At this page you will find "Staff regulations including local procedural rules for teaching and research posts at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)". Negotiated on 25 June 2019 and revised on May 28 2021.

NOTE: This is an unofficial translation of the Norwegian version of the regulations and is provided for information purposes only. In the event of any inconsistency, the Norwegian version shall prevail.

Norsk versjon: Personalreglement for undervisnings- og forskerstillinger

Part I General

1. Definitions, general information about the appointing authority, etc.

The regulations apply to appointment to positions at NTNU that are subject to the Public Employees Ac (in Norwegian) (Statsansatteloven, abbreviated sal. in Norwegian), unless specific regulation has been laid down in or is pursuant to the Act relating to universities and university colleges (Lov om universiteter og høgskoler, abbreviated uhl in Norwegian). Provisions regarding the nominating and appointment authority for teaching and research positions (pay scale 17.510), researcher training and other academic trainee positions (pay scale 17.515) and research positions (pay scale 90.400) are determined by the Board of NTNU.

The main rule at NTNU shall be permanent employment, see Public Employees Act Section 9.1 (in Norwegian).

The main rule at NTNU is that all positions are advertised publicly.

2. Exemptions from the regulations

2.1 Exemptions may be made from sections 3 to 6 for appointments of up to twelve months.

The exemptions are conditional on legal grounds for temporary employment. In these appointment cases, the requirements for public advertisement, nomination, and appointment (in Norwegian) (Statsansatteloven § 7.1), do not apply .

As part of fulfilling the goals of the state's inclusion initiative, with the aim of offering candidates who meet criteria such as gaps in CV and disability employment for up to 1 year [1], these rules are exempted.

In such cases, decisions on appointment may be made by the head of the faculty or unit at the corresponding organizational level, or the person authorized by the head.

The parties presuppose that this takes place only in exceptional cases, and when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the employment relationship will not be extended.

Taking account of the qualification’s principle, appointments of up to 12 months must be advertised where the ordinary appointment process can be carried out without significant disadvantage to the institution, and it has been possible to anticipate the need.

Use of appointments without public advertisement, including the justification for this, must be reported quarterly to IDF LOSAM.

2.2 An appointment or extension of the employment relationship that will extend beyond one year (see 2.1 above) must be handled according to the Staff Regulations’ rules pertaining to advertisement, nomination, and appointment.

Part II Advertisement, assessment, and proposal for appointment

3. Advertisement of positions

3.1 Job vacancies, except for those specified in section 2.1 of the Staff Regulations, must be advertised publicly; see Public Employees Act Section 4.1 (in Norwegian)[2].

Public advertisement currently takes place through nav.no. In other respects, advertisement takes place in the manner considered most appropriate under the government regulations in effect at any given time. The position must also be advertised internally through NTNU’s intranet, see section 14.1 of the Working Environment Act. The deadline for applications must be at least two weeks from the advertisement date.

3.2 Public advertisement is to be waived where the position can be filled by a redundant employee or a part-time employee with the right to increase their working hours, or as a result of Inclusive Working Life (IA) initiatives.

3.3 If no qualified applicants have responded, or if it is relevant to depart from significant aspects of the qualification requirements, the position must be advertised again. The same applies if a disproportionately long time has elapsed since the position was advertised or if conditions related to the position have changed significantly.

All applicants must be notified if the position is to be advertised again. The nominating authority decides on re-advertisement.

3.4 Before advertisement of the position, union representatives for the organizations associated with the faculty/department (IDF LOSAM) must be informed of the advertisement text. The union representatives may require a discussion of the salary placement (see section 2.5.5 no. 1 of the Basic Collective Agreement). Through participation, the staff at the unit in question must have information and be given the opportunity for participation regarding the text of the advertisement; see section 9.6 of the NTNU adjustment agreement to the basic agreement for the civil service (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian: NTNUs tilpasningsavtale til Hovedavtalen i Staten).

3.5 The advertisement text is approved by the head of the appointments committee (see section 5.2). Advertisement texts must comply with the guidelines/templates in effect at NTNU with regard to structure and content.

