1. Definition of violation of good academic practice and contemptible behaviour
1.1. Members of Tallinn University of Technology adhere to the principles of academic ethics (as outlined in the Code of Academic Ethics).
1.2. General study regulations are stipulated by the Academic Policies (hereinafter referred to as “Policies”), according to § 33 section 1 of which the following are considered violations of good academic practice:
1) use of support materials during a knowledge test, except those explicitly allowed by the teacher;
2) receiving any unauthorized help from others (such as prompting, copying, copying homework, using learning support forums, purchasing papers, etc.) during a knowledge test or violating the examination procedure;
3) plagiarism, i.e. submitting another person’s work as one’s own or extensive rewording of someone else’s work, sources without appropriate academic citation;
4) re-submitting one’s own work that has already been counted toward a final grade;
5) participating in an assessment on behalf of another student or allowing someone else to participate in an assessment under one’s own name;
6) malicious disclosure of assessed papers;
7) deliberate submission of false information in one’s assignments, applications (including APEL), etc.;
8) damaging the university’s reputation, including making unfounded negative judgments, unauthorized mediation of study opportunities and services, or creating and distributing materials promoting the university for material gain or causing material or reputational harm;
9) other violations outlined in the Code of Academic Ethics established by the Senate.
1.3. Contemptible behaviour means violation of the generally accepted standards of conduct.
2. Preventive measures to avoid violations of good academic practice
2.1. The lecturer must choose an appropriate course structure, assessment methods and assessment criteria that would exclude contemptible behaviour, including the widespread availability and repetition of past tests and exam questions.
2.2. Each course must have a properly formatted extended syllabus (per policies §14 section 7), which must be available to students and introduced during the first lecture.
2.3. It is mandatory to include a point regarding violations of academic practices in the extended syllabus. The lecturer is obliged to address violations of academic practices and contemptible behaviour.
2.4. At the start of the course and, if necessary, before assessments, students must be informed (including via ÕIS and/or Moodle) about assessment rules, following good academic practices, and requirements for student work format and content. Adherence to academic practices must be constantly monitored throughout the course.
2.5. If violations of academic practices are revealed during the course, it is advisable to discuss it with students and remind them of the consequences of such actions.
2.6. Clear rules must be established for exams and assessments, which must be followed by both lecturers and students.
2.7. Lecturers have the right to check all work submitted by students using plagiarism detection systems.
3. Handling student violations of good academic practice and contemptible behaviour
3.1. Generally, violations of academic practices that occur within the framework of a subject are resolved by the lecturer responsible for the subject.
3.2. The lecturer has the right to remove a student who has violated academic practices from the knowledge check and/or not to assess the submitted work. In both cases, the result of a specific knowledge check or written work or final grade must be marked as “0” (incomplete) or “M” (not passed).
3.3. Depending on the severity of the violation of academic practices, the lecturer has the right to submit the case to the dean for further processing (per policies § 33 section 2).
3.4. In the event of a serious violation of academic practices, the following must be submitted to the dean no later than 5 working days after the violation is discovered:
1) a submission with a personal proposal, depending on the severity of the violation of academic practices, whether to reprimand the student or request exmatriculation;
2) evidence, such as e-mails, written statements of witnesses, examination papers, auxiliary materials used in the examination, homework solutions, plagiarism control reports, written explanations, photographs, etc.
3.5. The dean reviews the submitted materials and may, if necessary, request additional oral and written explanations from the parties involved.
3.6. Based on the collected materials, the dean may issue a reprimand to the student or submit a proposal for the student’s exmatriculation (per policies § 33 section 2). For first-time offenses, a reprimand is issued, and the lecturer has the right to prohibit the student from taking the exam or assessment during the current semester in the subject in connection with which the violation was discovered. If a second violation is detected, the dean has the right to make a proposal for exmatriculation to the vice-rector.
3.7. The dean informs the submitter of the proposal, the student and, if necessary, other relevant parties of the final decision regarding the violation.