Basis of evaluation
On behalf of the Ministry of Education and Research (KD), SIU draws up proposals for the list of courses of study that qualify for supplementary student grants.
The list is produced subject to clear and unambiguous quality criteria.
National ranking lists provide the basis for the list. Lists drawn up by journalists are not taken into account.
Taking KD's definition of higher education as “research-based education” as a point of departure, and given that KD prioritises higher degrees for the supplementary grants scheme, the list includes only research-intensive universities. The institutions on the list are included with all their courses at all levels, as long as their fees are higher than those supported by the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (NOK 111,710 in the 2010 - 2011 academic year).
The list of institutions comprises four countries
- Australia
- Canada
- UK
- USA
Australia
The selection is made on the basis of a ranking list drawn up by The Melbourne Institute, in addition to high fees charged for certain courses of study.
Canada
Canada does not provide generally recognised national ranking lists. The institutions on the list are distinguished for their high level of awards of research funds as ranked by Research Infosource Inc., and for their high fees for many courses of study.
United Kingdom
The British Institutions have been selected on the basis of the results of The Research Assessment Excercise 2008 (RAE)a survey performed by the Higher Education Funding Council in England, Scotland and Wales, and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.
USA
The list of institutions in the USA has been drawn up on the basis of two lists:
- Top American Research Universities 2008 fra "The Center for Measuring Univeristy Perfomance"
- The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (Doctoral/Research Universities – Basic)
All the institutions listed by SIU are classified as RU/VH (Research Universities, Very High), which is to say, broadly-based universities with an extremely high level of research activity. The methods used by SIU in making its final choice also take Norwegian demand and continuity into account to a certain extent.
Other countries
Very high-quality studies in other countries either do not charge fees or, exceptionally, charge such high fees that they fall outside the framework for supplementary student grants.