Costly Knowledge
Fewer Student Places
The Government has decided to reduce the number of places for new students at the Oslo School
of Architecture, the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Norwegian College of Music
with 19, 7, and 28 respectively. As Lars Moe of the College of Veterinary Medicine points out,
the affected courses are very popular, with only 59 of 1258 applicants being admitted to
veterinary studies. Similarly, less than 10% of applicants to the Oslo School of Architecture are
admitted to study at the school. Because the institutions in question are so small, the financial impact of the cuts will deeply affect the institutions concerned, particularly because their student groups are so small that there is little money
to be saved by re-organising the teaching.
A recent judgement in the German High Court allows German universities to charge fees. Several
of the German states have long considered this an opportunity for avoiding reductions in the
universities. Bjørn Stensaker, director of research at NIFU, the Norwegian Institute for
Studies in Innovation, Research, and Higher Education, says that the impact ultimately depends on
what line the German universities will follow. In the USA, university fees have shot up, while grants have diminished. In Germany, funds follow the number of study credits attained by the institutions, rather than
the number of students. Cheaper universities will therefore be able to select their students from
a larger number of applicants, and pick the best ones.
Norwegian Erasmus exchange students will not be affected by the change, as one of the terms of
the Erasmus agreement is that the exchange shall not cost the students money.