Exclusion of student for cheating on the exams was invalid

In the autumn of 2021, a student at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences retook an exam in a subject she had previously failed. During the grading process, a plagiarism check revealed text similarity with her previous submission. The similarity consisted of the student’s reuse of two paragraphs from her previous submission without citing it as a source.

The student’s exam was annulled, and she was expelled from the university for two semesters and barred from taking exams at any institution under the University and College Act for the same period. The Joint Appeals Board upheld the decision. The Supreme Court concluded that the student’s reuse could not be considered cheating and that the expulsion decision was invalid.

The Supreme Court stated that the student, objectively, had violated the Regulations applicable to exam submissions at the time. However, the act could not be considered cheating because the hidden reuse in this case was not unlawful.

The central aim of the prohibition of hidden reuse is to prevent a student from receiving double credit for the same content. As the reused text came from a failed exam submission, the reasoning for the prohibition did not apply.

The Supreme Court also noted that both the Act and Regulations have been amended since the student’s exam submission, so the reuse would not be considered as cheating today.

The ruling clarifies the conditions for expulsion due to hidden reuse.

Read the judgment from the Supreme Court (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Area of law: Section 4-8, see section 4-7 of the University and College Act and section 8-1 of the Regulations

Key paragraphs: 53-54, 58-60, 65-67

Justices: Webster, Bull, Falch, Steinsvik, Sæther