Complaints
As a student, you have the right to submit complaints or comments if you feel that something is wrong or does not work as it should. You also have the right to report or to apply for a reevaluation/reconsideration or appeal certain decisions.
How to file a complaint
If you have a complaint, it can be submitted orally or in writing. If the complaint requires an investigation and thus must be handled as a case, the complaint must be submitted in writing, unless the person handling the case deems it not necessary. In the complaint, you must state what the complaint is about. The complaint should state the circumstances that in your opinion form the basis of the complaint.
More information can be found under each heading, depending on the type of complaint you have.
Complaints about a course/module
If you as a student have complaints about a course/module, you should in the first instance turn to the responsible teacher on the course. If you feel that it does not work, or if you for other reasons want to involve someone else, you can follow the contact order in the list below.
- Teacher
- Course coordinator / examiner
- Programme Director
- Head of Department
- Dean of School
- Vice-Chancellor
Contact information is available on your school’s website.
School of Business, Innovation and Sustainability
School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Information Technology
General view on a course
If you instead want to present general views or complaints regarding a course/module, then the course evaluation that is carried out after each completed course is the correct channel to use.
Complaints about grades
If you believe that your examination assignment has been misjudged and you can show that, for example if you and another student have answered the same at an assignment but received different numbers of points, you have the possibility to request that the examiner reconsider the grade. This must be reported in writing to the examiner and what change you request. The examiner then makes a reconsideration and informs you of the decision. The review may or may not lead to a change in the grading decision. This decision cannot be appealed.
If you intend to request a review, for example if you are very close to another grade, you should not retrieve your original examination paper from Service Center. Ask for a copy of the examination assignment when you collect it. It is not permitted to change the stated answers or the examiner's assessment afterwards.
Written requests for review
To request a review of grades, contact the examiner in writing and explain in what way you think the grade is wrong and what change you request. It is important that you are clear about what it is you perceive as wrong and why and in what way you think the decision should be changed. The examiner then reviews the case and informs you of the decision. The review may lead to a change in the grading decision made or that no change is made. This decision cannot be appealed.
Typing error or calculation error?
A decision on grades that contains an obvious inaccuracy as a result of typing errors, calculation errors or similar oversight, may be corrected in accordance with paragraph 36 of the Public Administration Act, both to the advantage and to the detriment of you as a student. According to chapter 6, Paragraph 23 of the Higher Education Ordinance such a decision on amendment is made by the examiner. You as the student concerned should be given the opportunity to express yourself.
Request of another examiner
If you have failed in an examination twice for a course or part of a course, you have the right to request another examiner appointed, unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6, Paragraph 22 of the Higher Education Ordinance). You make such a request to the Analyst at your school. Contact information to the Analyst can be found on your school's website.
School of Business, Innovation and Sustainability
School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Information Technology
Complaints about degree programmes
If you have a complaint about your degree program or Halmstad University's organisation, you should always first and foremost turn to the person who is directly affected by your complaint, often this is the programme director. Contact information is available on each program page on hh.se. If you feel that it does not work to turn to the programme director or if you want to send the question onwards, you can contact the education officer at your school. Contact information for each education leader can be found on your school's website.
School of Business, Innovation and Sustainability
School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Information Technology
Complaints about behavior/conduct and general issues
Halmstad Student Union has an ombud for students and PhD students who protects your rights as a student and supports all students at Halmstad University. You can contact the representative when you experience a problem concerning your education or your study circumstances, for example questions regarding rights, experiences of unfair treatment and application of rules and regulations during, for example, an examination or in a syllabus.
Ombud for students and PhD students
You can also turn to Service Center with general questions, for example if you feel that something does not feel right or is not working properly.
You can contact Service Center on 035-16 71 00 or servicecenter@hh.se.
Complaint on a decision
If you have a complaint about a decision in an educational matter, such as admission, degree, transfer of credits, or a study break, you should contact the person who made the decision to have the reasons clarified.
