The Norwegian government is introducing special rules for the Forsvarets høgskole (Norwegian Defence University College), FHS, adapting higher education legislation to military training. Among other things, students can be suspended if they lose their security clearance, while restrictions on students' working hours will not apply at FHS.
The new regulation enters into force on 1 September and involves several exemptions from the Norwegian Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, according to a press release from the government. The background is the special requirements placed on FHS as a military educational institution.
One change concerns security clearance. FHS is granted the right to suspend a student who loses their clearance or has it reduced below the level required for the programme. If a student's authorisation to access security-classified information is restricted, the student can be barred from the programme pending a decision in the clearance case. FHS must then, as far as possible, give the student the opportunity to complete the current semester.
Persistent lack of medical fitness can also form grounds for suspension. The regulation also retains special rules for suitability assessment, intended to ensure that students have the qualities required to work as officers in the Forsvaret (Norwegian Armed Forces).
FHS is also exempted from the ordinary limits on how many working hours students may have within higher education. The government justifies the exemption by noting that military education includes training and exercises under conditions intended to replicate crisis and war, and can therefore be time- and resource-intensive. The workload must still be justifiable and documented within the university's quality assurance system.
The regulation also gives the Norwegian Chief of Defence the authority to decide on further exemptions from parts of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges in the event of war, threat of war, or mobilisation and force build-up, in accordance with the Norwegian Defence Act. The government notes that FHS may then need to be adapted to fulfil its tasks within national operational planning. According to the government, the threshold for such exemptions should be high.
FHS also retains its current board model with nine members, including the chiefs of the three armed services. Other special rules apply to, among other things, the appointment of the rector and military personnel, as well as admissions.
NDS reported in March on another change to Norway's security clearance system. The government plans to consolidate civilian and military security vetting from 2027 into the new Klareringsdirektoratet (Clearance Directorate), provided the Storting approves the necessary legislative amendment.