Covid-19 - back to normal

Recently, we have registered several concerns regarding the current infection situation in society. We understand that you are worried about whether it is safe to attend school exams. Like in the rest of society, it is important that you do not attend exams if you are sick or have symptoms of COVID-19. We are continuously following the regulations and advice from Norwegian health authorities, and are prepared to adjust the way we conduct exams if any new local or national measures are introduced. 

70% of all school exams have already been replaced with home exams 
In total, BI is carrying out around 82% of all exams as digital home exams. At the start of this semester, 70% of the exams that were initially school exams were changed into digital home exams. 

Why is BI conducting school exams in some courses? 
The reason that BI is arranging school exams in the remaining 30% of the planned school exams is solely to secure the best possible basis to assess learning outcomes in the course, and to have a solid foundation to set letter grades. If we were to conduct home exams in these courses, the assessment would have to be changed to pass/fail. These are courses that are best suited to test in an examination venue with supervision that limit the possibilities of cheating. 

The letter grades will secure you the best basis for further studies, such as exchange and admission to master’s programmes and other educational establishments, nationally or internationally, where letter grades are important and/or a requirement.  

Room capacity
In general, there will be between 50 and 100 students per room/section during the examination period. The maximum number of students in each room or section will be 250, but this only applies to a small number of exams.

We ask all students to stay at home in case of illness or if you experience symptoms of COVID-19. Self-certification is sufficient documentation in case of illness/absence, but remember to submit the form within three business days.

If you do get sick, or for other compelling reasons do not complete your exam, there will be no requirement in the autumn semester 2021 for students to provide a doctor’s certificate as documentation of valid absence from an exam.

We understand that you are worried about whether it is safe to attend school exams. Like in the rest of society, it is important that you do not attend exams if you are sick or have symptoms of COVID-19. We are continuously following the regulations and advice from Norwegian health authorities, and are prepared to adjust the way we conduct exams if any new local or national measures are introduced.  

Few registered infection cases among students 
The amount of registered infection cases at BI has been very low in the past weeks. In general, there will be between 50 and 100 students per room/section during the examination period. The maximum number of students in each room or section will be 250, but this only applies to a small number of exams. 

School exams are arranged with good distance between desks. There should be hand sanitizers at all entrances, and face masks are available for those that want to use this in the examination venue 

Do you need someone to talk to?

• Click here for more information about useful resources available to you as a student.

After the exam period, we will consider the need for extraordinary re-sit examinations for some courses if there has been exceptionally low attendance in some exams.  

Do you have questions regarding ordinary re-sit examinations?

• Click here for more information about the possibilities of re-sitting examinations.

Even though most people's everyday lives have returned to normal, the pandemic is not over. The following rules and advice apply:

• Keep good hand hygiene and cough etiquette. Avoid handshakes.
• Stay home and get tested if you have new respiratory symptoms or a fever. This applies also if you are vaccinated.
• You must go into isolation and are asked to notify BI if you have a confirmed case of Covid-19.
• While it is only advised in Trondheim, it is mandatory in Bergen to use face masks indoors when you cannot keep a distance to others.

For more information, please visit Regjeringen.no.

• Hand sanitizers will remain available on campus
• Students and employees can still pick up self-test kits and face masks in the reception 
• Enhanced cleaning 

Stay updated on national and local governments recommendations:

• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• The City of Oslo
• The City of Bergen
• The City of Trondheim

Updated 29 November 2021

Newly registered cases of infection at BI.

November (as of 29 November):

To monitor the situation, we would still like you to inform us if you are infected with the coronavirus. Use the form below to register. Cases of covid-19 will be published on web anonymously.

• Students: register here

• Employees: register here

At campus Oslo and Bergen there are free self-tests at the reception. You can use this if you are symptom-free. If you have symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, you must not show up on campus but take a regular test at a test centre.

Campus Oslo
Students at campus Oslo can also get self-tests by approaching Infohub.

As a BI student you can make an appointment to be tested for COVID-19 by SiO’s health services. Please find more information on how to book an appointment and the testing procedures here. 

