Exam regulation

Section 1 Scope

These Regulations apply to all examinations, tests, assessments, evaluation of practical training and other evaluation from Hedmark University College (hereafter called HUC) which is included on a diploma or a transcript of records, or form part of the basis for calculation of such. Regulations concerning examinations and assessments as established by the Ministry in the National Curriculum for a programme of study take precedence over these Regulations.

 

Section 2 Definitions

1. 1. The Act
   The Act referred to here is the Act no. 15 of 1 April 2005 relating to Universities and University Colleges.
2. 2. National Curriculum
   A national curriculum is a national plan describing the objectives, contents and organisation of certain vocational study programmes. National curricula are established by the Ministry.
3. 3. Curriculum
   A curriculum is a plan which gives a more detailed specification of the objectives, contents and organisation of study programmes with a national curriculum.
4. 4. Programme description
   A programme description is a plan which gives a more detailed specification of the objectives, contents and organisation of study programmes that are not regulated by a national curriculum.
5. 5. Course description
   A description of contents, scope, objectives, forms of assessment etc., of a course included on a diploma or transcript of records.
6. 6. Credits/ECTS
   The overall study workload of a course in the University College’s curricula and programme descriptions is measured in credits. The normal workload for one academic year is 60 ECTS or credits for full-time students.
7. 7. Examinations
   Examinations can be:

- written tests

- oral tests

- practical tests and assignments

- assessment of supervised practical training

- presentations

- portfolio assessment (those components of the portfolio that are part of the final assessment for a course and/or which form part of the final grade on a diploma or transcript of records)

- assessment of completed laboratory, project assignments, report from practical training, seminar work, reports or other types of documentation that are part of the final assessment for a course and/or which form part of the final grade on a diploma or transcript of records

1. 8. Student
   A student is a person who has been enrolled in studies at HUC pursuant to sections 3-6 and 3-7 of the Act.
2. 9. External candidate
   An external candidate is a person who sits examinations at HUC according to section 3-10 of the Act without having been formally enrolled in the course or study programme concerned at HUC.
3. 10. The Right to Study
   The right to study is the right connected to enrolment as a student and having the status of a student. This entails the right to attend all organised teaching, examinations, supervision (individual and in small groups), exercises and assignments, laboratory courses, practical training, field work, etc. connected with the study programme in which the student is enrolled.
4. 11. Individual Education Plan
   An individual education plan is an agreement between the individual student and HUC, cf. section 4-2 of the Act. It is to ensure a more binding commitment between the student and HUC. Individual education plans refer to the rules and regulations governing the relationship between individual students and HUC, and provide information about the academic contents and structure of the studies.

 

Section 3 The Right to Study

1. 1. A person who has accepted an offer of a student place will keep his/her right to study for 50 % over and above the normal period of study, however for no less than one year. On application from the student, HUC may make an exception to this rule. Deferred start of studies and temporary exclusions from HUC are not included in this time limitation.
2. 2. If a student fails to complete the study programme or course within the normal time, and significant changes have in the meantime been made to the programme description or curriculum, he/she has the right to complete his/her studies according to the original programme description or curriculum for up to one year after the changes have come into force.
3. 3. The student must pay the semester fee, approve the education plan (for studies of 60 credits or more) and /or register each semester before the prevailing deadline. If these conditions are not met, the right to study will be revoked automatically.
4. 4. The student may lose his/her right to study on a study programme/course to which he/she has been admitted in the following cases:
5. The student has exceeded the permitted time extension over and above normal time.
6. The student has used all his/her permitted attempts at examinations or practical training in accordance with the National Curriculum, programme description or curriculum or these Regulations.
7. The student has not been granted leave of absence, and has not sat and passed an examination during the last two academic years.

HUC decides whether the right to study is to be lost. This decision can be appealed.

1. 5. The right to study is automatically revoked when:
2. The student him/herself confirms that he/she is withdrawing from the study programme
3. The studies have been completed and diploma/transcript of the record has been issued. 6. A person who has lost the right to study pursuant to clauses 4 a) and c) of this section may apply for new admittance to the study programme and will then have to relate to the prevailing programme description/curriculum .

