Students slow to finish degrees

Only 35- to 40 percent of Norwegian college and university students finish their degree programs within what’s considered the normal time, according to a report from the Ministry of Education and Research. Critics say the last two governments have failed to push through promised measures to speed up students’ progress. The percentage of students in Norway [...]

Students run over the mountains

Sporty college students from Norway’s two leading business schools were competing with each other this weekend in a long-distance relay race over the mountains between Bergen and Oslo. The route roughly follows the NSB train line called Bergensbane, hence the race name BergeNSBaneløpet. It combines running and cycling in 110 various laps, and while the [...]

Immigrants face tougher rules

Persons trying move to Norway for work or family reasons from countries outside Europe now face even tougher regulations. Income issues have been hindering or even halting would-be immigrants in recent months, including a young American who has a Norwegian wife and a baby born in Norway. Only citizens of countries tied to the European [...]

Students face housing squeeze

Norwegian media carry stories every August about how difficult it is for college students to find housing, especially in Oslo. This year, real estate experts and student housing authorities agree that the housing shortage is acute, with a lot of poor accommodation offered at record high prices. One factor is a record high number of [...]

Foreign exchange students lack hosts

There’s no lack of foreign exchange students interested in spending a year studying and living in Norway. Finding Norwegian host families willing to take them in, however, can be a problem. “We have many great host families but we need nearly 40 more,” Gunnhild Sølvberg of foreign exchange student organization AFS told news bureau NTB. [...]

Most new residents come from elsewhere in Europe

Nearly 25,000 citizens from countries within the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland and Liechtenstein) registered themselves as resident in Norway during the first half of this year. Another 17,500 persons from outside the European area received residence permission as well. The numbers show how immigration is fueling Norway’s population growth, and how Norway’s [...]

Students reject embassy’s complaints

A Norwegian students’ organization is fending off pressure from the Iranian Embassy in Oslo to remove posters that the organization has spread to all colleges and universities around the country. The embassy finds the posters offensive because they depict the late Ayatollah Khomeini on the run from protesting students. The poster is part of an [...]

Poor performance in digital test

Norwegian students have produced disappointing scores on the international PISA study, which measures internet reading proficiency in young adults. Despite having the second largest share of students who have access to computers at home, Norwegians earned average scores on the digital test, which was conducted in 16 different OECD countries in 2009. “I believe we [...]

Bright kids overlooked in schools

Fear of elitist behavior in Norway has resulted in a lack of needed systems to aid brighter children, claim educational researchers in a new report. The lack of guidance means the most intelligent students can fall by the wayside and not be able to reach their full potential. Researchers Kjell Skogen, professor emeritus in Special [...]