On this page, you will find the Regulations for board elections, and to other elections in accordance with decisions by the Board.

Norske versjon: Valgreglement

Regulations for Elections to the Board, Faculty Board, and elected bodies at the Departments at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Adopted by the Board on 28 January 2025 (S-sak 03/25) pursuant to Section 4-4 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. [The endnotes provide guidance pertaining to voting rights, eligibility, language requirements, and election campaign.]

This English version of the Regulations for elections may differ from the authoritative version, which is in Norwegian.

1. Applicability of the regulations

The regulations apply to the election of members of the NTNU Board, Faculty Board, and elected bodies at the Departments [Board/Council or Extended Management Group], and to other elections in accordance with decisions by the Board.

In Section 9, you will find special regulations for the election of student representatives, including Board members elected by the students. General provisions in the Regulations for Elections otherwise apply as far as they are appropriate.

Regarding other matters such as the composition of boards and councils, elected terms, reference is made to the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, the NTNU Management Regulations, as well as relevant decisions made by the Board of NTNU and decisions made by NTNU's management.

2. Form of elections

1. Elections are conducted by the electronic ballot system at NTNU.
2. The electoral register is based on the voters' group affiliation, unit affiliation and right to study in NTNU's datasystems at the time of the election.
3. Members and at least as many sequences of deputy members are elected by and from their groups in separate elections. Each group comprises a body of voters.
4. Each voter may only case one vote in each election.

3. The right to vote and constituencies

1. The following groups have the right to vote in elections:
   a) permanent academic staff, including fixed-term appointed management (rector, pro-rectors, deans, heads of department) and fixed-term performing artists.
   b) temporary academic staff
   c) permanent and temporary staff in technical and administrative positions
   d) students
2. To have the right to vote in their groups, permanent and temporary staff must be employed in a position with a full-time equivalency of at least 50 %. The right to vote follows the employees main position. [1]
3. Students have the right to vote at the Faculty/Department where they are admitted to a course or specific programme of study at NTNU. The students voting rights at Department level is further regulated in Section 9 (1). Students who at the same time satisfy the requirements for the right to vote as members of the NTNU staff shall vote as staff. [2]
4. For externally funded staff where NTNU is the employer, the same regulations regarding the right to vote apply as for the institution's other staff. Permanent research staff have voting rights and are eligible as permanent academic staff independently of the end date of their current external funding. Staff at institutions that are operationally associated with NTNU, but where the Board of NTNU does not have the responsibility for the academic or professional activities, have no voting rights at NTNU.
5. For a person who is on leave of absence to work in another position outside NTNU, the right to vote lapses. The right to vote is kept in the case of leave of absence with pay from NTNU.
6. A professor or associate professor in at least 20 % position and less than 50 % position at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences has the right to vote in elections at the Faculty and Department level.

4. Eligibility

1. Staff with the right to vote are eligible for election in their group if they have a contract of employment or period of study that covers the elected term in question. Unless the Board has decided otherwise, the elected term is from 1 August to 31 July. For the group comprising temporary academic staff, the Election Board may approve candidates whose term of employment is one month shorter than the elected term in question. For student representatives at the Faculty level (FTV) and the Department level (ITV), the elected term follows the academic year or the calendar year.
2. Norwegian is the official working language at NTNU. To serve as elected representative, eligible candidates must have a very good Norwegian language comprehension corresponding to that required to Norwegian-language study programmes and a permanent academic position. Cases of doubt are to be decided by the Election Board within the deadline for the announcement of the candidates based on the candidate’s documented language skills at the time of nomination. [2]
3. The following persons are not eligible for election: [3]
   a) Persons who have served in the position in question for a continuous period of eight years at the beginning of the new electoral period pursuant to the provisions of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.
   b) The following persons in managerial positions:
   - Rector, deans, and department heads are not eligible for election to the Board or to the Faculty Board.
   - Managers who report directly to the Rector, chairs of executive committees, and to the heads of divisions in the University Administration are not eligible for election to the Board.
   - Managers who report directly to the Dean, and heads of sections in the Faculty Administration are not eligible for election to the Faculty Board.
   - Managers who report directly to the head of the department are not eligible for election to the elected bodies at the Department.
   The regulations apply similarly to the Board and Director of the University Museum. Cases of doubt are decided by the respective Election Board.
   c) Members of the Election Board or nomination committee for the election in question.

5. Date of the election

1. The Rector determines the time schedule for ordinary elections. In the event of a supplementary election during the period, the Rector and Dean respectively decide when the election is to be conducted.
2. The students' election board determines the time schedule for the election of student representatives.
3. The determination of the election results shall be completed at the latest one month before the representatives' elected term starts.