For teaching and research posts, researcher training positions, and researcher positions associated with centres or programmes, or that are associated with interdisciplinary activities in any other way, the faculties /museum that is academically involved must have the opportunity to comment on proposals for the advertisement text before it is approved. The chair of the appointments committee at the host faculty/museum approves the advertisement text.

3.6 Exceptions to public advertisement: In exceptional cases, the appointments committee may make appointments without preceding advertisement when there are special reasons for this. Special reasons for departing from the requirement for advertisement apply when:

a) there are especially strong reasons to fill the position as quickly as possible in order to achieve strategic objectives,

b) in exceptional cases, it is desirable to recruit a particular individual,

c) the position has been advertised several times with no response from applicants who satisfy the competence requirements for the position, or

d) this is necessary in order to recruit qualified women.

It must be possible to document that the person appointed satisfies the competence requirements for the position.

If more than one member of the appointments committee objects to this, the position is however to be advertised publicly (see section 6-3 (4) of the Universities and Colleges Act).

Similarly, advertisement of job vacancies may be waived for appointments to externally funded positions (see section 3 (3) of the Regulations concerning the Public Employee Act (in Norwegian, Forskrift til statsansatteloven).

4. Nomination for teaching and research posts

4.1 Nominating authority

For the faculties and the NTNU University Museum (VM), the head of department is the nominating authority.

In cases of doubt, the Board itself decides who is the immediate superior and who is the nominating authority for the position in question, see Universities and Colleges Act Section 6-3 (5).

The nominating authority appoints a recruitment group to act as the advisory group to the nominating authority. The group is normally composed of the head of department, the head of the research group, the educational and learning coordinator, a student representative appointed by the relevant student body, and an HR recruiter. Both genders must be represented in the recruitment group.

4.2 Content of the nomination

The nomination is based on the description of the position, the applications, the report from the experts, any comments from the applicants, and statements from the recruitment group.

To enable a moderate gender quota system, the assessment shall make it clear whether the qualifications of the applicants in question are approximately equivalent if there are applicants of both genders. In addition, the nomination must be submitted to the unit’s gender equality adviser before the case is forwarded to the appointing body (see the provisions on gender equality in the NTNU adjustment agreement regarding moderate gender quotas in practice and the organization of equal opportunity initiatives).
 
4.3 Processing of applications

A public list of applicants must be made available to the applicants as soon as possible after the deadline for applications. An extended list of applicants must be made available to the applicants who request this.

If any of the applicants ask to be excluded from the public list of applicants, this request shall be considered. If the request cannot be fulfilled, the applicant must be informed immediately [3]. In principle, NTNU employees who apply for other positions at NTNU cannot be exempted from public disclosure.

In the evaluation, emphasis must be placed on the interest that the public has in access to the case, especially if a higher position is involved. Considerations related to recruitment and the protection of personal privacy must also be taken into account. The latter must be emphasized if disclosure of the application may have financial consequences for the applicant. It must also be taken into account if the applicant has a leading position in operations undergoing restructuring where disclosure may lead to concern in the organization.

Candidates who, based on a comprehensive first-hand assessment, might come into conflict with legislation governing exports of knowledge, technology, and services will not advance further from the first stage in the recruitment process. Here, reference is made to the Export Control Act.

The nominating authority may choose to accept applications for consideration even if the deadline for applications has passed. In this case, all applications that have arrived until the application in question was received will be considered. Nevertheless, applications received more than 14 days after the application deadline cannot be considered.

In cases where there is only one applicant who, during the past 6 years, calculated from the deadline for applications, has been declared competent in the same subject area as has been advertised, the department may submit its nomination without obtaining a new expert opinion if the previous declaration was unanimous and indisputable.

5. Expert Assessment

Assessment of academic qualifications

The academic and artistic qualifications of applicants for teaching and research posts, including additional positions (in Norwegian: bistillinger), must be assessed by designated experts before the head of department/head of section submits his or her nomination.

The head of department/head of section himself/herself appoints experts, as well as special assessors if applicable.
For positions as a research fellow, postdoc, or researcher it will normally be sufficient that two academic staff members at the department with a minimum doctorate or equivalent qualifications give their opinion on the applicant’s qualifications.

