Exam complaints

Exam complaints

• Deadline for complaints
• Filing a complaint
• What is your position during the complaint process?
• Processing of the complaint
• The decision
• Appeal of the decision
• Errors and deficiencies in exams

Deadline for complaints
If you wish to complain about the progress of the exam or the assessment itself, you can file an exam complaint. Exam complaints must be submitted within two weeks of the grade being announced on student.dtu.dk. The deadline for oral examinations is two weeks after the examination is held. However, the days from 24 December to 1 January are not included in the calculation of the complaint deadline.

Prior dialogue with the assessor
It is recommended that you discuss your exam answer/performance with the assessor before you submit an exam complaint. You must be aware that contacting or attempting to contact the lecturer does not have a suspensive effect on the appeal deadline. That is, it does not extend the two-week time limit for appeal, which must, therefore, continue to be complied with. In the complaint, you can, for example, state that you will send a detailed complaint or withdraw the complaint after you have had the opportunity to discuss it with the assessor.

A conversation with the assessor about the exam answer/performance will not affect the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs' assessment of the complaint. The sole purpose is for you to gain an understanding of and an explanation for the assessment given, which may lead to you no longer wishing to complain or wishing to withdraw an already submitted complaint, or to provide a better justification for your complaint.

A possible conversation with the assessor about an exam answer/performance cannot lead to a changed assessment unless an error in the assessment is discovered.

Filing a complaint
An exam complaint must be submitted via the Exam Complaint System eksamensklager.dtu.dk.

When the complaint has been submitted in the Exam Complaint System, you receive a receipt and an information email via your student email.

Complaints about part exams can only be submitted as part of a complaint about the final grade or other assessment in the course.

A complaint can be submitted on your own behalf, but it is also possible to add co-complainants if several people want to complain together, e.g. about the assessment of a group project. Co-complainants receive a copy of the emails sent to the person who sent the complaint and have viewing access to the system only. It is important to obtain consent from any co-complainants before adding them to the complaint in the system.

Complaints can be submitted regarding the following:

1. Legal issues (e.g. non-compliance with rules and legislation)
2. The basis for examination (questions, assignments, etc.)
3. The exam process 
4. The assessment 

The complaint must state what is being complained about and what is desired to be achieved as a result of the complaint. As the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs makes a decision based on the complaint, the assessor's opinion, and any of your supplementary comments, you should, in the reason for the complaint, compare your exam performance with the course's learning objectives, elaborate on the course of the exam or the like. Complaints without justification will be returned to you, requesting further information. If you do not elaborate on your complaint, the complaint will be processed based on the available information.

The complaint must be able to be sent to the assessor as it appears. In its decision, the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs cannot include information that you do not wish to pass on to the assessor. Complaints about teaching/lecturer/supervisor must be submitted to the board of studies at the department where the course is offered or where the lecturer is employed. Read more on student.dtu.dk under 'Study rules/Teaching/Complaints about teaching and supervision'.

If the complaint does not concern dissatisfaction with the exam but rather offensive or abusive behaviour, and you want help and guidance to handle this or want to report the lecturer/supervisor or others for offensive behaviour, you must not send an exam complaint as described above. Instead, please refer to these guidelines for offensive behaviour.

The total case processing time for exam complaints in 2025 is approximately 5-6 months from the time the complaint is received until a decision has been made. You may continue in the programme according to the applicable rules while the complaint is processed.

Complaints about exams in courses at DTU Admission Course must be submitted to DTU Admissions Course. Contact information can be found on DTU's website here.

What is your position during the complaint process?
If you plan to participate in the re-exam in the course to which your examination complaint relates, and a decision has not yet been made regarding the complaint, the following applies:

• If you are offered a new assessment (re-assessment) or new exam (re-exam) and accept this offer, the result of any re-exam will be cancelled, and it will be the result of the new assessment/re-exam that applies. The new assessment/exam does not count as an exam attempt.
• If your complaint is not upheld, the result of a possible re-exam will still be valid, and an exam attempt has been used.

If the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs manages to make a decision on the matter before the re-exam is held, but after the registration and de-registration deadline for the exam has expired, you must contact the Study Administration if you wish to be registered or de-registered for the re-exam. Read more on student.dtu.dk under 'Study rules/Exam'/'Registration and withdrawal'.

Processing of the complaint
The assessor(s) access your complaint in the Exam Complaint System.

