Disciplinary measures for students

Aarhus University’s rules of 1 January 2013 regarding disciplinary measures for students at Aarhus University.

Pursuant to Section 14(9) of Danish (Consolidation) Act No. 652 of 24 June 2012 on Universities (the University Act) (Universitetsloven) and Section 30 of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education’s Ministerial Order no. 666 of 24 June 2012 on University Examinations and Grading (the Examination Order) (Eksamensbekendtgørelsen), the following is stipulated:

Regulations etc.

1.-(1) During their studies at the university, students should conduct themselves in a considerate and proper manner to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the university.

(2) Students must thus show consideration for other students and staff and for the university’s premises, buildings and property when they are at the university. This means, among other things, that loud behaviour, eating, drinking, smoking etc. are not tolerated in a manner or in areas where this causes inconvenience for others.

(3) Students are – even more so – under an obligation to comply with rules or safety regulations on signs, advertisements or in house rules in laboratories, at libraries, in classrooms, exam rooms and conference rooms, in hallways and in canteens.

(4) Students must also comply with the rules laid down by the university or which are applicable at the university, including rules governing the holding of exams.

Handling violations

2. Students are under an obligation to follow directions and instructions from the university staff regarding compliance with the rules mentioned in Section 1.

3.-(1) Cases concerning the breach of rules are normally handled by the person responsible for the relevant room or the relevant activity, i.e. the director of studies (in connection with teaching-related problems), the department head (in connection with problems on the department’s premises) or the dean (in connection with cases which do not belong under a specific director of studies or department head).

(2) The person in charge may summon the student for an interview about the matter and may, if necessary, issue an oral or written warning to the student not to repeat the violation.

Informing the rector

4.-(1) Upon repeated or serious violations of the rules in Section 1, including the requirement for considerate and proper conduct, the person in charge may report the incident to the rector.

(2) In cases of suspected cheating at an exam which comes to the attention of the study administration for the courses or the specialist teacher, the relevant person conducts a preliminary investigation of the case and reports the matter to the rector if he/she finds reasonable grounds for the suspicion. Suspected cheating at an exam which comes to the attention of examination supervisors, e.g. in connection with written exams, is also reported to the rector.

(3) Other serious breaches of academic discipline, including breaches of academic ethics, are also reported to the rector. Examples include the falsification of documents issued by the university, abuse of data/data hacking, unauthorised use of software, violation of data security or theft/abuse of the research findings or works of others.

(4) Any crimes committed at the university (e.g. threats, violent behaviour, vandalism, arson, theft) are reported to the rector immediately. This is done with a view to the rector deciding whether to report the incident to the police as well as with a view to considering sanctions pursuant to Section 5 in cases where the incident impacts the functioning of the university.

(5) Reports to the rector must be submitted in writing or must as soon as possible be followed by a written account of the case in a way which can form the basis for presenting the case to the student.

Sanctions

5.-(1) The rector may impose the following sanctions:

• Issue of a warning
• Cancellation of exam
• Temporary or permanent expulsion from the university.

(2) Cancellation of exam may take place in cases where cheating at an exam/violation of exam rules is detected. Cancellation of exams means that the student has used one examination attempt by registering for the exam in question but that that the student’s exam performance will not be assessed. Any mark already awarded will be cancelled. The cancellation may include all exams during the same examination period (summer or winter exams, respectively). If, pursuant to the exam rules, more than one exam must be passed during the same examination period, expulsion from one of the exams means that the results from all the exams are cancelled.

(3) Expulsion from the university can take place in connection with serious or repeated violations of the rules mentioned in Section 4(1)-(4), or where the rector finds that it is necessary to impose this serious sanction to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the university or to ensure the public’s confidence in the exams conducted at the university.

(4) Expulsion from the university means that the student is deleted from the annual register of students and must return his/her student identity card and that the student is excluded from all activities at the university, including all participation in classes or exams. In connection with temporary expulsion, the student has the right to readmission on the annual registry of students at the end of the expulsion period.

(5) When deciding whether a student should be expelled and whether such expulsion should be temporary or permanent, focus should, among other things, be on the actual damage inflicted on the university as a result of the violation, any prior warnings, the risk of repeated incidences, the need to maintain the public’s respect for the work performed at the university as well as on whether sufficient allowance can be made for the university’s interests by choosing a less serious sanction.

Procedure

6.-(1) The person in charge must ensure that the provisions set out in the Danish Public Administration Act (Forvaltningsloven) are complied with, including that the student is given the opportunity to make a statement in the case before a decision is made.

(2) The person in charge may summon the student to an interview to obtain more details in the case. The student is entitled to bring an observer.

(3) A decision made by a subordinate manager may be brought before the rector. The rector’s decision may be referred to the Danish Agency for Universities and Internationalisation, see Section 46(1) of the Examination Order.

Commencement

7.-(1) These rules come into force as of 1 January 2013.

(2) The rules regarding disciplinary measures for students at Aarhus University of 1 November 2004 are hereby repealed.