Quicker transition to master's
NHH is one of the educational institutions with the lowest dropout rates in the country. Nevertheless, there are too many students who end up behind with their bachelor's. On Thursday the board adopted new goals to improve the throughput rate.
19.06.2015 - Kristin Risvand Mo
Only 51 percent of NHH students completed their bachelor's degree within the standardised timeframe in 2014. This constitutes poor utilisation of resources and the programme committee for bachelor's education (PBU) has proposed a number of initiatives to ensure that more students complete their studies within the scheduled timeframe. The initiatives include closer follow-up, adjustment of the exam dates and trialling August exams in some subjects.
The Board supports the ambition for a throughput rate of 60 percent from 2017. Over time this aim will be higher.
A number of other issues were also addressed when the NHH Board convened for the final meeting this spring on Thursday 11 June 2015.
Mandates for the programme committees
Amended and more similar sounding mandates were adopted for the programme committees. The board concluded by voting on the composition of the programme committee for master's education (PMU), with the proposal being to reduce the number of members by two. The majority voted to keep the current arrangement with the Dean, four academic representatives and two student representatives.
Master's evaluation
PMU has evaluated the quality of the master's programme and an extensive final report was submitted for information. The committee has scrutinised the quality of students and intake, course portfolio and candidates.
The report shows that overall the master's studies are of a high quality and that NHH should further develop and enhance students' communication skills. More individual follow-up, training requirements including practice of teamwork and communication, and the development of a new case auditorium are among the proposals.
The board authorised PMU to investigate the strategic and practical implications of a broader intake basis for master's studies, including intake of students without a bachelor's degree in finance. The programme committee will also look at the desirability of creating new master's degrees.
Equality
The board took the annual report on equality into consideration and asked that equality work at the university college be reviewed again. An updated action plan for an improved gender balance will be on the board's agenda during the year.
Strategy for NHH Executive
A new and proactive strategy was adopted for further education and continuing education activities. NHH Executive Director, Birthe Kåfjord Lange, and the newly appointed Dean, Inger Stensaker, will lead the work on implementing the strategy in close collaboration with the academic community and administration.
External activities
The Board supported the amendments that were proposed for the external activities regulations, including an open register of external activities. See also previous article in Paraplyen: NHH's external relations
Finances
The Board also addressed the finances of NHH. The financial situation is under control but strategically there is modest room for manoeuvre. Intense efforts are currently being made to secure research funding from the EU. If these efforts are successful it will result in additional pressure on resources in the short term. The need for maintenance of the older building stock was also discussed.
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Master's programme evaluation