Section 4 Education Plan

An education plan must be drawn up between HUC and a student who has been admitted to studies of 60 credits or more. The education plan is to contain provisions concerning HUC’s responsibilities and obligations for the student and the student’s obligations towards HUC and fellow students.

The education plan should be designed so as to make it possible for the student to complete his/her studies or study programme within normal time limits as a full-time or part-time student.

The education plan can be changed on agreement between HUC and the student, and it is to be approved by the student each semester before the designated deadlines.

 

Section 5 Leave of Absence

A student is not normally granted leave of absence before having completed 30 credits or more. Normally up to one year’s leave of absence may be granted. HUC decides the application for leave.

HUC may grant leave of absence for more than one year in cases of e.g. maternity leave/adoption, national military or civil service, illness and other special reasons.

 

Section 6 The Right to Sit an Examination

1. 1. Students who in accordance with the prevailing entrance requirements have been accepted for a course or a study programme at HUC, and who have paid the semester fee and registered, have the right to sit the examinations and tests that are part of their study programme or course.
2. 2. Students who have been accepted for a study programme of one year’s duration
   (60 credits) or more must endorse their individual education plan in order to have the right to sit an examination.
3. 3. Others who satisfy the general and any specific entrance requirements and other requirements for having the right to sit an examination, have the right to sit examinations according to the provisions stipulated in the Section 3-10 of the Act. HUC decides whether the necessary requirements for sitting examinations have been met.
4. 4. HUC may establish specific work requirements, requirements that certain examinations or tests or compulsory attendance in classes/lectures and practical training must be completed before an examination in certain courses can be sat. Information about this must be included in the programme description/curriculum and in the course descriptions. Students who do not meet the established requirements for examinations and tests, or who have not attended compulsory classes/lectures or completed compulsory practical training, do not have the right to sit an examination and their registration to the examination in question will automatically be cancelled.
5. 5. HUC allows students to sit the examination in the same course three times. Students who withdraw from the examination after the withdrawal deadline, fail to turn up for the examination, do not hand in their examination paper or withdraw from the examination while it is in progress, are deemed to have attempted to sit the examination. In special circumstances HUC may, on application, grant a student the right to sit the same examination a fourth time. In cases where students sit the same examination several times, the best result counts as the final grade.
6. 6. If a student fails the practical training he/she is permitted to take the practical training period once more. The number of attempts is limited to two, unless otherwise stated in the National Curriculum.
7. 7. Examinations are normally organised in the same semester as the course has been taught and completed. The syllabus for the examination is the one included in the course descriptions. HUC can decide to arrange a new examination for those who have failed their examination or who had a valid reason for being absent from the ordinary examination. If a new examination is arranged, students who wish to improve their earlier examination results may also take part. A new examination may be of a different type from the ordinary examination.

Section 7 Registration for Examinations

1. 1. Registration for examinations must take place before 1 October in the autumn semester and 1 March in the spring semester, unless otherwise stated by HUC. Registration for examinations is usually effectuated on approval of the education plan for studies of 60 credits or more.
2. 2. The individual student is personally responsible for making sure he/she registers for examinations before the deadlines given. In special circumstances, HUC may deviate from the deadlines. Dispensation may be granted in cases where students have been ill or other unforeseen circumstances have prevented them from registering within the deadline given, and valid documentation to this effect has been produced.
3. 3. Students who have registered for an examination may withdraw. Notice of such withdrawal must be received by HUC no later than 2 weeks prior to the examination date.
4. 4. Students who withdraw after the deadline and who do not have valid reasons for this delay, are considered to have used one attempt at the examination. Valid reasons are illness or major welfare grounds, and must be documented. Such documentation must be presented to the campus or sent by post (postmarked with the date and signed by a post office employee) as soon as possible and no later than three working days after the examination.

