The case in summary: Summary: University lecturers at Nord University suggest that students should pay a fee of NOK 200 to complain about their exam grades. The proposal also includes that the students must provide a written justification for the complaint. Head of the Norwegian Student Organization, Oline Sæther, believes the proposal is an attack on students’ legal security and could create a class divide among students. The university lecturer believes the proposal can make students reflect more on their own performance and that it will reduce the number of complaints. Statistics show that almost 21 percent of the complaints led to an increase in grade, while almost 10 percent led to a decrease in grade. The Ministry of Education points out that the possibility to appeal is central to safeguarding the students’ legal security, and that the introduction of an appeal fee will require a change in the law. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Is it too easy to complain about one’s grades? Yes, say the university lecturers at Nord University, Pål Espen Jom and Eirik Bergli. The lecturers believe that students should pay to appeal their exam grades and have proposed NOK 200 as a reasonable “appeal fee”. Furthermore, they suggest that the students should provide a written justification for the complaint. This is revealed in a chronicle that was published on the website Khrono. In the chronicle, Jom and Bergli suggest that: The student must pay NOK 200 to submit the complaint The student must give a reason for why the complaint is being made It should be clear from the reasons whether the student has received a reason for the grade during ordinary censorship – An attack Leader Oline Sæther for Norsk The student organization believes that the proposal to charge a fee for the possibility of appeal is an attack on the students’ legal security. – Education must be free for everyone. A fee for complaining makes the threshold higher, and for some it could have financial consequences. Having a fair assessment of an exam is very important for the future of the students. Photo: Skjalg Bøhmer Vold If there are to be equal opportunities, the possibility of appeal must be free. This is also the case in many public bodies, says Sæther. – Having arrangements for complaints and challenging these assessments is part of the social mission of the educational institutions. It is a way of quality assurance of the work that has been done by the first examiner. – But perhaps people only complain because there is a possibility that the failing grade can be raised to a standing grade? – There will always be someone who has worse reason to complain than others. But most students choose to complain because they have a good reason. You also see that students’ grades go down when they complain. Should it cost money to complain about one’s grades? Yes, I think that seems like a good idea 😊 No, it seems like a bad idea 😠 I don’t know 🤔 Show result – Can create a class divide Also a student and student leader at Nord University, Simen August Randen thinks the proposal is bad. Simen August Randen, student leader at Nord University. Photo: Private – My immediate thought is that it is wrong that it should cost money to complain. A grade is a kind of individual decision for a person, and we completely disagree with the fact that you have to pay the public to complain about it. Randen believes that Jom and Bergli’s proposal could create a class divide between the students, who can afford to pay fee and those who do not have it. – We think that is very unfair, says Randen. Thinks it should be more difficult to complain University lecturer Eirik Bergli does not disagree that the proposal is controversial. And that in those cases where you cannot afford or have parents who can cover such a fee, it will turn out to be unfortunate. – But in any case, it makes you think twice about whether there is any point in complaining. Bergli also believes that the proposal can make students want to learn more if they have to reflect on their own performance in an academic justification. University lecturer at Nord University Eirik Bergli. Photo: Privat – This is a proposal that is intended to provoke a bit in order to start a debate about an arrangement that should have been revised, says Bergli. Student leader Randen believes that the proposal to justify why one complains can have a positive outcome. – It gives the student the opportunity to explain why they are complaining and it will be an advantage for the student. I myself have complained about a grade and really wish I could add a reason. Bergli believes that the threshold for making a complaint should be increased. It is therefore too easy to complain, according to the university lecturer. Often the students complain before they receive a reason for the grade, says Bergli. Furthermore, Bergli experiences that more people complain when they have nothing to lose because they have failed the exam and it costs the universities both more work and expenses. – I myself have been a complaint examiner and have received answers that are obviously not good enough. Photo: Arne Kristian Gansmo The student leader, on the other hand, believes that the students may risk losing if they choose to complain. He himself chose to complain about one grade, which resulted in a worse one. – It is also not the case that all students complain without a risk. It is only if you get an F that you have nothing to lose. Very often you have something to lose by complaining. – It is very important that we have the opportunity to complain. The system is not perfect and can be improved, but a fee is not the way to go. Two out of three students get nowhere by complaining about the exam grade. Almost 21 per cent of the complaints went up by one grade after new censorship. In contrast, almost 10 percent of the complaints led to a decrease in the grade. It shows statistics that Khrono extracted from complaint statistics for 2022 from NTNU, University of Oslo, University of Bergen and University of Tromsø. Here you can see the debate on whether it should be free to complain in Dagsnytt 18, 43 minutes and 50 seconds into the broadcast. – In dialogue with the politicians Instead of a fee-based appeal option, NSO would rather have two different ones. One which is an automatic new assessment, without justification, and one where the student has the opportunity to give a justification for why the student is complaining about the grade. – We believe that the appeal possibilities should be expanded. The current solution is important to ensure an independent, new assessment. However, students who have specific points about why they deserve a new grade should be given the opportunity to give reasons. Then the original character must also follow. The Universities and Colleges Act will be amended in January and February, says Sæther. There, NSO is in dialogue with politicians about this matter. – We are in dialogue with the politicians about these weaknesses. It is uncertain whether it is possible to change the law even now, but that is what we hope. The Ministry of Education writes in an e-mail to news that the exam grades are of great importance to the students and that the opportunity to complain is central to safeguarding the students’ legal security. – The introduction of a possible appeal fee will require a change in the law, writes the ministry. – The government has now submitted a proposal for a new university and college law, which will be considered in the Storting on 6 February. There we propose to continue the rules as they are today.
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Complain about the exam grade? Lecturer believes it should cost the students money – news Nordland
