GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE OF EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING AT NHH

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GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE OF EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING AT NHH

Approved by the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs on 11 March 2025.

Background

According to Sections 11-6 and 11-7 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, NHH is reponsible for ensuring that student's knowledge and skills are assessed in an impartial and academically sound manner. The assessment must also ensure that the academic standards of the institution and the study programme. There must be external evaluation of the assessment or the assessment arrangements.

Purpose of the Guidelines

The purpose of these guidelines is to:

  • safeguard the legal rights of students in the assessment of their knowledge and skills
  • contribute to the quality assurance of the institution's academic offerings
  • establish a common framework for grading and the use of examiners at the instituion

Reference is also made to the Regulations for Full-time Study Programmes at the Norwegian School of Economics and supplementary provisions thereto.

  • Guidelines for the Preparation and Quality Assurance of Examinations and Assessments

    Guidelines for the Preparation and Quality Assurance of Examinations and Assessments

    1. Quality Assurance of the Examination Paper

    The examination paper must be quality assured to ensure that the candidates' skills are appropriately tested. Errors in the examination paper can impact a candidate's perofrmance and, in some cases, constitute a procedural error under Section 11-9 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

    The course responsible is responsible for both preparing and quality-assuring the examination paper. To ensure quality, it is important that multiple faculty members review the exam text.

    For assessments lasting up to 12 hours- typically school or home exams - the course responsible must submit a completed and signed quality assurance form along with the examination paper. This form confirms that at least two faculty members have reviewed and approved the paper. These may include the course coordinator(s) and another relevant faculty member.

    For assessments lasting more than 12 hours, the requirement that at least two faculty members review and approve the paper still applies. However, there is no specific requirement to submit a quality assurance form, as these  assignments are typically distributed throughout the semester.

    It is important that the examination paper is finalized well in advance of the exam date to allow sufficient time for quality assurance, any necessary translation of the exam text, or adjustments for universal design.

    Information about deadlines for submitting the examination paper is available in the Faculty Handbook for Assessment and Exams.

    1.1 Language Variant (Målform)

    If the examination paper is provided in Norwegian, it must be available in both Bokmål and Nynorsk.

    Exceptions may be made if it is evident that all candidates will receive the exam in the same language variant. Upon request from the department, the Section for Exams can provide an overview of the registered candidates' preferred language variant.

    According to Section 5-2 of the Regulations for the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, exceptions from the requirement of providing the exam in Norwegian (Bokmål/Nynorsk) may be granted if there are special circumstances. This may include particularly extensive examination papers of the presence of complex subject-specific terminology that creates a high risk of misunderstanding.

    In such cases, the department must submit a reasoned application to the Section for Exams no later than two months before the scheduled exam date. The application must be justified and include previous exam papers. The head of the programme will make the final decision.

    Exceptions may apply to individual exams or be granted for a period of up to five years.

    1.2 Permitted Support Material

    The course responsible must provide an overview over what support material is permitted for supervised assessments. This information must be made available:

    • In the course description (as part of the course offering process)
    • In Canvas (no later than two weeks before the exam date)
    • On the front page of the examination paper

    Information about permitted support material must be clear and accessible to all candidates.

    1.3 Availability During the Examination

    During the exam, questions may arise regarding the assignment, or there may be a need for clarifications or corrections. Therefore, it is important that the course responsible is available for contact throughout the examination.

    If the course responsible is not available, the department must appoint a substitute. The name of the designated contact person for the exam must be listed on the front page of the examination paper.

    Any errors identified, or clarifications/additional information given during the exam that may affect the result, must always and immediately be reported to the Section for Exams. The assessment of whether the information is relevant must be made by the course responsible or the faculty member designated as the available academic contact during the exam.

    • The course responsible is responsible for informing the Section for Exams of any additional information.

    • For assessments lasting more than 12 hours: the course responsible must inform candidates via Canvas.

    • For assessments lasting up to 12 hours: the Section for Exams is responsible for informing the candidates.

    If corrections or clarifications are needed, the course responsible must send the revised examination assignment and grading guide to the Section for Exams as soon as possible. This is important to have available for the main grading process and any potential appeals.

    1.4 Grading Guide

    Section 11-7 (3) of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges states:

    "Institutions shall prepare a written grading guide for all examinations."

    "Examinations" include any work in the form of tests, assignments, theses, oral exams, presentations, etc., that count toward the final diploma or constitute part of such exams.

    The course responsible is responsible for preparing the grading guide and submitting it along with the examination paper. Lack of access to the grading guide during the grading process may constitute a formal error, which could trigger the right to a new grading, cf. Section 11-9 of the Act. In cases where the examination paper is not submitted to the Section for Exams, a grading guide must still be prepared, cf. Section 11-7.

    The law does not specify detailed requirements for the content of the grading guide, but it must serve its primary purpose: ensuring a consistent and fair assessment of candidates’ answers.

