Under the Act on Universities (the University Act) as well as the Ministerial Order on University Examinations and Grading (the Examination Order), the Ministerial Order on Admission to and Enrolment on Master's Degree Programmes at Universities and the Ministerial Order on Admission to and Enrolment on Bachelor’s Degree Programmes at Universities, etc., the following applies:
1.-(1) During their studies at the university, students must conduct themselves in a considerate and decent manner out of consideration for the uninterrupted functioning of the university.
(2) This means that students have an obligation to show consideration for other students as well as employees, and for the university’s premises, buildings and property when on university premises or when using IT systems and digital platforms provided by the university. Among other things, this entails for example that threatening or abusive behaviour towards other students or employees will be considered a breach of the university’s disciplinary rules.
(3) Students have an obligation to comply with disciplinary and safety regulations communicated on signs, flyers or rules posted in laboratories, in libraries, in classrooms, examination rooms and meeting rooms, in cafeterias, and so on. Students who use IT systems and digital platforms provided by the university also have an obligation to comply with applicable guidelines for the use of such systems.
2.-(1) Students must comply with instructions and orders from the university’s employees regarding compliance with the rules in Section 1.
3.-(1) Cases concerning violations of rules of conduct 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 incidents), the department head (in connection with incidents on the department’s premises) or the dean (in connection with cases which are not the responsibility of 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.
(3) In case of repeated or gross violations of Section 1, or where it is considered necessary out of regard for the university’s uninterrupted operation, a manager may expel a student from the university temporarily with immediate effect.
4.-(1) Students must comply with the exam rules laid down by the university, including rules on cheating at exams.
(2) In cases of suspected cheating at exams, the lecturer or the degree programme studies administration office conducts a preliminary investigation of the case. If the suspicion of cheating is found to be justified, the case is reported to the rector. A case of suspected cheating at an exam which comes to the attention of the exam supervisor(s), for example in connection with written exams, is also reported to the rector.
(3) If cheating is demonstrated in a non-individualised exam paper written by a group of students, the exam paper in its totality will be excluded from assessment for all of the members of the group, cf. the Examination Order’s rules in this regard. Pursuant to Section 6, disciplinary measures will be considered when there is evidence of cheating at exams or of aiding other students to cheat at exams.
(4) Attempted cheating at exams is handled in the same way as successful cheating.
(5) The university may use IT systems in order to detect exam cheating.
(6) In cases in which students have failed to use IT systems in compliance with the applicable guidelines in connection with an exam, the degree programme’s studies administration is responsible for investigating the matter. The degree programme’s studies administration may in this connection disallow the assessment of the exam paper.
5.-(1) Upon repeated or serious violations of the rules in Section 1, including the requirement for considerate and decent behaviour, the person responsible may report the incident to the rector. In cases in which a manager renders a decision of temporary expulsion, cf. Section 3(1), the matter must be reported to the rector immediately.
(2) Other serious breaches of academic discipline, including research ethics, are also reported to the rector. This includes such actions as falsification of documents published 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.
(3) Students who, in connection with admission to and enrolment in Aarhus University, provide incorrect or incomplete information on successfully completed degree programme elements from all previous non-completed degree programmes at the same level, cf. the Ministerial Order on Admission to and Enrolment on Bachelor’s Degree Programmes at Universities and the Ministerial Order on Admission to and Enrolment on Master's Degree Programmes at Universities, are also reported to the rector. The same applies to completed degree programmes at the same level, cf. the Ministerial Order on Academy Profession Degree Programmes and Professional Bachelor’s Degree Programmes.
(4) Criminal offences committed against the university, the university’s students or employees must be reported to the rector immediately (for example threats, violence, forgery, vandalism, arson, theft or illegal possession of euphoriant substances). This is done in part with a view to the rector deciding whether to report the incident to the police and in part with a view to considering the imposition of sanctions pursuant to Section 6 in cases in which 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 statement of the case in a form which can form the basis for presenting the case to the student.
6.-(1) The rector may impose the following sanctions:
(2) Annulment of an exam may take place in cases where cheating at an exam/a violation of exam rules is detected. When an exam is annulled, this means that the student has used one examination attempt by registering for the exam in question and that his/her exam paper will not be marked. If a mark has already been awarded, it will be annulled. If, pursuant to the exam rules, more than one exam must be passed during the same examination period, being expelled from one of the exams may result in the annulment of the results of all of the exams.
(3) The sanctions expulsion from the university or annulment of all of a student’s exams in an examination period may be applied in case of serious or repeated violations of the rules in Sections 4 and 5, subsections 1-4. Expulsion may also take place in cases in which the rector finds it necessary to impose this sanction in order to ensure the uninterrupted functioning or to ensure society’s confidence in the exams conducted at the university.
(4) Expulsion from the university means that the student is excluded from participation in activities at the university, including exams and all teaching. In connection with temporary expulsion, the student has the right to resume his or her studies at the end of the expulsion period. The student must contact the university in this regard.
(5) When deciding whether a student should be expelled and whether such expulsion should be temporary or permanent, account must be taken of the seriousness of the offense, whether prior warnings were issued, the risk of repeated offences and the preservation of respect for the work performed at the university.
7.-(1) The consideration of breaches of the disciplinary rules must take place in accordance with the rules of the Danish Public Administration Act.
8.-(1) A decision made by a subordinate manager may be brought before the rector.
(2) The final decisions of the university reached in accordance with these rules may be appealed to the Danish Agency for Higher Education by the party whom the decision concerns (the complainant) if the appeal concerns legal issues.