Grades, grading reviews and marking templates
Higher education institutions determine themselves which forms of examination are to be used for different courses, but examination can still pose legal challenges. A useful document is the Swedish Higher Education Authority’s guidance document ‘Rättsäker examination’ (Fair Examination), which contains interpretations and clarifications of how the rules are to be applied.
Grades are not subject to appeal, but they can be reviewed. This is regulated by Chapter 6 of the Higher Education Ordinance which states:
Section 24. If an examiner finds that a decision on a grade is obviously incorrect owing to new circumstances or for some other reason, he or she shall change the decision if this can be done quickly and easily and if it does not mean lowering the grade.
In practice, this means that:
- As grades cannot be appealed, no new instance is to assess the exam or other grading data, for example, written assignments.
- An examiner reviews the grading decision if the student so requests.
- A review involves a fast check as to whether there are clear errors in the marking. Common examples include the results being added up incorrectly or the examiner forgetting to mark a question.
Thus: a review is conducted due to “new circumstances” or if the grade is “obviously incorrect” and if the change “can be made quickly and easily”. It is therefore not a case of “re-marking” or “re-assessing” answers that have already been assessed, but a case of correcting obvious errors.
Avoiding reviews
One way of avoiding reviews is for the examiner to double-check any candidate on the cusp of a higher mark, to ensure that students need not worry about incorrect assessments. Exam review sessions – where students look at how they could have achieved a higher grade – can be used to highlight issues among students. This way, students’ questions can be referred to a jointly scheduled session.
Marking templates
Regarding requests for disclosure of correct solutions, marking templates are public documents that can be requested and thus become public. This means that if there is a marking template, it should be provided to anyone who requests one (both new and former students and anyone else who makes a request). This applies to both old exams and new ones.
If there is no marking template, it is still a good idea from a teaching and learning perspective to make the correct solutions available in some way so that students have a chance to perform better next time. An exam review session could be one option. Teachers are not obliged to produce a marking template; if a teacher does not want to give out written answers to exams, a marking template should not be produced.
Ombudsmen for grading issues
A student who has more serious complaints about the examination procedure can contact one of the University’s specific ombudsmen for grading issues.
Examination at another location
If a student applies to take an exam at another location, the department is responsible for deciding on the matter. Examination at another location requires a higher education institution at the alternative location to commit to arranging and conducting the exam. The change in location should not entail costs for the student. It should be noted that the department is not obligated to conduct an examination at another location.
If a student at another higher education institution applies to take an exam at Uppsala University, the department in question determines whether it has the ability to arrange a space and take practical responsibility for the exam. It should be noted that the department does not have any obligation to give students at other higher education institutions the opportunity to take exams at Uppsala University.