The Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service ( no, Samordna opptak) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

responsible for application and admission to all public

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

and

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

s in Norway for entry level degrees, either

Bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

s for liberal studies and some professional studies, as well as certain

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

level programs in professional studies. The agency is subordinate to the

Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research The Royal Ministry of Education and Research ( no, Det kongelige kunnskapsdepartement; short name ''Kunnskapsdepartementet'') is a Norwegian government ministry responsible for education, research, kindergartens and integration. The ministry wa ...

and is managed by the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

History

Traditionally Norwegian universities and colleges had a system of local admission control. This system was tedious since each person had to apply to each institution and it was difficult to manage declines from students who were accepted to other institutions. Particularly in 1990 there was a massive increase in the application to higher educations and this resulted in an immense workload on the local administrators. To solve this problem, the Government initiated a program to effectivise the application and admission system. Until 1994 the system merely collected information from the institutions, but from 1995 for the colleges and 1997 for the universities the admission rankings were centralized through the system so each applicant only got one admission place. From 1999 application via the Internet was possible, and from 2008 only online application is possible. After 2000 the grades from the upper secondary schools are automatically transferred to the system.

How it works

The system opens on February 1 each year, with application deadline April 15. Some special groups have application deadline March 1. On the application up to ten prioritized programs can be specified. The order of their programs can be altered up to July 1, but no new program can be added after April 15. On July 20 the main admission is run and made known to the applicants, and no one is given more than one admission; on the highest ranked program that the candidate is qualified for and has enough points for after a specialized stable marriage algorithm. Programs with more applicants get

waiting list Waiting list, Waiting List or similar terms may refer to: * Waiting List Service, for Internet domain name registrations * Wait list, in United States university and college admissions * Waiting list ticket, a Reservation against Cancellation tic ...

s. Later in the summer and during the fall more people are admitted from the lists if enough people from the main admission decline the places. Studies with insufficient applicants to fill up become part of the ''Remains Market'' (Restetorget), which offers first-to-grab principle after the main application. Only entry-level programs are run through the system. Admission from bachelor to master level programs is still handled locally. The applicants is ranked on a point scheme, where the qualified candidates with the most points are given admission. The qualifications vary from program to program, but almost all require general university admissions certification. Some programs, like engineering or medicine require extra upper secondary level courses in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

sciences Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

, which can be attained through a foundation course in engineering. The points are based first on the average grade from upper secondary school, multiplied by ten. Additional points are awarded for sciences, age, specialization and completed 60 ECTS credits or

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

. Quota points for gender are applicable for some programs. The institution who owns the top prioritized program on each application is defined as the case handler for that application. The case handler sets the correct points values and (dis)qualification codes. Often helped by the national database for upper secondary school diplomas, also run by Samordna opptak. Each applicant has in average 1.1 case handlers compared to one per institution before 1995.

Numbers

In 2007 92,750 people applied for studying through the system, of which 76,936 sent in necessary documentation and 69,529 were qualified. Two of three people who were offered a place through the main admission, were granted their first choice. There are about 1,200 possible programs at seven universities and about 40 colleges.

References

{{authority control Government agencies of Norway University of Oslo Government agencies established in 1991 Organisations based in Oslo University and college admissions 1991 establishments in Norway