Section 8. The Right to Sit an Examination etc as an External Candidate

1. 1. An external candidate is a person as describe in section 2 sub-section 9 of these Regulations.
2. 2. The right to sit an examination may be refused pursuant to section 3-10 sub-section 2 of the Act if the external candidate has not attende compulsory classes/lectures or completed compulsory practical training.
3. 3. External candidates must register for examinations, and, if necessary, apply for approval of the requirements as to prior qualifications or practical training, within the determined deadlines: 1 September in the autumn semester and 1 February in the spring semester, unless HUC has decided another deadline. Documentation of entrance qualifications for the study programme to which the examination relates, must be attached to the application. HUC decides whether the requirements for registration have been met.
4. 4. The external candidates’ rights at HUC are limited to attendance at public lectures and permission to sit examinations in accordance with the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the University College’s Regulations concerning Examinations.
5. 5. External candidates must pay examination fees in accordance with decisions made by the Board. The examination fee must be paid within the established deadline. External candidates who have not paid the examination fee within the deadline, are not permitted to sit the examination.
6. 6. In addition to the examination fee, external candidates must pay the semester fee in accordance with rules in the Act concerning Student Welfare Organisations, with Regulations. External candidates who have paid the semester fee, are entitled to a student card, and may avail themselves of welfare schemes provided by the Student Welfare Organisation in Hedmark.

Section 9. Assessment

1. 1. The purpose of all assessment is to ensure that the individual student achieves a satisfactory academic level, and must usually include an individual testing of the student.
2. 2. Which examinations/assessments that are to form the basis for grading, is a matter that is determined by the Ministry of Education and Research in the National Curricula and otherwise by HUC, and is included in programme descriptions, curricula and course descriptions.
3. 3. In the case of part examinations, the curricula, programme descriptions and course descriptions must include information about how the assessment is carried out and how the final grade is calculated.
4. 4. The normal length of written, supervised examinations is:

Up to 10 credits up to 4 hours
For 11 to 30 credits up to 6 hours
More than 30 credits up to 8 hours

The length of home and group examinations is a matter that is decided separately in each case.

Section 10 Special Examination Arrangements

1. 1. Students who for medical or other reasons require special arrangements for sitting the examination, must submit an application for such arrangements before the deadline for registration for examinations (cf.section 7.1). Exceptions from this rule may be allowed should emergency situations arise. The application must include valid documentation from a qualified expert (e.g. a doctor, speech therapist or psychologist), as well as a description of the special arrangements required for the examination. Students must normally apply for each examination period but if the special arrangement requirements are of a permanent nature, exceptions to this rule may be made.
2. 2. Special arrangements may include physical adaptations, the use of special aids and/or extended examination time, or in special circumstances, alternate types of assessment. (Special arrangements may include separate examination room, use of PC, secretarial help, dictionary, oral instead of written examination, having the examination questions read aloud, having one’s answer paper read aloud for correction, recording one’s
   answer on tape, for example, a specially adapted chair, specially adapted table, extra breaks for rest, breaks for breastfeeding.)
3. 3. Written, supervised examinations can normally be extended by up to 25 %, at most one hour of additional time. Unsupervised examinations are to be considered in each case, though there can be no more than 48 hours additional time.
4. 4. Students requiring special arrangements will be assessed according to ordinary academic criteria.
5. 5. If they wish, students who have dyslexia or other reading/writing disabilities may attach to their examination answers an anonymised certificate verifying their disabilities. Students with another mother tongue than Norwegian will not normally be granted any additional time in which to complete the examination but they may, if they wish, attach to their examination answers an anonymised certificate verifying that they have another mother tongue.

Section 11 Use of Aids at Supervised Examination

HUC determines which aids are to be permitted at examinations. A survey of permissible aids is to be available at the start of the semester and be included in semester/lecture plans and on the front page of the examination paper.

Section 12 Cheating and Attempted Cheating.

