Students’ Responsibilities

These guidelines assume and acknowledge that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities towards the institution and the international community of scholars.

What the University expects from students…

That they will respect the rights of staff, faculty and other students and ensure that the learning environment is safe and productive.

1. Should be aware of the rules and regulations of the University like disciplinary regulations, rights and responsibilities of a student, health and safety procedures to be maintained in laboratories and field trips.
2. Respect University property.
3. Get acquainted with the course information made available and incase of any queries should approach the academic staff member concerned through proper channel.
4. Participate actively and positively :
   • attending and preparing for classes as required
   • participating in class discussions and other activities
   • maintaining steady progress within the course
   • submitting required work on time
5. Show commitment to the ideals of the University with special reference to achieving personal excellence in performance and allowing freedom of expression.
6. Not cheat, plagiarise, fabricate or falsify data. Students are also expected to be aware of their individual rights and responsibilities regarding the proper use of copyright material, the ethical responsibilities of researchers with regards to animal and human subjects, and intellectual property rights.
7. Familiarize themselves with the requirements that they must meet to complete their academic program and take responsibility for their academic progress. Students should, where appropriate, exercise their rights to reasonable access to and assistance from academic staff and the various academic support services.
8. Support student representative organizations, such as the Class Representative system or any association of students as defined by DPU charter with a mandate to represent students.

While many elements of this Charter have relevance to research students and supervisors, there are some specific responsibilities associated with this form of teaching and learning.

1. Academic staff will acquaint themselves with the relevant University guidelines and regulations and ensure research students know about it. In particular, they will discuss the Senate Guidelines for supervision to ensure that mutual responsibilities are understood and agreed upon. Due consideration is to be given to student’s articles, papers etc that has been written by them and published.
2. Research students should make themselves familiar with relevant guidelines and regulations relating to supervision issued by Departments and the University administration including the Guidelines for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
3. Supervisors will aim to help research students achieve their best! To this end, the supervisor needs to be sufficiently expert in the area of research and have the time, commitment, management and interpersonal skills to be able to offer proper supervision.
4. The academic interests of research students should remain paramount over any external obligations of or to other parties.
5. Research students should not be disadvantaged by differences in opinion amongst their supervisors.
6. The department will offer appropriate opportunities for research students to meet and interact with fellow research students and members of academic, technical and other general staff who may be able to provide support in their field of study.
7. The University and departments need to ensure that students are made aware, before the commencement of their research studies, of the physical facilities and resources, including financial resources available to them. If circumstances change after the commencement of their research, the student shall be informed as quickly as possible of the change and required action will be taken to resolve the issue.
8. Graduate students should have ownership of their research results, subject to the following
   • contractual commitments
   • fiduciary obligations to other parties
   • the rights of parties involved in collaborative work
   • the entitlements of the University.