An international focus, a local challenge
The housing guarantee is a security for international students, and without it, it would be difficult for the university to attract students from other countries.
There is a tremendous lack of student housing in Oslo.
From the first semester you see international students in classes, on campus and hopefully during the orientation week (fadderweek). If you’ve been at the University for a while you are possibly aware that the University of Oslo (UiO) has a progressive and important international strategy for 2020. UiO wants to gradually build up a strategy to focus on international students coming to Oslo, and has a goal to become more internationalized, with a better environment and higher quality of life for foreign students. We applaud this strategy, but is seems that the rectorate and the administration at UiO have forgotten one major thing – how prepared is UiO for taking in these extra students?
During this spring, the Welfare Council (Velferdstinget) has discussed what some representatives see as the council’s «holy grail» issue – the student housing guarantee that Studentsamskipnaden i Oslo (SiO) offers UiO for their international students. Because of the controversies that have arisen due to this guarantee, we are hoping that this article will explain what steps are being taken to ensure fairness in the future and what solutions are being discussed for the short-term.
It is understandable why some refer to this guarantee as a «holy grail» because they know how difficult it is to find housing in a foreign country where you do not speak the language, or know where it is good to live, or how much the rent should be. For international students this is a security, and without it, it would be difficult for the university to attract students from other countries. This could obviously compromise the academic integrity of UiO’s programs. You could say then that the university’s international strategy would be rendered useless.
Still, we understand that unfortunately we must review the guarantee in a bigger perspective. As many are aware, there is a tremendous lack of student housing in Oslo. Even though the Welfare Council is working daily with the city council to build more housing units, this will not be enough, and the housing that is being built will not be ready fast enough to satisfy the need for it. At the beginning of the autumn semester of 2010 there might not be any housing available for any Norwegian students. The blame is not the international students in this case, but an acute oversight in the planning process. Something now must be done regardless, and this is why the Welfare Council has assembled a research and planning group, together with partners from SiO, UiO, BI, International students union-UiO, and the Student Parliament, to look for alternative solutions.
We have proposed and are reviewing several solutions, from host families, and possibly opening a new office for arranging private student housing, to making the housing guarantee applicable to selective programs at certain times of the year, among other creative ideas. We are drawing upon the examples of other existing university housing programs in Norway that have dealt with these issues in the past, and we are striving to offer solutions that appeal to the general principles of equality and fairness in student life. It is our goal that UiO will still uphold their guarantee, and that Norwegian students will also be able to use the student housing resources in Oslo.
The research group will work throughout the summer, and we invite all students to give us advice and tips on this matter. We want the participating Oslo institutions to suceed in their international strategies, and to ensure that Norway’s academic life can have a healthy and sustainable international focus, not only to encourage more international students to come to Oslo, and Norway, but to provide a fair solution for all. There’s more than enough room in Norway for everyone.
Mari Berdal Djupvik, leader of the Welfare Counsil,Emily Balloun, leader of ISU UiO;
2 kommentarer
I am Norwegian student at UiO, and I got at an e-mail from SiO basicly saying: We need your room for international students, move!
While they offered other, more expensive or much smaller for the same price, housing, I felt I had no choice in the matter to move during exams, to vacate my apartment.
More than 50% of SiOs housing goes to international students. I do not belive that is why Norwegian politicians allocate funds for building of student housing. I do not think that is why all students at UiO pays 1000 NOK each, about 30 000 000 NOK, year in the two semester fee to SiO/UiO.
Most international students on exchange does not pay the semester fee. In a way their housing is sponsored by Norwegian students which seems to be left without spending.
I am sorry to hear about this, and your experience is one that all parties concerned want to avoid. While it is true that more than 50% of all coming AVAILABLE housing is dealt out to incoming international students, there is still a plurality of Norwegian students in student housing. Additionally, those students who do not pay the semester fee do not do so because they are paying the fees at their home universities for Norwegian students. As an example, I myself pay the tuition and fees at my home university, and the Norwegian student taking my place there has paid their student fees here. You could ask in this case who is getting the better deal? All students at UiO have paid the fee themselves, or have had their fee covered through an exchange agreement--no one is here for free.
The issue of housing is that it is a problem for ALL students in Oslo that there is a lack of space. In my role as President of the ISU, I strive to achieve equality and fairness in negotiations fo international students. Let it stand that no international student should be treated in a different way than any Norwegian student. That being said, international students have special needs coming into Norway for the first time, and benefit greatly from the guarantee of housing in a country where they largely do not speak the language and do not know how to search for their own housing. This agreement for housing exists between UiO/BI and SiO, and it is one of the most high-profile things on the table for addressing the housing crisis, but it is not the only issue to consider. There are for example guarantees in place that students may live in student housing for 6 years with the possibility to petition for an additional 2. There are students who sublet to non-students. There are students not studying who have kept their rooms. We are working to see what solutions to these problems are possible and feasible.
Ultimately, there is enough space in Norway for EVERY student, and the question is not who, but rather how.