For appointment to additional positions (in Norwegian: bistillinger) normally ordinary expert assessment should be carried out. The appointment committee can in exceptional cases decide that ordinary expert assessment can be waived. This exception does not apply to positions as professors. For those who have obtained such a limited competence assessment, and apply for a permanent position or promotion, a new assessment based on the ordinary academic, teaching, and/or artistic qualifications which are required shall be conducted.

For other positions (assistant professor, associate professor, and professor) (in Norwegian: universitetslektor, førstelektor, dosent, førsteamanuensis, and professor), the following applies to the appointment of the expert committee and its work:

Appointment

a) The number of experts is normally 3. The person who holds the position in question should not be appointed. The applicants are informed about who has been appointed.

b) An administrator for the experts is appointed to coordinate the work and ensure progress. The administrator may also be an internal expert from NTNU. The administrator has a key role in ensuring progress in the committee. If possible, the administrator should therefore be selected from employees who are already involved in the department’s day-to-day operations by virtue of their position or office, such as the deputy head.

c) As a general rule, the experts must issue a joint statement; if there is a dissenting opinion in a joint statement, reasons must be given. The head of department decides whether the experts can submit separate statements.

d) As a minimum, the experts must have academic and teaching competence equivalent to that required of the applicants to the position within the subject area of the position; see also clause f). For assessment of associate professor competence, at least one of the experts must have qualifications exceeding those required for associate professors. One of the members may, as an alternative to documented academic production, have documented high professional or artistic competence from a senior position with broad responsibility for research and/or development in the subject area of the position.

e) Only one of the experts may be employed in a full-time or additional position at NTNU. As far as possible, and in the subject areas where it is natural, one of the experts shall be from another country. Both genders shall be represented among the experts.

f) In special cases, one or more special assessors may be appointed to report on parts of the applicants’ production. These have an advisory role with respect to the experts and submit separate statements, which are sent to the ordinary experts.

g) The expert committee must follow the guidelines in effect for assessment. The assessment must be available within 3 months after the applicants’ works have been sent to the expert committee.

h) To enable a moderate gender quota system, the assessment must make it clear whether the qualifications of the applicants in question are approximately equivalent or not if there are applicants of both genders.

i) The expert statement in its entirety is sent to the applicants for their information, and they are given a time limit to comment on the statement.

The expert assessment is based on

a) the applicant’s submitted academic and/or artistic works (normally 5-10 works depending on the tradition associated with the subject),

b) the applicant’s description of their works in relation to the description of the position, with emphasis on the works that the applicant regards as most significant and that the applicant especially wishes to be used as the basis for the assessment, as well as

c) a list of all the applicant’s works with information on where they have been published. [4]

d) the unit’s strategic staffing plan that forms the basis for the description of the position.

The applicants must be considered from the perspective of

a) Academic/artistic qualifications. The main emphasis in the comprehensive assessment of the applicants is placed on the submitted academic works/documented artistic activities. NTNU adheres to the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the commitments of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). This implies a special emphasis on the quality of these works/artistic activities and the disciplinary breadth that they document, not solely on counts of bibliometric data. Research management and participation in research projects must also be taken into account if the activities are adequately documented.

The assessment shall be based on the form of presentation in the scientific works. The review should state which documented qualifications the assessment is based on.

b) Dissemination. Documented initiatives to disseminate knowledge about academic methods and results must be emphasized.

c) Other academic qualifications which are required or highlighted in the description of the position. The assessment must be based on submitted material and documented circumstances.

d) Leadership qualifications. Emphasis is placed on education and experience in administration and management as well as experience from relevant leadership roles.

e) Other activities that, according to the description of the position, are required and/or regarded as qualifying, for example, industrial experience, including business start-ups or other forms of entrepreneurship, in which the applicant’s own research and development work has been used as the basis. Experience from or development work in the field of practice may be emphasized. Emphasis may also be placed on patents that have been granted, where these are based on the applicant’s own professional work. The evaluation is based on submitted material and documented circumstances.

f) Teaching competence.

For appointment to the position of associate professor [incl. førstelektor], applicants must be assessed on whether they meet the following requirements:

Completed a programme in higher education teaching (minimum 200 hours) or may document teaching competence on the basis of a combination of relevant courses and own practical teaching equivalent to a programme of minimum 200 hours, and in addition acquired basic skills in planning, execution, evaluation, and development of teaching and supervision activities (basic teaching and supervision qualifications at university and university college level).

