This report deals with grants and loans part 3, which includes grants and loans for higher education, higher vocational college, folk high school, Bible school, external candidates in secondary education as well as primary and secondary education for adults (Forskrift om utdanningsstøtte, 2020, del 3). Scholarships and loans granted before 2011/2012 are also counted to get a correct count of the total number of years the students have received scholarships and loans from Lånekassen.

The report shows that 4 per cent of the students received 8 years or more with grants and loans from Lånekassen. The proportion was higher among students taking a master's degree, those who have parents with extensive higher education and those who received grants and loans for at least one other educational activity in addition to higher education. 6 out of 10 among those who received 8 years or more with grants and loans had been registered in at least two educational activities with Lånekassen during the period.

Students who had children at the start of their studies received grants and loans to a lesser extent, which is also related to the fact that students with children up to the age of 16 are older than other students. The rules of Lånekassen in 2011/2012 were that students aged 45 and over were not entitled to grants and loans. Students who study abroad also receive more years with grants and loans, and the same applies to students who went on an exchange term during the period.

The results clearly show how students who undertake master’s degrees and those who enter several different types of training receive the highest number of years with grants and loans. This is relatively obvious, but there are also explanatory nuances in the use of grants and loans when we look at the various personal characteristics. To establish whether the various characteristics of the students and their studies had a statistically significant effect on whether the students receive many years with grants and loans, several logistic regression models were applied.

The models showed that students with parents who themselves have a long higher education increase the odds of receiving 8 years or more with grants and loans. Being a female student or 21 years and younger also significantly increases the odds of using 8 years or more with grants and loans. Having participated in an exchange program, being an international student, and switching or leaving education after the first year of study also increases the odds of receiving 8 years or more with scholarships and loans.