The Norwegian Quota scheme: Change and continuity - A case study of a policy instrument for development assistance through higher education

This thesis has been written as part of the M.Phil. programme in Higher Education at the University of Oslo. It investigates the changes and developments in the objectives and criteria of the Norwegian Quota scheme, a national scholarship scheme that has provided funding for higher education for students from developing countries, and countries in central and eastern Europe. The research questions that has led the inquiry asks what the overall objectives and criteria of the Quota scheme were from the beginning, and how and why these have changed from the introduction in 1994 up until the decision to phase out the scheme from the 2015-16 academic year. One of the main findings is that changes in the objectives, from primarily focusing on effects on development towards incorporating a broader rationale for internationalisation of the Norwegian higher education system, could be based in the larger national developments and processes in recent years