Report on educational quality 2017
The University Centre
in Svalbard
Content
1 UNIS’ educational activities ... 3
1.1 Summary and overall assessments in relation to UNIS’ strategy ... 3
1.2 Challenges ... 4
1.3 Local and regional needs ... 4
1.4 Internationalisation ... 5
1.5 Learning environment ... 5
1.6 bioCEED ... 7
1.7 Learning Forum ... 8
1.8 Infrastructure for teaching and learning ... 9
1.9 Library ... 9
2 Measures implemented in 2017 ... 10
2.1 Follow-up of measures outlined in UNIS’ report on educational quality 2016 ... 10
3 Recruitment and admission quality ... 12
3.1 Recruitment and marketing ... 12
3.2 Applicant figures, admission quality and quotas ... 12
4 Results quality... 14
4.1 Course portfolio – overall assessments ... 14
4.2 Production and average grade ... 16
5 Evaluations and non-conformance ... 18
5.1 Midway evaluation ... 18
5.2 Course evaluations – overall assessment ... 18
6 Non-conformance received through the reporting system for non-conformance ... 20
7 Academic administrative tools and services ... 20
8 Action plan/measures 2018 ... 20
1 UNIS’ educational activities
1.1 Summary and overall assessments in relation to UNIS’ strategy
The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) is the world’s northernmost institution for research and higher education and offers education at bachelor’s, master’s and PhD level. UNIS’ strategic plan sets clear goals for the education offered, stating that there shall be “excellence in research and education” and that the education shall be research and field based. UNIS shall be an attractive institution for both Norwegian and international students. As well as an academic learning outcome, these students shall gain experiences and competence in the HSE and logistical aspects of working in Arctic environments.
Furthermore, there shall be focus on close follow-up of students, varied learning methods and excellence in all fields.
UNIS has academic staff of the highest international calibre supported by a logistics unit with a high level of competence in field safety training. Collectively, these contribute to the field and research- based education at UNIS being of high quality. The student environment at UNIS is extremely international, and Norwegian degree students accounted for half of the students in 2017. Student recruitment takes place primarily nationally, but also internationally to some extent. An increasing number of applications combined with qualified applicants from around the world demonstrates that UNIS is an attractive higher education institution.
The UNIS Education Committee (ECom) leads the work involving quality of education. However, this committee has not been active since June 2017 owing to a lack of leadership. The quality assurance work shall contribute to a continual focus on the quality of the courses that are offered at UNIS and an enhanced quality of education for UNIS students. ECom compiles and submits the annual report on the quality of education to UNIS’ management group and managing director.
There has been increased focus on the quality of education nationally in recent years. The White Paper 16 (2016-2017) “Quality Culture in Higher Education” was published on 27 January 2017, while this was followed on 7 February 2017 by NOKUT’s revised Regulations for supervision of educational quality in higher education. Following two internal and one external hearing in 2016-2017, a revised quality
assurance system for education was presented to and approved by the UNIS Board in February 2017. The system reflects the current organisation and the current focus on educational quality, meaning a clearer and overall goal for educational quality in now in place at UNIS.
The Research Council of Norway headed the work involving the government’s planned strategy for research and higher education in Svalbard, while UNIS coordinated the work on the education
component of the strategy. The government has so far not launched the new strategy. Work also started in 2017 on developing a revised overall strategy for UNIS, which will continue in 2018.
The quality of both admissions and results are high among the students at UNIS, and the failure percentage was lower in 2017 than in 2016. UNIS mostly receives positive feedback on the learning environment from the students. However, as in previous years, UNIS registers that students are asking for reading lists before the start of the semester and more academic information and preparations before fieldwork, as well as a learning platform.
In recent years, UNIS has attached importance to fixed course periods. It has been a stated ambition to spread the course activity throughout the entire calendar year. This will reduce overlapping between courses, offer relevant course packages at master’s/PhD level and will enable UNIS to take advantage of the student potential and increase the student production of credits to a greater degree than previously.
Adopting such a plan will also give current and future students enhanced predictability and ensure that the necessary internal and local resources for implementation are available.
The partnership in bioCEED during 2017 has further contributed to continual focus on educational quality at UNIS. Moreover, UNIS has participated in iEarth, a national network of earth science/geoscience departments which is in the process of preparing an application to achieve the title as a Centre for Excellence in Higher Education as part of efforts to establish a new earth science programme at the universities in Norway.
1.2 Challenges
The number of students and the student production (the total of student-labour years) in 2017 has increased in comparison with 2016. UNIS offered 98 courses in 2017 with an average of 80% of the places filled (79% in 2016). This high level of activity challenges the way one utilises the available classrooms, auditoriums, lab facilities and computer rooms, etc. as well as the use of teaching staff and administrative/technical resources. There was also a shortage of student housing for longer periods in 2017. The increased number of students leads to an increased resource requirement in terms of both equipment and personnel. Consequently, there is increased pressure on both academic and
administrative/technical staff.
UNIS experiences that many qualified students do not accept the offer of a place on courses or
withdraw before the start of the course. In 2017, UNIS sent offer of admission to 1.5 students to fill one place on a course. This is an improvement in comparison with 2016 (1.7). It may also indicate that a higher proportion of Norwegian degree students withdraw than international students. However, UNIS did not implement a systematic mapping of this in 2017.
UNIS does not have a learning management system (LMS) owing to a lack of funding and resources to initiate a pilot and implementation of this. The IT infrastructure also requires upgrading to facilitate the implementation of an LMS.
