Equitable assessment
The University of Bern promotes equal opportunities during evaluation procedures. Following the Action Plan for Equal Opportunities 2025-2028, as well as the SNSF EDI guidelines, the University is committed to
- Identifying and addressing themes related to equal opportunities in assessment
- Analysing existing data and new insights on equal opportunities in assessment
- Eliminating obstacles to equal opportunities within the evaluation processes
- Assisting the academic community in fostering safe and inclusive work environments.
As a key part of our engagement for responsible assessment, in conformity with the San Francisco Declaration (DORA), the University of Bern pays special attention to eradicating personal and systemic biases – prejudices and misconceptions that negatively influence decision-making processes. Find out more on our debiasing culture in the video down below!
Subjective judgments, previous conceptions or unconscious prejudices affect how we weigh options and make decisions in evaluation processes (review, promotion, hiring and more). To prevent unfair treatment and unequal opportunities, the University of Bern is committed to recognize biases, while creating structural and institutional programmes to reduce them. To raise awareness on this topic, the Office for Equal Opportunities (AFC) provides workshops on request. All university members with a Switch account can access online modules on implicit bias provided by the University of Lausanne.
As part of the action plan of the San Francisco Declaration on Responsible Assessment, you can also download DORA debiasing tools.
How to assess equally
The University adopts several measures to ensure equality in assessment:
We set clear and transparent criteria
The University of Bern encourages to set transparent and context-based criteria when producing qualitative and quantitative assessments, thus reducing the risk of cognitive biases and subjective decisions.
We guide assessors in the assessment process
The Office for Equal Opportunities (AFG) supports evaluation processes through the guide "Hiring Process at the University of Bern – With Special Consideration of Equal Opportunities". An equal opportunity officer participates as a non-voting observer in structural and election committees for appointing full and associate professors, as well as tenure-track assistant professors. Additionally, each committee includes a designated faculty member responsible for gender and equality matters. Each structural and election committee must include representation from at least one person of each gender. Diversity is encouraged in all evaluation panels.