Student intake – results from the latest consultation

The second consultation letter went out in late November 2022, and respondents had until 20 January 2023 to reply. The second round of consultation was more concrete and detailed than the first, and those consulted were invited to submit comprehensive answers. In the first round a total of 38 different suggestions for continuing education courses were received along with a number of proposed changes to existing study programmes. Twenty-three responses were received during the final round.

Fewer study places as a result of the government budget

NMH saw its circumstances change when the proposed government budget for 2023 was published. Amongst other things, the academy will lose the 70 study places allocated during the pandemic. When the second round of consultation began, Principal Astrid Kvalbein and Vice-Principal Gunnar Flagstad were clear that if the NMH is to create any new study programmes, others will have to go. They also called for flexibility and room for specialisation within the existing framework.

The second consultation requested feedback on whether any of the standard allocations were too high or too low, and if so, why. Another question was about the introduction of a flexible cap and how the student population will change in the future: how does this harmonise with tendencies and needs identified in your particular field? The respondents were asked to reflect on any changes and needs in the music industry and on the long-term recruitment potential of their respective fields. The consultation letter also asks how the proposed student intake as a whole harmonises with trends in the music industry.

By and large, the responses indicate that the methodology used when working on the plan was seen to be a sensible one and that the new standard allocations reflect the actual make-up of the student body relatively well. Yet there were also some reactions to individual figures set out in the plan (such as concerns over smaller standard allocations in the respondent’s own department) and to more general tendencies and shifts in the student body.

Some departments would like to see more flexibility around the distribution of students between bachelor and master programmes and between instruments.

The proposal to phase out the master programme in music theory (MATE) was met with fierce resistance, not only from the department directly affected by also from several other respondents.

The standard allocations that elicited the most disparate responses were linked to the individual concentration bachelor (FRIKA) and the individual concentration master (FRIMA). Some people feel the standard allocations are too small, while others believe they are too large, that they come at the expense of other programmes.