Given the increased number of students at UNIS, there is a requirement to compile and update routines and early warning systems for the learning environment, safety and emergency preparedness covering the campus (Svalbard Science Centre), field and student housing.
A survey of the teaching load shows that many academic staff spend more than 40% of their working hours teaching. A new mapping will be implemented for 2017 with the goal of completing this work by summer 2018.
UNIS lacks an institutional repository, meaning the task of rendering student assignments and research results visible is not systemized. UNIS has appointed a group that will work on this until autumn 2018.
The phasing in of the new ice going research vessel as a replacement for three smaller vessels means access to research vessels may become a major challenge for UNIS.
1.3 Local and regional needs
The profile and subject areas of UNIS are relevant to Svalbard and the Arctic, while UNIS is an important actor and contributor in the local community. Coal mining operations by Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani AS (SNSK) at Svea were suspended from April 2016 and the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, voted in December 2017 to discontinue the mining operations at Svea. UNIS will now be one of the largest institutions in Longyearbyen and has an important role in the further development of the local community. According to the social and economic analysis for Svalbard 2016, published by the Centre for Welfare and Labour Research (NIBR), there will be a need for around 100 new jobs in Longyearbyen when the mining operations at Svea cease. The same analysis shows that jobs in research and education
provides extended economic effects and contribute to a robust family society.
The main objective of UNIS is to perform teaching within higher education, research and dissemination related to the Arctic region. UNIS has three courses available for the local population (The History of Svalbard, The Stormy Sun and the Northern Lights and Arctic Safety and Survival course). UNIS is
collaborating with UiT The Arctic University of Norway on the one-year programme Arctic Nature Guide, and UNIS is also a contributor in the Svalbard Guide Training organised by Visit Svalbard.
The Arctic Safety Centre project started in 2016 and aims to provide new knowledge and methods for safe and sustainable field activity in the Arctic. In October 2017, the first course at master’s level was formally established by the UNIS Board (AS-301 Risk Assessment of Arctic Natural Hazards), which will be offered during summer 2018. Furthermore, proposals were developed in 2017 for three new courses at master’s level to be offered as a course package in the period August to November. These will be sent out to the universities for comment in spring 2018. Moreover, practical training courses were offered for academia, industry and the local community in Longyearbyen during 2017. UNIS collaborates with several local companies and institutions on teaching and research activities such as the Svalbard Course,
Studietur Nord, UiT Outreach and the Svalbard Seminars. The local newspaper, Svalbardposten, often covers research and education-related matters from UNIS, while student assignments and research are used and raised at relevant local fora.
1.4 Internationalisation
There were 794 students from 45 nations at UNIS in 2017. In comparison, there were 759 students from 43 nations in 2016 (44 nations in 2015). UNIS is not an accredited higher institution with its own
institution code and is not part of Erasmus+ 2014-2020 (the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport). Nevertheless, many students come each year through the Erasmus programme or through the Nordlys/Nordplus programme via a Norwegian university.
UNIS has previously had a grant programme for students from countries including Russia, Canada and USA the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) and other programmes. The University of the Arctic (UArctic) has an active mobility programme, North2North, and each year UNIS has students who make use of this grant. Furthermore, UNIS has some grant schemes through various
externally financed projects such as SITRA (Arctic Technology) and BAMSE (belong to UiT The Arctic University of Norway, but the students come to UNIS). It is primarily Russian students that receive grants through these schemes. Moreover, the University of Oslo (UiO) has several exchange programmes (CryoJaNo, RemoteEx, NOR-R-AM) which contribute to several applications to UNIS courses, as well as international partner institutions which recommend students to apply to UNIS.
Grant programme Grant months 2015
Grant months 2016
Grant months 2017
Nationalities
Fellowship of the High North (SIU)
50 19 travel grants
49 5 travel grants
Discontinued Canada, Russia, USA North2North
(UArctic)
2 1 travel grant
7 0 travel grants
26 0 travel grants
Canada, Russia SMIDA (Dept. Arctic
Technology, SIU is a grant sponsor)
23
6 travel grants Discontinued Discontinued
Russia
BAMSE (UiT, UNIS disseminate the grant)
9 9 travel grants
2,5 0 travel grants
0 Russia
SITRA
(grant sponsor) Inactive 4
1 travel grant
10 5 travel grants
Canada, Russia Table 1: Overview of grant programmes and awards 2015 - 2017
1.5 Learning environment
1.5.1 The students
The student evaluation shows that the learning environment at UNIS is good and that most students really enjoy their time at UNIS. The students feel it is easy to contact the person with course
responsibility, student advisers or other administrative/logistics staff. This paves the way for a good dialogue between students and employees. The unity in the student group is also good. Field work is emphasized as positive for the learning environment.
The student feedback emphasizes the following points:
- Small classes and an international environment are good
- The person with course responsibility and the courses receive mostly positive feedback - Field work is often considered as the highlight of their time at UNIS
- The generally high quality of guest lecturers
- The courses are very intensive (especially master’s, PhD and shorter courses) - Courses lack reading lists, they are handed out too late and are too extensive
- There is a desire for more preparation (theory, instrumentation) before field work is undertaken A joint event to officially open the semester is held at the start of both the autumn and spring semesters, after which the students are invited to a social gathering with food and drink at the UNIS cafeteria. There is a Student Council that is represented on councils, committees and the UNIS Board.
The students arrange various social events and have access to a large equipment store for use in
recreational activities, which is mostly financed by welfare funding in the UNIS budget. UNIS encourages the students to be active in the local community and to contribute to existing organisations and
activities rather than having separate student organisations/associations.
