Let us know!

The university welcomes your feedback! Feel free to report everything from small practical stuff to serious matters such as sexual harassment. You can also give positive feedback.

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Insofar as it affects the learning environment, you can report anything that has taken place during teaching, practical work or something that happened during your spare time.

You can report situations involving other students and/or staff.

NB! In the event of immediate danger to life and health, contact the emergency services! Read more on our emergency pages

Serious and critical matters - Red category

If someone or something in your learning environment poses a serious danger to people, the environment or material values, please let us know.

Examples of serious matters:

  • Bullying/harassment
  • Unwanted sexual attention
  • Breach of research ethical guidelines, plagiarism etc.
  • Financial misconduct
  • Critical IT failure or vulnerability (see separate link below)

The report may apply to matters that have arisen between students or between staff and students.

You will receive an automatic reply confirming that your report was received. All reports are taken seriously and will be followed up.

Submit a report about serious matters.

You will receive feedback within three working days about how the case will progress and who is handling it.

However, if you do not hear from us, you can contact one of the legal advisers, either Heidi Fosse Mathisen in the HR Department, or Ingrid Stokkeland in the Department of Education.

You will be notified when the case has been processed.

Faults and failures in the learning environment

Here, you can tell us about less serious matters that need to be improved or faults/failures that must be remedied.

Examples of things you can report on this page are:

  •     Dirty toilets
  •     A bad indoor environment (air quality, clutter, rubbish etc.)
  •     Noise/unrest during teaching
  •     Lecture halls that are too small
  •     Deficiencies in the group study rooms
  •     Lack of universal design
  •     Faults and failings in the outdoor environment/campus
  •    IT or other infrastructure

You will receive an automatic reply confirming that your report was received. All reports are taken seriously and will be followed up.

Send a report about faults and failures

You will receive feedback within one week about how the case will progress and who is handling it.

However, if you do not hear anything, you can contact the legal advisers, either Heidi Fosse Mathisen in the HR Department, or Ingrid Stokkeland in the Department of Education.

You will also be notified when the case has been processed. 

Positive feedback

Do you wish to say something positive about your study environment? This can reinforce one's sense of self and inspire others!

If you would like to tell us about a good study environment, a great lecturer, the nice staff in the canteen or a system that «just works», this is the place to do it. 

It is always nice to receive positive feedback. It is as important to take care of and develop things that work well, as it is to correct faults. So, it would be great if you would take this opportunity, and feel free to tell others about our «Let us know» pages.

The university would also like to receive suggestions for improvements. For example, this could be something that works well in another course/programme at UiS, or another educational institution, that you would like to have introduced in your study environment.

The information you enter in this form will go to an officer in the Department of Education. The officer will forward the information to the relevant person and, if necessary, follow it up in another way. You will receive an automatic email confirming that your feedback was received.

Thank you for letting us know!

Submit positive feedback

Please seek advise, support and feek free to discuss the case with our contact persons below. They are all bound the duty of confidentiality:

Head of Section
51832577
Division of Education
Department of Academic Affairs
Section for Quality and Development in Education

You can also contact the student ombudsperson

The student ombudsperson
Who is the student ombudsperson?

Maren Anne Kvaløy is the student ombudsperson at UiS. She is an independent consultant for students at UiS.

What does the student ombudsperson?

The student ombudsperson offers guidance, support and advice to students, as well as ensure that their cases are handled responsibly and correctly by the university. 

Adviser
51831064
Board Secretariat

Prosedyre for varslingssystemet

Studenter på campus

Ønsker du mer informasjon om prosedyrene i Si Ifra, les prosedyredokumentet du finner under her:

Frequently asked questions

Do you have any questions? You might find answers to them here

Studenter rundt et bord

All reported matters will be handled with the utmost confidence. Furthermore, you can submit an entirely anonymous report.

When following the standard reporting procedure, you must state who you are. However, your identity will only be divulged to persons who are essential for the proper processing of the case. 

But if you wish, you can tell us about critical matters anonymously. For this, we have a separate report form that encrypts data and ensures that the report cannot be traced back to the sender.

However, it is important to be aware that following up your report and looking into serious matters may be more difficult if you wish to remain anonymous. This is because UiS has limited ability to investigate the case in more detail by asking you questions.

Furthermore, according to the law, staff accused of harassment have the right of contradiction. This means that they have the right to know what kind of information the accusation is based on. You should also be aware that in certain cases and based on the situation it may become obvious who has made the report.

A good alternative to anonymity is to report in the standard way, but ask that your name be kept confidential as long as possible.

You can find the «Let us know» anonymous form here

As a student, you should be able to report critical matters without fear of reprisal. UiS will do its utmost to protect your interests in this regard.

The University of Stavanger is open to complaints and criticism even when these are directed at its own staff. No one should fear negative consequences by reporting unwanted behaviour.

The Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act (section 14) states:

«It is prohibited to retaliate against anyone who has submitted a complaint regarding breach of this Act, or who has stated that a complaint may be submitted, unless the person in question has acted with gross negligence.

The prohibition in the first paragraph applies correspondingly to witnesses in a complaint case, and to persons who provide assistance in a complaint case.»

It is also forbidden to instruct someone to retaliate or participate in retaliation, according to sections 15 and 16 of the above-mentioned act.

Nevertheless, if you do experience unpleasantness, please contact Director of Human Resources, Halfdan Hagen. 

If for whatever reason you do not want to use the «Let us know» system at UiS, you can submit a report to the public supervisory authorities.

Depending on the type of case, you can contact the following government agencies (all links open in a new window):

As a student, you can notify the public, for example via the press or in social media. However, be careful about directing accusations against your fellow students or the staff in public. Claims that later turn out to be misleading or incorrect can be difficult to rectify afterwards. 

