What is disciplinary misconduct?

1. Deception when academic work is to be assessed – cheating

Obvious examples of cheating are when a student during an exam is using prohibited aids, such as unauthorised notes or pieces of paper or when he/she has the mobile phone next to him/her on the desk. Copying texts, for example when writing a paper or a take-home exam, without quoting the source can also be deemed as cheating. Other examples are collaboration between students on compulsory individual assignments, and amendments to/supplementing of texts in an already corrected exam which has been handed back to the student.

According to the statutes, a student having attempted to cheat is sufficient for disciplinary action to be taken. A completed act of cheating is not required. It is for instance sufficient if you bring notes to an exam with the intent to use them as aid, regardless of whether you actually use them or not. It is enough to have brought the mobile phone to your desk even if you do not actually use it.

Helping others to cheat is also considered cheating. You can thus be subjected to disciplinary action if you let someone else copy your answers, for example in a take-home exam, or if you misleadingly put someone’s name down as attending compulsory modules.

As a student, it is your responsibility to read the information provided! You are responsible for reading and understanding the information provided by the school, concerning what is and what is not allowed during exams, when writing papers etc.

2. Disruption or obstruction of teaching, exams or other activities within the framework of studies at the university

Violation of rules of conduct might mean that activities are disrupted or obstructed. This applies for instance to laboratory work or exam situations. If a student fails to turn up to different kinds of rehearsals, e.g. a performance of an orchestral work, or does not turn up to individual tutorials in music studies, this might constitute a significant disruption.

These rules also extend to practical modules located at for instance schools, hospitals, laboratories, research stations, authorities, the outdoors etc. as they make up activities within the framework of studies at the university.

3. Disruption of activities at the university library or other separate facilities at the university

It is, from several aspects, important that the university library’s rules of conduct are adhered to. The most common offence is that students do not register their library loans. Using the university computer network in an unauthorised manner also constitutes a disruptive activity.

Other separate facilities at the university are e.g. computer rooms, the IT unit and laboratories.

4. Subjecting others to harassment

Disciplinary action may also be taken against students who subject another student or an employee at the university to harassment as referred to in the Discrimination Act (Swedish code of statutes 2008:567). The harassment must be associated with one of the grounds of discrimination. These grounds of discrimination are sex, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation, and age.

Sexual harassment may also lead to disciplinary action being taken.