Academic information

Volda University College operates on a semester system similar to the USA, but use the European systems for credits, degrees and grades. Read more about the academic system, traditions and key concepts.

Academic calendar

Volda University College operates on a 2-semester system with the start of the academic year in August. There is no summer or winter semester.

Autumn semester - from mid-August to mid-December

Spring semester - from early January to mid-June.

Academic calendar 2026/27

August 10-17, 2026 - arrival window for new international students
August 18, 2026 - official opening of the 2026/27 academic year and start of the Buddy Week
September 1, 2026 - deadline to register for courses and pay the semester fee
December 22, 2026 - autumn semester ends (most students have their final exam sooner)
January 2-5, 2027 - arrival window for new international students, Buddy Week
January 4, 2027 - start of the spring semester (not all courses have lectures this week)
February 1, 2027 - deadline to register for courses and pay the semester fee
March 20-29, 2027 - Easter holiday
June 18, 2027 - spring semester ends (most students have their final exam sooner)

Academic calendar 2025/26

August 11-18, 2025 - arrival window for new international students
August 19, 2025 - official opening of the 2025/26 academic year and start of the Buddy Week
September 1, 2025 - deadline to register for courses and pay the semester fee
December 22, 2025 - autumn semester ends (most students have their final exam sooner)
January 2-5, 2026 - arrival window for new international students, Buddy Week
January 5, 2026 - start of the spring semester (not all courses have lectures this week)
February 1, 2026 - deadline to register for courses and pay the semester fee
March 26-April 6, 2026 - Easter holiday
June 19, 2026 - spring semester ends (most students have their final exam sooner)

Degree and credit system

Volda University College and other universities in Norway follow the European Higher Education Area and Bologna Process. This means that the credits and degrees are based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Full-time study at Volda University College is defined as 60 ECTS credits per academic year, 30 ECTS credits per semester.

Bachelor degrees are typically awarded after 3 years of full-time study and equivalent to 180 ECTS credits (in Norwegian studiepoeng).

Masters degrees are typically awarded after 2 years of full-time study and equivalent to 120 ECTS credits (studiepoeng).

Courses and study programmes

Students apply and are accepted to study programmes, such as the Bachelor's degree in Journalism or the Master in Media Practices. Study programmes lasting more than one year will award a degree, for example a Bachelor's degree.

Some study programmes last one academic year (referred to as year courses), and these may or may not lead to a formal degree or diploma.

Students are accepted into study programmes, but the key "unit" of education is called a course. A course is a unit of study that has its own description with learning outcomes, a lecture plan, a syllabus, exams, grades and credit weight. On a grade transcript from Volda University College, each course is listed with course title, grade awarded and the number of credits.

More about courses at Volda University College

Course description

Each course has a detailed course description with information about content, exam forms and learning outcomes. The course descriptions are published on the VUC website with a new version for each time the course is offered.

See course descriptions on the VUC website.

Mandatory vs. elective courses

Some courses are mandatory, that is required for degree students in order to graduate. Other courses are elective, where students may choose from a list of optional courses from within or outside the study programme.

Course registration

Students are given an individual education plan that they must accept at the start of the study programme and in following semesters update when registering for courses.

At the start of each semester, there is a registration period where students sign up for courses, register for the semester and pay the semester fee.

Students in degree programmes are given priority for course registration and can register earlier in the pre-registration period (November and May). In this way, degree students get first priority to register in courses that are open for many types of students.

When registering for elective courses, students must make sure to check the exam schedule to see that the exams do not collide or overlap.

It is not common for a course at Volda University College to be offered in many versions in the same semester.

Courses and credits

Courses at Volda University College typically are large units of 10-15 ECTS credits. This means that many students only enrol in two courses per semester.

However, each course may contain modules or different parts that could have a separate exam, assignment or test connected to them. However, on the transcript of record from VUC, only the course is listed and with one grade.

Course codes and titles

Courses at Volda University College are given a code of letters and numbers. The letters indicate the subject area, such as JOU whic stands for journalism.

The numbers indicate the level of the course. 100-level means introductory course at Bachelor's level, 200-level means advanced course at Bachelor's level and 300-level means Master's level.

The course code MMP301 indicates that the course in question is at the Masters' level and from the study programme Master in Media Practices (MMP).

Exams and grading

Each course has its own examination form. Examinations can take the form of assignments, school examinations, group projects, presentations, oral exams etc.

The course description will state the examination form of the course in question.

Examinations at Volda University College

Most courses will have 1-3 types of exams that determine the grade in the course. In some cases the entire grade for one course is based on one assignment, whereas in other cases the course include both an assignment, school exam and presentation. It is not common to have lots of small tests, quizzes and midterms influencing the grade, such as in the US college tradition.

Grading is typically done anonymous. Students are given an candidate number that identifies their exam so that the examiners do not know which student they are grading. However, in some cases anonymisation is not possible, such as for presentations and oral exams.

Volda University College usses the European grading scale with letter grades A - F, where A is the best possible grade and E is the lowest passing grade. F is a failing grade. There is no pluss or minus used to differentiate between the grades of the same category.

Although it may seem similar to the the typical North American grading scale, there are clear differences such as the grade C often considered the average grade in a wider student population and the grade E being regularly awarded.

Qualitative description of grades at Volda University College

A - Excellent - An excellent performance, clearly outstanding. The candidate demonstrates excellent judgement and a high degree of independent thinking.

B - Very good - A very good performance. The candidate demonstrates sound judgement and a very good degree of independent thinking.

C - Good - A good performance in most areas. The candidate demonstrates a reasonable degree of judgement and independent thinking in the most important areas.

D - Satisfactory - A satisfactory performance, but with significant shortcomings. The candidate demonstrates a limited degree of judgement and independent thinking.

E - Sufficient - A performance that meets the minimum criteria, but no more. The candidate demonstrates a very limited degree of judgement and independent thinking.

F - Fail - A performance that does not meet the minimum academic criteria. The candidate demonstrates an absence of both judgement and independent thinking.

Appeal of grades

Students may request an explanation of their grade in StudentWeb. The deadline to request an explanation is 1 week after the grade has been announced in StudentWeb (or for oral exams, immediately after you receive the grade). This explanation may be given in writing or verbally. The student will be notified once the explanation is provided in writing.

Students may appeal the grade of all written examinations, but it is not possible to appeal the grade of oral exams or presentations that cannot be reproduced. The deadline to submit an appeal is 3 weeks after the grade was announced in StudentWeb or 3 weeks after receiving an explanation of the grade.