Section 5. Accreditation of tertiary vocational education

The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) supervises the quality of tertiary vocational education and accredits tertiary vocational education, cf. Chapter 2 of Act of 1 April 2005 No. 15 relating to Universities and University Colleges.
Accreditation is a professional assessment of whether a tertiary vocational college or a tertiary vocational education fulfils the conditions stipulated by the Ministry and NOKUT. Accreditation is a precondition for providing tertiary vocational education. Accredited tertiary vocational education must comply with the Norwegian Qualifications Framework.
Tertiary vocational colleges may on certain conditions be granted accreditation for a subject area. Tertiary vocational colleges that are granted accreditation for a subject area, have the authority to establish and terminate tertiary vocational education within this subject area.
If a tertiary vocational education no longer meets the conditions for accreditation, or a tertiary vocational college no longer meets the conditions for subject area accreditation, NOKUT may withdraw the accreditation. If accreditation is withdrawn, the board of the tertiary vocational college is responsible for ensuring that the affected students are able to complete their ongoing education in a satisfactory manner.
The Ministry may issue regulations concerning
  1. a.
    conditions for accreditation of tertiary vocational education
  2. b.
    conditions for accreditation of a subject area
  3. c.
    procedural rules for NOKUT's accreditation activities.