The student welfare organizations in Oslo wish to join forces, but refuse to comment on problems that may arise.

The Foundation for Student Life in Oslo (SiO) and the Foundation for Student Welfare in University Colleges in Oslo and Akershus (OAS) have agreed that a fusion is desirable. However, the effect that this will have on the welfare services for students is still unclear, and neither organization is willing to say anything about the pros and cons of such a fusion.

- We are still in the planning phase and it would be pure speculation to say anything about the possible consequences, but I genuinely believe that a merger would result in better services for students. We have assembled a Working Group that will go through the pros and cons of a fusion and make suggestions, but it is too soon to agree on how the deal will look, says Leader of the General Board at SiO, Egil Heinert.

Chair of the Board at OAS, Fredrik Arneberg, does not wish to comment on whether the fusion will lead to changes in the price of gym membership or meals in student cafeterias. Yet he is willing to make a general prediction:

- I think that the biggest challenge will be how large institutions like the University of Oslo will tackle having to subsidize students from other institutions. We will have to come back to this after the investigation, says Arneberg.

The analysis of the plusses and minuses of the fusion, as well as the way forward, is supposed to be ready in October. According to the plan, the welfare organizations are to send the application the Ministry of Education and Research in the summer of 2009.

Changed the regulations

Yet the Welfare Council changed their regulations as early as Monday evening. Now educational institutions that pay semester fees to OAS have been given the right to partake in meetings and vote in the Welfare Council.

- This is a natural part of the fusion process that the welfare organizations are going through. The regulation was passed unanimously, which means that there is no political opposition to the fusion, says Fredrik Refsnes, leader of the Welfare Council. Leader of the Student Parliament at Oslo University College (OUC) is positive about having been given the right to vote. Yet she sets the condition that OUC’s parliament must gather before they can decide whether the nominate delegates.

Similarly to Heinert, Refsnes and Wergeland do not wish to comment on what kind of problems the fusion may cause.

Planning phase

OAS do not have a student democracy beneath them, merely an annual election meeting in which representatives from 16 student democracies meet, while SiO institutions have the Welfare Council.

Eirikur Ingolfsson is a coordinator in the Working Group that is carrying out the analysis. He points out that the coordination of the student democracies could be just as interesting as the discussion of welfare services and prices.

- We are still in the process of collecting [data concerning the services], and the mandate is to improve the process. All the same, I think that it is possible to come to an agreement regarding the welfare services. A bigger problem will be the student democracy. Should bigger institutions such as UiO and BI have a bigger say than the smaller ones? he asks.

The Ministry of Education and Research (KD) was formally notified of the process in June, but they do not wish to take a standpoint until they receive an application.

- It is important that we do a thorough analysis, weighing both positive and negative consequences before we make a statement. The wishes of the institutions and the students should contribute to the basis for the ministry’s decision, says Toril Johansson, director general of the Ministry of Education Research.