1. The present rules on disciplinary measures relate to student conduct (both actions and omissions) in the following situations:

1. under the auspices of Aalborg University;
2. in any situations equivalent hereto; and
3. in any cases in which students are or should be aware of the effect their conduct might have on the functioning of Aalborg University.

    (2) Under section 1(1), ‘students’ include anyone who is enrolled in a programme or parts hereof at Aalborg University, including students enrolled on ordinary terms, PhD students, visiting students, exchange students etc., single-course students, part-time students and students enrolled in admission courses and upper secondary school single-subject courses.

    (3) The provisions of sections 9 and 16 also apply to applicants for Aalborg University’s bachelor, professional bachelor and master programmes.

     (4) Violations of good scientific practice by PhD students are governed by independent rules and guidelines.

     2. All students are required to conduct themselves in a considerate and decent manner towards fellow students, university staff and all third parties, authorities and companies with whom the university cooperates, so that students do not inconvenience others or cause damage to others or their property. Furthermore, students are required to behave so as not to disturb the functioning of the university and to show consideration for the university's property, buildings and premises. This also applies to student conduct on social media whenever it involves a network for students at Aalborg University or a network set up by Aalborg University.

     3. Students are required to refrain from any disturbing conduct during an exam, and from committing acts or omissions which constitute or contribute to exam cheating. In this context, any type of test is equivalent to an exam.

     4. Students are required to keep themselves informed of and to comply with all rules etc. stipulated by the university or applicable to the university and its students, including codes of conduct and safety regulations, information security rules, regulations for handling personal data (GDPR), exam rules and guidelines on good practice in academic and scientific matters. Students are also required to abide by the instructions and orders issued by university staff and managers regarding compliance with such regulations etc.

      5. Violations of the Danish Criminal Code and Euphoriant Substances Act in connection with activities at Aalborg University are considered a violation of the disciplinary rules and will lead to disciplinary sanctions in addition to being reported to the police.

     6. Students must carry their student ID card, or another type of ID card with photo, and produce it on request.

    7. Exam cheating includes:

1. plagiarism in connection with exams or plagiarism in activities leading to an exam, cf. section 8 for further details;
2. cases where an examinee, before or during an exam, obtains unauthorised assistance in taking an exam;
3. falsifying data for use in an exam;
4. cases where an examinee attempts to influence the assessment or change the basis of the assessment after the exam, including by continuing a response paper after the exam has been concluded;
5. engaging in collaboration that is not allowed, including working together with others on solving individual assignments;
6. use of aids or materials which are not permitted, including mobile phones and internet access
7. failure to comply with guidelines on the use of electronic measures in exams, such as monitoring systems
8. cases where an examinee lets someone else impersonate their identity as the examinee in order to take the exam in question on their behalf; etc.

     8. Plagiarism includes, subject to subsections (2) and (3), cases in which a written paper in whole or in part as produced by the examinee or the examinees themselves, even when the paper:

1. contains an identical or almost identical reproduction of the wordings or works of other authors, without such reproduction being marked by quotation marks, italics, indentation or other clear indication with source reference;
2. contains long passages with wording that is so close to that of another work or similar wording etc. that comparison shows that those passages could not have been written without the use of the other work;
3. contains the use of the wordings or ideas of other authors’ without such other authors being duly credited; or
4. reuses text and/or central ideas from the examinee’s own previously assessed or published works without complying with the provisions of items 1) and 3).

     (2) When a group of students submit a paper together, each student is individually responsible for the entire paper not containing plagiarism, cf. section 8(1).
     (3) The provisions stated in section 8(1) also apply to all other types of assignments and sources in addition to written papers and written sources.

     9. All applicants for bachelor, professional bachelor and master programmes are obliged to inform of any academically relevant matters related to admission including to forward documentation of any passed degree programme elements from any previous education taken.

     10. Students are required to use IT and technical means with consideration for good practice and in accordance with the rules on responsible IT usage. Violations of good practice include misuse of IT, data hacking, improper use of computer programs, illegal file sharing, breach of IT security, or use of student email for private purposes that may affect Aalborg University's reputation.