For appointment as a professor, the following must also be documented:

• Development of quality in the applicant’s teaching and supervision over time
• Broad experience in supervision, preferably at the master’s/PhD level
• Participation in the development of education quality in the peer community

If the person appointed to a permanent position cannot document the required teaching qualifications at the associate professor level, the appointment committee shall instruct the person to fill the requirement within two years.

g) In particular, the committee must strive to identify the applicant’s potential in its assessment.

6. Trial lecture, interview, and obtaining references

6.1 Evaluation of teaching competence

If teaching and academic supervision are assigned to the position, the recruitment group (see 4.1) shall assess educational abilities on the basis of a trial lecture or other tests as a basis for their nomination [5].

6.2 Interviews and obtaining references
The applicants considered best qualified according to the nominating authority’s assessment are to be invited for an interview, and at least two references must be obtained for each applicant nominated. No one may be appointed until an interview has been conducted and references have been obtained.

If any of the qualified applicants state that they have a disability (see Regulation to the Public Employee Act Section 4 (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian: Forskrift til statsansatteloven), gaps in the CV (see Public Employee Act Section 4a, in Norwegian: Statsansatteloven), or minority background (see Regulations to the Public Employees Act Section 4b, see PM 2010-08 (pdf), in Norwegian), at least one of these applicants is to be invited for an interview before a nomination is made.

New information that emerges in an interview or in any other way, and that is material to the assessment of the applicants, must be recorded in the case documents.

If an applicant has requested that no information be obtained from their current or previous employer, and the nominating authority nevertheless wishes to obtain information, the applicant shall be notified so that he or she may withdraw the application.

Part III Appointment

7. Appointing body

7.1 The appointments committee

Appointments to academic staff positions are made by the academic appointments committee at the faculty/museum unless the Board has decided otherwise.

The chair of the appointments committee makes the decision on appointment to additional positions (bistilling) and researcher training positions, as well as for recruitment for a period of less than a year.

7.2 Composition of the appointments committee

The appointments committee for teaching and research posts has the following composition:

• dean/museum director (chair)
• 3 representatives of the academic staff, of whom 1 is a temporary staff member
• 1 student representative.

The temporary academic staff representative is to be replaced by a permanent academic staff representative if the temporary academic staff is not represented on the faculty board.

If possible, the representatives of the academic staff and the students are appointed among the members of the faculty board/museum board. The representatives of the permanent academic staff are appointed for four years, while the representative of the temporary academic staff and the student representative are appointed for one year. The other members of the board, including the alternate members of the board, are deputy members of the appointment committee. All members may be reappointed once.

The dean/museum director appoints the representatives of the academic staff and the student representative on the basis of a proposal from the board.

Each gender shall be represented by at least 40 % of the members of the appointments committee (see Section 28 of the Act relating to Gender Equality).

For appointments to positions where the dean/museum director has a conflict of interest, he or she withdraws from the meeting during the discussion of the matter and is replaced by the Rector or the person authorized by the Rector.

The chair of the appointments committee appoints the deputy chair from the other representatives of the employer.

The appointments committee may decide that others may also attend in connection with a specific case.

Termination cases covered by the Public Employees Act section 19 Termination due to the business conditions (allocation cuts, loss of work duties because of restructuring and streamlining, cessation of external funding), are processed by a central appointments committee, and not by ordinary appointments committees. The composition of the central appointments committee is like ordinary appointments committees with the following exceptions: The head of HR NTNU is chair of the central appointments committee, and the Rector appoints the academic staff representatives. The temporary academic staff representative shall be replaced by a permanent academic staff representative if the committee has not received a proposal for a temporary academic staff member from the faculty/unit.

7.3 Rules of procedure for the appointments committee

The appointments committee makes decisions about who is to be appointed, see section 6.1 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian), exemption from the trial period, see section 15.1, as well as disciplinary punishment, suspension, or dismissal due to the employee’s circumstances, see section 20, and summary discharge, see section 30.1.

