Student welfare

There are 24 studentsamskipnads in Norway. Their task is to provide student welfare. In short, the task of the Student Welfare Organisations in Norway is to devise and develop services and products which help to:
· Promote well being among students
· Facilitate an efficient learning process
· Cultivate conditions for a stimulating daily college or university life.
The activities of these organisations are authorised in the Act of June 28, 1996 relating to student welfare organisations. Under this Act all Norwegian institutions of higher education are obliged to collaborate with a studentsamskipnad.

In addition to meeting students' basic needs by providing accommodation and cafeterias, these organisations endeavour to offer a wide range of welfare services. Students do not spend their days simply going from their lodgings to the library and back again, they have a social life as well.

Welfare services provided by the studentsamskipnads include health and social services, day care centres, cafeterias, accommodations, job application centres, bookshops and more. The studentsamskipnads also support a large number of student associations and initiatives.

Via the institutions of higher education, the students pay a semester fee depending on the welfare services provided. The Norwegian government gives a small basic grant commensurate with student numbers and provides subsidies earmarked for individual initiatives, whilst the universities and colleges provide premises free of charge. Nonetheless, the Studentsamskipnads own themselves. They are statutory companies and must survive in a marked on the same footing as most other companies. Several of the organisations also own their own limited companies, the profits from which are used to improve student welfare.

As long as higher education has existed in Norway, the students themselves have campaigned for student welfare. The students organise themselves politically and fight for their rights on the basis of their political values. The student welfare organisations have a board on which students, organisation employees and the university or college administration are represented. The students hold majority on the board, and normally, a student holds the chair.

Information about higher education in Norway