1.5.2 The staff
UNIS facilitates teaching training and development for the academic staff. Through the partnership in the Centre for Excellence in Education (SFU) in Biology (bioCEED), greater focus has been created on variation of teaching methods and forms of assessment forms in the academic environments at UNIS (see chapter 1.6), and all staff at UNIS were offered the opportunity to attend the course “Collegial Teaching and Learning” in the 2016-2017 academic year. The next time this course will be offered is in autumn 2018.
UNIS also arranges the course “Basic Pedagogical Requirements” on campus every second year for academic staff who have not completed this course. The course was last held in autumn 2017-spring 2018. The annual “Learning Forum” for all staff (including those in adjunct positions) was held in October (see chapter 1.7).
UNIS has participated, via the Department of Arctic Geology, in the network of earth science/geoscience departments planning to apply for the title of Centre for Excellence in Higher Education (iEarth) to develop a new earth science programme in Norway.
It was decided in October 2017 that from 2018 UNIS will participate in a pilot scheme of the merit system for teaching, Excellent Teaching Practitioner, implemented by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MN) at the University of Bergen (UiB).
1.5.3 PhD candidates
A total of 31 PhD candidates were registered at UNIS in 2017, down from 33 PhD candidates in 2016. The candidates are admitted to PhD programmes at six Norwegian universities (see table 2). Of these, 21 receiving funding from the Ministry of Education and Research, while the remainder are funded through the Research Council of Norway or external projects. Five public defences were held in 2017; three at UNIS and one each at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and UiO. When it comes to PhD candidates, the distribution of responsibility between UNIS and the universities is stipulated in the “Study administrative
guidelines – PhD candidates at UNIS”, which was adopted by the UNIS Board in 2013.
As well as its own PhD candidates, UNIS offers places for guest PhD candidates. These are PhD candidates who although not employed at UNIS have a co-supervisor here and complete all or part of their PhD thesis at UNIS. Twelve guest PhD candidates were affiliated with UNIS in 2017, the same number as in 2016. These do not contribute to the reporting of student-labour years at UNIS over and above any courses they have taken here.
2017
University UiB UiO NTNU UiT NMBU Nord univ.
No. of candidates
11 8 3 7 1 1
Public defences
1 2 1 1
Table 2: The number of PhD candidates in 2017. These figures include PhD candidates in PhD positions, who have presented their theses, are delayed or have finished in 2017.
1.5.4 PhD forum
This is an interdisciplinary/social meeting point for the PhD candidates from all the departments. The forum functions as an information point from UNIS and the universities. Lectures are also held on topics of common interest to the candidates. The candidates are also encouraged to present articles in
progress to receive feedback on these. Representatives are elected at the PhD forum to represent the PhD candidates on ECom.
Only two PhD forums were held in 2017; one in the spring semester and one in the autumn semester.
The first was arranged in collaboration with bioCEED, during which two lecturers from the University of Lund held a workshop on “How to become a better teacher”. The second forum featured a lecture from the staff at the UNIS library on “Predatory journals”. UNIS was unable to hold more PhD forums in 2017 owing to the shortage of resources.
1.5.5 Compulsory course in Theory of Science and Ethics
The compulsory course in Theory of Science and Ethics was held at UNIS in 2016 under the auspices of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Following this, ECom decided that such a course should be offered at UNIS every second year. Consequently, this course was not held in 2017 but is scheduled to be held again in 2018.
1.6 bioCEED
BioCEED underwent a comprehensive evaluation process by NOKUT’s expert committee in 2017. This evaluation focused on its results and plans for the future. Following a positive evaluation result, the decision was made to continue bioCEED and finance the project for a further five-year period (2019- 2023). As in previous years, bioCEED has attached importance to creating meeting places at UNIS where learning and teaching are topics for staff and students alike. BioCEED has offered seminars for all staff covering themes related to field and research-based education, sustainable education, challenges related to PhD students’ learning and a workshop on teaching portfolios.
Student representatives from bioCEED at UNIS have developed bioBreakfast, a project funded by NOKUT and run by the students. BioBreakfast is a meeting place for biology students at bachelor’s, master’s and PhD levels where students can exchange knowledge and experiences related to their education and future working life. It has been proposed to expand bioBreakfast in 2018 to also include students from the other academic departments at UNIS. Furthermore, the student representatives in bioCEED have
arranged academic writing and reading seminars for UNIS students.
bioCEED publishes a monthly newsletter that is distributed to all staff at UNIS. The following points from 2017 are worthy of special mention:
The National Forum for Educational Leadership in Biology held its second meeting in Bergen where the topic Excellent Teaching Practitioner (ETP) was discussed. Øystein Varpe from UNIS coordinates the forum for educational leadership in bioCEED.
It was decided in October 2017 that UNIS will participate in the pilot scheme of the merit system for teaching implemented by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bergen (UiB).
During the 2016/2017 academic year course, bioCEED centrally has arranged the course
“Collegial Teaching and Learning” (4.5 ECTS). Six staff from various academic departments participated in the course. Another course will be offered in 2018.
UNIS staff participated in three major teaching conferences in 2017; MNT conference in Oslo, Læringsfestivalen (the Learning Festival) in Trondheim and EuroSoTL 2017 in Lund, Sweden. During the latter, the “Joanna Renc-Roe Award” was presented to three staff from UNIS.
Two major research projects were commenced at AB in 2017; “Numerical competence and student-active research” funded by the Olav Thon Foundation and COPUS – “Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM”. A funding application was also submitted to the Research Council of Norway for the interdisciplinary project DANGER “Educational value of combining Field work and Authentic Research Experience”.
