"Improving AI skills among university staff is critical"
Since spring 2025, a committee has been working on a report on the use of AI in higher education. It is now ready.
The report on the use of AI in higher education was presented to Minister of Research and Higher Education Eileen Fugelsnes last week.(Photo: Sofie Marie Bergflødt)
"AI has advanced extremely rapidly while work on the report has been underway, and this has made the work challenging," Professor Anders Malthe-Sørenssen said at the press conference on November 6th.
He has chaired the committee appointed by the Norwegian government in March 2025. They have now presented their findings and recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence in higher education.
The committee was asked to assess how AI creates challenges and opportunities for higher education, and how the sector should adapt.
The report was presented to Minister of Research and Higher Education Eileen Fugelsnes.
"Improving AI skills among university staff is critical. It's also challenging," she tells Science Norway.
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Some of the new recommendations
Universities should make greater use of supervised, in-person examinations. Short home examinations should be phased out.
Lecturers must have sufficient expertise to teach students how to use AI appropriately.
Universities should experiment with AI systems that explain grading decisions and explore tools that can help students better understand their academic performance.
The report also includes nine recommendations for students on how they should use AI.
During the presentation of the report, Malthe-Sørenssen explained how AI is currently changing the fundamental conditions for higher education.
"Artificial intelligence is now being used to create and answer assignments, assess and provide feedback on assignments, explain concepts, and design teaching materials at a level comparable to that of a lecturer or subject expert," he says, adding:
"AI systems are becoming capable of doing increasingly more, increasingly better, and with less human involvement."
The committee recommends that educational institutions continuously assess the available AI systems and how they affect subjects and professional practice.
"This applies to all fields," says Malthe-Sørenssen.
“I am really looking forward to reading the report,” says Eileen Fugelsnes.(Photo: Elise Botn)
"AI can negatively affect learning"
The committee stresses that the primary purpose of higher education is to promote learning, rather than simply to produce high-quality assignments.
"Unfortunately, what we've seen so far suggests that AI has negative effects on learning if appropriate pedagogical measures are not taken. This is something students and lecturers need to consider," he says.
The committee offers nine specific recommendations to students on how to use AI in ways that promote learning. Malthe-Sørenssen highlighted a couple of them during the press conference:
"Students should avoid taking shortcuts and instead persevere through the demanding work that genuine learning requires."
The committee also advises students against relying on AI to do all their thinking for them, because learning requires independent thinking.
"These recommendations are only a starting point. The higher education sector must take them and develop them further," says Malthe-Sørenssen.
“We can no longer use a written text as evidence of what a student knows or is capable of,” says Anders Malthe-Sørenssen.(Photo: Elise Botn)
"It's very positive that we're getting a common overarching framework for how AI should be used," Christine Sætre tells Science Norway.
She studies how examiners assess student work and reach an agreement on grades in higher education.
"At the same time, the framework must be put into practice at the institutional level. We need to agree on how AI should be used within our own particular contexts," she says.
Sætre believes the guidelines are necessary, but that this does not mean we can become complacent.
"We mustn't fall into the trap of thinking that having guidelines is enough. They need to be translated into practical measures and integrated into both teaching and assessment practices," she says.
Sætre also stresses the importance of ensuring that assessment methods genuinely measure the students’ knowledge and abilities.
Christine Sætre researches how examiners assess and agree on grades for student assignments.(Photo: Norwegian Police University College)
"If we end up evaluating work produced by technology rather than what the student is capable of, we could, in the worst case, risk graduating people into critical roles in society who do not possess the competence their qualifications claim they have," she explains.
She also points out that if AI is to be used to automate marking and generate explanations for grades, as the committee recommends universities should do, this should be followed up with research.
"The question is whether we can trust the assessments made by AI. It may well be that AI can provide support in assessment work, but this should be researched further, and humans should remain responsible for quality-assuring AI contributions," says Sætre.
More supervised examinations
The committee recommends greater use of supervised examination formats. This could mean fewer home exams.
"This is important not only for certification, but also for students’ learning when they know how they will be assessed," says Malthe-Sørenssen.
He explains to Science Norway how different exam formats should be combined to ensure a fairer assessment.
"What we really want is to ensure that we assess students more fairly. One way of doing this is to combine a home exam with an oral presentation," he says.
University staff must have AI competence
To succeed in what the committee describes as an 'AI-aware education,' university staff must have sufficient competence.
"Academic communities must be at the forefront of understanding how AI is used and how it affects their disciplines, so that they can provide guidance on academically responsible use. This requires a major effort to boost competence," says Malthe-Sørenssen.
Minister of Research and Higher Education Eileen Fugelsnes says this is critical.
“This is something we need to start working on immediately,” she tells Science Norway.