     11. If there is a suspicion that a student's conduct is contrary to the provisions of parts 2-5, the behaviour must be reported to the manager responsible for the premises, the activity or the programme etc. concerned.
     (2) If the case concerns an exam in progress, and it is established with certainty that exam cheating or disruptive behaviour is taking place, the head of studies, a person authorised by the head of studies or the examiners jointly may expel the student from the examination while it is still in progress. In such cases, the justification for the expulsion will be assessed in connection with the subsequent decision in the case.
     (3) If the case concerns exam cheating, according to subsection (1), in connection with a paper to be used during an exam, the head of studies may postpone the examination if the matter cannot be clarified before the scheduled exam date.

     12. Upon receipt of such an allegation, the manager responsible, subject to subsection (2), must call the student in for an interview to clarify the case. The student is entitled to be accompanied by an observer. If it is not possible to call the student in for a personal interview, communication takes place in writing instead.
     (2) If the circumstances of the case are found to be highly exceptional, the Rector, or the person authorised by the Rector, may decide that the case is wholly transferred to the Rector.

    13. If after clarification of the case, the manager responsible finds that the report is justified, the case must be reported to the Rector in event that the provisions of parts 2-5 are repeatedly or grossly violated or attempted violated and the violations therefore ought to result in the student being expelled from the university.
     (2) A temporary expulsion, according to section 19(3), must be reported without undue delay to the Rector who will initiate administrative procedures upon receiving the information required, cf. section 19(3). Subsequently, the Rector will make the final decision on whether to maintain expulsion, either as temporary or permanent, or whether to change the sanction to a written warning or to remove the sanction altogether.
     (3) As stated in subsection (2), reporting must occur without undue delay. The report must be accompanied by a written account of the case, including information that uniquely identifies each student reported, as well as a brief explanation and all the available evidence pertaining to the case. In the case of reporting of exam cheating or violation of exam rules etc., the exam in question must be specified. It must also be stated if this is a case of repeat violation for one or more of the students in question.
     (4) When reporting plagiarism, the plagiarised parts of the paper must be clearly marked with reference to the sources from which the plagiarised text was taken. The plagiarised text must also be marked in the source text.
     (5) If the programme is offered in English, and one of the students reported is not familiar with Danish, the report must be in English.

     14. The Rector decides the case if the case was reported to the Rector, according to section 13(1), or if the Rector has decided to take over the case based on section 12(2). In any other cases, the relevant manager decides the case.
     (2) The case must be settled in accordance with administrative rules, including the requirements for consultation of the parties involved, basis for the decision and guidelines for appeal. In this context, all written communication to a reported student must be drafted in English if this student is not familiar with Danish, and the programme is offered as an English language programme.

     15. The competent authority, according to section 14(1), must report criminal offences to the police on behalf of the university and, in deciding the case, may impose one or more of the following sanctions, in accordance with the provisions in section 20:

1. A written warning on repeated violations of the rules.
2. Expulsion from an exam.
3. Completely or partially suspending the student’s right to use the university’s IT systems in the event of misuse.

     (2) In addition to the sanctions stated above in subsection (1), the Rector may expel a student from the university in accordance with the provisions in sections 18-19.
     (3) If it is found that plagiarism or attempted plagiarism has taken place, no supervision will be offered to the student in connection with the rewriting of the plagiarised text. However, the head of studies may grant an exemption from this provision in case of mitigating circumstances.

     16. In cases where the duty of disclosure is violated, cf. section 9, the Rector may impose the following sanctions:
     (2) Issuing of a warning.
     (3) Cancellation of the awarded grade for course modules in which the student has wrongfully participated.
     (4) Cancellation of admission or enrolment, in which case the Rector may also determine whether the student in question will be allowed, after a certain period, to apply for admission or enrolment on the same programme or another programme at Aalborg University.

Written warning

     17. A written warning may be issued in specific cases in which the violation of the rules is considered to be mild. Furthermore, a written warning may be issued in conjunction with expulsion from an exam, cf. section 18, or expulsion from the university, cf section 19.

