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Guidelines for information in English at OsloMet

Guidelines for information in English at OsloMet

In accordance with The Language Policy Guidelines at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, the main language used at OsloMet is Norwegian.
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Furthermore, the University shall provide its international target groups with information in English. OsloMet shall therefore have an increased focus on parallel language and the use of English in communication. These guidelines are based on The Language Policy Guidelines and shall help employees assessing which information should be available in English.

1. OsloMet's target groups for information in English

  • Current and potential international students and PhD Candidates (exchange and degree students).

  • Current and potential international employees at OsloMet.

  • Current and potential international cooperation partners (education, research, fields of practice and working life).

  • International employees at other Norwegian universities and university colleges, fields of practice and working life.

  • Expert Committees that are going to assess OsloMet’s project applications, and Expert Committees under the auspices of the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) or other external bodies.

  • International stakeholders.

2. Terminology and text production

2.1 Preparing texts in English and quality assurance

OsloMet’s units shall themselves produce texts in English. A text shall be available in English when it is relevant for the target group (s) cf. point 1. The person responsible for preparing the text in Norwegian, is also responsible for preparing an English version of the text. If the information is only applicable to international target groups, the person responsible for providing this information must ensure that the information is available in English.

The individual units are also responsible for making sure that the quality of the text is good enough, thus following the same procedures as when producing a text in Norwegian. For online publication, the digital content strategy at OsloMet applies. The units may use OsloMet’s framework agreement for translation and proofreading, if needed. 

2.2 Adjusting texts to target groups

The content of the text shall be presented in plain language. It is often necessary to include extra information for target groups that do not have the same cultural references/background as students and staff at OsloMet.

2.3 Consistent use of English terminology

To establish an overall and coherent profile, consistent use of English terminology is important. OsloMet shall use the The Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions’ Termbase where terms relating to the Norwegian Higher Education Institutions are translated from Norwegian to British-English and the other way around. In addition, OsloMet has prepared a website with resources and translation tips.

2.4 Universal design of texts

Information in both Norwegian and English shall be prepared in accordance with current requirement for universal design of ICT.

There are online tests where you may check the accessibility of your website or PDF.

2.5 Writing for the web

See Språkrådet's guide to writing for the web, and their general guidelines (in Norwegian). The guide applies to both Norwegian and English.

3. Guidelines for digital information

Digital information includes information that is published, shared or sent electronically.

  • Websites: General information shall be available in both Norwegian and English. Examples: Information relating to examinations, working hours and other information found in the menus at hioa.no, student.oslomet.no, and ansatt.oslomet.no. Information to international target groups that is not relevant for Norwegian target groups may be published in English only. Examples: Information for international students and employees: Pre-arrival guide, information relating to visa and residence permit, how to finance their stay in Norway and so on.

  • News articles: All news articles shall be available in both Norwegian and English.

  • Events information: Information shall be published in the language of the event.

  • Groups at ansatt.oslomet.no: Groups relevant for all employees shall contain information in both Norwegian and English.

  • Employee profiles: All employees at OsloMet shall have an employee profile in both Norwegian and English.

  • Programme descriptions: Programme descriptions, including course descriptions for all degrees and programmes of 60 ECT credits or more shall be prepared in both Norwegian and English. For programmes that are only available in English, the programme descriptions may be available in English only. For the remaining programmes, the following applies: At least the parts of the programme description included in the university’s digital presentation of the programme, shall be prepared in both Norwegian and English. For courses offered in English, by request, the course description shall be available in Norwegian and English.

  • Research projects: Research projects and other cooperation projects where the main language is English, shall have a short description of the project available in Norwegian with reference to the main information in English. Project with Norwegian as the main language shall have a short description of the project in English with reference to the main information in Norwegian.

  • Social Media: OsloMet shall use both Norwegian and English in Social Media. This applies to all OsloMet’s channels and includes hashtags. If the topic is relevant for international target groups, the posts shall be available in English.

  • Hashtags: Good hashtags shall be prepared both in Norwegian and in English to optimise search on OsloMet’s website and hits in external search engines.

  • Films: Films related to dissemination, promotion and training shall be available in English whenever these are relevant for international target groups. This may be arranged both in terms of subtitles and speech.

  • E-mails: E-mails sent to all students or employees shall contain information in both English and Norwegian. E-mails to smaller groups shall provide information in the language used by the target group.  However, if the target group includes international students/employees, the e-mail must include information in English.

  • Job announcements: Reference is made to the Language Policy Guidelines, section relating to employee language skills.

4. Guidelines for other types of information

Other types of information include oral information/communication and information posted or distributed on campus.

  • Meetings: In meetings where there are international participants, the information shall be provided in English. 

  • Language at larger events: In connection with larger events such as the Semester Start and the OsloMet kick-off for Employees, Norwegian and English should be used interchangeably to reach all target groups.

  • Language of instruction: Reference is made to Language Policy Guidelines, section on education.

  • Signs: Reference signs and information screens must contain information in both Norwegian and English.

  • Physical pamphlets/flyers: Pamphlets/flyers relevant for international target groups shall also be produced in English.

  • Instructions at conference rooms/lecture halls: All instructions in conference rooms/lecture halls shall be available in both Norwegian and in English.

  • Information letters: All information letters and posters on campus shall include both Norwegian and English text.

  • Promoting OsloMet: Materials used for promoting OsloMet,  and which are relevant for international target groups, shall also be produced in English.

These guidelines were approved by the Steering Committee for Project Internationalisation 31 August 2017.