Let us know!

Serious and critical matters - Red category

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

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

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

Sexual harassment policy

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