Job losses and reduced course offerings are likely as Norwegian universities enter a “whole new economic reality” after years of growing budgets, sector leaders have warned.
Erika Torgersen, a senior fellow at the University of Stavanger (Uis), said institutions were “seeing a real decline in funding allocations to the university and college sector”.
“The last years have been characterized by growth and progress, a lot [universities] also having access to accumulated funds,” she said. “That’s definitely not the case anymore.”
Rector of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Tor Grande said Times Higher Education that the mood throughout the sector was gloomy. “There is a general feeling that people are really worried,” he said. “Not only faculty and students, but also leadership.”
Norway’s December budget saw cuts of 50 million NKr to a grant that compensates universities for inflation and salary increases, a move that Sunniva Whittaker, chair of the Universities of Norway, described as “a bad signal”. Next year, a new funding system will come into effect, ending rewards for institutions that win external grants and publish widely.
As a research-intensive university, UiS “will be hit particularly hard” by the new system, Ms Torgersen said. “In the future, government funding will be directed more towards education, at the expense of research. This means that a greater proportion of our resources must be used for education, leaving fewer resources for research.”
University leaders do not foresee a government stimulus anytime soon. “There are other areas that are higher priorities,” Professor Grande said. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said, “an increased defense budget is definitely a priority, especially in Norway.”
At NTNU, Norway’s largest university, job cuts are on the horizon. “Seventy percent of the cost picture at universities in Norway is the salary,” Professor Grande said. “The most obvious thing is that the people who retire will not be replaced. In some cases, we will have to be more specific and there have been discussions about voluntarily leaving people. In the worst cases, we may have to lay people off.”
Demographic changes are expected to compound the economic pressure. “The number of students will fall and the funding of universities is linked to the number of students. This means that we have to predict how we [will be] doing as an institution to estimate our future income,” said Professor Grande. “Institutions that are less successful in recruiting students will suffer the most.”
UiS will also “undergo significant financial restructuring in the coming years”, Ms Torgersen said, with this year’s budget reduced by 80m NKr and total cuts up to 2026 expected to reach 200m Nkr. Staff cuts will be necessary, “possibly from natural attrition”; “This will affect the remaining employees, who may have an increased workload,” she added.
The university is expected to terminate lease contracts, concentrating staff at the main Ullandhaug campus. “We will also have to make changes to our portfolio of studies,” she said.
NTNU, too, could see the impact of its course offering, according to Professor Grande. “In some cases, we can do things more efficiently, so we don’t really need to reduce the number of degree programs,” he said. “In extreme cases, we may have to close study programs in order to focus our efforts.”
Perhaps the biggest concern among academics, the NTNU rector said, was maintaining Norway’s scientific competitiveness during lean economic times.
“That’s probably the question that most faculty grapple with: Does this affect our ability to still be at the forefront of research?” he said.
emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com
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