Expulsion from an exam

     18. Expulsion from an examination may take place in cases of exam cheating or violation of exam rules in general.
     (2) Expulsion may take place prospectively or retroactively and means that the student has used an examination attempt and does not receive an assessment of their performance, or has a previously awarded assessment annulled.
     (3) In the subsequent exam in the same activity, the student must prepare a completely new response paper. The head of studies may grant an exemption from this.

Expulsion from the university

     19. Expulsion from the university may take place in case of gross or repeated violation of the rules specified in parts 2-5.
     (2) Expulsion may be temporary or permanent, and, based on the nature of the violation, expulsion may be effective immediately. 
     (3) In case of repeated or gross violations of section 2, or where it is considered necessary out of regard for the university’s uninterrupted operation, the manager responsible may expel a student from the university temporarily with immediate effect.             
     (4) During the period of expulsion, the student is excluded from all activities at the university, including all participation in classes and exams.
     (5) Violation of the provisions of subsection (4) will be considered a gross violation of section 2.
     (6) Any tuition fees covering the period of expulsion will not be refunded or credited to the account of an expelled student.
     (7) Pre-approval of credit transfer or final credit transfer for any study activities intended completed or actually completed at other educational institutions during the period of expulsion cannot be granted.

     20. When deciding whether and to what extent a given sanction is to be imposed on a student, the concrete damaging effect of the violation for the university must be considered, including society’s confidence in the university’s examinations and the preservation of the respect for the work performed by the university. In addition, any prior warnings issued, the risk of repeated violation and whether the university’s interests can be sufficiently safeguarded by imposing a less severe sanction must all be considered.

     21. Decisions made according to these rules may be appealed to the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education if the appeal concerns legal issues. Appeals must be submitted to the Rector at aau@aau.dk. The appeal need not be submitted before any specified deadline. Study Service handles the administrative procedure on behalf of the Rector. If the decision is upheld, Study Service issues a statement on behalf of the Rector, which the student may comment on within a period of at least one week. The appeal is then sent to the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education together with the statement and the complainant’s comments attached.

     22. These rules come into force on 21 October 2019. At the same time, the Rules regarding disciplinary measures for students at Aalborg University of 15 February 2019 are repealed.
     (2) The Rector may stipulate guidelines to the rules.

The above rules (part 1-9) are stipulated pursuant to:

• Section 14(9) in the Danish University Act (Bekendtgørelse af lov om universiteter (universitetsloven)) No. 778 of 7 August 2019;
• Section 9 in the Danish Examination Order (Bekendtgørelse om eksamen og censur ved universitetsuddannelser (eksamensbekendtgørelsen)) No. 1062 of 30 June 2016 which has been amended in ministerial orders No. 1503 of 28 November 2017, No. 1080 of 28 August 2018 and No. 878 26 August 2019;
• Section 17(1) in the Danish Ministerial Order on Admission to and Enrolment on Bachelor’s Degree Programmes at Universities and the Higher Artistic Educational Institutions under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science No. 107 of 12 February 2018 (bekendtgørelse nr. 107 af 12. februar 2018 om adgang til bacheloruddannelser ved universiteterne og de videregående kunstneriske uddannelsesinstitutioner på Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet); and
• Section 4(1) in the Danish Ministerial Order on Admission to and Enrolment on Masters’s Degree Programmes at Universities and the Higher Artistic Educational Institutions under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science No. 106 of 12 February 2018 (bekendtgørelse nr. 106 af 12. februar 2018 om adgang til kandidatuddannelser ved universiteterne og de videregående kunstneriske uddannelsesinstitutioner på Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet), 

The body of rules has been laid down in accordance with the Danish University Act, and the first version of the body of rules was laid down on 16 February 2009.

This body of rules hereby replaces the previous version thereof:

Aalborg University, 21 October 2019

Per Michael Johansen                                       / Lone Vestergaard
Rector                                                                  Head of Study Service

The body of rules has been laid down by the Rector, but responsibility for maintaining and updating the rules rests with Study Service.

In the event of questions regarding the body of rules, Educational Law and Secretariat at Study Service may be contacted at sts-sekretariatet@adm.aau.dk.