UNIS’ online platform “Educational Quality in Teaching and Learning” was launched and is under continual development with various tools.
Development and implementation of the web-based tool bioSKILLS
1.7 Learning Forum
In October 2017, ECom and bioCEED arranged the Learning Forum for all academic staff (including adjunct professors). The forum included two days common for all participants and a half-day of departmental sessions. A total of 51 employees participated. Berit Kjeldstad, the Director of Education Quality Division at NTNU and Chair of the UNIS Board, opened this year’s Learning Forum by presenting the education trends in Europe and giving examples of how NTNU is working actively to develop the teaching at various levels.
The Learning Forum in 2017 addressed the following topics:
1) Information and status reporting: Educational quality at UNIS, student statistics in 2016, student evaluations from 2017, bioCEED status for 2017 and presentation of the merit system at the MN faculty at UiB. Harald Ellingsen announced that from 2018 UNIS will be part of the new pilot scheme for the merit system for teaching at UiB.
2) ECTS and calculation of student workload: Børge Damsgård presented the project report from bioCEED’s annual teacher training course, where the project team has mapped the intensity and workload for all 10 ECTS courses at UNIS.
3) Field teaching: Professor Emeritus Peter van Marion from NTNU gave an inspiration lecture on his many years of experience with field teaching within teacher education and biology courses at NTNU.
Lena Håkansson (AG, UNIS) and Sigmund Andersen (ANG) gave examples of field teaching methods in Svalbard. Lena started by introducing iEarth and then Lena and Sigmund shared their methods, experiences and reflections related to field teaching.
4) Methods and techniques that can reduce lectures while enhancing the quality of learning for
students: Roger Greenaway from Scotland shared some of his reflection techniques to increase the students’ reviewing skills and engagement in teaching.
After the lectures, the staff had the option of participating in two of following three workshops: 1) Field teaching – how to make it work (Peter van Marion), 2) Reflection techniques – to increase student learning and engagement (Roger Greenaway) and 3) How to increase the quality of learning without increasing the workload for the students (Ivar Nordmo, UiB). During the workshops, the staff worked actively on the topics in inter-departmental workgroups. Following two days of lectures and workshops, each of the departments held half-day departmental meetings focusing on strategy and planning.
The programme also included a joint lunch and dinner. Learning Forum 2017 was filmed, anyone at UNIS can access the videos and presentations from the event on the local server. UNIS invested NOK 150,000 in this skills development initiative for all academic staff. A short report has been compiled outlining the content of Learning Forum 2017 and an anonymous evaluation by the participants. The staff feedback was positive, and they want the concept to be continued. However, they would like great focus on internal sharing of knowledge and experience.
1.8 Infrastructure for teaching and learning
Since the Svalbard Science Centre opened in 2006, developments at UNIS and at co-location partners means all available space is fully utilized. Continual measures to reduce condensation and improve energy efficiency are underway to ensure a good study and working environment. Future growth in student numbers UNIS will require larger facilities. Furthermore, the equipment, which was mainly acquired from user resources when the science centre was established, is showing clear signs of wear and tear. There is a need for significant investments in clothing, field equipment and transport equipment to maintain the current field-based education.
UNIS, together with co-location partners at the Svalbard Science Centre and local authorities, has drawn up a campus development plan. This plan outlines how a future development of the science centre can be implemented in a local context. Specific plans have been compiled for the start of the schematic design for the expansion of the science centre. UNIS has applied to the Ministry of Education and Research for a grant of NOK 10 million to start of this project in 2019.
There is also a need for significant investment in IT infrastructure, in the same way as for field and transport equipment.
Access to research vessels could be a major challenge in the years ahead. The phasing in of the new ice going research vessel as a replacement for three smaller vessels makes access to suitable vessel capacity for cruises for teaching purposes difficult. In this context, it is extremely important that UiT can retain the vessel “Helmer Hansen”.
1.9 Library
Despite the growth in the number of potential users, the library has experienced a 13% decline in visits from 2016 to 2017 without any significant changes to the opening hours. The automated lending machine accounted for approx. 84% of the loans in 2017. The number of loans is up approx. 31% from the previous year.
Subscriptions and purchases have not increased significantly in recent years, but rising prices and exchange rates have contributed to increased costs. The library is still devoting time to acquiring older theses and research literature on Svalbard which is in demand from researchers and students. Owing to the focus on field and research based teaching, there will always be a major demand for Svalbard-relevant literature.
Most of the training provided by the library is ad hoc, although there has been planned teaching for students and employees. The high turnover and major differences in background among users is
challenging in terms of information literacy. The use of reference databases dropped by around 20% from 2016 to 2017 although the service provision and access to training was roughly the same. Searching for Svalbard-relevant literature is demanding, and UNIS should take a closer look at which search paths our users choose. The high search activity in 2013 may be attributed to work on UNIS’ bibliography.
Since the academic production is increasing, this may be a case of under reporting as little time is allocated for research documentation and CRIStin. As UNIS lacks an institutional repository, the task of rendering research results visible is not systemized.
