What counts as valid absence from an exam?
Valid absence refers to situations where you have documentation showing that you were unable to attend the exam due to legitimate reasons. The University of Bergen (UiB) may consider the following situations as valid:
- You or your child(ren) are ill.
- A passing in your immediate family or someone you have a close relationship with.
- A funeral or memorial service in your immediate family or someone you have a close relationship with.
- A requirement from a public authority preventing you from attending the exam.
- Other circumstances beyond your control that make it unreasonable to expect you to take the exam.
What do you need to do to register valid absence?
You must apply for valid absence within two weeks after the exam and provide documentation for your application.
Illness and other types of absence must be documented with a certificate from a doctor or another expert, such as a psychologist. The documentation must explain why you were unable to take the exam. The date or period during which you were ill or had other valid absence must also be specified.
In the case of a passing, funeral, or memorial service, you need to specify who passed away and your relationship to the deceased, but no additional documentation is required.
Deadline for applying and submitting documentation
The deadline for applying for valid absence is two weeks after the exam date. A doctor’s certificate or other documentation must also be submitted to UiB within two weeks of the exam date or the submission deadline. If you miss the deadline, the exam attempt will be registered as a valid attempt (see § 8-2 in UiB’s study regulations).
Illness or other valid absence from an exam lasting more than one day
If you have valid absence during an exam lasting more than one day, you can usually apply to your department for extended time to complete the exam. This means you may be given additional time to submit your exam.
The procedure and what you need to do can vary between courses, so be sure to check the details on Mitt UiB. Contact information for the department can be found in the course description on uib.no/en/courses and in Mitt UiB.
It is important that you contact the department as soon as possible. You must reach out before the exam ends.
Interrupted exam
If you become ill during the exam and need to interrupt it, you should not submit your answer. Any submitted answers will be graded and counted as an exam attempt, even if the submission contains no content.
For more information on interrupted exams, please have a look at Chapter 8 of UiB’s study regulations.