Campus Bergen
The test centre at Festplassen has a great capacity for students to get tested. It takes around 10-15 minutes to walk from campus Bergen to Festplassen.

Students at campus Bergen can also get self-tests in the reception on campus.

Campus Trondheim 
Trondheim municipality has established several rapid test stations where students can get tested.

Campus Stavanger 
Students can get tested at Strandkaien below Stavanger concert hall between 16:00-20:00. Here you can also find other test stations in the region.

Guidelines for teaching
Teaching is now carried out as normal, with no distance or mask requirements. You will no longer have to sign up for classes, and there are 100% capacity in the classrooms.

If you are ill or in quarantine, you can watch lectures via live streams. Lectures will normally not be recorded. Be aware that we might make changes depending on the infection situation and the current guidelines.

Teaching model for full-time students
As a student, you will mainly have weekly lectures in all courses. In addition, it is also expected that you follow the digital teaching plan in the learning platform. By being active and present, both physically and digitally, you will increase your learning experience and get to know your fellow students better.

Teaching model for Executive students
We encourage and expect Executive students to participate in physical lectures on campus. To accommodate those who are still unable to participate in person, BI will offer a digital alternative throughout the remaining semester. 

Note that some courses use a pedagogy that is not suitable for digital formats. It is important that you pay attention to relevant course information from your coordinator and in your course room on itslearning/Itsendi.

Live stream and recording of lectures for full-time students
We recommend coming to campus to take an active part in the lectures and other campus-based activities. However, BI will continue to stream all full-time courses throughout the remaining semester. 

Lectures attended by international students who are prevented from travelling to Norway will also be recorded to ensure an offer across time zones. Please note that recorded lectures will only be offered as long as the pandemic prevents students from travelling to Norway.

Learning resources and course information
All learning resources for your courses can be found on itslearning. This is also where the recordings of the lectures will be posted.

FHI will allow students to vaccinate in the city they study in, regardless of their nationally registered address. In addition, students will have the opportunity to get the two vaccine doses set in different cities.

We advise our students to register their request for vaccination in the city they are staying in. The registration will not place you forward in the queue for vaccination, but is especially important for those that are staying in a different city than the one they are nationally registered in.

Oslo

• Register request for vaccination on the city of Oslo's web pages

The city of Oslo offers drop-in for both the first and second dose for all students living in Oslo. 

• The first vaccine dose is offered as a drop-in at the municipality's vaccine centers or by booking an appointment here: https://www.helseboka.app/checkin/staff/922006/login
• If you have received the first vaccine dose in another city, but want the second dose in Oslo, you can register your interest  here: https://www.helseboka.app/checkin/staff/2858577/login
• International students who do not have a Bank-ID or Norwegian identity number need to call the corona helpline at 21 80 21 82 to register their request for vaccination. 

Bergen

• See Bergen municipality's web pages for information regarding the vaccination process. When vaccination has begun on your age group, you can call the corona helpline at 55 56 77 00 to register your request.

Trondheim

• See Trondheim municipality's web pages for information regarding the vaccination process. Students that are staying in Trondheim do not need to register.

Stavanger

• Register request for vaccination at the city of Stavanger's web pages

International students who do not have a Bank-ID or Norwegian identity number need to call the corona helpline at 51 50 72 20 to register their request for vaccination.

Please remember that the local student welfare organisations offer medical services:

Campus Oslo : sio.no
Campus Bergen: sammen.no
Campus Stavanger: studentensbeste.no
Campus Trondheim: sit.no

Student counselling at BI is available by Skype, FaceTime or telephone. Send an email to counselling@bi.no or to The University Chaplain at studentprest@bi.no to make an appointment.

SiO also offers support to students:
https://sio.no/en/health-services/someone-to-talk-to

All campuses are open. The buildings are available to guests in the open rooms. We remind you that the reading places and group rooms are reserved for BI students.

There will no longer be distance or face mask requirements on campus. Antibac dispensers will be available around the building.

International students with a study contract for the 2021 academic year can enter Norway from August 1, 2021. Please find relevant information for your entry to Norway here. 

If a student or employee is infected, we kindly ask the person to register on bi.edu. Cases of COVID-19 will be published anonymously online.