The appointments committee is to make decisions in meetings. In exceptional cases, matters may be dealt with through circulation of documents if the members of the committee agree on this. If at least one of the appointments committee members requires a meeting in a specific case, or the written procedures show dissent, the matter must be considered in a meeting.

In public government administration, participation in an appointments committee is generally an official duty. The committee members may not prevent decisions by failing to participate in the procedures or refusing to sign the minutes of a meeting. However, if some of the committee members do not participate in the procedures for a case or do not sign the minutes of a meeting, the committee has a quorum if at least half of the members participate and sign.

Appointments committees are independent administrative bodies with the aim of contributing to independent and satisfactory administrative procedures. Among other things, this entails the duty to ensure that there is sufficient information about the case before a decision is made; see section 17 of the Public Administration Act. The appointments committee may therefore decide that people other than the members may also attend in order to shed light on a specific case. Such people leave the meeting when the actual decision in the case is to be made.

Members of the appointments committee are not subject to instructional authority. All members of the appointments committee can ask questions necessary to obtain further information about the case, including questions about the assessment of qualifications, legal authority for temporary appointments, and applicants with special rights. If the opinion of a majority of the members of the appointments committee is that the information about the matter is inadequate, the matter can be returned to the nominating authority for a new assessment.

The nomination submitted by the nominating authority must be comprehensive enough to provide the appointments committee with an adequate basis for assessment. If a member of an appointments committee or a board wishes to appoint an applicant who has not been nominated, a written assessment of the applicant must be obtained from the nominating body see section 6.3 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian).

The final appointment decision is included in minutes signed by everyone or approved electronically. The matter is decided by a general majority decision; if the vote is tied, the chair has the deciding vote.

The decision on appointment and the employment contract shall indicate whether:

a) the person appointed is required to demonstrate knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language (Swedish or Danish).

b) the person appointed is required to complete a course in university teaching within the work plan.

c) the person appointed who does not fulfil the requirements for teaching competence, instead of an offer of permanent appointment, is to be offered temporary appointment for up to 2 years pending complete fulfilment of the qualification requirements; see Section 1-2 of the Regulations concerning appointment and promotion to teaching and research posts.

d) the person appointed who does not fulfil the requirements for academic competence, instead of an offer of permanent appointment, is to be offered temporary appointment for up to 3 years with the possibility of extension for up to 6 months pending complete fulfilment of the qualification requirements for a permanent position. A prerequisite for this is that it is unlikely that a qualified applicant will respond to a new advertisement. For more detailed provisions, see section 6-5 of the Universities and University Colleges Act.

e) it is a prerequisite for the person’s appointment in an additional position (bistilling) that their main position involves attachment to a specific external organization.

8. Notification of appointment

The person who is appointed must be notified of the appointment in writing in the form of an offer of employment. An employment contract in writing must be made in accordance with sections 14-5 and 14-6 of the Working Environment Act. The time limit for the person in question to confirm the offer must be indicated in the offer of employment.

The offer of employment must also include provisions relating to a trial period, if applicable. The person appointed confirms in writing that such information has been received by signing the employment contract.

In the case of temporary appointments, the offer of employment and the employment contract must also state the duration of the appointment or specify the assignments to be carried out.

The other applicants must be notified as soon as possible that the position has been filled. The notification must include the name of the applicant who has been appointed to the position (see section 27 of the Public Administration Act).

Part IV Other provisions

9. Impartiality

Impartiality must be considered in accordance with sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Public Administration Act. The appointing body decides whether a member has a conflict of interest. The person in question does not take part in this decision. If possible, the member of the appointing body is to be replaced by their deputy member when the member has a conflict of interest. The members are obliged on their own initiative to inform the appointing body of circumstances that may be material to the question of impartiality.

10. Duty of confidentiality

Practice regarding the duty of confidentiality is in accordance with section 13 of the Public Administration Act. The members of the appointing body have a duty of confidentiality regarding information of which they become aware in connection with an appointment case. Those who are involved in appointment cases in other respects are subject to the same duty of confidentiality as the members of the appointing body.

11. Trial period

11.1 For the first six months, all employees serve a trial period according to section 15 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian), unless the appointing body has expressly decided that the trial period will not apply.

