An Analysis of the Opinions of University

Non-Academic Staff in the Nordic Countries

The analysis in this paper is based on a survey of university staff members who do not have direct academic duties. It is part of a project entitled Non-academic staff and the emergence of a para-academic profession in universities, and is being conducted in concert with NUAS, the Nordic Association of University Administrators. The questionnaire has been trialled in five universities in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Non-academic staff at universities represent 40 to 60%, the proportion depending on local definitions of academic and other types of work. Non-academic salaries, therefore, comprise a considerable proportion of institutional budgets. This survey sought the opinions of this major group, which so far has been little considered in the discussion and analysis of Nordic higher education. As an adjunct to this research, it is clear that new types of university professionals are emerging due to the evolution of universities and university work. There is now a considerable literature on this topic. The emergence of ‘para-academics’ or the development of the so-called third space is an important aspect of the discourse about university work.