Higher Education and Teacher Training in Norway

By "higher education" is meant all types of tuition provided by universities, colleges, and other post-secondary educational institutions which may be attended by students who have either completed their three-year upper secondary program and have passed their final examination, or who can prove that they have reached a corresponding level of competence. Higher education used to be the prerogative of those who had passed their final examination at the old gymnas (high school); this examination, known as examen artium, may be defined as the Norwegian equivalent of the British GCE "A" Level examination, the German Abitur, or the French baccalauréat.