Therefore, you should first consider the following:

  • Can the matter be resolved by reporting it to UiS or the supervisory authorities? 
  • Are there good reasons to inform the public about the matter?
  • Am I prepared for the attention that this could lead to?

If you would like to consult someone, you can contact the StOr (Student Organization of Stavanger) president or the student ombudsperson at UiS. 

Suitability assessments

What do you do when you meet a student who isn't suited for the occupation they are headed into after they complete their education?

Ongoing suitability assessments will take place throughout the course and will be included in an overall assessment of the student's academic and personal aptitude for working as a teacher or in the health or social care professions.

A student is not suitable for the profession if he/she poses a possible danger to children in kindergartens, pupils in schools or patients, clients and users of the health and social services.

The Norwegian Act Relating to Universities and University Colleges legislates for suitability assessments. The Ministry of Education and Research's regulations concerning suitability assessment in higher education gives details of assessments and the processing of cases.

Suitability assessments are now included in several educational courses. At the University of Stavanger, there is a duty to assess students' suitability in the following courses:

  • Preschool Teacher Education
  • Primary School Teacher Education 1st - 7th grade
  • Primary School Teacher Education 5th - 10th grade
  • Lower Secondary School Teacher Education 8th - 13th grade
  • Practical Pedagogical Education (PPU)
  • Special Needs Education
  • Child Welfare Work
  • Social Work
  • Nursing
  • Midwifery
  • Paramedicine
  • Bachelor in leisure-Time Pedagogy
  • Professional Guidance for and with Students and Graduates (VVL100, VVL110, VVL 120)
  • School-Based Practice Teacher Education (VLU125)
  • Professional Guidance in Education and Profession (PVE100)
  • Professional Guidance - Teaching Students to Become Teachers (VLU107)
  • Child Welfare Educator Social Work (socialworker)
  • Master's Degree in Child Welfare
  • Master's Degree in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Work
  • Master's Degree in Specialized Nursing, Anesthesia
  • Master's Degree in Specialized Nursing, Intensive Care
  • Master's Degree in Specialized Nursing, Operating Room Nursing
  • Master's Degree in School Health Nursing
  • Bachelor's Degree in Costums and Border Control

Contact persons for questions regarding suitability assessments:

Associate Professor
51832392
Faculty of Arts and Education
Department of Education and Sports Science
Assistant Professor
51834208
Faculty of Social Sciences
Department of Social Studies

Sexual harassment policy

UiS shall be a gender equal and inclusive university. Here is our policy on sexual harassment.

Neither employees nor students should experience bullying, discrimination or harassment based on nationality, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, gender expression, sexuality, language or disability.

This can only be achieved by respecting each other.

Sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual attention, is not compatible with neither a good working environment nor a good studying environment. It constitutes a form of abuse of power that will not be tolerated.

What is sexual harassment?

The following is stated in sections 6 and 13 of the equality and anti-discrimination act:

Sexual harassment, discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender, pregnancy, leave in connection with childbirth or adoption, care responsibilities, ethnicity, religion, belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or combinations of these factors is prohibited.

«Harassment» means acts, omissions or statements that have the purpose or effect of being offensive, frightening, hostile, degrading or humiliating.

«Sexual harassment» means any form of unwanted sexual attention that has the purpose or effect of being offensive, frightening, hostile, degrading, humiliating or troublesome.

Examples of unwanted behaviour include: 

  • unwanted contact and "groping", tactless/aggressive comments regarding the recipient's body, appearance, clothing or personal life
  • showing pornographic images, whistling and body movements with a sexual undertone
  • sexual initiatives, proposals and hints to exertion of mental and physical pressure to gain sexual favours

Are you in doubt about your own behaviour?

Note the reactions to your behaviour. Would you have modified your behaviour if your partner or children were close by? How would you react if anyone acted this way vis-à-vis your own daughter, son or a friend?

Myths and facts

Statements such as «There is no sexual harassment here» and «I would have enjoyed a bit of sexual harassment myself» contribute to trivialise the problem and assume it is harmless.

Several surveys show that sexual harassment comes in many forms, consciously or unconsciously, with or without intention. It is usually men in senior positions who exploit their status to demand sexual attention from female students or lower ranked women.

If such behaviour is not handled appropriately, it will contribute to a poor working and studying environment.

Managerial responsibility

Anyone in a managerial position shall handle cases involving sexual harassment as soon as she/he becomes aware of the matter.

The employer may be held responsible if the management either knowingly and willingly fails to intervene, or has not done enough to prevent the sexual harassment from taking place. Sexual harassment is the most serious form of troublesome/threatening sexual attention. For thisreason, it is essential that management at the appropriate level is aware of its responsibility and intervenes.

If you are a student at UiS, advice and support are available from:

  • President of StOr
  • The student ombudsperson

If you are an employee of UiS, advice and support are available from:

  • HR department
  • Occupational health services

Have you been the subject of unwanted sexual attention?

Try this:

  • Speak up! Confront the person directly!
  • If you feel it is difficult to speak up in person, write to this person and tell her/him how you experienced the situation.
  • Talk to your immediate supervisor, the one responsible for the course or the teacher. Tell someone you trust about the situation.
  • Report the incident through the Let us Know reporting system on these pages

Feedback

What do you think about these Let us know-pages?

We welcome both positive and negative feedback. We appreciate when you let us know when things are good, as well as bad!

Web editor
51833076
Division of Innovation and Society
Department of Communication and Public Affairs
Head of Section
51832577
Division of Education
Department of Academic Affairs
Section for Quality and Development in Education