1. 1. A student is deemed to have cheated if he/she has access to other than permissible aids during an examination, or in other ways contravenes the examination regulations or the rules about the use of sources.
2. 2. If during supervised examinations situations arise where a student may be suspected of cheating, he/she must immediately be informed that the incident will be reported to the administration for further steps to be taken. The student will then be asked whether he/she wants to break off or continue the examination. The same applies to students who have contributed to cheating, cf. sub-section no. 5 below.
3. 3. If during an individual home examination situations arise in which the candidate’s final papers cannot be said to be the result of individual and independent work, the administration must be notified. Should it afterwards appear that two or more examination answers are clearly based on the same original work or have the same writer or a shared disposition, it will be counted as cheating for all those implicated.
4. 4. References to sources used must be given. Direct copying without references to sources is considered cheating, no matter what the original source material may be. Examination answers must always be original, independent and individual pieces of work, unless otherwise clearly stated in the examination instructions that the candidates may depart from the main rule . The examination answers must not have been used previously as an examination paper at HUC or any other institution of learning.
5. 5. Candidates who intentionally or through gross negligence contribute to other candidates cheating will also be considered to have cheated no matter what the type of examination.
6. 6. Students who have cheated or attempted to cheat may have their examination annulled, cf. section 4-7 sub-section 1 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, and/or they risk being excluded from further studies, cf. section 4-8, sub-section 3.

Section 13 Grading system

1. 1. The grading system for examinations, tests, assignments or other types of assessment is either Pass/Fail, or a scale of five levels, where A to E represent a Pass and F constitutes a Fail, as demonstrated in the following table:

 

 

 

Symbol	Description	General, qualitative description of assessment criteria
A	Excellent	An excellent performance, clearly outstanding. The candidate demonstrates excellent judgement and a high degree of independent thinking.
B	Very good	A very good performance. The candidate demonstrates sound judgement and a very good degree of independent thinking.
C	Good	A good performance in most areas. The candidate demonstrates a reasonable degree of judgement and independent thinking in the most important areas.
D	Satisfactory	A satisfactory performance, but with significant shortcomings. The candidate demonstrates a limited degree of judgement and independent thinking.
E	Sufficient	A performance that meets the minimum criteria, but no more. The candidate demonstrates a very limited degree of judgement and independent thinking.
F	Fail	A performance that does not meet the minimum academic criteria. The candidate demonstrates an absence of both judgement and independent thinking.

More specific descriptions and criteria are compiled by the individual faculties/departments, based on national guidelines for the specific subject areas.

1. 2. The letter grades are equivalent to the following values: A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1, F=0. Number values are used for calculating a final grade for a course when several partial examination results are to be included or when several course grades are to be included in a final course grade. Standard rules for rounding off the figures apply.
2. 3. The use of Pass/Fail should not exceed 50 % of the credits awarded in a curriculum/ programme description.
3. 4. The curricula and programme descriptions establish which grading system is to be used for the various examinations, tests or assignments. This information is included in the course descriptions.
4. 5. HUC determines the rules for calculating the final grade in a course which comprises more than one partial examination. This information is included in the course descriptions.

Section 14 Assessment of Examinations

1. 1. The students’ knowledge and competence are to be assessed in an impartial and academically sound way. The assessment is also to ensure the academic level of the study programme in question. There is to be an external evaluation of the assessment or the assessment schemes.
2. 2. HUC appoints external examiners, usually for four years at a time. External examiners cannot be employees of HUC (this applies to all faculties/departments) or be connected to the institution as a teacher paid by the hour during the period they are acting as external examiners for HUC. Guest lecturers may be used as external examiners if their involvement is greatly limited.
3. 3. External evaluation: When external examiners are used, all students sitting an examination or taking part in a course, must be assessed by the external examiners to the same degree. The value of external assessments must benefit all the candidates.
4. In the case of written examinations, external examiners must always be given the suggested examination questions and criteria for grading so that they can evaluate and approve said questions and criteria, even though they may not be involved in the actual assessment of the exam answers.
5. An external examiner must each year assess all the examination papers in at least one course within a degree programme or programme taking more than one year. In study programmes with a scope of 60 credits or less, the external examiner must assess all the examination papers in one course at least once every three years.
6. External examiners can be used to evaluate programme descriptions/curricula, course descriptions, teaching plans and/or assessment schemes.
7. In cases where an oral examination is the only examination used, and covers 30 credits or more, there must always be one external examiner.
8. There must always be two examiners, one at least of which must be external, when assessing students’ independent work in the second degree.
9. When a new assessment is made following a complaint, cf. section 5-2 sub-section 2 and section 5-3 sub-section 4 of the Act, at least two new examiners must be used, of which at least one must be external. Changes may be made both to the complainant’s advantage and to his/her disadvantage. When reassessing an examination grade, the examiner must also be informed of the candidate’s original examination grade.