6. Election Board

1. The Election Board is responsible for conducting elections and any supplementary elections during the elected term until a new Election Board has been appointed. The Election Board:
   a) manages the election and the preparations for this.
   b) announces the election at the latest six weeks before the first election day at NTNU and faculty levels, and no later than four weeks before at Department level. At the same time, information shall be provided about how the election is to be conducted and the deadline for nominating candidates. The nomination deadline is three weeks before the elections at NTNU and Faculty levels, and no later than two weeks before at the Department level.
   c) shall, if possible, ensure that elections do not take place before proposals have been put forward for at least as many candidates as the number of members and deputy members to be elected. Gender balance requirements must also be fulfilled. If by the deadline for nominations, proposals have not been put forward for at least as many candidates as the number of members and deputy members to be elected, the Election Board may ask the nomination committee, or the Rector or Dean if applicable, to put forward proposals for sufficient candidates within three days.
   d) interprets the election regulations and deals with complaints about the register of voters.
   e) checks the election results and announces the results.
   f) deals with any appeals regarding the election.
   g) may, in the event of technical problems of critical importance for voting, decide that the period for conducting the election is to be extended.
2. After discussion in IDF-SESAM, the Rector appoints the Election Board for the election of Board members. After discussion in IDF-LOSAM, the Dean appoints the Election Board at the faculty level, which is to be responsible for conducting the elections for the Faculty Board and elected bodies at the Departments.
3. The Election Board shall have three to five members with representation from various groups of employees. The Rector/the Dean designates the Chair and if applicable the Deputy Chair or leaves this selection to the Election Board itself.
4. The Election Board is quorate when more than half of its members are present. Decisions are made by a simple majority. In the event of an equality of votes, the Chair has the casting vote.

7. Nomination Committee

1. The Rector shall appoint a joint nomination committee consisting of at least one representative for each group of staff members to be elected. The proposed composition is to be discussed in IDF-SESAM. The Rector may appoint new members if some of the persons appointed cannot participate in the committee.
2. With an emphasis on equal treatment of the candidates, the nomination committee shall contribute to involvement and broad participation in the elections by:
   a) disseminating information before the deadline for nominations about what the position entails and the requirements for the candidates' competence.
   b) during the nomination period, contributing to measures to ensure that the number of candidates proposed is sufficient to enable a genuine election, and possibly proposing candidates themselves. Gender balance must be ensured.
   c) after the deadline for nominations ends and before the first election day, organizing election meetings and presenting the candidates.
3. The Dean may appoint the nomination committee for elections at the Faculty. If the tasks in point 2 is taken care of by the Election Committee, all groups must be represented on the committee.
4. The Department Head ensures that similar tasks are handled in an appropriate manner at the Departments.

8. Nomination. Announcement of candidates. Election campaign

1. All staff and students at NTNU with the right to vote may submit proposals for candidates from their own group. The proposals must be signed by at least three persons with the right to vote. Employees who stand for reelection and employees who stand for election at the Department level, may submit their own candidacy.
2. The proposals must be received by the Election Board no later than the deadline for nominations set by the Election Board. The Election Board asks if the candidates are willing to stand for election and checks their eligibility.
3. The Election Board announces the candidates at the latest one week before the election starts.
4. Institutional information and information channels must ensure equal treatment of candidates. Institutional election campaigns are conducted during the period between the announcement and the start of the election. Further ground rules for the election campaign are agreed upon with the candidates. [4]

9. Election of student representatives

1. Voting rights (Section 3) and eligibility (Section 4) follow from the students’ study affiliation in the relevant semester and the associated entry in the register of voters (Section 2). The Student Council decides which register of voters (Department and/or education programme) that shall determine the voting rights and eligibility at the respective Department elections.
2. Election of students takes place by electronic ballot. At the Faculty and Department level, elections may alternatively be conducted by ballot in a general meeting according to the regulations pertaining to general meetings of the respective Faculty or Department.
3. Separate elections may be held for members and deputy members.
4. It is only possible to vote for candidates who have been legally nominated and proposed to the Election Board by the deadline for nominations. Students can submit their own candidacy.
5. The election of student NTNU Board members is undertaken by the Election Board of the Student Parliament (Studenttinget). The Student Parliament is responsible for ensuring that by 1 March every year representatives to the Election Board are elected. The Election Board also functions in the event of an election/supplementary election during the period. The Election Board can itself determine the schedule for the NTNU Board election.
6. At the Faculty and Department level, the duties of the Election Board are undertaken by the student representatives in each Faculty.
7. The student representatives at the Ffaculties (FTV) and Departments (ITV) decide themselves who are to be permanent representatives on the Faculty Board and on the elected bodies at the Departments (Department Board/Council or Extended Management Group).

