NOKUT is the controlling authority for all tertiary vocational education. NOKUT’s mechanisms include controls of the institutions’ internal quality assurance systems and all educational provision for compliance with national quality standards.
Only institutions that have had a broad discipline area recognised by NOKUT can label themselves ‘college of tertiary vocational education’.
What separates tertiary vocational education from higher education?
Both educational types are defined as tertiary education (with entrance restricted to applicants with secondary school diplomas). Tertiary vocational education differs from higher education in these respects:
- It has a duration of between half a year and two years and is oriented towards a specific vocation. It is supposed to provide a competence that can be directly applied in occupational life.
- It does not have to be research based.
Operational model
NOKUT’s operational tools for quality control:
Controlling the provider’s internal quality assurance system
This is done by means of
- Assessment of the institution’s quality assurance system
Controlling that specific provision complies with national quality standards
This is done by means of two types of procedure:
- Recognition of new provision
- Controlling established provision
NOKUT may authorise a provider to establish new provision within a specified discipline area without having it recognised by NOKUT first.
NOKUT employs external experts in all quality assessments.