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Library visits 9791 19277 33111 41171 49392 43000
Loans and loan renewals 2203 2344 2623 2320 2807 3012
Downloading of full text articles
23686 26755 27810 30736* 32967* 32679
Searches in reference databases
9748 13684 7202 5797 6581 5219
Collection –
subscriptions/purchases (NOK 000)
1592 1653 1856 2029 2272 2328
CRIStin – research result 101 95 100 121 147 152**
* Correction of previously reported figures for 2015 (32,415) and 2016 (37,989)
** The final figures will be available on 1 April 2018 Table 3: UNIS library statistics 2012-2017
2 Measures implemented in 2017
2.1 Follow-up of measures outlined in UNIS’ report on educational quality 2016
UNIS shall continue to focus on recruitment, especially of Norwegian degree students, and identify reasons why students withdraw and/or decline the offer of admission. No
systematic mapping has been implemented in 2017, but the trend is that more Norwegian students withdraw than international students withdraw and that the reasons for withdrawing may include: the course is not approved by the home institution, finances and other more attractive exchange opportunities/plans.
UNIS shall be proactive towards the Norwegian universities when it comes to course
development and the establishment of an Arctic profile in relevant programmes of study. There is good dialogue with the universities, academically as well as administratively, via various
networks, meetings and forums. UNIS’ course development generally occurs in collaboration with relevant academic environments/professionals and through established consultation processes at the universities.
UNIS shall hold a new Learning Forum in 2017. This was implemented (see chapter 1.7).
UNIS shall coordinate the job of developing input for the strategy for research and higher education in Svalbard in collaboration with the Research Council of Norway. Furthermore, a separate teaching strategy for UNIS shall be developed. UNIS coordinated the work of input on higher educational for the planned strategy, which has so far not been launched by the
government. A separate teaching strategy has not been developed. However, work started in 2017 on a revised overall strategy for UNIS and this process will continue in 2018.
UNIS shall continue to map the teaching capacity and load of the academic staff. The report for 2016 was completed in June 2017.
UNIS shall set fixed course periods for 2018 and 2019 and address the challenges related to the length of UNIS courses, including the workload and attained learning outcomes of the students.
This work was partially completed in 2017, and course periods for 2018 were set based on a principle that intensive courses (at master’s and PhD level) last for a minimum of five weeks (2 ECTS per week). Owing to the revision of the course portfolio at one of the academic
departments, the course periods for 2019 will be completed in April 2018.
UNIS shall focus on improving communication and collaboration between
administrative/technical departments and courses/the people with course responsibility.
Existing routines and processes for course development, course vision, teaching planning and admission routines, etc. are better rooted and known across the administrative/technical and academic departments in the organisation than previously, hereby improving communication and cooperation. The resource pages on “Educational Quality in Teaching and Learning” were launched in 2017 and the intention is to develop these further by publishing relevant
information and tools to help the staff and students alike. A co-ordination forum (Support Committee - SCom) covering all administrative/technical departments has been established to improve communication and cooperation. A clear mandate for SCom will be drawn up in 2018.
UNIS shall assess the overall course portfolio considering the financial situation, student production, teaching load on academic staff and the percentage of places filled on the courses.
The provision was somewhat reduced in 2017 and the course budgets were tightened further due to the financial situation.
bioCEED shall arrange various workshops, courses and lectures for employees with the aim of raising awareness about learning methods, learning outcomes and “deeper learning”. Several activities have been implemented in 2017. For more information, see chapter 1.6.
UNIS shall complete the audit of the Quality Assurance System for Education and start the task of revising the course evaluation forms so these conform with the intentions of the quality assurance system. The revised Quality Assurance System for Education was adopted by UNIS Board in February 2017 and has been implemented. The revision of the course evaluation forms was postponed, but this work started in 2018.
UNIS shall investigate and decide whether to introduce a basic system for students to report non- conformance. This work started in 2017 and will continue in 2018.
UNIS shall invest in a learning platform, preferably through the UNINETT agreement. Due to financial and resource constraints combined with challenges related to the IT infrastructure challenges, UNIS did not invest in a learning platform in 2017.
UNIS shall follow the goals for education stipulated in the strategic plan (available on the
website) and appurtenant action plan. All UNIS processes are rooted in the current strategy.
3 Recruitment and admission quality
3.1 Recruitment and marketing
UNIS travels on annual visits to the Norwegian universities. In 2017, these information meetings were held by student ambassadors (former UNIS students). UiT, NTNU and UiO have requested such meetings in both the spring and autumn semesters, while the other partners wish to meet once per year. The meetings last about an hour and include information about the educational provision, admissions and student life. Staff in adjunct positions at UNIS who work at the various institutions are invited to attend these presentations where practical. As UNIS does not have access to the e-mail addresses of the students at the various universities, we are unable to invite them to the meetings personally and are reliant on the local academic administration informing the students on UNIS’ behalf. Unfortunately, this information is not always communicated adequately to the students.
The information meetings are extremely time-consuming and resource-demanding. Consequently, priority will not be given to information meetings in 2018. UNIS would prefer to use our resources on developing a structure to gather stakeholders so we can send them relevant news and information about UNIS and the courses we offer.
UNIS markets itself via international networks, some print media, social media, via guest lecturers and staff employed in adjunct positions and, not least, through our students. Some of the people with course responsibility carefully target who within their professional networks to inform about their courses or relevant course packages, and this form of marketing appears to work well.
Since 2016, UNIS has had Facebook groups for new students, which works well. A new group is created for each semester. The Department of Academic Affairs at UNIS administrates the group and follows the activity from when the first students are invited to join. Once the students arrive and the course starts, the students overtake responsibility for the respective groups. The Department of Academic Affairs believes this as an effective way of connecting students with each other and experience that the students use these groups from an early stage to become acquainted. These groups enable new students to be invited into what we believe is a unique student environment. We have noticed that the existing UNIS students are good at answering questions from new students and inviting them on excursions and to social gatherings, etc.
