International students are not cheaters
On September 22, international students were confronted with NRKs news headline accusing them of being cheaters (understood in this context as academic misconduct) and further that such information was a well known fact in Norwegian universities. The University of Oslo would like to stress that we do not consider international students to be cheaters and regret the feeling of unfair treatment this headline must have created.
- We do not believe that nationality has anything to do with moral standards.
The University of Oslo had no intention of describing the situation for international students as it appeared in the news and we do not believe that nationality has anything to do with moral standards.
Of the cases presented to the Central Appeals Committee, 15-30 are convicted of academic misconduct each year (from a population of approx. 26 000 students whereof 3000 are international students). The fact that international students are overrepresented in these cases is a point that the University of Oslo must take seriously. Students come from many different academic traditions and we work continuously to improve our information routines and training systems so that the needs of both international and national students are met.
The University of Oslo has a strong belief in internationalization as a factor for quality improvement of our institution, and we are proud of being the academic choice of a steadily increasing number of international students. It is of utmost importance that students feel that they are welcomed and taken care of, both academically and socially when they study at the University of Oslo. When this is not the case, it is also important that we respond by inviting contact, listening to complaints and finding solutions for improvement.
