Police Certificate and Suitability Assessment

There are several types of police certificates, and you will find information about which one will be relevant in your case in your admission letter. The general requirement for a police certificate for students is stipulated in section 4-9 of the Universities and Colleges Act. It is also mentioned in the Regulations on Admission to Higher Education, chapter 6.

If you do not provide a police certificate, you cannot participate in practical training or clinical teaching in the study program. This will result in you losing the right to take exams, delays in your studies, and potentially the loss of the right to study at UiS. You must provide a new police certificate when you are admitted to a study program, even if you have provided one before.

After you have been admitted to a study program, you will find the link to order a police certificate in Studentweb. When ordering the police certificate, you will be redirected to the police website, where the order will be completed by following the steps provided there. The response to the certificate will be sent to your digital mailbox.

After receiving the certificate, go to Studentweb and select "applications." Here, upload the police certificate under "police certificate." Remember that the police certificate should be without remarks. If your police certificate has remarks, it must be submitted directly to your faculty.

Police certificates without remarks will be registered in our system, and it will be noted in Studentweb that the police certificate has been submitted. After registration, the police certificate is normally valid for the duration of your studies.

If UiS finds that there is a need to verify whether there have been any changes to the certificate during your studies, it may request an updated police certificate from the police. In these cases, the student will be informed, cf Act relating to the processing of data by the police and the prosecuting autority § 43.

If you have remarks on your police certificate, it must be submitted directly to the faculty you belong to.

Remarks on the police certificate may result in you not being able to participate in clinical teaching or practical training. The police certificate will be handled by the university's Tribunal for student affairs, which decides whether the remarks require exclusion or not.

It is important to be aware that remarks on the police certificate do not automatically lead to loss of the right to participate in practical studies or clinical teaching. According to the Universities and Colleges Act § 4-9 (4), the Tribunal for student affairs shall assess whether the interests of students, patients, clients, or other vulnerable groups should lead to exclusion from practical training or clinical teaching.

You are responsible for providing documentation of the circumstances underlying the remarks on your police certificate. Applicants with remarks on their police certificate have the right to legal assistance in accordance with the Universities and Colleges Act §4-9, sixth paragraph, from the time a case of exclusion is brought before the institution's Tribunal for student affairs.

Appeals regarding the remarks on a police certificate must be sent to the police. You can appel the police certificate if you

• Disagree with the remarks on the certificate
• Receive a rejection of your application. You must appeal within 3 weeks of receiving the police clearance certificate, and it must be done in writing. See more at www.politiet.no.

After the case has been brought before the Tribunal for student affairs, you will receive a decision. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal within three weeks of receiving the decision. The Joint Appeals Board is the appeals body. More information about the right of appeal can be found in the decision from the Tribunal for student affairs.

After you have been admitted to a study program, log in to Studentweb and find the link to order a police certificate. During the ordering process, you will be redirected to the police website, where the order will be completed.

The response to the certificate will be sent to your digital mailbox. After receiving the certificate, go to Studentweb and select "applications." Upload the file under "police certificate." Remember that the uploaded police certificate should be without remarks. If the police certificate has remarks, it must be submitted directly to the faculty.

Remember to upload the police certificate in Studentweb as soon as you receive it from the police.

After registration, the police certificate is normally valid for the entire duration of your studies.

If UiS finds that there is a need to verify whether there have been any changes to your record during your studies, it may request an updated policecertificate from the police. In these cases, the student will be informed.

The criteria for assessment of suitability are outlined in the Regulation on Suitability Assessment in Higher Education. §§3 and 4.

A student can be assessed as unfit for the profession if the student poses a risk to physical and mental health or to the rights, safety or life of an infant, pupil, patient, client or user the student may come into contact with during their supervised professional training or in their future professional practice.

The continuous suitability assessment starts at the beginning of the semester and persists throughout the duration of the program. Its purpose is to assess whether the student exhibits the academic and personal attributes essential for engaging with vulnerable groups. Suitability is a dynamic process that evolves over time, therefore, increasing demands are placed on the student as the program progresses.

If doubts arise during the ongoing suitability assessment concerning a student's suitability, a report of doubt shall be sent to the institution's responsible party for suitability matters (hereafter "head of suitablity"). The head of suitablity will then review the submitted report and assess whether the doubt is justified. If the doubt is deemed justified, the respective student will be called in for an assessment conversation. The student will then transition to being under a special suitability assessment.

In the invitation to the conversation, the student will receive information about the contents of the report of doubt, the purpose of the interview, and the opportunity to bring a support person to the conversation.

During the assessment conversation, the head of suitability and the secretary for suitability matters will be present. The student has the option to bring a support person to the conversation. This could be, for example, a family member, a friend, or the student ombudsperson at UiS.

Receiving a report of doubt can way heavily on a student. The purpose of the assessment conversation is to give the student the opportunity to explain their perspective on the matter. The head of suitability should present both sides of the matter during the conversation to best assess the student's suitability. During the conversation, the student will have the opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for the profession and should actively participate in shedding further light on the matter.

