Regulations for special course and examination arrangements using the ZNORD examination code
University of Bergen, Dept. of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Approved by the Programme Board for Nordic Languages and Literature, October 14, 2013
1. Exchange students may apply for special course or examination arrangements using the ZNORD examination code. Students enrolled in a programme of study at a Norwegian university or university college may not apply, nor may Norwegian students enrolled in programmes outside of Norway.
2. The ZNORD code may be used for any course with a code beginning with ISL, NOFI, NOLI (except NOLISP), NOSP or NORAN. Such a course is called an «ordinary course» below. The code may be used by one student for two or more courses. The code is not used when the student follows the ordinary-course regulations.
3. A course with a ZNORD examination may not be used as part of any specialization in Nordic Languages and Literature in a degree from a Norwegian university or university college.
4. The student may apply to use partly individualized course readings, e.g. with a stronger focus on Norwegian readings rather than readings in the other Nordic languages. The teacher with course responsibility will approve this to the extent that he/she deems it acceptable within the ordinary-course regulations, and he/she will help the student to make a list of course readings.
5. A written examination (or compulsory assignment) may be written in Norwegian (Bokmål, Nynorsk), Danish, Swedish or English; no application is needed. The student may apply to use a different language than those mentioned; this will be approved only as far as the examiners (or teachers) know the language in question. The examination (or assignment) question paper will in any case be written in the variety of Norwegian specified for the ordinary course.
6. In an oral examination (or compulsory assignment), the student may speak Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or English; no application is needed. The student may apply to use a different language than those mentioned; this will be approved only as far as the examiners (or teachers) know the language in question. The examiners (or teachers) will in any case speak Norwegian or, in some cases, Danish or Swedish.
7. The assessment will be based on the student’s knowledge and skills in relation to the course readings. The student’s practical skills in written or spoken Norwegian or other language used in the examination are not subject to assessment. The diploma issued by the University of Bergen will state which language the student used in the examination.
8. The student may apply to use one bilingual dictionary between a Nordic language and a non-Nordic language at the examination; this will be approved as long as the dictionary does not give the student significant amounts of information not available to the other students. Information standardly found in dictionaries is allowed, but e.g. detailed grammar overviews may prevent approval, depending on the course readings. If there is no bilingual dictionary between the Nordic language in question and a language that the student knows, the use of more than one dictionary may be approved.
9. The student may apply for the examination to be held at a different date than the ordinary-course examination. This will be approved only if the student documents that he/she cannot sit for the examination at the ordinary date because he/she has to be at his/her home institution at that time, or for some similarly compelling reason.
10. The student may apply for a different kind of examination than the ordinary-course examination, e.g. an oral rather than a written exam or vice versa, a different paper length, etc. This will be approved only if the student documents that this is necessary because of the regulations at his/her home institution, or for some similarly compelling reason.
11. The student may apply for the examination to be assessed with «pass» or «fail» rather than with the A–F grading scale, or vice versa. This will be approved without any documentation from the student; the student himself/herself must make sure that the assessment in question is acceptable to his/her home institution.
12. The student may apply to have the course with a different credit (ECTS) size than the ordinary course. This will be approved only if the student documents that this is necessary because of the regulations at his/her home institution, or for some similarly compelling reason. The amount of course readings must be adjusted proportionately and must be approved by the teacher with course responsibility, who will also help the student to make a list of course readings.
13. The student may choose not to sit for the examination, but rather require a certificate of participation in the course classes. He/She will then have to get the teacher’s signature after each class and present this documentation to the department’s examination officer at the end of the course. A certificate of participation may only be issued if the student has participated in at least 80 percent of the classes. The University of Bergen does not give ECTS credits with such a certificate, but the certificate will contain information about how many ECTS credits the course would have given had the student sat for the examination and passed it.
14. These regulations apply from the spring term of 2014.