The semester fee payment

What is the semester fee?

The semester fee is a statutory fee with the purpose to cover expenses linked to the students' welfare needs at the individual educational institution. The semester fee must be paid to the student association the educational institution is linked to. Students who have been admitted to study at several educational institutions should pay to the student welfare organisation at the educational institution where the most credits are taken.

Who is to pay the semester fee?

• Persons admitted to studies at one or more academic institutions in Norway who intend to complete a combined 15 study points or more per semester.
• Persons registered to take an exam.

A person who has been admitted to studies that have a total nominal value of less than 15 credits per semester can choose to pay the semester fee. Students who are on maternity leave, cf. Section 4-5 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, can also choose to pay the semester fee.

Students who do not pay the semester fee by the deadline may lose their right to study.

PhD candidates who receive funding from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund, Norad or programmes funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can choose to pay the semester fee if the support they receive is at approximately the same level as the student funding provided to students through the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund. This means that doctoral candidates who are on programmes that are partly funded by Norad or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and who, for example, are on an employment contract as a research fellow, cannot choose to pay the semester fee (cf. Comments to section 17 of the Regulations relating to student welfare organisations). In case of doubt, the educational institution through the NMBU Research Support Office, after consulting with the student welfare organisation, shall decide whether a person is a student pursuant to the first paragraph.  (cf. § 17 Regulations relating to student welfare organisations, 2008-07-22-828.) It is the Students' information centre (SIT) that generates invoices for PhD candidates who are eligible to pay the semester fee. The invoice can then be retrieved in Studentweb.

How can I pay and what does it cost?

All students must retrieve payment information from Student Web. Log in with Feide. The payment information can be found under the top menu item "More”/”Payment". An invoice for the semester fee will not be sent out by post.

The semester fee is NOK 470,-. + optional NOK 40,- (a combined total of NOK 510,-) to the Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund (SAIH) is encouraged. SAIH is a non-partisan organization, that supports educational initiatives worldwide. They support projects in countries in southern Africa, Latin America and Asia. Norwegian students have contributed to SAIH since 1961.

The tier arrangement as it is today is authorised by law in accordance with the Act relating to Welfare Organisations § 10 and §16 of the regulations. An important premise for the scheme is that the contribution must be voluntary. If you do not want to contribute to SAIH's work, you deduct it from the semester fee. If you wish to have the SAIH support reimbursed, contact SiÅs on lene.halvorsen@sias.no

If you pay from abroad, you must add NOK 50,- extra, due to international transaction costs. If you do not do this, the payment will not be registered. The amount will then be either NOK 560 (including support for SAIH) or NOK 520 (without support for SAIH).

What is the deadline for paying the semester fee?

• 15 September for the autumn semester
• 1 February for the spring semester

NB: Student loans etc from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund will not be paid to the students until the semester fee has been paid, so make the payment as soon as possible.

If you have paid the semester fee to another Norwegian foundation

If you have paid the semester fee to another Norwegian foundation than SiÅs (another university in Norway), the payment will not automatically be registered at NMBU. You must e-mail documentation of payment to the Student Information Centre (SIT); provide your full name and student number, and attach a copy of proof that you have paid the semester fee. Valid documentation is a photo of the student ID app, which shows that you are registered for the semester and have paid at another institution.

If you have paid the wrong amount, too much or the payment has not gone through, or other questions about the semester fee: send your question to SIT by e-mail (sit@nmbu.no) or telephone +47 67 23 01 11 (Monday-Friday 08:00 - 15:00).

You are welcome to visit us in the Clock Building (Monday - Thursday 10:00 - 15:00).

Reimbursement of semester fee 

If you have paid the semester fee more than once within the semester, you can request a refund of the semester fee. This applies if you have paid several times to the same student welfare organisation or if you have paid to different student welfare organisations in Norway. You can also claim reimbursement if you cancel your studies early in the semester.

The deadline for this reimbursement is:

• 15 September (Autumn).
• 1 February (Spring)

E-mail lene.halvorsen@sias.no with the refund claim.

Digital semester receipt 

You can get the semester receipt on the "Studentbevis" app. The app works together with your student card as a student ID at e.g. SiÅS, Ruter, Vy and various stores with student discounts. The app can be used on IOS (iPhone/iPad) and Android.

For the student certificate to be valid, you must have paid the semester fee and registered for the semester. Download the app from your app store.

If you don't have an IOS or Android phone, you can order a paper version. This is done on StudentWeb. Click on your name at the top right, select "My profile", scroll down to "Semester receipt" and select "Yes".