11.2 If a trial period is imposed in connection with the transfer from one position at NTNU to another, it is a prerequisite that the earned entitlement to protection against dismissal and periods of notice is maintained. A condition for application of the provisions of the Public Employees Act regarding dismissal in the trial period is that the employee has received regular follow-up with feedback, etc.

11.3 In the calculation of the employment period in terms of section 23 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian), all uninterrupted service at NTNU is to be used as the basis, including the length of service at previous organizations that have been incorporated in NTNU through transfer of an undertaking.

12. Leaves of absence in connection with training, transfer to another position, etc.

12.1 Time off duty in connection with academic development, courses, and similar initiatives for development of competence is granted in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the State’s Special agreement on leave and financial terms for continuing and further education, courses and the like (in Norwegian: Særavtale om permisjon og økonomiske vilkår ved etter- og videreutdanning, kurs mv.”). Also see the provisions on study leave in section 12-11 of the Working Environment Act.

12.2 In connection with transfer to another position, any application for leave of absence must be decided after weighing the interests of the applicant and the employer.

12.3 NTNU wishes to stimulate greater internal mobility to contribute to the individual’s professional development and optimal use of the university’s human resources.

12.4 The period of leave in connection with a transfer to another permanent position should normally not exceed one year. The decision on leave of absence according to the above-mentioned rules is made by the immediate superior.

13. Appeals body

If, in accordance with the Public Administration Act, a government employee appeals against a decision on termination of employment, disciplinary measures, suspension or dismissal, the appeal body is the Board of NTNU in cases where decisions are not made by the Board of NTNU itself. Where the Board of NTNU has made the decision, the appeals body is the ministry for the sector.

14. Access to documents

Applicants’ (parties) access to formal nomination documents is set by section 16 in the Regulations concerning the Public Administration Act (in Norwegian).

15. Other provisions

• Working hours: Working hours
• Periods of compassionate leave: Compassionate leave
• Vacation: Act relating to Holidays, with special agreement: Special agreement on vacation in the public administration (in Norwegian)
• Prohibition of gifts in official service: Public Employee Act section 39 (in Norwegian)
• Reference from the employer: Working Environment Act section 15-15

16. Entry into force and revision

16.1 These staff regulations have been negotiated between NTNU and the following union confederations: LO Stat, UNIO, Akademikerne, and YS Stat. The Staff Regulations cover the conditions that are specified as subject to negotiation in the Public Employees Act and are in accordance with the requirements in section 2.4 (in Norwegian). In addition, they include local procedural rules on which the parties agree.

16.2 When the Regulations refer to statutory provisions, the purpose is to provide consistency in the text. The references are not intended to create rights or obligations beyond those laid down in the statutory provisions themselves.

16.3 The Staff Regulations enter into force on 1 June 2021 in accordance with what the parties have agreed; see section 2.1 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian) and section 19.2b of the Basic Collective Agreements (in Norwegian).

16.4 Each of the parties in the institution and the specialist department may at any time require that revision of the staff regulations be considered; see section 2.5 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian).

The parties

NTNU, 28 June 2021

• Arne Kr. Hestnes, Director of the HR and HSE Division
• Morten Mørch, Parat (YS Stat - Confederation of Vocational Unions)
• Sturla Søpstad, NTL (LO Stat - Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions)
• Lisbeth Aune, Forskerforbundet (UNIO – Confederation of Unions for Professionals)
• Rune Sætre, Tekna (Akademikerne - Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations)

Footnotes

[1] Corrected by agreement 15 June 2021.

[2] The obligation to advertise relates to the qualification’s principle, which states that the person who is best qualified according to a comprehensive assessment of relevant education, experience, and personal suitability is to be appointed. The positions must therefore be advertised to ensure free competition by giving all potential candidates the opportunity to register their interest.

[3] In such cases, the applicant must be given the opportunity to withdraw the application.

[4] Applicants are encouraged to use Universities Norway NOR-CAM as a tool for documentation of and reflection on relevant results and competencies. Open science practices shall be assessed on the basis of quality and impact, in accordance with the NTNU Development Plan for Open Science.

[5] The numbering was corrected from 15 to 16, 1 July 2021.