Focus areas for 2018 are developing a stakeholder base, using videos produced by students as credible marketing and increasing our knowledge of own students and their decision-making processes through surveys and analyses of different groups of applicants and from different phases of the application process.
3.2 Applicant figures, admission quality and quotas 3.2.1 Applicant figures - assessments
UNIS operates with three different application deadlines: 15 February (for autumn courses in the period June/July), 15 April (autumn courses) and 15 October (spring courses).
Figure 1: Total number of applications to UNIS 2014 – 2017 Figure 2: Number of qualified and unqualified applicants to UNIS by academic department. N = number of applicants.
In 2017, a total of 3,106 applications were received for courses at UNIS. The number of
applications has increased every year but has flattened out somewhat in the past year (see figure 1).
Figure 2 shows the total number of applicants as well as the distribution of qualified and unqualified applicants for each department based on the admission requirements for each course. Furthermore, we see that between two-thirds and three-quarters of the applicants are qualified for admission based on the admission requirements for the courses.
Of the 2,218 qualified applicants, the Department of Arctic Geology has most applicants (44%), followed by the Department of Arctic Biology (24%), the Department of Arctic Technology (19%) and Department of Arctic Geophysics (12%).
It remains a trend that students apply for several courses (not just bachelor packages), they apply for courses at more than one department, and they wish to have several opportunities if they do not gain admission to the course(s) they have ranked highest.
In recent years, UNIS has attached importance to fixed course periods. It has been a stated ambition to spread the course activity throughout the entire calendar year. This will reduce overlapping between courses, offer relevant course packages at master’s/PhD level and will enable UNIS to take advantage of the student potential and increase the student production of credits to a greater degree than previously. Adopting such a plan will also give current and future students enhanced
predictability and ensure that the necessary internal and local resources for implementation are available.
3.2.2 Admission quality and quotas
Since 2015, the Norwegian universities have had the opportunity to have quota places on UNIS’ courses.
In 2016, the universities renegotiated their quotas for period 2017-2019. Table 3 shows that 55% of the universities’ quota places were used in 2017, which represents a slight increase from 2016.
Percentage of quotas used during the first round of admissions
2015 2016 2017
Arctic Biology 39% 52% 62%
Arctic Geology 53% 56% 70%
Arctic Geophysics 25% 36% 32%
Arctic Technology 45% 41% 55%
Table 4: Percentage of quota places at UNIS 2015 – 2017
Questions have been raised about whether the introduction of this quota scheme would lead to students from Norwegian universities gaining admission with significantly lower grades than students from
international universities. Figure 3 shows the average grades of Norwegian and international degree students who gained admission, as well as the average grades of Norwegian and international degree students on the waiting list for 2015 – 2017.
Figure 3: Average grade after the first round of admissions 2015 – 2017. Grading scale: A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1.
This shows that the average grade for Norwegian students is somewhat lower than for international students. However, the difference is not particularly great. In 2017, the average grade for admission was between A and B for both Norwegian and international students, while the average grade on the waiting list was between B and C for both groups, but with a slightly higher average for the international
students. Furthermore, we can see that the average grades for admission to UNIS have increased somewhat in the period 2015 – 2017. This may be related to as the number of applicants increases, so does the competition to gain admission to the various courses.
4 Results quality
4.1 Course portfolio – overall assessments
UNIS offers courses at bachelor’s, master’s and PhD level within four subject areas: Arctic biology, Arctic geology, Arctic geophysics and Arctic technology. The Arctic profile of UNIS’ course portfolio reflects the region well. The course provision in 2017 consisted of 98 courses and equated to 244 student-labour years. The educational provision at UNIS has been reasonably stable in recent years in terms of the number of courses (fig. 4) and the student-labour years per level (fig. 5). It is perceived that the educational provision has reached a level that is adequate in relation to the size of UNIS.
Figure 4: Number of courses per degree level 2013 –
2017. N = number of courses Figure 5: Educational provision in student-labour years per degree level 2013-2017. N = number of course
The overall percentage of places filled on courses at UNIS in 2017 was 80% (compared to 79% in 2016). The Department of Arctic Geology has the highest percentage of places filled (94%), while the Department of Arctic Technology is lowest (65%).
Figure 6: Percentage of places filled on courses at the various departments at UNIS 2014 – 2017
Figure 6 shows the percentage of places filled on courses in the period 2014-2017. The percentage of places filled obviously correlates with the student production. This figure shows the proportion of the maximum education provision that is filled, i.e. how many students attend on the starting date of the various courses divided by the maximum number of places available. In cases where more students have been admitted to the course than the maximum number of places available, the percentage is stated as higher than 100%. These figures have been relatively stable in recent years. However, further increasing this percentage must be a goal for UNIS.
4.2 Production and average grade
The production of student-labour years at UNIS is based on the number of credits produced by the examinations that are held in addition to the guest master’s students who have periods at UNIS throughout the year. The Ministry of Education and Research’s target for UNIS in 2017 was an educational provision that represents approximately 220 student-labour years.
4.2.1 Student production in 2017
UNIS has fulfilled the target set by the Ministry of Education and Research (KD) of developing a course provision of around 220 student-labour years, since 2014. In 2017, this provision constituted 244 student-labour years. Last year also marked the first time UNIS produced more than 220 student- labour years: The result is 222.5 student-labour years (214.4 student-labour years in 2016), of which 199 student-labour years (194.9 in 2016) were linked to credits (ECTS) from competed courses and the remainder to presence by guest master’s students in 2017.
