Explanation

You may request an explanation for a grade given. It is recommended to ask for an explanation for the grade before making a decision on whether to appeal the grade. 

Please note that you must request an explanation in StudentWeb, not via the course coordinator.

For courses consisting of several parts beeing graded (combined assessment), you can only request explanations for the individual parts. 

Deadline

The explanation must be requested within 1 week after your grade was published in Studentweb. You will receive an email when the examination results are available on StudentWeb.

You should normally receive the explanation within two weeks after your request. The examiner chooses whether the explanation shall be given orally or in writing.

For oral examinations or assessments of practical skills (where the grade is shared orally right after performance), you must request the explanation directly to the assessor when the grade is shared (not in StudentWeb).

How to request an explanation

You can request an explanation in StudentWeb via a link on the results page, or by clicking on the "More" tab and selecting the page Exam appeals.

Written explanations are published on the same page - either as a text file or a link to WISEflow (depending on the form of the exam).

In WISEflow you can read the explanations on the flow page:

Appeal about a given grade

It is recommended that you ask for an explanation before you appeal.

Students may not appeal marks for oral presentations, the evaluation of practical training, etc., or the mark for a preliminary examination the student passed.

There is an individual right of appeal with group examinations. Any change in grade after the appeal will only apply to the student who appealed.

For courses consisting of several parts beeing graded (combined assessment), you can complain about the individual parts, but not the course as a whole. For courses with a portfolio assessment, you can only complain about the portfolio as a whole, not the individual works in the postfolio.

Deadline

Appeals must be submitted within 3 weeks after the grade has been published. If you have requested an explanation within the deadline, the time limit for the appeal deadline extends from the date you receive the explanation.

How to appeal a grade 

You can complain about the grade in StudentWeb by clicking on the "More" tab and selecting the Exam appeals page. Here you can also withdraw your complaint until a new assessment has been published. The outcome of the complaint will be published on the same page, and you will be notified by e-mail.

The appeal process

The grade as a result of an appeal shall be decided without undue delay. If the appeal is not to be processed within a month after the appeal has been received, the faculty must send you a provisional reply where they explain why the appeal cannot be processed earlier and, if possible, indicate when you can expect to have the decision from the appeal.

Outcome of the appeal

The new grading may be unchanged or may be to the advantage/disadvantage of the student. The mark awarded as a result of the new grading may not be appealed, but you can request an explanation (by contacting the faculty).

For appeals of a combined grade for written and oral performance(s), the new examiners shall assess the written work. If new assessment of the written work leads to a change in grade to the advantage/disadvantage of the student and the oral presentation was given at the same time as the written work, a new oral test is held to determine the final grade. This also applies to appeals on thesis.

Withdraw your complaint

You can choose to withdraw your complaint until a new assessment has been published. This is done on the page Exam appeals in StudentWeb.

Appeal of formal errors

If you believe that there errors have been made that have effected your compleation of your exam or the assessment of your exam , you can in some cases complain about formal errors. A formal error is a situation during the exam, or during the assessment of your exam, which may have had an impact on your performance or the assessment thereof.

Formal error

A formal error is essentially an error that has, or may have had an impact on your performance, or the assessment of it. Examples of this could be:

• Errors in the exam paper that may have affected your result.
• Errors during the actual exam which may have affected your result.
• Error in the censorship of your answer.

The difference between a complaint about formal errors and a complaint about a given grade

Complaints about formal errors should only be made as if they were errors during the completion of the exam, or objective errors in the assessment of your answer.

If you are dissatisfied with the completion of an exam/assessment or the teaching and wish to give feedback on this, you can contact the faculty directly or send an e-mail to eksamen@nmbu.no

If you believe that your answer is judged too strictly, you can complain about the given grade. Your answer will then be sent for a new review by two new complaint reviewers. Complaints about grades are made via Studentweb, see the section on appeal about a given grade.

Form - Formal error

If you want to complain about a formal error with your exam, you may submitt the form below:

Appeal about a formal error - exam/assessment

Deadline

The complaint must be sent within 3 weeks after you became aware of the circumstances that justify the complaint. The faculty processes the complaints in the first instance. If complaints are not upheld, the NMBU Appeals Committee is the final instance.

• The right to complain about a grade is maintained until any complaint about formal errors has been decided
• The examiner can only assess an exam answer based on what is actually stated in the answer. The examiner cannot assess what could have been written in an answer given that the conditions, during the exam, had been different.

What happens when you complain about formal errors

1. Your complaint is received by the Department of Academic Affairs, which forwards your complaint to the faculty responsible for the course, which makes an assessment of the complaint. The faculty processes the complaint as a first instance. When the complaint has been processed by the faculty, you will be notified of the outcome, usually via the Department of Academic Affairs or directly from the faculty.
2. If the faculty upholds your complaint, they will find a solution to correct the error.
3. If you do not succeed, ie they believe that no formal error has occurred, the complaint can be forwarded to the NMBU Appeals Committee. Your complaint will be sent in consultation with you. The Department of Academic Affairs will contact you to find out whether you want to maintain the complaint, meaning that you want the Appeals Committee to assess the complaint, or whether you want to withdraw the complaint.
4. It is the Appeals Committee itself that decides whether your complaint is of such a nature that they can process it. As a general rule, the Committee may not deal with purely subject-specific cases.
5. If the Appeals Committee deals with your case, you must expect that you must appear before the board to give your explanation.
6. The Appeals Committee is the final instance. The Committee's decisions can not be appealed.
7. The right to complain about a grade is maintained until any complaint about formal errors has been decided. The deadline for appealing a grade is calculated from the time you became briefly aware of the tribunal's decision

Outcome of processing the complaint in the Appeals Committee

Complaints about formal errors are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Section 5-2, second paragraph, of the Act relating to universities and university colleges.

If the committee rules in favour of you, your exam result will usually be annulled. Furthermore, the law provides two possible outcomes:

If possible, the error must be rectified by carrying out a new assessment. In most cases, this will be a new blind assessment where the assessment is similar to that of a complaint about a given grade.

If a new assessment is not suitable to make up for the mistake, the alternative will be for you to take a new exam, which will usually take place in the next exam period.

If there is reason to believe that the formal error you are complaining about affects more candidates than yourself, a decision in such a case will apply to everyone affected by the error.