Rights & guidelines

Your rights as a student

In Sweden it is prohibited in any working environment to discriminate, harass or humiliate co-workers. This naturally includes our department and students, teachers and other staff members. As a student you have certain rights regarding your education, e.g. concerning the environment at the department, exams, thesis supervision, etc. You also have certain obligations that relate to plagiarism and cheating, disturbing behaviour in teaching situations, harassment of fellow students, etc. You'll find an extensive description of student rights and guidelines here.

Who to address at our department

What can you do if feel that your rights have been violated? Or if you have been suspected of not fulfilling your obligations as student?

The best way is normally to try to solve any problem where it occurs. That could be to raise the issue with the teacher, staff or fellow student involved. In some cases you may not feel comfortable with this or may feel that the teacher is not listening. Then you may contact the course coordinator or the study advisor. Your conversation with the study advisor is always confidential.

If you feel that you have been harassed or subject to discrimination you should contact the director of studies or the head of department.

Who to address outside the department

The student association LUNA (Naturvetarkåren LUNA) will support and advise you in how to proceed in your discussion with the department. LUNA can also put you in touch with the student representative (Studentombudet) at LU who can assist you if you want to take your complaint to a higher level or if you are suspected of e.g. plagiarism or cheating.

Academic honesty

When using others work, reference it appropriately

In academic work, we value academic honesty. Everything we present, we want to make sure consists of our own words. Whenever we rely on work from others, we make sure to clearly recognize that by using widely agreed referencing and citing techniques, for instance the Harvard system.

We request from you, when studying at our department, to do the same. This is very important for us. Swedish law states that any case of suspected plagiarism is to be reported to the disciplinary board of the University. The board, in turn, may issue a warning or suspension for a period of time.

We'd therefore like to encourage you to read the information available in this matter. If you feel uncertain or have any questions, please discuss it with your teachers.

Academic honesty and plagiarism