Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0347/03471.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 34KB | 572 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03471}
$Pretitle{441}
$Title{Sweden
Higher Education in Sweden}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Swedish Institute}
$Affiliation{Swedish Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{education
higher
study
students
programs
research
student
government
program
studies}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Table 1.*0347101.tab
Table 2.*0347102.tab
}
Country:     Sweden
Book:        Fact Sheets on Sweden
Author:      Swedish Institute
Affiliation: Swedish Embassy, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Higher Education in Sweden

     The Swedish educational system has undergone a continuing series of
transformations since the 1950s. A nine-year comprehensive compulsory school
and an upper secondary school which integrates theoretical and vocational
study programs have gone into operation. Adult education has been expanded and
in 1977 a far-reaching reform of the higher education system took place. It
involved the creation of a single and coherent system for all types of
post-secondary education, the decentralization of decision-making, broadened
admission policies for higher education, better geographic distribution of
educational programs, the creation of recurrent educational opportunities and
new measures to strengthen links between post-secondary education and research
and create closer ties between education and other areas of society.

     The new Swedish collective name for higher education, hogskola,
encompasses not only traditional university studies but also those at the
various professional colleges and a number of programs previously taught
within the upper secondary school system. Most of the programs included in the
broadened definition of higher education are under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. In addition, there are a number of
programs under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture. Those responsible
for the higher education system are the central government, the county
councils and some municipalities. Local government-operated higher education
consists of the programs once administered as part of the upper secondary
school, but which have now been transferred to the higher education system;
most of these programs involve health care training.

     An important part of the higher education system is research. (See Fact
Sheet FS 24, Research Planning and Organization.) Practically all higher
education research is integrated with and founded on close, local co-operation
with the undergraduate and post-graduate study programs of the educational
establishment concerned. This applies both to basic research at higher
education institutions and to what is known as sectorial (i.e. externally
funded) research.

     In the university cities (Stockholm, Uppsala, Linkoping, Lund, Goteborg
and Umea) and in Lulea, higher education institutions have permanent
resources for research and research training. In addition, the aim is for
non-research institutions also to have some form of research link. For this
reason, contact is maintained in various ways between research and these
institutions, e.g. through lectures given by researchers. Special central
government grants are available for research links of this kind.

Enrollments

     Roughly 35% of young persons in Sweden go on to higher education after
completion of their compulsory and upper secondary schooling. About 65% of
those opting for 3-and 4-year lines of upper secondary school enroll for
higher education. First-time enrollments every year total about 40,000.

     Apart from all the students coming straight from school, the
post-secondary student population includes a large proportion of mature
students, i.e. students who have previously acquired various amounts of work
experience. And indeed, one of the objectives of the 1977 higher education
reform was to make higher education a forum of recurrent education.

     To make it easier for students who have regular jobs to take advantage of
educational opportunities, separate single-subject courses (see below) are
often given in the evenings and on a part-time basis. Another form of
instruction for this category of student is "distance teaching," which is
carried out mainly by correspondence. This form of study allows a person to
take most of a course at home, traveling to a town with an institution of
higher education only occasionally for seminars and examinations.

     In 1987/88, the number of students enrolled for undergraduate studies was
about 181,300 (58% women) and for postgraduate studies about 13,700 (31%
women) making a total of about 195,000 (full-time and part-time students).

Entrance Requirements and Admissions

     To be admitted to higher education programs in Sweden, a student must
first fulfill the general admission requirement which is common to all study
programs, and then meet the special admission requirements which may be
imposed on applicants to a particular study program or course.

     The general admission requirement is completion of at least a two-year
program at an upper secondary school or other equivalent Swedish education,
for example at a folk high school (residential adult school), plus a knowledge
of the Swedish and English languages equivalent to at least two years at
upper secondary school. A person can also fulfill the general admission
requirement by being at least 25 years old, having a record of at least four
years of work experience, and possessing a knowledge of English equivalent to
two years at upper secondary school.

     To enter most study programs and courses, a person must also fulfill
special admission requirements, i.e. a student must have upper secondary-level
knowledge of the particular subjects essential to that study program or
course.

     If the number of applicants exceeds the number of available places, a
selection is made from among qualified applicants, who are first divided into
five categories: 1) those with a three-year upper secondary education, 2)
those with a two-year upper secondary education, 3) those who have fulfilled
the requirements through folk high school studies, 4) those who have fulfilled
the requirements through age and work experience, and 5) those with a foreign
educational background. Each category is allotted a number of places
proportional to the number of applicants in that category. The selection is
based on marks from upper secondary school and, for those who can claim such
merits, on work experience. The selection from among applicants who have
qualified on the basis of age and work experience is based on an optional
university standard aptitude test and work experience. It is quite common that
students postpone their application for higher education a few years after
leaving upper secondary school. There is, however, a rule which guarantees
that a certain percentage of students accepted for a program will always be
selected from among students who left upper secondary school no longer than
three years ago. The average age of the accepted students is 23 years.

     Special rules exist for determining which applicants with foreign
educational backgrounds fulfill the general admission requirements. A student
must have completed at least eleven years of schooling which began no earlier
than age six. He also has to meet certain requirements concerning knowledge of
Swedish and English. This category of student must also fulfill the
appropriate special admission requirements. A visiting student must have a
residence permit before leaving for Sweden. In addition, he or she must be
admitted to a preparatory course in Swedish (which takes one year to complete)
as well as to the program chosen. It is compulsory for the student to have
learnt English before coming to Sweden. At present there are 300 places
available for visiting students.

     In 1988, a new set of rules for admission to higher education was adopted
by Parliament. The new scheme will mean substantial changes in the selection
procedure from 1991 onwards.

     For a proportion of places (the actual proportions will vary fro