After the conversation, the student will receive the minutes and have the opportunity to comment on the content. The head of suitability will explain the next steps in the process. Possible outcomes may include the need for more information in the case, offering extended guidance to the student, or closing the case. If there is a need to gather information from outside the organization, the student shall be notified of this and must provide consent for such information gathering. The student may choose not to consent. Such refusal to gather information to clarify the matter may be disadvantageous for the student, and the student shall be informed of this.

The general rule is that the student shall be offered extended guidance if the case is not closed after the assessment conversation. The student chooses whether to utilize this offer. A plan focusing on the challenges relevant to the suitability assessment shall be developed. The plan will be sent to the student, who can provide input and suggestions for changes.

Extended guidance often takes place prior to and in parallel with the practice period, with a focus on guidance, development, and change for the student. After the guidance period, a report will be prepared.

If the head of suitability assesses that the extended guidance and follow-up result in necessary changes and development in the student, the case shall be closed. The student will then be under ongoing suitability assessment, like other students in the program. If extended guidance and follow-up do not lead to necessary changes, the case may be referred to the Tribunal for Suitability.

If the extended guidance has not yielded the desired results, the special suitability assessment will progress to the Tribunal for Suitability, tasked with determining whether the student possesses the essential qualifications for the profession.

It's important to acknowledge that the journey from the special suitability assessment to the Tribunal for Suitability is lengthy. Prior to the case being presented to the tribunal, the student will be afforded the chance to present their perspective, receive extended guidance, and thereby show progress in the areas where concerns have been raised.

If the case goes to the Tribunal for Suitability, the student shall be notified of this and provided information about their rights in the matter. The student has the opportunity to appear before the tribunal when the case is to be considered there. If the tribunal determines that the student is not suitable for the profession, the case will be forwarded for processing and decision by the Tribunal for Student Affairs.

Based on the recommendation from the Tribunal for Suitability and other documentation in the case, The tribunal for Student Affairs makes decisions regarding the student's suitability.

The tribunal may decide on exclusion from the education for up to five years. During this period, the student cannot apply for places in equivalent education programs at universities and colleges in the country. Conditions may be set before the student can resume studies. After the period of exclusion, the student must apply for re-admission if they wish to resume education.

• Right to Appeal
  • The student may appeal the decision of the Tribunal for Student Affairs to the Joint Appeals Board. The deadline for appeal is 3 weeks from receipt of the decision.
• Confidentiality
  • All employees at the University of Stavanger are bound by confidentiality. Confidentiality includes students' personal matters that the employee has become aware of through their work. "Personal matters" encompass various aspects such as information regarding physical and mental health, academic grades, emotional well-being, and social or personal challenges.
  • Cases related to special suitability assessments must be treated with utmost confidentiality. In this context, confidentiality entails that the identities of both the individual reporting doubt and the individual(s) about whom doubt is raised should not be revealed to more individuals than necessary for the subsequent handling of the case.

• Access to case documents and procession personal information
  • Students involved in a suitability case as a party has the right to access case documents, cf. the Public Administration Act §§ 18-20. For individuals not directly involved in the case, access rights are governed by the Public Access to Information Act.
  • The University of Stavanger handles student information in compliance with the Personal Data Act and our privacy policy for students and applicants.
  • Decisions regarding exclusions based on a suitability assessment are documented in the Register of Excluded Students. Information stored in the register will be deleted upon the conclusion of the exclusion period.

• Legal Assistance
  • The student has the right to be assisted by a lawyer or other authorized representative at all stages of the proceedings. If a case is brought before the Tribunal for Suitability, the student is entitled to have reasonable and necessary expenses for a lawyer or other representative covered.

Anyone in contact with the student is encouraged to submit a report if they have doubts regarding the student's suitability. This is done by filling out this form (pdf).The recipient of the report is specified at the bottom of the form, based on the student's field of study. The report should be submitted in writing to the head of suitability within the institution. It is essential that the report is accompanied by reasoning, including a description of the situation and presentation of factual circumstances

See the assessment criteria for the programs (pdf).

For the sake of the possibility of obtaining more information, everyone submitting a doubt report is requested to provide their full name.

In some cases, the person submitting a report of doubt may want to stay anonymous. However, the student involved has the right to familiarize themselves with the case documents , which means that the student generally has the right to know who submitted the report. Anonymization of the reporter may only be done where there are special reasons for it, cf. the Public Administration Act § 19. If you are considering submitting a report anonymously, you can contact the head of suitability for further information.

• Leader, Dean Odd Magne Bakke, the Faculty of Education and Sports Science
• Deputy Chairman, Associate Professor Trond Erik Grønnestad, the Faculty of Health Sciences
• Head of Suitability, Ingunn Øyre, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mette Irene Hvalby, the Faculty of Education and Sports Science
• Professor Ketil Knutsen, the Faculty of Education and Sports Science
• Student representative Jacob Hummelsung Grung
• Student representative Synne Rüppel Alvestad
• Deputy student representative Thomas Kleppa Hanssen 

External members:

• Department Chief Anne Marie Joa, Stavanger University Hospital
• Operations Manager Monica Kapstad Ranck, Kvalaberg Kindergartens
• Police Attorney Torbjørg Ristesund

Secretary:

Miriam Wallenborg