Peking University School of Transnational Law

Student Code of Conduct

The School of Transnational Law is an academic community, all of whose members (faculty, administrators, and students) are expected to act with professionalism, decency, and generosity of spirit towards one another. STL students have asked the School to publish a formal Student Code of Conduct explaining how these values manifest themselves in the specific circumstances of students. Accordingly, we formally promulgate the following standards and procedures.

Part A. General Obligations.

These General Obligations apply to all students at all times, and are not subject to waiver by a member of the faculty or the administrative staff.

  1. All students must treat one another, the administrative staff, and the faculty with courtesy and respect.
  1. All students must act with honesty and integrity.
  1. Examples of violations of the General Obligations
  1. Acts of violence or criminality against another member of the community are violations of this Code of Conduct.
  1. Plagiarism is a violation of this Code of Conduct. (Plagiarism means knowingly representing the words or ideas of another person as one’s own words or ideas. If a student borrows another person’s words or ideas, the student must identify the source from which they are taken. It is not an excuse to a charge of plagiarism that one had permission from the source to claim the ideas as one’s own. Students are advised to study carefully the academic conventions regarding quotations, citations and attributions. If a student has questions about what constitutes plagiarism, he or she should feel free to seek advice from any professor or from the Associate Dean.)
  1. Participation in any form of cheating on an examination or class assignment (including both giving and receiving improper assistance) is a violation of this Code of Conduct.
  1. Theft or deliberate destruction of another person’s property is a violation of this Code of Conduct.
  1. The foregoing examples are merely examples of especially severe violations of the General Obligations. The General Obligations extend more broadly, to encompass the ordinary understandings of the words “courtesy,” “respect,” “honesty,” and “integrity.”

Part B. Class Obligations: Default Rules

The distinctive nature of legal education at STL requires active engagement in the classroom by each student. If some students are not fully engaged, other students find their educational experience diminished. Accordingly, attendance at STL carries a distinctive set of expectations with respect to the classroom.

To be sure, the classroom is under the ultimate control of the individual faculty member. (For purposes of this Code of Conduct, the term “faculty member” includes any individual in an instructional role, including professors, lecturers, guest speakers, and teaching fellows.) Accordingly, the following Class Obligations may be modified by a faculty member with regard to her or his classroom, provided that the faculty member has given advance notice to the Dean and to the students that a different set of classroom obligations shall be in force.

  1. All students must attend class every day; attendance will be taken. If a professor notices that a student is absent from class, the professor will notify the Officer of Academic Affairs.
  1. In order to obtain approval to miss a class, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the Officer of Academic Affairs before the class. However the professor (not The Officer of Academic Affairs) has complete discretion to determine whether the student’s reason for missing class is sufficient.
  1. If in any given course a student has more unexcused absences than the number of course credit hours, a reduction in the student’s grade would be the normal penalty. The amount of the grade reduction is at the discretion of the faculty member.
  1. All students must be prepared for class every day. If a faculty member determines that a student is not prepared for class, the faculty member may choose to ask the student to leave the class (the student will be charged with an unexcused absence for the class).
  1. If a student misses class for any reason (whether excused or unexcused), or if a student is dismissed from class for being unprepared, the student will be expected to complete the class material that was missed.
  1. The faculty member has complete authority over the classroom and may impose whatever class-specific regulations the faculty member believes will promote a more effective educational experience. For example, the faculty member may:
  1. prohibit students from arriving late to class,
  2. prohibit students from bringing laptop computers to class, or
  3. require that students turn cell phones completely off during class.
  1. All students must take examinations at the scheduled time and place. A student may be excused from taking an examination for the following reasons:
  2. Serious illness, certified by a physician,
  3. A medical emergency, or
  4. Other emergency circumstances that make it impossible for the student to take the examination.

In the first circumstance, the student should provide the professor and the Officer of Academic Affairs with documentation from the physician at least two days before the examination is scheduled to be administered. In the latter two circumstances, the student shall notify the professor and the Officer of Academic Affairs as soon as feasible after the emergency is recognized, and shall provide the professor and the Officer of Academic Affairs with evidence of the nature of the emergency no later than one week after the examination was scheduled to take place.

Part C. Enforcement and Due Process.

  1. Responsibility for enforcement of the provisions of this Code of Conduct shall in the first instance reside with the appropriate Enforcement Officer. In the case of General Obligations, the Enforcement Officer shall be the Associate Dean (supported as appropriate by members of the administrative staff). In the case of Classroom Obligations, the Enforcement Officer shall be the Officer of Academic Affairs or the relevant professor, lecturer, or teaching fellow, as the case may be.
  1. If an Enforcement Officer believes that a violation of this Code of Conduct may have taken place, the Enforcement Officer shall notify the affected student of the suspected violation and provide the affected student with a reasonable opportunity to respond. If, after considering the student’s response, the Enforcement Officer determines that a violation of this Code of Conduct has in fact taken place, the Enforcement Officer shall notify the student of the determination and of the sanction that will be imposed. Sanctions may range from a warning up through expulsion from the school, according to the severity of the violation. If a sanction is more severe than a 10-point reduction in course grade, the Enforcement Officer shall consult with the Associate Dean before the sanction is announced and imposed.
  1. A student may appeal the determination of an Enforcement Officer to the Dean of the School of Transnational Law. Before determining how an appeal is resolved, the Dean shall provide the student with an opportunity to present evidence and arguments, both in writing and in person. The determination of the Dean shall be final and non-appealable.

As a STL student, I ______(name) will comply with the terms of this Code.

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