Our academic community is made up of people who respect one another, respect the dignity and beliefs of others, and protect the good name of the University of Lodz.
After all, being a student of the University of Lodz obliges! From the moment you join our community, you will have to follow a few rules. However, this also means that we as a university have obligations towards you! All this is set out in the Rules of Study at the University of Lodz.
The Rules of Study constitute a set of regulations that define the organisation of studies and the related rights and obligations of students. They are adopted by the Senate of the University of Lodz and should become compulsory reading for all the students.
Feel free to to read it – knowledge sets you free!
Section I, "General Provisions" informs about the manner of dealing with individual student cases, the decisions made in the course of studies and the possibilities to appeal against them.
Section II, i.e. "Student’s Rights and Obligations. Awards and Distinctions" is a section which presents the student's rights guaranteed by the university, such as respect for personal dignity by every member of the academic community or association in the University's student organisations, in particular in academic clubs and artistic and sports teams, and others. The duties of a student are also indicated, e.g.: the student should act in accordance with the oath, the Statute of the University of Lodz, the Rules of Study and other regulations in force at the university, and in particular take care of the dignity of the student and the good name of the university. This section contains regulations pertaining to the organisation of studies after being included in the students’ register (information about the need to sign an agreement; about setting up an e-mail account in the university domain together with a login (username) and a password, which are later used to log into other University of Lodz systems, e.g. USOSWEB; about the need to undergo compulsory training). Additionally, the section includes information on how to obtain credits, take examinations, and fulfil any other obligations related to the pursuit of study and the anti-plagiarism procedure. Students distinguished by their remarkable study achievements, and exemplary handling of their responsibilities, may be granted the University of Lodz awards and distinctions, such as a congratulation letter from the Rector or a medal for excellent study achievements.
Section III, "Taking up studies" indicates situations in which a student may apply for resumption of studies; cases in which the Dean may acknowledge the subjects already passed, e.g. when repeating a year or taking up studies after a leave of absence; criteria for granting an individual study plan and programme (IPS), as well as individual organisation of studies (IOS).
Section VI, "Completion of a semester/study year" sets out the criteria for conditional passing, repeating a semester/study year, passing subjects to continue the studies; the ways in which course completion and final course assessments are carried out and the student's rights and obligations in relation to them; the cases in which the Dean removes a student from the list of students and when they may be removed from the list.
Section VIII, "Leaves of absence from study" sets out circumstances in which the student may be granted a leave of absence during their studies.
Section IX, "Diploma thesis (Master’s, and Bachelor’s, including Bachelor of Engineering)" contains information on the thesis.
Section X, "Diploma examination" pertains to the diploma examination (Master’s, and Bachelor’s, including Bachelor of Science) and thus, graduation.
According to the Act on Higher Education and Science of 20 July 2018, for any action against the dignity of a student and/or breach of regulations binding at the university, a student shall bear disciplinary responsibility pursuant to the rules set by separate provisions. A student is also subject to disciplinary responsibility if they are suspected of committing an act involving:
The Rector shall appoint student disciplinary ombudspersons from among the academic staff of the university.
The members of the Disciplinary Committee for Students and the Disciplinary Appeals Board for Students shall be elected by the Senate of the University of Lodz from among academic staff and students of the university. These committees rule on student disciplinary cases.
I – Investigation
Investigation shall be initiated by the Student Disciplinary Ombudsperson on the recommendation of the Rector.
The Disciplinary Ombudsperson in the course of the investigation may interview witnesses, consult experts and take, preserve and record evidence. If the evidence gathered permits, the disciplinary ombudsperson shall summon the student whose act is the subject of the investigation to present the charges and to give an explanation, including a position on the presented charges and gathered evidence.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the Student Disciplinary Ombudsperson shall either discontinue the proceedings (with the approval of the Rector) or refer a request for punishment to the Disciplinary Committee. The Disciplinary Ombudsperson may also submit a request to the Rector for the imposition of a warning.
II – Disciplinary proceedings
Disciplinary proceedings shall be initiated by the Disciplinary Committee at the request of the Disciplinary Ombudsperson for Students (disciplinary proceedings may not be initiated after the lapse of 6 months from the date on which the Rector obtained information on the commission of an act justifying the imposition of a penalty or after the lapse of 3 years from the date on which the act was committed; if the act contains elements of a criminal offence, the proceedings may be initiated until the expiry of the statute of limitations for that offence).
A closed session of the Disciplinary Committee shall conclude with an order to: (1) initiate disciplinary proceedings and refer the case for trial, or (2) refuse to initiate disciplinary proceedings, or (3) return the request for punishment to the disciplinary ombudsperson to complete the investigation.
After the hearing, the Disciplinary Committee shall rule on: 1) punishment, in which it finds the accused guilty of the act charged and imposes a penalty, or 2) acquittal of the accused, or 3) discontinuance of the proceedings.
III – Disciplinary appeal proceedings
The decision of the Disciplinary Committee may be appealed by the parties (the appeal shall be lodged with the Appeals Disciplinary Committee within 14 days from the date of delivery of the decision).
The appeal hearing shall begin with a report in which the reporting clerk shall set out the course of the disciplinary proceedings to date, the content of the contested decision, the pleas raised in the appeal and the facts of the case.
Disciplinary Appeals Board: 1) either upholds the contested decision of the Disciplinary Committee, or 2) sets aside the contested decision of the Disciplinary Committee in whole or in part and gives a ruling on the merits of the case in that respect, or 3) sets aside the contested decision of the Disciplinary Committee in whole and refers the case back to the Disciplinary Committee for reconsideration.
If the determination of the case requires supplementation of the evidence, the Disciplinary Appeals Board shall revoke the decision of the Disciplinary Committee in its entirety and refer the case back to another panel of the Disciplinary Committee whose decision was appealed against.
A final decision of the Disciplinary Appeals Board may be appealed against to the administrative court.
In the course of the proceedings, the defendant (student) may appoint their own defence counsel, and where the disciplinary ombudsperson for students requests the penalty of expulsion from the higher education institution and the defendant does not have a defence counsel of choice, the chairman of the adjudicating panel shall appoint a defence counsel ex officio from among academic staff or students of the higher education institution.
The Rector or the Disciplinary Committee may suspend a student in the case of persistent unjustified failure to appear at the summons of the Student Disciplinary Ombudsperson for an investigation or at a meeting of the Disciplinary Committee, despite proper notification.
A final disciplinary decision shall be delivered by the Rector and included in the student's personal file. The Rector shall, immediately upon receipt of a final decision of the disciplinary committee, order the enforcement of the imposed disciplinary penalty.
Once the imposed disciplinary penalty is erased (the erasure of a disciplinary penalty shall take place after the lapse of 3 years from the date of the final ruling on the penalty, and the body which imposed the disciplinary penalty may rule on its erasure at the request of the penalised person, submitted no earlier than after the lapse of a year from the date of the final ruling on the penalty), the Rector shall order that the disciplinary ruling be removed from the student's personal file and the documentation of the investigation and disciplinary proceedings be destroyed.
Disciplinary penalties include:
Administrative support for Disciplinary Ombudspersons, Disciplinary Committees and Disciplinary Appeals Boards is provided by the Service Centre for Students and PhD Candidates – Recruitment and Course of Studies.
UNIVERSITY OF LODZ
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