Students’ Perspectives on the Grade Explanation and Appeal Process in Higher Education in Norway

Abstract

Students in higher education in Norway have many rights. By law, they can ask for explanations for and/or make an appeal about a grade. The number of explanations requested by students has increased in recent years. This article focuses on explanations and appeals after students have received an exam grade. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through an online survey of students at a higher education institution (n = 502). The findings showed that half of the respondents had asked for explanations 1–3 times, and that in most cases the motivation was curiosity about the reasons behind their grades. However, the students found that the explanations they received were general and not always helpful. Over 50% of the students appealed a grade because they disagreed with the result, whereas 30% appealed because they had failed and thus had nothing to lose. This article contributes to the literature by describing how the explanation and appeal process works in Norway. Our insights should be interesting to students, lecturers, and administrators in higher education institutions, both in Norway and abroad.