    A grading guide should include:

    • What an answer must contain to be assessed as excellent, good, sufficient, etc.

    • A suggested solution, where applicable

    • An assessment rubric, where applicable

    The grading guide must be published in Canvas no later than the release of the results. If the grading guide is revised or corrected, the updated version must be sent to the Section for Exams. This ensures that the same guide is available to graders in the event of an appeals committee.

  • Guidelines for the Conduct of Grading

    Guidelines for the Conduct of Grading

    All examiners must familiarize themselves with the relevant sections of:

    • the Regulations for Full-Time Studies at NHH

    • the supplementary provisions to these regulations

    • the following guidelines for the conduct of grading

    2. Quality Assurance of Grading and Use of Grades

    Grading must be quality assured by ensuring that examiners are informed in advance about the syllabus, learning objectives, and grading guide. The department is responsible for making sure the examiner has access to this information.

    Examiners must also share a common understanding of how the grading scale is to be applied. See Section 2.1 on grade determination.

    The grade and appeals statistics from the previous semester are reviewed by the programme director. These form the basis for quality assurance and are regularly discussed in meetings between head of programmes, department leadership, and the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs. Departments are responsible for following up on these reports.

    2.1 Grade Determination

    During grading, a certain portion of the exam assignments will be graded by the internal examiner in collaboration with an external examiner. See Section 3.6.2 for further details on distribution.

    Examiners must assess independently and determine the grade jointly. If the assessment commission cannot agree on a grade, the head of the programme will be involved to reach a resolution.

    Once the assessment is complete, the results must be registered in the digital examination system. Both examiners are responsible for completing the registration.

    For exam assignments assigned to only one examiner, that examiner determines the grade independently.

    Once grading is registered, no changes may be made to the results.

    2.2 Anonymisation of Candidates

    Grades must be based solely on academic considerations. Candidates must, if possible, be anonymised to ensure that the assessment is impartial and academically sound in accordance with the requirements of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

    2.3 Duty of Confidentiality

    Assessors are subject to a duty of confidentiality under Section 13 of the Public Administration Act.

    Discussions and evaluations within an assessor group are considered confidential. Assessors may not disclose their own or others’ individual evaluations if they differ from the final grade. If a student requests an explanation for their exam result, it must be based on the final grade received.

    2.4 Suspicion of cheating

    If suspicion of cheating arises during grading, the assessor commission must notify the Section for Exams. The notification must clearly outline the basis for the suspicion.

    Based on the assessor’s report, the Section for Exams will assess whether there is sufficient basis to initiate a case. The evaluation will be based on the assessor’s description, which is why it is important that the suspicion is thoroughly documented.

    If the Section for Exams decides to proceed with the case, the student must be informed, given an opportunity to respond, and offered the option of legal or other representation.

    The Section for Exams prepares any potential case for the NHH Student Appeals Committee. As part of this process, additional information may be requested from the assessor —especially in cases where the suspicion is based on academic judgment.

    Once the suspicion is reported, grading must proceed as normally as possible, without regard to the suspicion. The assessor should register the result along with the rest of the grades.

    In cases of suspected misconduct, the Section for Exams will withhold the result until the matter is resolved. If suspicion arises after the result has been published, it will be blocked in Studentweb until a conclusion is reached.

    2.5 Deadline for assessment

    Both assessors are responsible for registering grades in the digital examination system within the specified deadline.

    The grading deadline is 14 working days from the exam date, and results are published to students the following day. This is regulated by Section 11-7 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

    It is essential that this deadline is strictly observed.

    The NHH Board may grant temporary exemptions from the grading deadline. Such exemptions are formalised in the Temporary Regulations on Grading Deadlines at NHH.

    If an acute need for exemption arises, the department must apply to the Board of NHH, through the Chair. Once it is confirmed that the Board has granted an exemption, the Section for Exams must be informed immediately.

    2.6 Explaination of Grades

    The right to an explanation for a grade decision is laid down in Section 11-8 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

    Communication between the assessor and the student in connection with the explanation does not provide grounds for discussion or reconsideration of the grade.

    2.7 Grade Appeals

    A student may appeal a grade pursuant to Section 11-10 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. Appeal grading must be carried out by two assessors, at least one of whom must be external. The new assessors must not be made aware of the original grade, the original assessor's explanation, or the student's grounds for appeal.

    The grading deadline for appeals is determined by the Section for Exams. It is important that this deadline is met. In certain cases, a third round of grading may be necessary if there is a significant discrepancy. See also Section 2.8.

    2.8 Grade Discrepancies

    If a discrepancy of two or more grade levels arises between the original and appeal grading, the institution is required under Section 11-11 (3) of the Act to conduct a new assessment before the final grade is determined.

    At NHH, this reassessment is carried out by reaching consensus between the internal examiners from the original and appeal assessments. Before this assessment, they must be given access to:

    • The exam paper

    • The exam assignment

    • The grading guide

    • The original assessor’s explanation

    • The appeal assessor’s explanation

    If the internal assessors from the original and appeal assessments cannot agree, the course responsible may be consulted for a final assessment. If the course responsible is already part of either commission, the head of the programme will be involved to help determine a solution.

