Elections at SU spring 2025

In the spring of 2025, elections will be held at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences (SU Faculty) for all voter groups: permanent academic staff, temporary academic staff, and technical-administrative staff. The election applies to the period from August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2029.

Norsk versjon: Valg ved SU

Important dates

Election for the Faculty Board

• Deadline for nominating candidates: April 16, 2025
• Announcement of candidates: No later than April 23
• Election: May 5–7, 2025

Elections at the departments

• Deadline for nominating candidates: May 21, 2025
• Announcement of candidates: No later than May 28
• Election: June 2–4, 2025

Which elections will be held?

Election for the Faculty Board

The Faculty Board is the highest governing body of the faculty. The board is responsible for setting goals and strategies for the faculty and making priorities within the framework of regulations and decisions at higher levels.

Elections at the departments

At NTNU, different departments have different elected bodies. At the SU Faculty, the following structures apply:

• Department of Social Work (ISA): Department board
• Department of Psychology (IPS): Department board
• Department of Teacher Education (ILU): Department board
• Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS): Department board
• Department of Geography and Social Anthropology (IGS): Extended leadership group
• Department of Education and Lifelong Learning (IPL): Extended leadership group

The extended leadership group is an advisory body for the head of department, while the department board makes decisions within the authority delegated to the department. Since the decision-making power of the department board is relatively limited in practice, the advisory function is the most important one even there.

Number of representatives to be elected from different voter groups

Faculty Board, department boards, and extended leadership group at IPL

• Permanent academic staff: 3 representatives
• Temporary academic staff: 1 representative
• Technical-administrative staff: 1 representative

Extended leadership group at IGS

The composition of the extended leadership group at IGS will be determined in week 15.

The same number of deputy representatives as regular representatives must be elected within each voter group.

The requirements for gender balance in accordance with the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act (§ 28) must be met as follows:

• If only one member is to be elected, the deputy member must be of the opposite gender.
• If two members and deputies are to be elected, there must be one member of each gender among both the members and deputies.
• If three members and deputies are to be elected, two members must be of one gender, and the same gender must have one deputy member, ensuring overall gender balance across the six positions.

Elections can only be held when a sufficient number of candidates of each gender have been nominated to meet these requirements.

Eligibility

To be eligible for election, candidates must have an employment relationship that covers the relevant election period.

Candidates must also have very good Norwegian language skills, equivalent to the requirements for admission to Norwegian-language study programs and permanent academic positions. The language requirement is further detailed in the election regulations.

The following individuals are not eligible:

• Individuals who have served in the same position for a continuous period of eight years.
• Certain individuals in leadership positions (see election regulations § 4.3 for details).
• Members of the election committee.

Nominate candidates

Do you know someone who would do a great job? As a voter, it is your responsibility to nominate candidates for the election.

Candidate nominations should be sent to valg@su.ntnu.no, including:

• The full name of the candidate.
• The election they are nominated for (Faculty Board or specific department).
• The voter group they represent.

It is possible to run as a candidate for both the Faculty Board and one's department.

A nomination must be supported by three individuals. The nomination must be submitted by one of the proposers, with the other two copied in the email. The candidate must also be copied.

Electoral register

The election system retrieves a daily updated electoral register from NTNU's personnel system. You can check your entry in the register by logging into *“valgweb”* and clicking on your name. You are assigned voting rights in the voter group associated with the unit where you hold your primary position at NTNU (at least a 50% position). If you are mistakenly assigned to the wrong voter group or unit, you must immediately contact your personnel manager, as only the manager can submit a correction request to NTNU's personnel system. Once you have cast your vote in the election web, your vote is registered with the affiliation you had at the time of voting. It is not possible to change a submitted vote.

Specifics for temporary academic staff

Election period

The election of representatives for temporary academic staff is conducted annually. The term for this election is August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026. To be eligible, the employment relationship must last at least until June 30, 2026.

Additional responsibilities

The representative for temporary academic staff on the Faculty Board will also be a member of the Appointment Committee (AU) and the Research Committee (FU) at the faculty. The AU determines job descriptions and appointments for professor, university lecturer, and associate professor positions.

Compensation

Compensation is provided for elected positions at the faculty and department level for PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers. The general rule is that compensation is given in the form of a paid extension of the employment contract. For candidates with remaining mandatory work obligations, it can alternatively be agreed with the department that the position may count as part of the mandatory work. Such roles can constitute a maximum of three months of mandatory work.

For the Faculty Board, the representative receives compensation in the form of a four-week paid extension of the employment contract, while the deputy representative receives a two-week paid extension. Details and conditions for such compensation are specified in a separate Dean's decision (in Norwegian).

For elected bodies at the departments, the Supplementary Guidelines to NTNU's Regulations on PhD Candidates' Mandatory Work (in Norwegian) apply, recommending two weeks of compensation. Contact your department to arrange compensation.

Election committee

The Election Committee ensures that the election is conducted in accordance with the election regulations and consists of:

• Ann Kristin Alseth, university lecturer at the Department of Social Work (ISA)
• Eirik Ringen Hammarstrøm, PhD candidate at the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning (IPL)
• Birgitte Lauvstad, senior consultant at the Department of Teacher Education (ILU)

Contact information

Kenneth T. Kjelsnes, senior adviser in the faculty administration, is the election administrator for the SU Faculty elections.

Questions about the elections can be directed to valg@su.ntnu.no.

Governing documents

• NTNU's Management Regulations: Describes NTNU's organization, authority, and distribution of responsibilities.
• NTNU's Regulations for Elections: Regulates the election of members to NTNU's Board, Faculty Boards, and elected bodies at the departments, as well as other elections following NTNU Board decisions.