The assessor(s) he assessor(s), including a possible external examiner, must make an academic opinion based on the complaint. The statement must contain an explanation of the assessment and respond to all of your academic complaints. When the assessors have submitted their opinion, the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs will make the opinion available to you in the Exam Complaint System. You then have the opportunity to make any further comments before a decision is made. This is called a hearing. You have two weeks to comment on the statement from the assessor(s).

The Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs may choose to hear the assessor(s) again if the student's comments give rise to it, just as the assessors' further comments can be sent in hearing to the student if the assessor's comments contain new information of material importance to the decision of the case.

When the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs believes that the case has been adequately clarified, a decision is made based on the complaint, the assessors' statement(s), and your possible comments, if any. You receive an email via your student email when a decision has been made.

If an exam complaint does not deal with academic issues but only legal or technical issues, e.g. regarding the conduct of a written exam, the case will often be handled without consulting the assessor.

The decision
The decision on the matter may be one of the following: 

1. You are offered a new assessment (re-assessment) of a written assignment by new assessors.
2. You are offered a new exam (re-exam) by new assessors if necessary.
3. Your complaint is not upheld.
4. If the exam includes both a written assignment and an oral exam, you are offered a combination of 1., 2., and 3.

Neither the assessor nor the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs has the authority to raise or lower your grade.

If you are offered a new assessment or exam, you have two weeks to accept the offer via The Exam Complaint System. Acceptance of the offer is binding on you, and the new assessment will replace your original assessment, which is cancelled. You must know that a new assessment or exam may result in a lower grade. It is not possible to complain about the new assessment/the new exam unless the complaint concerns legal issues.

Appeal of the decision
Appeal of academic issues
If you do not accept the decision on your exam complaint, academic issues in the decision can be appealed to a board of appeals. The appeal must be filed within two weeks of the decision being announced to you via the Exam Complaint System. It must be justified in writing and submitted to studenterklager@dtu.dk using your email address. The case number from the exam complaint in the Exam Complaint System must appear in the appeal.

The decision is made by a board of appeals of 4 members appointed specifically to make a decision on the matter, comprising two external examiners, a lecturer, and a student within the relevant subject area. The decision of the board of appeals may be:

1. You are offered a new assessment (re-assessment) of a written assignment by new assessors.
2. You are offered a new exam (re-exam), usually by new assessors.
3. You are offered a combination of 1st and 2nd if the exam includes both a written assignment and an oral exam.
4. Your complaint is not upheld.

The board of appeals is in no position to lower or raise your grade. The decision of the board of appeals cannot be further appealed to other authorities regarding academic issues, and the board's decision is final.

Complaint against legal issues
Complaints against legal issues can be referred to the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science. Legal issues can be e.g. non-compliance with the educational rules that apply to the education and whether other legislation (e.g. the Public Administration Act) and the general principles of administrative law have been complied with. The deadline for submission of an appeal is two weeks from the day the decision is announced to you. The appeal must be submitted to the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs via studenterklager@dtu.dk. In the appeal, the case number from the exam complaint in the Exam Complaint System must appear.

When DTU receives an appeal about a decision, the decision is reassessed based on the information you provided in the appeal. In this connection, DTU may decide to reopen the case if the appeal contains information that is of significant importance to the case or if significant case-handling errors have occurred in the original processing of the case.

If DTU chooses to maintain the original decision, DTU will prepare a statement about the decision and the appeal. The statement will be sent to you, and you can comment on it. Finally, the entire case will be sent to the Agency for their consideration. The processing time at the Agency is currently approximately six months.

Errors and deficiencies in exams
If the Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs or a board of appeals in connection with the processing of an exam complaint becomes aware that there have been errors and deficiencies in an exam, the Office decides on how the error or deficiency can be remedied. That may be with or without the participation of the original assessors. The Office's processing of this type of case does not follow the rules on exam complaints but the Examination Order.

If your exam complaint contains significant complaints that do not relate to the errors and deficiencies that occurred during the exam, the Office will also address these complaints.

In the event of errors or deficiencies of a particularly serious nature, or where it must be considered the most correct way to remedy the error or deficiency, the Office may cancel the exam and arrange for an extraordinary new exam.

In the event of other significant errors and omissions, the Office may offer the student an extraordinary new exam. The offer must be extended to all students whose exam is affected by the error or deficiency in question. Students may choose to retain the original assessment, even if they have participated in the extraordinary re-exam.