HUC decides each year how to use external examiners in the assessment processes.

1. 4. If the internal and external examiner do not agree on the evaluation of an answer, a third, external, examiner is to be consulted and the three examiners must then reach a joint decision. If the subject teacher and the supervisor in charge at the placement school cannot reach an agreement on the evaluation of the practical training, the person responsible for the course/programme steps in as the third examiner.
2. 5. The deadline for announcing the results of the exams is 18 working days from the examination date or the submission date for project assignments/home examination/portfolio assessment (Saturdays are counted as working days). The deadline for master’s theses is six weeks. In cases of complaints resulting in a new assessment of an examination or when a new examiner has been appointed, the deadline for announcing the result runs from the date the new examiner is appointed. The Board itself may make exceptions from this rule for individual examinations and can use a temporary regulation to prolong a deadline if it proves impossible to obtain the requisite number of qualified examiners needed to return the examination results in 18 working days. The Board itself may also establish regulations to prolong the deadline for theses and similar more extensive written assignments.
3. 6. Results of written examinations are either posted on the information board or published on HUC’s student administration website. Students are personally responsible for checking their own examination results. 7. Students who have failed their master’s or bachelor’s theses, project work or portfolio, may re-use the same research question(s) and improve it(them). Students who wish to improve their master’s or bachelor’s thesis, project work or portfolio (without having failed them) must produce new work and completely new research questions.

 

 

Section 15 Grounds for and Complaints against an Assessment

Reasons for grades

1. 1. Students are entitled to know why their work has been graded in a certain way. For oral examinations or the evaluation of practical skills, students must claim an explanation immediately after the result has been announced. For other types of evaluation, if the candidate receives notification of the grade by electronic means and is able to lodge a claim for an explanation in the same manner, a claim for an explanation must be lodged within a week of the grade being notified. In the cases of other means of notification, a claim for an explanation must be lodged within a week of the candidate having become acquainted with the result, yet no more than three weeks after the result was notified.
2. 2. An explanation is usually to be given within two weeks of the complaint having been lodged. The explanation must state the general principles which form the basis for the grade and the way in which the student’s performance was assessed. Examiners may choose to explain their reasons orally or in writing, and they decide jointly which of them is to give the reasons for the grade awarded.

Complaint about grades

1. 3. A complaint about a grade must be lodged in writing within three weeks of the notification of the examination results. If a student has claimed an explanation for the grade or complained about procedural errors, the deadline for lodging an appeal starts when he/she has received an explanation or a decision about the complaint based on procedural errors. In the case of courses with partial examinations, the right to complain runs from the point in time whene the examination result of the individual examination has been notified.

The written appeal must include:
- the name of the complainant (name, address and personal identity number)
- what the complaint is about (name of course and course code, examination date, grade)
- date and signature

1. 4. If students wish to lodge a complaint based on a group examination result, all the members of the group must agree to the complaint and sign it together.
2. 5. Oral examinations and the assessment of the practical training and other assessments which due to their nature cannot be controlled, are not subject to appeals (cf. sections 5-3, sub-section 5 of the Act).
3. 6. In the event of a complaint about a grade new examiners are appointed. The new assessment must be made within the same deadlines that apply to ordinary exams after the complaint examiner has been appointed. The new grade may be to the complainant’s advantage or to his/her disadvantage. A grade given as a reassessment in accordance with this section (section 5-3, sub-section 6 in the Act) may not be appealed. If the final grade is based on an oral examination in conjunction with a written partial examination, and a complaint results in a different grade being awarded for the written part of the overall grade, a new oral examination must be held before the final grade is awarded.

