Guidance for appeal cases
As a student you have the right to appeal individual decisions.
Main content
An individual decision can for example be decisions on admission, absence and leaves of absence and loss of admission. If you wish to appeal a decision you must do it in writing. Send a letter or an email where it is made clear:
- Who you are
- Which case the appeal is regarding
- What you wish to appeal and why
- Which changes you want
The appeal must be sent within three weeks from the date you recieved the decision. You send the appeal to the body (faculty/department) who made the decision you are appealing, who will assess you appeal first. If the body does not find grounds to change their decision following your appeal, the case will be sent to The Central Appeals Committee. In student related matters the committee make the final decision. The committee's decision may not be appealed.
Information on The Central Appeals Committee from the university's website.
As long as your appeal has not been decided, you can withdraw it. If you wish to withdraw your appeal, contact the body you sent it to.
Bullying, harassment, and similar issues
If you wish to notify about learning environment issues, bullying, harassment, or wish to criticize other matters, you can do this through the university's "Speak up!"-page.
Procedural errors in connection with examinations
Section 5-2 of The University and University Colleges Act provides the right to appeal the external conditions of examinations. This may include, for example, errors in the exam paper, disturbances or irregularities in the examination room, software failure, or similar issues. More information about the procedure and how to appeal can be found on the university's website.
Information on appealing procedural errors in connection with examinations.
Guidance for suspected cheating
If the department or faculty suspects academic misconduct in the form of cheating, they will assess if there are grounds to forward a case to The Central Appeals Committee. If suspected, you will be notified in writing of the suspicion and be invited for a meeting where you get a chance to give an explanation and your thoughts on the matter. You have the right to see the documents in the case. You can also use an attoney or someone else to assist you, but it will not be paid for by the university.
If the faculty choose to forward the case to the appeals committee, however, you have the right to be represented by an attorney. The university will cover the legal expences, at the same hourly rate as for free legal aid cases. You still have the right to see all the documents in the case and give a written statement. You will recieve a written notice that your case will be assessed by the appeals committee. If you have questions about the case processing, need the case to be postponed or have questions about your rights, you can contact the committee's secretary. Until the case is decided you can continue your studies.
The Central Appeals Committee has the authority to annul your exam, assignment or other work. It can also decide to exclude you from the university for up to two semesters. The committee's decisions in cases of cheating can be appealed to The Joint Appeals Committee (national body) within three weeks from you recieving it. If the committee has decided to exclude you, the university will cover the legal costs if you wish to appeal. If the committee only decided to annul your exam, assignment or other, you can still appeal the decision but the university will no longer cover legal expences.
Information on The Joint Appeals Committee (in Norwegian only).
When the attorney has finished their work, the invoice must be sent to the university's invoice reception. The invoice must be marked with the case number ("our ref.") as well as "Delprosjekt 100395100" and "Sted 21700000".
Information on sending invoices to The University of Bergen.
I you have any questions you can contact the committee's secretary.
Guidance in other disciplinary matters
Other disciplinary matters can be:
- Cases regarding exclusion/expulsion because of unacceptable behavior
- Cases regarding issues with certificates of conduct from the police
- Cases regarding falsified documents
- Cases regarding suitability assessments
These cases are rare and differ greatly. If you have questions about your rights in other disciplinary matters you can contact The Central Appeals Committee's secretary.
If you need advice or guidance you can contact the university's Ombud for Students. The Ombud is an independent service, who's main function is to safeguard the legal security of students at the university by providing advice and guidance in student related matters.