10. Determination of the election results

1. Preferential voting takes place in each group. Members and deputy members are elected in one process. That is each voter ranks candidates in numbered order of preference. The maximum number that can be ranked is the number of members and deputy members to be elected for the group in question.
2. The votes are counted separately for each group. The result is determined as follows:
   a) The votes are weighted by dividing the total of Number 1 rankings by 1, the total of Number 2 rankings by 3, the total of Number 3 rankings by 5, the total number of Number 4 rankings by 7, etc.
   b) The total of the weighted numbers of votes determines who is elected as a member and who is ranked a deputy member.
   c) The requirement for gender balance shall be satisfied for each group elected.
   d) If votes are equal between two candidates, the ranking of these is determined by the lot drawn by the Election Board.
3. The requirements for gender balance imposed by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act (Section 28) shall be satisfied as follows:
   a) If one member is to be elected, the deputy member must be of the opposite gender.
   b) If two members and deputy members are to be elected, both gender shall be represented among the members and deputy members respectively.
   c) If three members and deputy members are to be elected, two members must be of one gender and the same bender must have one of the deputy members to ensure that gender balance is obtained for the six representatives in total.
   d) If the count shows that there will be fewer representatives than this for one gender, the ranking of candidates of the underrepresented gender is increased. The requirement for gender balance shall first be satisfied for members, then for members and deputy members together. The candidate with the highest number of votes among the deputy members, is the first deputy member.
   e) Exemption to the regulations can be made when there are special circumstances that make it clearly unreasonable to satisfy the requirements. The Rector/the Dean decides on exemptions based on a proposal from the Election Board.
4. The election results shall be entered in a separate record of the elections, which is signed by the Election Board. Notification of the election results is sent to the Rector/Dean and immediately announced by the Election Board.

11. Resignation during the elected term

1. A person who ends their contract of employment or their studies at NTNU relinquishes the position to which they have been elected. A person who has a leave of absence to work in a position outside the university relinquishes the elected position during the leave of absence. In exceptional cases and based on a personal application, the Rector or Dean may grant a member exemption from the elected position for the rest of the elected term when there are strong grounds for this related to work or welfare.
2. Persons who after elections have been conducted, are appointed to positions that they are ineligible to hold according to Section 4 (3) or who enter a position or education that lead to a change of voter group, are to resign from their elected positions.
3. A supplementary election is held only if it is not possible to substitute from the list of deputy members and the ranked candidate list for the election and group in question.

12. Appeals

1. A person who has the right to vote in an election may bring an appeal on the grounds of errors that have been made during the election. The appeal must be submitted to the Election Board in question at the latest one week after the results of the election have been announced.
2. The Election Board can decide that a recount or new determination of the election results shall be conducted where this is possible and adequate to correct any errors. The Election Board at the institutional level may also decide that a new ballot shall be held. The new determination of the election results can be appealed in accordance with Section 12 (1) above.
3. If the appeal is not upheld, the Election Board shall issue a statement on the appeal and immediately send it to the appeal body with a copy to the appellant. The NTNU Board is the appeal body for elections at the institutional level. The Election Board at the institutional level is the appeal body for elections at the faculty and department level.
4. If the appeal body is of the opinion that errors of material significance to the election result have been made and that these cannot be rectified by a recount, a new determination of the election results, or by a new ballot, a new election shall be held. This shall be held as soon as possible in accordance with the regulations for ordinary elections. Until the new election has taken place, the previous member remains in the position even if the elected term has expired, but this cannot be required.

Endnotes for interpretation purposes

The right to vote

[1] Staff who holds a 50 % position at two organizational units or in two election groups, are allocated voting rights according to their main position but may through the complaint’s procedure choose where they wish to exercise their right to vote.

Eligibility

[2] It is possible to speak in English, but the candidates must be able to read complex case documents and follow the discussion in the board meeting in Norwegian. Candidates are required to have prior competence in Norwegian corresponding to the B2 level by the Common European Framework for Languages. Foreign language candidates may be asked to submit a course certificate or attestation from the department (head of department/head of office). Scandinavian language is equated with Norwegian. To fulfill the requirements, candidates should, for instance, have passed the NTNU stage 3 course (B2/C1) or obtained excellent grades from the NTNU stage 2 course (B1/B2). Note that even if a candidate has “passed” the NTNU stage 3 course, the board work will probably be demanding if the candidate does not have a very good written grade (reading and language comprehension). The oral grade is less important.

[3] Applies to sitting management and if you enter such positions at a later stage.

Election campaign

[4] To ensure equal treatment, institutional information channels and mailing lists must not be used to promote individual candidates. Candidates can run a personal campaign on campus, in their own channels and networks. Member organizations must themselves consider whether they want to profile candidates from their own organization. At staff elections, it is recommended to agree with the candidates that all election campaigns cease when elections begin; It contributes to electoral peace for the electorate and clear rules for the candidates. At the student elections, candidates are usually encouraged to continue their campaign to promote voter turnout during the election period.