Regulations for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity
Regulations described in this section apply to all students. Specific regulations for undergraduate or postgraduate students are found in the respective sections.
(A) | Student Conduct |
(B) | Academic Integrity |
(C) | Annex: Rules for Conduct of Examinations |
1. | Students are required to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Breaches of these standards of academic integrity include, but are not limited to: Cheating: conduct designed to mislead those responsible for making a judgment on a student’s academic performance or standing, including:
Plagiarism: the presentation of work which originates from other sources, including the work of other students, as the student’s own work, without appropriate attribution to the source. |
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Procedures in Cases of Academic Dishonesty | |||||||||||||||
2. | Where an instructor detects plagiarism or other irregularities in the submission of assignments or other student work for credit the case should be reported to the Head responsible for the course. | ||||||||||||||
3. | Where a student’s supervisor or other member of the University community has reasonable grounds to suspect that a research proposal, components of a thesis or other submitted work contributing to earning an award of the University has been plagiarized, the case should be reported to the Head, except for research postgraduate students, whose cases should be referred to the relevant Dean. |
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4. | Where the invigilator of an examination or test believes that a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty the student should be asked to stop writing and leave the examination/test venue. If the student denies the charge of academic dishonesty, the invigilator should draw a line on the examination/test script to indicate the point when an academic dishonesty is found and allow the student to complete the examination/test. The invigilator should complete a Report on Student Academic Misconduct indicating the circumstances of the case and forward the Report to the Head of the department responsible for the course. | ||||||||||||||
5. | The Head will review cases of academic dishonesty, or may refer the case to colleagues for review. | ||||||||||||||
6. | The student accused of academic dishonesty should be informed of the circumstances of the case and provided with an opportunity to respond to the accusation and to present any relevant evidence. | ||||||||||||||
7. | Where the Head is satisfied that the student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, the Head may impose appropriate sanctions. | ||||||||||||||
8. | The student should be informed of the right to appeal the decision of the Head and may be referred to the Student Affairs Office (SAO) for assistance. | ||||||||||||||
Sanctions | |||||||||||||||
9. | Where a student is confirmed to have committed an act of academic dishonesty, a note will be made in the student’s record. This note will be removed on graduation, provided that the student does not commit more than one offense. | ||||||||||||||
10. | Where a student is confirmed to have committed a second act of academic dishonesty, the student will be dismissed from the University and the notation in the official transcript indicating academic dishonesty will not be removed. | ||||||||||||||
11. | In cases of academic dishonesty the Heads of academic departments may impose additional sanctions:
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Student Appeals | |||||||||||||||
12. | A student who denies the charge of academic dishonesty or who believes that the sanctions imposed are not appropriate may appeal the decision to the Provost. The appeal must be made in writing within fourteen days of the student’s receiving the decision, stating the grounds for the appeal and including any evidence or documentation not previously submitted. | ||||||||||||||
13. | The Provost will review the case or refer the case to colleagues for review. The Provost will give students an opportunity to respond to the accusation and to present any relevant evidence. Students asked to attend a meeting with the Provost or colleagues to whom the case has been referred may be accompanied by a member of their family or a member of the University community. | ||||||||||||||
14. | The decision of the Provost is final. | ||||||||||||||
Referral of Cases of Academic Dishonesty to the Provost and the Student Disciplinary Committee | |||||||||||||||
15. | The Head should refer a case of academic dishonesty to the Provost via the School Dean/Director IPO, where:
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16. | Where the case involves students who are not enrolled on a course or program under the Head to whom the case has been reported, the Provost will refer the case to the Dean/Director IPO responsible for the student’s program of studies. The Dean/Director IPO will review the circumstances and may impose the sanctions available to a Head. | ||||||||||||||
17. | Where the case involves possible conflicts of interest for the Head, the Provost will refer the case to the Dean/Director IPO responsible for the student’s program of studies. | ||||||||||||||
18. | Where the case involves persons who are not members of the University community, the Provost will consider follow-up with the relevant authorities. | ||||||||||||||
19. | If the Provost determines that additional sanctions may be called for, or the University’s interests will be best served, the Provost will refer the case to the Student Disciplinary Committee. | ||||||||||||||
20. | The Student Disciplinary Committee will review the circumstances of the case and may invite the student to attend a meeting of the Committee. Students appearing before the Committee may be accompanied by a member of their family or a member of the University community. | ||||||||||||||
21. | Where the Committee confirms that a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, taking into account any sanctions imposed by the Head of the department responsible for the course, the Committee may impose additional sanctions as follows:
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22. | The Committee may report the academic dishonesty of a student to the Senate. Where there is good cause, on the resolutions of both the Council and the Senate the student may be deprived of a degree or an award of the University. | ||||||||||||||
Student Appeals | |||||||||||||||
23. | Where a case of academic dishonesty has been referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee, students may appeal against the decision to the President. The appeal must be made in writing within fourteen days of the student’s receiving the Committee’s decision, stating the grounds for the appeal and including any evidence or documentation not previously submitted. Normally appeals will be considered only on the basis of procedural irregularities or new evidence. | ||||||||||||||
24. | The President will review the case or refer the case to colleagues for review. The student will be given an opportunity to explain the grounds for the appeal and to present any relevant evidence. Students asked to attend a meeting with the President or colleagues to whom the case has been referred may be accompanied by a member of their family or a member of the University community. | ||||||||||||||
25. | The decision of the President is final. |
Regulations for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity: Annex
(C) Rules for the Conduct of Examinations*
1. | Only students enrolled in the course and who are able to present their student identity cards (or in exceptional circumstances their HKID cards) are allowed to sit for a course examination. |
2. | In the first 30 minutes of the examination, examinees are permitted to leave the venue only in exceptional circumstances. After the first 30 minutes, examinees are permitted to join the examination only in exceptional circumstances. Late comers will not be given extra time for the examination. |
3. | Except for items explicitly permitted for the examination, all books, bags, papers, mobile phones and communication devices etc. must be placed so that they cannot be accessed. |
4. | No conversation is allowed during the examination, unless specifically permitted by the invigilator. Any questions must be addressed to an invigilator. |
5. | Examinees should write only on their answer books or on any supplementary sheets provided for the purpose. All answer books, examination papers and supplementary sheets must be handed in at the end of the examination. Examinees are permitted to remove printed or written materials from the examination room only with the permission of the examiner. |
6. | Examinees may leave the venue to visit the washroom or for any other reason only with the permission of an invigilator and must be accompanied by an invigilator. Examinees may not take away papers, mobile phones or other items. |
7. | Examinees are not allowed to leave the examination room during the last fifteen minutes of the examination and must remain seated until the invigilator has collected all examination answer books and examination papers. |
8. | Invigilators are authorized to expel students from the examination, if they discover cheating or repeated misconduct. |
[* These Rules are not intended to apply to the examination of theses, final year projects, or other similar assessments.]
(Information as of July 2012)