What are exam acommodations?
The purpose of exam accommodations is to ensure that you, as a student who needs accommodations, have the same opportunity as your fellow students to perform on the exam.
The earlier you apply for accommodation, the better help we can provide . Therefore, it is best to apply before:
- 1 September for the fall semester.
- 1 February for the spring semester.
What accommodations can you request for at in-person exams?
The Division of Student and Academic Affairs at UiB processes applications for accommodation for written exams (also called school exams). We offer a number of different measures for those who need accommodation for exams, and you can apply for the following measures:
More time for the exam
- Extended time: 15 minutes of extra time is given for exams up to 2 hours. 30 minutes of extended time is given for exams up to 4 hours, and 1 hour of extended time is given for exams lasting longer than 4 hours.
- Rest time: Extended time to rest or move around during the exam and/or breastfeeding.
Access to adapted exam rooms
We have our own adapted exam room at Høyteknologisenteret, which contains a PC room with desktop PCs, 16 private rooms, and a rest and nursing room. The PC room is an exam room with 16 shielded desks with office chairs. Here you can sit on a desktop PC or on your own laptop.
All private rooms have a height-adjustable desk, desktop PC, rest bench and office chair.
All desktop PCs in the room have Lingdys installed, which is a reading and writing support program for people in need.
Other measures or aids
We also offer adapted equipment in the regular exam rooms. You can apply for an ergonomic chair, a height-adjustable desk and a rest bench in the regular exam rooms.
It is also possible to apply to use your own equipment such as a keyboard, mouse or headphones/ear protection. We generally do not allow wireless headphones, as these can be used for cheating.
If you need a sign language interpreter from NAV or another assistant, you can apply for approval for this.
Changed assessment method
Under special circumstances, you can apply for a changed form of assessment. By a changed form of assessment, we mean, for example, changing a written assignment to an oral exam. The need for a changed form of assessment must be thoroughly documented. We will only grant this measure when there are no other suitable accommodation measures that can compensate for the disadvantages caused by your disability or special needs. It is the academic community that will decide whether it is possible for you to be granted an alternative examination form.
Access to digital aids during the exam
Due to the need for correction software, we recommend that students with reading and writing difficulties apply for a desktop PC with writing support in Word or Lingdys for the in-class exam. This will not be available on your own laptop during the exam after logging into the Inspera Assessment exam system via Safe Exam Browser (SEB). SEB "locks" the laptop for programs other than Inspera Assessment.
What accommodations can you request for other forms of assessment?
The application for accommodations are processed by the faculty or department that administers the course you are going to take the exam in, with the exception of the oral exam.
For other forms of examination (oral exam, home exam, assignment submission, etc.), you can apply for the following forms of accommodation:
- Extended time
- Breastfeeding
- Changed assessment form
- Other measures or aids
For assessment methods other than the exam, please contact your faculty if you have any questions about accommodations.
What documentation should you submit with your application?
The documentation must come from a doctor, psychologist or another expert, and must contain information about the actual and specific disadvantages your condition, or medication, causes in the given exam situation(s). This is necessary to determine what accommodations you need for the exam.
You upload the documentation at the same time as your application, or afterwards via the link "Form for submitting documentation", which you will receive in the "Administration message" to your student email. Documentation must be submitted no later than 2 weeks before the first exam date.
If you wish, the doctor can fill out this form (Norwegian) instead of the regular medical certificate.
Applications and documentation are treated confidentially.
Pollen allergy in the spring semester
Allergy does not usually provide grounds for saying that the student has an unreasonable disadvantage in the exam situation.
In the event of serious ailments, extended time may still be granted in the form of rest time. The following must be clearly stated in the medical certificate:
- What kind of discomfort is involved?
- What kind of pollen is the student allergic to?
- Specifically which weeks/months this applies to.
- That the student has a serious level of discomfort caused by the allergies.
When should you apply?
The earlier you apply for accommodation, the better help we can provide. Therefore, it is best to apply before:
- 1 September for the fall semester.
- 1 February for the spring semester.
We encourage you to apply as early as possible, but you must be registered for assessment in the relevant courses to be able to apply. You can submit documentation, but preferably no later than 2 weeks before the first exam.
Acute illness
For acute illnesses that have arisen after the deadline has expired, or if other special reasons so require, UiB may consider applications after the deadline. You must then document that the need for accommodation has arisen after the application deadline had passed by.
When will you receive a response to your application?
Once the application deadline has passed, applications will be processed consecutively according to the date on which the first exam takes place. This means that those who have their first exam early in the semester will receive an answer first. We strive to give everyone an answer no later than 2 weeks before the first exam date.
As long as you have received an email confirmation that your application has been received, you can be sure that it will be processed. The confirmation will be sent to your student email.
Digital mailbox
We recommend that all our students use a digital mailbox . You will then receive our response letter as soon as it has been sent by us. If the response letter must be sent by regular mail, it is important that your name is on the mailbox. We do not send response letters via email.