  • Guidelines for the Appointment of Assessors

    Guidelines for the Appointment of Assessors

    3. Appointment of assessors

    3.1 Appointment of External assessors

    The departments are responsible for appointing, quality-assuring, and maintaining an overview of external assessors for the various courses offered.

    The departments shall request the appointment of external assessors and are authorised to enter into letters of intent with approved assessors.

    3.2 Assignment of Assessors

    Departments are responsible for informing the Section for Exams of the appointed assessment commissions for both ordinary assessment and appeal reassessments. This information must be provided no later than two weeks before the examination date for the relevant courses.

    For appeals, a different commission must be used than the one involved in the original assessment.

    It is important that departments inform assessors in advance about assignments and relevant deadlines, such as assessment deadlines and the deadline for providing explanations of grades.

    3.3 Assessor Qualifications

    Assessors for bachelor’s and master’s level courses must hold at least a master’s degree in the relevant subject area. Assessors for PhD-level courses must hold a doctoral degree or have equivalent qualifications required for a permanent academic position in the field.

    3.4 Internal Assessor

    An internal assessor is normally a faculty member employed at NHH. The internal assessor may, for example, be the course responsible for the relevant course.

    3.5 External Assessor

    An external assessor is typically a faculty member not employed at NHH. The determining factor is their affiliation with and proximity to NHH and the academic environment responsible for the course. The choice of external assessor must not raise any doubt regarding whether a student’s grade was awarded on a sound and impartial basis. See also Section 3.7.

    • PhD students at NHH may not serve as external assessors.

    • Adjunct professors (Professor II) at NHH may not serve as external assessors.

    • Guest lecturers with limited involvement may serve as external assessors.

    • Employees in affiliated entities, such as companies owned by NHH, may serve as external assessors unless they have participated in teaching the course or are subject to conflict-of-interest rules (see Section 3.7).

    The Vice Rector for Academic Affairs may grant exceptions to the above upon application from the department.

    3.6 Requirements for the Use of Assessors

    3.6.1 The Act relating to universities and university colleges

    According to Section 11-6 of the Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges, there must be an external assessor involved in the assessment of each individual examination or an external evaluation of the assessment and grading arrangements.

    For the assessment of independent work at a higher level, there must be at least two assessors, one of whom must be external. Two assessors must also be used for the assessment of bachelor theses or similar independent work at the undergraduate level, for non-verifiable assessments, and for exams that carry 15 ECTS credits or more.

    For reassessment following an appeal of a grade or a complaint regarding a formal error in the examination process, there must also be at least two assessors, including at least one external.

    3.6.2 NHH's Requirements for the Use of assessors

    In addition to the legal requirements, NHH always uses two assessors, at least one of whom is external, for a significant portion of the assessment in each course.

    NHH has further established the following requirements for external assessment:

    • If the number of submissions is 25 or fewer, all must be assessed by the external assessor.

    • If the number of submissions is between 26 and 100, at least 25 must be assessed by the external assessor.

    • If the number of submissions exceeds 100, at least 25% must be assessed by the external assessor.

    • For PhD-level courses, external assessment must be conducted every third year for all verifiable assessments.

    When external assessment is used, all internal assessors must assess a selection of submissions jointly with the external assessor to ensure consistency in grading. The Section for Exams is responsible for assigning assessors accordingly.

    These requirements for the use of external assessors apply only to the main assessment component when a course includes multiple components. However, two assessors must be used for non-verifiable components in accordance with Section 11-7 of the Act.

    The Vice Rector for Academic Affairs may grant exceptions to the external assessment requirement upon application from the department. Nevertheless, all courses must undergo external assessment at least once every three years.

    3.7 Impartiality

    3.7.1 Assessing Impartiality

    According to Section 11-6 (1) of the Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges, students’ knowledge and skills must be assessed in an impartial and academically sound manner. Additionally, Section 6 of the Public Administration Act outlines requirements for impartiality.

    Section 6 identifies two categories of circumstances that may render an academic disqualified from assessing one or more students:

    • The first paragraph lists specific relationships (e.g., close family ties) that result in automatic disqualification. If you have such a relationship with a student, you are unconditionally disqualified.

    • The second paragraph addresses other circumstances that may weaken confidence in your impartiality. This is a general clause requiring a concrete assessment of whether the academic can remain objective.

    Disqualification applies not only to grading (“making a decision”) but also to the marking of coursework that forms the basis for course approval (“making a decision”) and the preparation of exam assignments (“preparing the basis for a decision”).

    The academic is obligated to inform the Head of Department if there is any potential conflict of interest with a student. The decision is made by the academic in question, optionally in consultation with the Head of Department, cf. Section 8 of the Public Administration Act (decision on disqualification).