You can appeal an exam grade at a university or college when the performance can be reassessed. First request reasons and check the appeal deadline. The new grade may be better, worse or unchanged.

Which exam grades can you appeal?

You can appeal a grade when the exam work can be reassessed. A written answer is a common example; oral performances and practical work that cannot be reviewed cannot receive an ordinary grade appeal.

This guide concerns higher education in Norway. It does not concern school coursework grades or Norskprøven. The rules were checked as of 3 October 2026 against universitets- og høyskoleloven, Norway's Universities and Colleges Act, and university guidance.

A sensor, or examiner, is the person who assesses a performance and assigns the grade. Sensur means the assessment itself. When you appeal a grade, new examiners review your answer again.

If you are new to the education system, SamfunnPrep's guide to higher education and Lånekassen gives more context. Lånekassen is the public scheme for education loans and grants.

How do you request reasons for your grade?

You have a right to reasons and must normally request them within one week after the grading decision has been announced to you. For oral, performance-based or practical exams, you must request reasons immediately after being told the grade.

This follows from universitets- og høyskoleloven § 11-8⁠, checked as of 3 October 2026. The reasons must explain the assessment principles and how your performance was assessed. You should receive them within two weeks of requesting them.

Your institution explains where to submit the request. At Universitetet i Bergen, abbreviated UiB, students normally use Studentweb, a digital student service. UiB's guidance on reasons⁠ also describes separate procedures at the Faculty of Law.

The reasons may be given in writing or orally. Note the main points if you receive them in a conversation. You do not need to have decided to appeal before requesting this explanation.

What is the difference between reasons and an appeal?

Reasons explain the existing grade. A grade appeal leads to a new assessment that may change the result.

Read the reasons alongside the task and the examiner's assessment guidelines, if available. The examiner's guidelines explain the basis for the assessment. They may help you see whether you misunderstood the task or whether the assessment seems wrong.

Do not compare only the number of hours you spent studying. The assessment concerns what you actually submitted or demonstrated in the exam. A friend's grade does not alone determine what your answer should receive either.

You can make three columns in your own notes: what the task asked, what you answered and what the reasons point out. This is a practical way of considering an appeal. The notes are not a new assessment or a guarantee of a particular grade.

What is the deadline for appealing a grade?

The appeal deadline is three weeks after the exam result is announced. If you requested reasons, the appeal deadline runs from receipt of those reasons under § 11-10.

Also follow your institution's information on where and how to submit the appeal. At UiB, students normally appeal in Studentweb under “Begrunnelse og klager”. Check that you have selected the correct course and exam.

An illustrative sequence is to record the date the grade was announced first. Then request reasons within one week. When the reasons arrive, record the receipt date and check the new appeal deadline.

Do not wait for an informal conversation with the teacher while the deadline runs. An email with general questions is not necessarily a registered request for reasons or a formal appeal. Save the receipt when submitting through your institution's system.

What happens to your answer when you appeal?

At least two new examiners assess your answer, and at least one must be external. They are not given the original grade, the original reasons or your reasons for appealing.

This is often called blind appeal assessment. The rules are in § 11-11. UiB's guidance on grade appeals⁠ explains the process and the risk for the student.

The new assessment may give a better, worse or unchanged grade. If the appeal assessment differs by two or more grades from the original, the institution must assess the case again before setting the final grade. This is not a rule that automatically lets you keep the better grade.

For an exam combining written and oral components, a changed written grade may lead to a new oral exam. Ask your institution how this applies to your assessment type. Do not assume an appeal affects only the part you are unhappy with.

How are group exams and portfolio exams assessed?

In a group exam, every student has an individual right to appeal. A change following an appeal applies only to the person who appealed, rather than automatically to the whole group.

Members of the same group may therefore end up with different grades. Feel free to discuss the case with your group, but check yourself that any appeal has been submitted for you. Another student's appeal does not replace yours.

In a portfolio exam, several pieces of work form one overall assessment. UiB states that all portfolio elements are reassessed when such an appeal concerns the whole portfolio. Some assessment types have restrictions; ask the course coordinator if you are unsure.

The Universities and Colleges Act allows local rules for continuous assessment. Your institution may decide whether an appeal concerns an individual performance or only the final course result. Read the course description before choosing what to appeal.

What if the problem was an error during the exam?

A procedural error concerns how the exam or assessment was conducted, rather than simply disagreement about the academic result. It must be treated as a different appeal issue from an ordinary grade appeal.

For example, an error may involve an approved adjustment not being implemented. Describe what happened, when it happened and how it affected your performance. Keep messages and other relevant information.

Under § 11-9, the deadline for appealing procedural errors is normally three weeks after you became, or should have become, aware of the error. A request for reasons or a grade appeal may affect when this deadline starts. Ask your institution or student ombud to check which deadline applies to your case.

What should you do before submitting an appeal?

Check the assessment type, dates and what the appeal is intended to achieve. An ordinary grade appeal gives a new academic assessment; it does not promise a better result or a quick reply before an application deadline.

Use this list:

  • Find the date the result was announced.
  • Request reasons by the correct deadline.
  • Read your answer and the basis for assessment.
  • Clarify whether the performance can be reviewed.
  • Consider the risk of a lower grade.
  • Submit the correct appeal and save the receipt.

Studentombudet, the student ombud, provides advice and help with matters related to student life. It can help you understand the process. On SamfunnPrep's tools page, you can find practical resources for life in Norway; enter your own exam and appeal deadlines in your calendar too.