Credit point production at universities and colleges, 2004/2005

42 000 registered students, or 18 per cent of the autumn and spring semester student mass, did not complete any credit points during the 2004/2005 academic year. It is not known how many of these people are wrongly registered as being students. Some may remain registered after they have graduated, while others may have paid their student fees but not enrolled in any subjects. For this reason, credit point production is reported as an average for students who actively completed credit points during the 2004/2005 academic year.

Colleges more productive than Universities

University Colleges boasted a higher average credit point production and a lower proportion of unproductive students than universities in 2004/2005. Students of state owned institutions faired better than those studying at private tertiary institutions. The group 'other state university colleges', consisting of Oslo and Bergen's arts academies and Norway's police college, produced a high 50 credits per active student. Furthermore, only 6 per cent of registered students at these institutions were inactive. In contrast, over one quarter of registered students at the University of Oslo were inactive in 2004/2005.

Large variation in student progression

A full-time workload of 60 credit points is not the norm, with just under one third of all registered students in Norway completing 60 credit points or more during 2004/2005. A further 30 per cent of students produced between 30 and 59 credits. A higher proportion of male students completed 0 credit units, while more women completed a full-time loading. State university colleges had the highest percentage of students who made a normal progression during the 2004/2005 academic year.

Health science fields dominate

The most popular field of study was also the most productive in 2004/2005. Nearly half of the 47 000 students enrolled in ‘Health, Welfare and Sport’ completed a minimum 60 credit points. In contrast, less than a quarter of the 44 000 ‘Business and Administration’ students progressed with a normal full-time loading.

Clear age effect

Not surprisingly, 20 to 24 year olds were the most effective students, completing a high 50 credit points on average. Production rate declines clearly with age, with students aged 50 years and over progressing at half the pace of 20 to 24 year olds. Students at state colleges outperformed university students in all age groups. 20 to 24 year old female college students topped the list with 54 credits on average in 2004/2005.

Tables:

• Table 1 Completed credit points in tertiary education, by type of institution, ownership and educational institution. 2004/05 academic year. Absolute figures and per cent
• Table 2 Credit point production of registered tertiary students, by sex and type of institution. 2004/05 academic year. Per cent
• Table 3 Credit point production of registered tertiary students, by sex and field of study. 2004/05 academic year. Per cent
• Table 4 Average Credit point production per student with completed credits in tertiary education, by type of institution, sex and age. Absolute figures. 2004/2005 academic year.