A total of 794 unique students studied at UNIS in 2017, of which 773 took one or more courses at UNIS (course students). The remainder were guest master’s students who worked on their master’s thesis but did not take ordinary courses at UNIS during their time here in 2017. There was a total of 59 guest master’s students, 12 guest PhD students and nine guest bachelor students at UNIS in 2017.
With 31% of the total production, the Department of Arctic Geology had the highest student production of the academic departments at UNIS. The Department of Arctic Biology (20%) achieved
the greatest increase in production in terms of percentage since 2016. The biologists are followed by the Department of Arctic Engineering and the Department of Arctic Geophysics with 16% and 15% of the production, respectively. Both departments have experienced a decline since the previous year.
Guest master’s students accounted for 11% of the production at UNIS, while ANG students and general courses accounted for 7%. When considering these statistics, it must be noted that several academic departments offer a different number of courses every second year. Consequently, one must be careful not to draw direct conclusions from one year to the next.
Figure 7: Total student production, target figures from KD and the course provision expressed in student-labour years at UNIS 2010 – 2017.
The proportion of Norwegian degree students has increased from 45% in 2016 to 50% i 2017.
Consequently, in 2017, UNIS fulfilled KD’s target of achieving a balance between Norwegian and international students. However, the proportion of Norwegian citizens remains on the same level as in 2016 (33%). This indicates that the largest increase in the Norwegian degree students is attributable to foreign nations who are admitted to ordinary programmes of study at Norwegian universities.
4.2.2 Grade statistics for UNIS courses 2017
A total of 1,179 final assessments were held at UNIS in 2017, which is on the same level as in 2016 (1,180). Of these examinations, 54% received a grade of B or better, which represents the same result as in 2016. All UNIS courses use external examiners to grade their examinations.
Figure 8: Grade statistics for UNIS 2017. N = the number of final assessments
Although there may be many reasons why the students at UNIS achieve relatively good grades, the following points are worthy of mention:
When applying for admission, the students compete for places on UNIS’ courses based on their average grade from previous higher education. Consequently, places on courses will primarily be offered to students with a high average grade.
UNIS attaches importance to research-based and field-based teaching and active learning methods in general. The feedback from the students is that this enables them to become more involved and thereby experience increased learning and interest in the subject.
The students are taught in small groups and are followed by closely by the person with course responsibility and the lecturers.
4.2.3 Failure rate
A total of 7% of the students starting a course at UNIS finish without a valid result. The failure rate was 1% in 2017 (2% in 2016), while the drop-out rate was 6%. The latter consists of 2.6% who failed to attend the final assessment, 0.2% who fell ill during the examination and 3.3% who deleted their registration for examination during the course.
5 Evaluations and non-conformance
UNIS maps educational quality through an electronic course evaluation towards the end of each course.
The table below presents the overall factors and other findings in the course evaluations related to educational quality and academic, administrative and technical conditions. Furthermore, several people with course responsibility also perform oral final evaluations/summaries with the students. Midway evaluations shall also be performed for semester long courses. The person with course responsibility also completes an electronic evaluation of his/her course and the contact with the service departments (Department of Academic Affairs, logistics, lab, IT, and the administration) after completion of the course. In 2017, the electronic course evaluation for the people with course responsibility was changed to have greater focus on learning outcomes. The person with course responsibility also had the
opportunity to comment on the questions. The Head of Department and the relevant person with course responsibility are responsible for following up the student feedback for the respective course and
assessing the need to implement any measures. The Department of Academic Affairs also reviews all the evaluation reports and records general trends. Following two internal and one external hearing in 2016- 2017, a revised quality assurance system for education was presented to and approved by the UNIS Board in February 2017. The system reflects the current organisation and the current focus on
educational quality, meaning a clearer and overall goal for educational quality in now in place at UNIS.
5.1 Midway evaluation
Midway evaluations of the semester courses were performed in the spring semester 2017 and the heads of department presented the main findings to ECom. As ECom was not operational in the autumn
semester 2017 owing to a lack of leadership, it is not registered whether all midway evaluations were also performed in the autumn semester.
5.2 Course evaluations – overall assessment
The table below presents the main findings from the course evaluations 2017. Further details at the course level are available by contacting the Department of Academic Affairs at UNIS. Systems and processes to register and follow-up of measures on a course/departmental basis have not currently been
implemented. These tasks are handled by the heads of department, ECom, the people with course responsibility and the Department of Academic Affairs.
2016 - spring 2016 - autumn 2017 - spring 2017 – autumn Students 70% (n = 456) 77% (n = 487) 70% (n = 686) 76% (n = 507) People with
course responsibility
74% (n = 27) 44% (n = 32) 84% (n = 31) 4 % (n = 31)
Table 5: Response rate for course evaluations in 2016-2017 from students and people with course responsibility at UNIS
Most common/recurring factors in 2017
Reading lists Many were critical that they did not receive a reading list before the starting date of the course and that there was insufficient time to read the syllabus during the course period. The same feedback was also given in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Workload Students on bachelor and master’s/PhD courses have commented that the workload during the teaching period has been uneven and that there has been a lot to do towards the end. Students also provided feedback on long and intensive teaching days, which they felt had a negative effect on the learning outcome. This applies mostly to the intensive master’s/PhD courses. The same feedback was also given in 2016.
Lectures Uneven distribution of lectures during the course period. Feedback about
unstructured lectures, both during the lectures and in the order of them. The timing of the lectures has been designed to suit the person with course responsibility/guest lecturers and not based on what would have been a natural order. In some courses there is also insufficient communication between the lecturers, leading to some overlapping in the lecture content.
