Expert assessors are the foundation of quality assurance
When NOKUT assesses quality in higher education, it is not only regulations and procedures that matter. The decisive factor is expert academic judgement, and this is provided by our external assessors.
Whenever we evaluate a study programme, a quality assurance system and quality work, or an institution, it is external experts who carry out the actual assessment. These assessors contribute subject-specific expertise, professional judgement, and up-to-date experience from the higher education sector. They review applications, self-evaluations, and supporting documentation; meet with students and staff; ask questions; and discuss their findings before reaching recommendations that form the basis of NOKUT’s decisions. NOKUT’s case officers support the assessors throughout the process and contribute their own expertise to the work. This interaction between NOKUT and the expert assessors is essential for maintaining trust in quality assurance in higher education.
The use of external experts is also a key element of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). The process can be viewed as a form of peer review: independent experts assess quality and provide recommendations that underpin the decisions that are made.
How do the expert assessors work?
Expert assessors serve on committees that are assembled to provide a broad range of competencies and experience. Committees always include academic staff and students from higher education institutions, and often also international experts and representatives from society or the labour market.
Most external quality assurance activities in higher education are regulated through requirements concerning the competence and composition of expert committees. In some processes, institutions themselves nominate potential experts, after which NOKUT assesses whether they meet the relevant requirements. Institutions undergoing a NOKUT process are always given the opportunity to comment before a committee is formally appointed. Once the committee has been established, the experts receive information about what is expected of them and are provided with training. In programme evaluations, they also contribute to shaping the terms of reference.
The assessors’ work varies across different types of processes, but they must always familiarise themselves with the documentation under review and often meet representatives from the institution or study programme being assessed. Through discussion and deliberation, the experts arrive at their academic judgements and recommendations. These assessments are compiled in an expert report, which forms an important part of the basis for NOKUT’s subsequent processing and decision-making.
An important responsibility
Serving as an expert assessor for NOKUT comes with responsibility. Assessments must be thorough, independent, and fair. At the same time, it provides an opportunity to contribute to the continued development of quality in Norwegian higher education.
Many assessors find the work professionally rewarding. As an expert assessor, one gains insight into how other institutions approach quality assurance and quality enhancement, while discussing challenges and solutions with experienced colleagues from across the sector.
For NOKUT, highly qualified expert assessors are indispensable. Considerable effort goes into assembling strong committees and ensuring high-quality processes. Yet this is precisely what makes the system so valuable. Without expert assessors, we would not have the same foundation for academic evaluations, nor the same level of trust in the quality assurance system.
For this reason, we are always looking for qualified experts who wish to contribute, whether they are academic staff, institutional leaders and administrators, students, or representatives from society or the labour market. NOKUT’s expert assessors play a vital role in the ongoing development of quality in Norwegian higher education.