1 Conclusions and measures

• In connection with their cooperation with foreign institutions on periods of practical training abroad, the Government wants the institutions to also offer supervised professional training for international students in Norway, as far as is possible. Key non-academic partners must assist in facilitating this.

5.7 Statistics