Preparation and
organisation of field work
As in previous years, the fieldwork received positive feedback, but the students want more academic information and better preparations before the fieldwork so that the students get more out of the fieldwork. The same feedback was also given in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
After the feedback from the students, three instances of non-conformance concerning HSE in the field were reported in 2017; two cases concerning a lack of safety training and one case concerning a lack of safety in the field.
Teaching lab There were only a few comments from students in 2017 about missing equipment in the labs.
Access to facilities Few computers available, especially during teaching in the computer labs. A shortage of rifles available for loan to students taking courses here during the summer as the rifles are loaned for field activity.
Software/IT Several requested a learning management system (LMS). Several experienced problems logging onto UNIS’ network and requested a more detailed help sheet.
Table 6: Common factors pointed out in the students’ feedback on courses and presence at UNIS in 2017.
Feedback from the people with course responsibility in 2017
Learning environment Mostly motivated students. Several comments that the student groups in 2017 were the best they have had. The students have different academic backgrounds, which can create challenges.
Workload High on the intensive courses, but that is necessary to take 10 ECTS in 5-6 weeks.
Teaching lab Poor equipment in the teaching lab and the instruments are old/outdated. There is a need for more lab assistance.
Access to facilities It is problematic to get the students transported to the field locations around Longyearbyen when vehicles may only be booked for two hours at a time. Few vehicles and staff to help with transport. A third computer lab is needed at UNIS.
Software/IT The lack of a learning management system (LMS) makes communication with the students difficult. Insufficient space on the server for students to share data.
Logistics Snowmobile training should be longer. Uncertainty concerning the boat situation, confirmed/rejected just a few days before fieldwork. It would be better if field activities were confirmed at the start of the course. Snowmobiles and belt wagons that did not work.
Table 7: Recurring themes in the feedback from the people with course responsibility in.
6 Non-conformance received through the reporting system for non- conformance
UNIS has not established a system for reporting non-conformance in the learning environment, but work has started to investigate possible systems for students to report on the learning environment. A system for reporting non-conformance was proposed in the revised quality assurance system and the work on investigating possible systems will continue in 2018.
In late January 2017, the boat UNIS Polaris experienced an engine breakdown while travelling from Barentsburg to Longyearbyen. A group of eight students, one lecturer and two field assistants from UNIS were on board. After a while, they were picked up by the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel Svalbard and taken to Longyearbyen. No one was physically injured. Internal and external inquiries have taken place and the case has not formally been closed.
The Department of Academic Affairs submitted three non-conformance reports through UNIS’ HSE system following findings in the evaluation reports for spring 2017 concerning insufficient training and safety in the field (see table 6). In autumn 2017, notes of concern were received from students and staff on bachelor courses concerning unacceptable behaviour by named fellow students during teaching situations and in leisure time. UNIS does not have formally adopted routines in place to deal with such situations and work in 2018 will include establishing ethical guidelines for students at UNIS.
7 Academic administrative tools and services
Scheduling and room allocation is a challenge with increasing student numbers and high teaching activity.
This is combined with a continuation of the challenges related to the shortage of student housing. Fixed course periods help to improve the situation to a certain degree, but in 2017 UNIS has also used UNIS Guest House (UGH) during the most hectic periods. The Department of Academic Affairs works purposefully and efficiently to finalise the admission results as soon as possible after application deadlines.
Practical implementation of examinations works fine, but UNIS does not have a satisfactory system for submitting part of an examination for grading. UNIS currently receives these via ordinary e-mail.
Moreover, UNIS has not have a system to check for plagiarism. Examination results are transmitted from the universities on the Norwegian mainland to UNIS via ordinary e-mail. It would be advantageous if UNIS had systems to safeguard IT security and privacy protection examination results are transmitted
electronically. This would enable the work to be performed more efficiently and the students to receive their grades quicker.
8 Action plan/measures 2018
UNIS shall continue to focus on recruitment, especially of Norwegian degree students, and identify reasons why students withdraw and/or decline the offer of admission.
UNIS shall be proactive towards the Norwegian universities when it comes to course development and the establishment of an Arctic profile in relevant programmes of study.
UNIS shall hold a new Learning Forum in 2018.
UNIS shall continue to map the teaching capacity and load of the academic staff.
UNIS will adopt the merit system for teaching, Excellent Teaching Practitioner, which has been implemented by the MN faculty at UiB.
UNIS shall set fixed course periods for 2018 and 2019, continue to focus on workloads and learning outcomes of the students and further development of semester packages at master’s/PhD level.
UNIS shall assess the overall course portfolio annually considering the financial situation, student production, teaching load on academic staff and the percentage of places filled on the courses.
bioCEED shall arrange various workshops, courses and lectures for employees with the aim of raising awareness about learning methods, learning outcomes and “deeper learning”.
UNIS shall participate in the national network to develop a Centre for Excellence in Higher Education iEarth for the earth science programme at the Norwegian universities.
UNIS shall revise the electronic course evaluation so it conforms with the intentions of the quality assurance system.
UNIS’ web-based resource pages on Educational Quality in Teaching and Learning shall be developed further by publishing relevant tools to promote further enhancement of the educational quality at UNIS.
UNIS shall establish a basic system for students to report non-conformance.
UNIS shall draw up ethical guidelines for students.
UNIS shall invest in a learning platform, providing the IT infrastructure is strengthened and upgraded and sufficient resources are available.
UNIS shall decide about which institutional repository to purchase and how to implement this.
UNIS shall follow the goals for education stipulated in the strategic plan (available on the website) and appurtenant action plan.
