Evaluations of quality in education

Evaluations are part of NOKUT’s work to assure and enhance quality in education. NOKUT conducts national, comparative evaluations of selected groups of study programmes. These will often be study programmes within a particular academic subject, but NOKUT may also conduct thematic evaluations of quality across subject areas.

Objectives for NOKUT’s evaluations of quality in education

NOKUT’s evaluations should generate knowledge about quality in education and facilitate quality enhancement. Evaluations are not designed to investigate compliance, but to identify key challenges and good practice, and to give recommendations for quality enhancement. The evaluation process should facilitate learning through the exchange of experience and knowledge, and the evaluation results are published in a final report.

Legislative framework for NOKUT’s evaluations of quality in education

The legislative framework for NOKUT’s evaluations of quality in education are:

NOKUT’s evaluations are also included in the national framework for evaluations of Norwegian research and higher education (see nasjonalt rammeverk for evaluering av forskning og høyere utdanning [in Norwegian]), which requires evaluations to contribute to the institutions’ quality work, to knowledge-based policymaking, to good public information about quality in education, to public trust in higher education, and to transparency in the use of public funds.

NOKUT’s evaluations are designed and completed in line with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the Higher Education Area (ESG 2015). These standards and guidelines have been incorporated in NOKUT’s Principles for external evaluations, which were formally introduced in 2022.

The evaluation process

Below is an overview of key elements in NOKUT’s evaluation process.

  • Each evaluation is designed in dialogue with stakeholders to make sure that it will be useful to the relevant parties. This means that each evaluation has specific evaluation themes and evaluation questions or criteria that are tailored to that specific educational context. Stakeholders may for example be involved in the evaluation design process through:

    • Input meetings about possible evaluation topics or themes
    • Reference group meetings about proposed evaluation themes and questions
    • Hearings about proposed evaluation themes and questions

    The evaluation themes and evaluation questions are published on NOKUT’s website and are communicated to all participating institutions before data collection is initiated.

  • Assessments of quality in education are completed by a panel of peer experts, while NOKUT is responsible for the evaluation method, for facilitating data collection and data analysis, for administrative support, and for stakeholder dialogue.

    NOKUT must ensure that the panel composition is fit for purpose, and that it includes at least one student and at least one employer or professional practitioner. NOKUT invites stakeholder input on the possible composition of the committee during the evaluation design phase, and each participating HEI is given the opportunity to comment on the proposed expert panel before the experts are appointed.

  • Data used in the evaluation include the self-assessment, digital or physical site visits, registry data from DBH and data from the National Student Survey. It may also include other forms of quantitative or qualitative data, such as surveys, interviews or focus groups.

    The self-assessment form is developed in dialogue with stakeholders. NOKUT encourages HEIs to involve key actors in the self-assessment. The expert panel go through the self-assessments and other data as part of their assessment.

    Following the self-assessment and other data collection, the expert panel will complete physical or digital site visits to each participating HEI. The site visit usually spans two days, and the experts will interview key actors involved with the study programme. This may for example include programme heads, departmental or faculty leadership, teaching staff, administrative staff, students, and important external partners.

  • The expert panel will write a final report, supported by NOKUT, and the report is published on the NOKUT website. The participating HEIs review a draft report and are invited to report any errors that should be corrected. The HEIs are also invited to write a public statement about the final evaluation report. Such statements are presented to the NOKUT board and published with the evaluation report.

    The institutions may also submit an appeal on the basis of errors related to NOKUT’s principles for evaluations. Appeals should be sent to postmottak@nokut.no, copying in the evaluation’s project manager. The deadline for appeals is three weeks from the publication of the report. Appeals are reviewed by an Appeal Panel that includes three representatives from NOKUT’s board. The panel may request that the evaluation report is withdrawn or redrafted. 

  • NOKUT appreciates our dialogue with participating HEIs and stakeholders, and we invite questions, input and feedback throughout the evaluation period. The main point of contact will here be NOKUT’s project manager for the evaluation.

    HEIs wishing to submit a complaint or raise concerns about the evaluation process can also email the evaluation’s project manager, but should copy in assistant departmental director Stein Erik Lid (stein.erik.lid@nokut.no) and postmottak@nokut.no.


Illustration of the process

Illustration of the process

Overview of all external NOKUT evaluations