As part of the follow-up of the Bologna Process, a national qualifications framework for higher education was adopted in March 2009, based on the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA) as well as the principles of the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF). It is now integrated with the National Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (NQF) covering all levels of formal education from primary education to Ph.D.

The higher education institutions were requested to implement the framework by developing learning outcomes for all study programs by the end of 2012. Hence, all programs in Norwegian higher education are now described in learning outcomes. The NQF was adopted by the Ministry of Education and Research on 15 December 2011. The learning outcomes at all NQF levels are formulated on the basis of what a person knows, can do, and is capable of doing as a result of a learning process. Norway referenced the NQF to the EQF in June 2014.