 

Section 16 Complaints about Procedural Errors

1. 1. Complaints based on procedural errors are dealt with by the HUC Appeals Committee pursuant to Section 5-2 of the Act. Procedural errors may include mistakes in examination questions, the way in which the examination itself was organised or how the grading took place.
2. 2. Complaints regarding procedural errors must be lodged within three weeks after the student has become aware of, or should have become aware of, the conditions on which the complaint rests. If the student has requested an explanation for or lodged a complaint concerning grading, the deadline for complaints pursuant to section 5-2 sub-section 3 of the Act is calculated from when the student has received the explanation or the decision concerning the complaint.
3. 3. If the HUC Appeals Committee finds that procedural errors have been made, and that it is reasonable to suppose that this may have had significance for the performance or grading of one or more students, the student or students’ examination answers will be graded again or a new examination will be held as soon as possible.

 

Section 17 Exemption from Sitting an Examination

1. 1. A student may be granted an exemption from sitting an examination if he/she can present documents proving that he/she has passed an equivalent exam at HUC or a different institution of learning. An application for exemption from an examination must be made in writing within a month of the start of the course in question, and must include the necessary documentation as to scope and contents of the examination that is requested approved. Students may not be exempted from partial examinations that make up part of a final grade.
2. 2. HUC grants exemptions based on a recommendation from the relevant tutors or faculty.
3. 3. Exemptions from courses must be included in the diploma and transcript of records stating the reasons for the exemption.
4. 4. Examinations undertaken at upper secondary school level do not constitute grounds for exemption from HUC examinations.

Section 18 Diploma

1. 1. Students who successfully complete a vocational qualification or achieve a degree will be issued with a diploma and a Diploma Supplement in English. If the qualification is the result of studies undertaken at different university colleges/institutions of learning, individual consideration will in each case be given as to which institution is to issue the diploma.
2. 2. Students who have completed courses that do not add up to a diploma, may receive a transcript of records.
3. 3. The diploma must include:
   - name and personal identity number
   - the degree or vocational qualification gained
   - time of completion of education
   - name, credits and grades awarded for the relevant courses
   - examination dates
   - exemptions from examinations, if applicable, including reasons
   - the title of larger written papers (comprising at least 30 credits)
   - grading system used
4. 4. If a student has taken exams in courses that partially overlap each other, the number of credits awarded should be reduced in connection with the degree. HUC decides such reductions on the basis of a recommendation from the relevant persons/faculties.
5. 5. Only one diploma is issued per student per study programme providing a basis for a diploma. If a student after completing a study programme sits a new examination in a course where the result may influence the grade awarded on the original diploma, the student may return the original diploma and request a new diploma.
6. 6. Regarding the re-use of an education and affiliation requirements for issuing diplomas, please see the Regulation for Accreditation of Higher Education, as established by the Ministry of Education and Research on 10 April 2006.
7. 7. In special cases where it is possible to document or substantiate that a diploma has been irretrievably lost, it is possible to have a duplicate diploma issued without returning the original diploma.
8. 8. If a student has completed a study programme and a complaint has been lodged based on the grade awarded in a course, a diploma will not be issued until after the complaint has been decided. If a diploma has already been issued, the complaint cannot be dealt with until the student has returned his/her diploma to HUC.

 

Section 19 Dispensation

Applications regarding dispensation from the examination regulations are decided by HUC.

 

Section 20 Supplementary Provisions

HUC may decide supplementary provisions to these regulations.

 

Section 21 Entry into Force

These regulations enter into force on 1 August 2010.
The regulations for HUC of 12 June 2008 are repealed as of the same date.