Education and Service Policy

The purpose of the Bifröst University Education and Services Policy is to define the University’s services. Among other things, it covers student-employee relations. It is the objective of Bifröst University to provide personal and professional services. This necessitates that both employees and students are participants and take mutually responsibility for constructive and positive relations.

Students at Bifröst University are responsible for their own educational performance. Teaching and guidance on the part of instructors and other employees of the University support learning and management of studies. Students are key participants in Bifröst University’s study programmes, and services and relations with the University’s staff are thus as much their responsibility as that of employees. Studies involve cooperation based on respect and trust, and on students’ and instructors’ interest in acquiring new knowledge and skills and their willingness to take on challenging assignments.

Guidelines and expectations

• Bifröst University strives to offer students education that enhances their knowledge, skills and competences and serves them in their life and work.
• Bifröst University has the objective of preparing students for students for leadership positions in society, emphasising the University’s values: initiative, responsibility and cooperation.
• Bifröst University emphasises quality and professionalism in teaching and teaching methods.
• Instructors do their best to support their students in their studies by:
  • preparing and submitting a clear course plan in a timely manner,
  • diligently preparing their teaching and presenting the curriculum in a clear, understandable way,
  • delivering evaluation of assignments and examinations as per the course plan,
  • evaluating students in a fair and professional manner,
  • supporting the students’ learning as possible.

Students:

• Students show initiative and are responsible for their study progress.
• Students are expected to prepare themselves for in-person meetings with their teachers in accordance with the course plan and their teachers’ instructions, among other things by listening to lectures, reading the course material and participating in discussions.  Students shall also hand in assignments on time.
• Students are responsible for requesting further explanation from the teacher, if needed. This shall be done with reasonable notice and within the time frame set by the teacher. Students shall keep in mind that teachers require time to respond to students’ questions.
• Students shall acquaint themselves with and respect completely rules on academic work methods, for example on intellectual property rights and handling of sources.

Relations:

• Bifröst University stresses that mutual respect shall be upheld in all communications, whether taking place in the classroom or via another communications medium.
• All parties shall make an effort to show courtesy and respect in their relations.
• Communication between students and instructors takes various forms. However, the instructor shall specify in the course plan what preferred communications media are to be used during the course.
• E-mail is a common mode of communication between instructors and students. Instructors shall endeavour to respond to e-mails as promptly as possible. However, instructors cannot be required to communicate with students outside of normal working hours.
• It is important that all students be able to follow all discussions and communication between students and instructors within a course that relate to the course materials and explanations thereon. 
• Students are encouraged to take active part in discussions in groups created for individual courses in the learning management system, on Facebook or on other social media.

Reviewed at a meeting of the University Council, May 15th 2019

Approved by the Rector, June 4th 2019

_{This is a translation of the document Náms- og þjónustustefna. In the event of any discrepancies between the translation and the original text, the original shall take precedence.}