Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Higher Education Ordinance states that disciplinary measures may be taken by a university’s disciplinary board against a student who, for example:
- cheats in a situation where assessment occurs
- disrupts or obstructs the university’s activities
- harasses another student or a university employee.
The Disciplinary Board can issue warnings and suspensions.
Members of the Disciplinary Board
The Disciplinary Board consists of a chair (Vice-Chancellor), a legally qualified member (judge from the district court), a teacher representative and two student representatives.
The handling of disciplinary cases
Once the University has received a report that a student has acted in a way that may be subject to disciplinary measures, the responsible legal officer conducts an investigation. At this time, you and others involved can describe your view of what happened. Based on the investigation, the Vice-Chancellor decides whether the matter should be referred to the Disciplinary Board. If the matter is referred to the Disciplinary Board, it will be discussed at one of the Board’s meetings. The Disciplinary Board does not have regularly scheduled meetings. Instead, it meets when there are matters to be discussed.
Meetings of the Disciplinary Board
You and someone representing the person that submitted the complaint, such as a teacher, may attend the meeting. As a general rule, the members of the Disciplinary Board sit together in a meeting room while you and the person representing the complainant attend via Zoom. Each person is given the opportunity to explain their understanding of what happened and why. The members of the Board may ask questions to ensure that they have understood everything correctly.
When the Disciplinary Board’s members decide they have collected the information they need, you and the complainant are to wait outside (in the Zoom waiting room) while the Board considers what judgement they will make. Once they are done, you can return to the meeting to be informed of the Board’s decision. The Board can decide on suspension, issue a warning or dismiss the case without further action.
Suspension
Each case is considered separately, and should the Disciplinary Board decide on suspension from the University, it is not possible to say in advance the length of a suspension period in your particular case. The maximum suspension period is six months. However, such a long suspension would only occur in the most serious cases. The most common length of a suspension is six weeks.
If you are suspended, you may not participate in university activities at all, whether lessons or exams, during the suspension period. You are also banned from learning platforms. More information is available in Administrative procedures – disciplinary cases.
You may, of course, study on your own at home while you are suspended. It is advised that you contact the study counsellor at your department as soon as possible to receive help in how to use the time to best be able to resume your regular studies when the suspension ends. After the suspension period, you can resume your studies as before.
Warning
A warning means that there is evidence that you have done something that is not permitted, as defined in Chapter 10 of the Higher Education Ordinance, and you are warned about it, but that the infraction is not considered serious enough to lead to a suspension.
When the case is dismissed without further action
The case is dismissed without further action if there is no evidence that you have done anything wrong, as defined in Chapter 10 of the Higher Education Ordinance. This means that there will be no penalties for you.
Certain decisions can be appealed
If the Disciplinary Board has issued you a warning or a suspension, you can appeal the decision to the Administrative Court in Umeå. Information on how to appeal the decision is included in the document that contains the decision.
You can also read more about how to appeal on this page.
Decisions by the Vice-Chancellor or the Disciplinary Board to dismiss a case without action, and decisions to refer a case to the Disciplinary Board, cannot be appealed.
Do you have questions about the Disciplinary Board’s work?
The quickest way to receive an answer is to send an email to universitetsjurist@umu.se.
