The Quality Reform was a reform

Reform

Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....

 initialized by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research

Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research

Royal Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research is a Norwegian responsible for education, research and kindergartens. The ministry was established in 1814, and since October 18, 2007 led by Tora Aasland and Kristin Halvorsen in 2009. The department reports to the legislature...

 after recommendation from the Mjøs

Ole Danbolt Mjøs

Ole Danbolt Mjøs is a Norwegian physician and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. A professor and former rector at the University of Tromsø, he is known worldwide as the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2003 to 2008....

 committee (1998-2000). It was introduced in 2002-03 and changed the entire system of higher education in Norway

Higher education in Norway

Higher education in Norway is offered by a range of eight universities, nine specialised universities, 24 university colleges as well as a range of private university colleges...

 to comply with the Bologna process

Bologna process

The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...

. This process is intended to take place throughout Europe to better integrate the higher educations systems, and Norway is among the first to implement this process. The Norwegian approach was a quick and brutal removal of the old system and replacement to the new instantly.

The main changes included a switch from the old system of Latin degrees to the international Bachelor

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

, Master

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 and Philosophiae Doctor degrees. This replaced the former system of three and a half or four year cand.mag.

Cand.mag.

Candidatus magisterii , Candidata magisterii , i.e. Latin Candidate of Arts, abbreviated cand.mag., is an academic degree used in Denmark, and formerly in Norway and Iceland, roughly corresponding to an American Master of Arts and officially translated as such...

 degrees followed by one and a half or two year hovedfag degrees. The system abolished many old master-level degree titles, including cand.scient. (sciences), cand.polit.

Cand.polit.

Candidatus rerum politicarum , Candidata rerum politicarum , abbreviated cand.polit., is an academic degree within the fields of social sciences issued under the old education system in Denmark and Norway.-Denmark:...

 (social sciences), cand.philol. (humanities), cand.oecon.

Cand.oecon.

Candidatus oeconomices or Candidata oeconomices , often abbreviated cand.oecon. is an academic degree in economics at Danish and Norwegian universities. It is roughly equivalent to a Master of Economics, but it consists of 4+2 years, and was based on a four year cand.mag.. The degree was replaced...

 (economics), cand.agro. (agronomy), cand.jur. (law), cand.theol.

Cand.theol.

Candidatus theologiæ , Candidata theologiæ , abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six year higher education in theology in Denmark and Norway. In Norway, the title has remained after the "Quality Reform", though it is equivalent to a Master of...

 (theology), sivilingeniør

Sivilingeniør

Sivilingeniør used to be a Norwegian university degree protected by Norwegian law issued to graduates from technical universities. To qualify for the title, you had to follow a structured study programme in technology and natural sciences of 4,5 - 5 years duration at a Norwegian university or...

(engineering) and siviløkonom

Siviløkonom

Siviløkonom is an academic degree issued within the field of business administration and economics and a professional title in Norway , obtained after 5 years of studies...

(management). The length varied, and depended on the area of study, ranging from four to six years. The cand.psychol. (clinical psychology), cand.med.

Cand.med.

Candidate of Medicine , Candidata Medicinae , abbreviated Cand. Med.) is an academic degree awarded in Denmark, Iceland and Norway following a six-year medical school education....

 (medicine) and cand.med.vet. titles have been retained as six-year studies in clinical psychology

Clinical psychology

Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...

, medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 and veterinary medicine

Veterinary medicine

Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...

. All master-level titles are now awarded as Master of Science

Master of Science

A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...

, Master of Technology or Master of Philosophy

Master of Philosophy

The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...

, all taking five years.

Other changed included replacing the former number scale (from 1.0 to 4.0) grades

Grade (education)

Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...

 to A to F letter scale, reducing the number of passing grades from 41 to five. It also changed the former system credits of vekttall (with nominal 10 vekttall per semester) to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) with nominal 30 credits per semester. The reform set new requirements to the follow-up on students, forcing universities and colleges to spend more resources per credit, specially on demands related to assignments.