These are the proposals for joint matriculation

The graduation ceremonies (ex-matriculation ceremonies) at NTNU vary greatly depending on which faculty or department you belong to.

At Gløshaugen, several faculties come together to celebrate their degree students at the end of the spring semester. Last year, some faculties at Dragvoll were invited, but after they were uninvited at the last second, several faculty union representatives requested a joint closing ceremony for the whole of NTNU.

This year, the drag volunteers were not invited to the celebration at the main building either.

NTNU is now investigating three options so that the students will have a more equal graduation ceremony.

Was postponed

As early as June 2023, the matter of a joint closing ceremony was discussed by the rectorate and recommended for further investigation. Due to a lack of resources at both the Communications Department and the Department for Education, the investigation was postponed.

After several months, three alternatives have now been presented to the Education Committee on 6 May.

A big joint ceremony

The first option is a joint graduation ceremony for all faculties at NTNU following the same model as matriculation. This is described as the most expensive alternative, and was presented without a stipulated budget.

Another challenge highlighted by the alternative is finding a large enough area in Trondheim to accommodate all the participants. It is estimated that today’s closing ceremony held at Gløshaugen has approx. 12,000 participants. If three or four more faculties are to participate in the same ceremony, the vice-chancellor for education estimates that there will be a need for a capacity of 20-25,000 participants.

Areas that could be large enough for such a capacity could be Dødens dal or Hesthagen car park, but here it is specified that this is something that needs to be investigated further.

It is also pointed out that it can be a challenge to find a common date for the event that will be for all faculties, as the last time for the exam varies between them.

Use the same rig

Option two is to conduct closing ceremonies on the same day using the same rig. It is suggested that here you can divide by faculty, or have a separate bachelor’s and master’s degree. But the preferred solution is 2a because you can then have professional content that hits everyone.

Emphasis is placed on the fact that such an arrangement will have economies of scale in terms of budget and personnel. Here, too, the vice-chancellor for education points out that it can be challenging to find a date for the event that suits everyone.

The event taking place today at Gøshaugen has a budget of just under NOK 700,000. For alternative two, a budget of approximately NOK 900,000 is expected in Trondheim, and approximately NOK 500,000 in Ålesund and Gjøvik. This budget estimate has been made on the basis of relevant expenses linked to the matriculation ceremonies.

Tight budget

The last alternative that is proposed is to have a faculty-wise or department-wise arrangement, but with more similar frameworks.

This is already a common standard for closing ceremonies, and no budgets are mentioned here.

When it comes to the distribution of responsibility for the closing ceremony, it is specified that the faculties must expect to make their own efforts. Although the communications department can assist, there is no cover for a closing ceremony in the current budget or long-term budget.

The faculties themselves must decide on the budgetary consequences and distribution of expenses between them if a joint closing ceremony is to be organised. The education committee therefore recommends that a working group be set up with a project manager and a representative from each faculty for further planning of the preferred alternative.