Board elections at OsloMet

Election of members to the University Board and the Faculty Boards at OsloMet

In the spring of 2023 OsloMet will elect members to the University board and the Faculty boards.
OsloMet needs to elect members in the different groups of employees (constituencies). The different groups are:

• a)    Academic staff with tenure
• b)    Academic staff with temporary employment
• c)    Administrative and technical staff
• d)    Students
• e)    In addition, external members are appointed (not elected)

The term of office for positions in a), c) and e) is four years and one year for positions in b) and for the students, starting first of August 2023.

Prior to elections is the nomination period. In this time period you may nominate candidates to the positions. The period is from 20 March to 19 April 2023. 

Election Regulations 

Election Regulations for OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University of 10 March 2022 (PDF).

Preferential voting

Elections will be in the form of preferential voting. Preferential voting is a form of proportional representation voting where the main purpose is to ensure a representation that is as much in line with the voter’s preferences as possible. It is considered the best possible way of safeguarding the university’s democracy. OsloMet has technical solutions that support the election principle.

Read more about preferential voting (PDF).

Four constituencies

A constituency is the group of employees you may vote for (and may vote for you if you’re nominated). We have four – Academic staff with tenure, Academic staff with temporary posts, Administrative and technical staff and Students.

You may nominate from and vote for employees in the same category as yourself.

The same form is used for nominations in all constituencies. The election administration takes responsibility for differentiating between the constituencies in which the employees nominated belongs to. We will report back to the nominators if they nominate from another constituency than they belong. 

How to nominate candidates?

Employees can nominate candidates to the University board, and to the Faculty board at the faculty they are employed. 

In order for a nomination to be valid, a candidate must be nominated by three different eligible voters, that is, all three proposers must submit individual nomination forms. Remember that you may also nominate yourself. Proposers are encouraged to contact the relevant candidate in advance of the nomination.

During the nomination period the nomination forms for the different board positions are posted on the pages of the respective elections. Please note that there are different nomination forms for the university board and for the respective faculty boards. The candidates for the individual elections will also be presented here.

• Board election for the OsloMet University Board 
• Board election for the Faculty of Health Sciences (HV)  
• Board election for the Faculty of Education and International Studies (LUI) 
• Board election for the Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD)
• Board election for the Faculty of Social Sciences (SAM)  

When do the elections take place?

The election period is from 10 to 22 May 2023. The election of members to the University board and the Faculty boards takes place in parallel. This means that eligible voters can vote in two elections (only to the University board if you do not work at a Faculty): the University board election and the Faculty board election at the faculty to which you belong.

Who is eligible to vote, and who can be elected?

We have separate elections for each constituency. Employees that has started work 22 April 2023 at the latest, in at least a 50 % position, may vote with the following exceptions:

• Candidates may not previously have been a member of the University Board for 8 consecutive years, or a member of the Faculty Board for 12 consecutive years.
• Employees may not be on a leave of absence to work somewhere other than OsloMet/the Faculty.
• Employees may be nominated and try to be elected to both the University Board and the Faculty Board. If they are elected to the University Board, they lose their eligibility as Faculty Board members. 
• Employees can not fall under these position categories: Rector, member of the Rector’s staff, dean, heads of the Centre for Welfare and Labour Research or the Centre for the Study of Professions, directors, heads of departments.
• Deans, heads of departments, and heads of studies are regarded as academic staff.

Electoral roll check

All employees eligible to vote must be listed in the electoral roll. The voters themselves must check that they are listed in the electoral roll. Information about the electoral roll will be sent to the relevant employees ahead of the election, during week 16. If you find any errors you must report this to the election administration Anders Dahle within 8 May, 2023.

The boards, mandates and rules of procedure

• The OsloMet University Board (oslomet.no)
• Mandate for the OsloMet University Board: Act relating to universities and university colleges, Part III, chapter 9 (Lovdata.no)
• Faculty Board at the Faculty of Health Sciences (HV) (oslomet.no)
• Faculty Board at the Faculty of Education and International Studies (LUI) (oslomet.no, in Norwegian)
• Faculty Board at the Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) (oslomet.no)
• Faculty Board at the Faculty of Social Sciences (SAM)
• Mandate for the Faculty Boards (in Norwegian)
• Rules of procedure for the Faculty Boards (in Norwegian)

Can you decline a position in a board?

If you are elected as a member of the OsloMet University Board or the Faculty Board, you are obliged, with certain exceptions, to accept the position.

Process and timeline for the elections

• Deadline for candidate nominations: 19 April, 2023
• The electoral rolls are controlled up to the first day of the elections. 
• Deadline for complaints about the electoral rolls: 2 weeks after the electoral roll i presented, 8 May 2023 at the latest.
• Election results presentation: 1 June 2023

The election committee at OsloMet

• Chair of the election committee: Christen Krogh, Rector
• Academic staff representative: Julia Köhler-Olsen 
• Technical and Administrative employee representative: Anne Bjørtuft, Department of Research and Development
• Student representative: Isak Grov Diesen

Election administration OsloMet (University board)

• Human Resources Director Geir Haugstveit
• Anders Dahle

Election administration at the Faculties

• TKD: Tatiana Shipulina
• SAM: Tore Vogt
• HV: Marianne Engelstad
• LUI: Guro Fjellstad Stensvåg
• SVA: Lise Kvanvik