1. Working life relevance
StInn believes it is important that education is relevant and that studies prepare students for their future working life in the best possible way. Because of this, it is important that students gain necessary knowledge about the business sector throughout their entire study program. Students who are closely connected to both working life and the business sector during their education are more likely to complete their studies and to find a job quickly afterwards. Having this connection to the business sector as part of their education helps students get a clear picture of what everyday work life will look like after they finish their studies.
2. Internship
StInn believes that existing internship offers should be further developed, expanded and quality assured. We see that students want longer internship periods and better internship arrangements. We also see that students experience internships as a motivating part of their studies, that it makes their education feel more relevant, and that internship is a good way for students to find out whether their study program is right for them.
Today, many study programs do not have integrated internships. We believe that the Ministry of Education and the university sector must work to expand internship opportunities to more programs. There should also be a focus on access to affordable and available public transport to the internship site. Students should not have to carry extra costs in order to complete their internship, and should therefore receive support or compensation for any expenses they have in connection with it. StInn believes that students should receive compensation from University of Inland Norway (INN) for completing internships.
StInn believes that students at INN should not be used as free labour at their internship sites, either during or between internship periods. INN is responsible for following up their students to make sure this does not happen. StInn believes that students also have a responsibility to notify the course coordinator if the internship course is not being carried out in line with Norwegian laws and regulations. StInn believes that internships should, as far as possible, be placed within ordinary study time, and that mandatory internship should never be scheduled on a public holiday. Some study programs can be exempted from this rule if this is something the students want and if it is decided in advance at the appropriate level, in consultation with the Class Representatives. Students who want to, and who have a written agreement to do internship outside ordinary study time, can be granted this. Students must not be pressured by others to accept such an agreement.
3. Lifelong learning
StInn believes that education in the university and college sector should prepare students for their future through high quality, relevance and research connected to the study programs. Students at the different faculties should be as well prepared as possible to meet a changing society, and the study programs at University of Inland Norway (INN) should be adaptable and willing to change. StInn believes that lifelong learning should be an opportunity for the whole population, regardless of socio-economic status or age.
4. Interdisciplinarity
StInn believes that there should be opportunities for interdisciplinary activities within study programs, and also across faculties. Working life demands interdisciplinary knowledge. By this, StInn means that academic and scholarly diversity should actively be used in research and education across study programs and faculties. The Ministry of Education and the university sector must therefore make it possible for students to choose courses based on interest and relevance. At the same time, the institutions must facilitate collaborative projects, for example through joint courses and shared assignments.
5. Feedback to students
StInn believes that feedback should be based on sound academic and pedagogical reasoning. This helps students reach their full learning potential. Students should receive regular feedback with good explanations on the work they do in their studies. StInn believes that students should get feedback that focuses on their strengths and their potential for development in all types of assessment. There should also be good communication between students and lecturers when it comes to feedback and assessment.
6. Evaluations of the study program and the educational institution
StInn believes that evaluation of the study program should include students throughout the entire process. Feedback from students should be taken seriously and used for improvements at University of Inland Norway (INN). This feedback should be documented and used in continuous quality assurance, and the student union should have insight into it if the students consider this necessary.
7. Minimum competence for lecturers
StInn believes that everyone involved in teaching roles at University of Inland Norway (INN) must have passed a course in university and college pedagogy, and completed a trial lecture before being hired. Regularly hired external lecturers must also be assessed for their pedagogical competence and given guidance when needed. If their pedagogical competence is insufficient, they must update their knowledge and skills through mandatory training and a new trial lecture. StInn also believes that people in this situation should receive financial support.
StInn also demands sufficient IT competence from everyone with teaching roles at INN, and that these skills must be updated when necessary, for example through mandatory training.
8. Exam formats, assessment methods and implementation
StInn believes that University of Inland Norway (INN) should work actively to ensure fair exam formats and grading practices. Exam types should be varied throughout the study program, because students have different learning potentials and performance abilities. StInn wants to counter poor exam formats and make sure there are good procedures and routines within the exam system. StInn wants openness to variation in exam formats at INN, and that these are developed in line with the students.
Assessments and the way each individual student are treated must be fair and adapted to the student’s needs. StInn believes that INN should phase out the use of traditional school exams without any aids. These kinds of exams do not reflect how working life actually is.
9. Cheating
StInn believes that all instances of cheating must be properly investigated, without turning it into a witch hunt. All students must be considered innocent until the opposite is proven. This must be proven through a proper case process. StInn believes that today’s cheating rules for school exams without aids are hostile to learning. For students to learn, they have to be allowed to try and fail, and today’s rules punish students who make mistakes.
StInn believes that opportunities for development should be varied, in order to reflect the diversity of our students. StInn believes that students who are suspected of cheating must be guaranteed legal protection with good routines for documentation, communication, and a clear and quick handling of the case. The student must have the right to explain to University of Inland Norway (INN) what has happened. All students must be considered innocent until the opposite is proven. StInn believes that students who are suspected of cheating should not be excluded from their study program at INN before the case has been fully processed. This must be proven through a proper case process. StInn believes that INN is responsible for providing equal training in the use of sources to all students. INN is also responsible for giving information in advance of all assignments, coursework, exams, master’s and bachelor’s theses about which aids are allowed and which are not. StInn believes that exam anonymity is broken when students have to quote themselves in order to avoid self-plagiarism. StInn believes that there must be the same guidelines for the handling of all cheating cases at INN. StInn believes that the consequences for cheating are far too strict and that there should be a system of graded consequences. StInn believes that the levels in this system should be: warning, annulment of the exam, or temporary exclusion for up to 1–2 years. StInn believes that students who are found guilty, but later turn out to have been innocent, must receive compensation for increased student loan debt and lost income from work.
10. Internationalization
StInn believes that exchange opportunities should be actively facilitated. The curriculum should mainly be in the language the lecturer teaches in, except in cases where this would reduce the quality of the education. If someone wants to add texts in languages other than Norwegian or English, these must be translated before they are put on the curriculum list. Language studies like Spanish or French can use course literature in the language being studied.
11. Quality assurance work
StInn believes that student participation is essential for maintaining quality assurance work at University of Inland Norway (INN). The student democracy and other forms of student representation are crucial for safeguarding democratic principles in students’ everyday life. StInn believes that both INN and the student organizations must actively cooperate to ensure student representatives at all levels. StInn will work to secure representatives in all boards and committees at INN through StInn.
StInn will work to establish good cooperation with INN to inform students about StInn’s work and student organizations. StInn believes there should be student representation at every level of the quality system. Students who are individually appointed to boards and committees should receive compensation in the form of an honorarium. StInn also believes that all cases reported to the university must be met in an open and respectful way and be taken seriously. At the same time, StInn believes that our elected representatives should have insight into case documents within the university, in order to ensure the quality of the work being done.
12. Facilitation
We in StInn believe that every person in Norway should be able to study what they want. It is therefore important for us to provide facilitation as well as we possibly can, for as many people as possible. We believe this should be done by actively reviewing the facilitation system at University of Inland Norway (INN) and quality assuring it every year. Students must be represented in this quality assurance work. We also want to look at further developing or changing the tools meant to support students with dyslexia.
Based on students’ opinions, the current program is not sufficient. We also want to allow the use of such programs during exams, for those who need them. We in StInn believe that facilitation is one of the most important ways to achieve the highest possible quality of submitted assignments and exams. We also believe that the more people we manage to accommodate, the more students will complete their studies. This gives us as many perspectives as possible, which will help both education and research move forward. You can read more about facilitation in the Welfare and Learning Environment Policy Platform.
13. Course descriptions
Course descriptions must be detailed and include thorough information about learning outcomes, coursework requirements and assessment forms. For coursework and assessment, both the number and format must be specified. No changes should be made to the course description after the course has started, except in cases where specific changes are agreed upon.
14. Artificial intelligence
StInn believes that artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and that University of Inland Norway (INN) must adapt to this development. When using AI, it is important that INN provides enough training, such as courses and reference material, for both students and staff. This should cover topics like critical source evaluation, referencing, and ethical training when using AI as a tool. StInn believes that clear guidelines for how to reference AI must be in place at all faculties at INN, so that students get more predictability and equal treatment in their assignments, no matter where at INN they study.
StInn believes that students must be open and honest about their use of AI tools. INN must give clear signals about which AI services can be used, and when and how students are allowed to use them.
StInn believes that both students and INN share the responsibility for agreeing on the use of AI. This applies to every course students take at INN. StInn believes that lecturers and staff who might handle cases involving AI at INN must complete a mandatory course on the ethical use of AI and how to reference AI.
StInn believes that INN must include learning objectives in course descriptions that prepare students for how AI will be used in the fields they are being educated in.
StInn believes that INN’s lecturers must promote responsible use of AI, so that students can use AI and still feel confident that their academic integrity is preserved.
StInn believes that INN must apply equally strict rules for the use of AI tools as aids when staff are grading and giving feedback on assignments, as they do for students’ use of AI when writing assignments. For grading and deciding exam results, it is especially important that the final decision is made by a human.
StInn believes that INN must not make students’ work available for use in AI models without the explicit and voluntary consent of each individual student.