CHAPTER 1 GENERAL POLICY

Article 1 Beijing Normal University formulates the Policy in accordance with the Chinese laws and the actual conditions of BNU to maintain academic ethics, standardize academic behavior, create a good academic atmosphere, and ensure and improve the quality of postgraduate education.

Article 2 Scientific Misconduct means refers to the behavior that violates the academic norms and academic justice.

Article 3 This policy and the associated procedures apply to all individuals at the Beijing Normal University (BNU) engaged in research, including, Academic Masters, Professional Masters, applicants with the same educational level, and graduate students with scientific misconduct during their study.

 

CHAPTER 2 ACADEMIC NORMS

Article 4 Academic norms are the general term of a series of rules, systems, and codes of conduct to ensure the academic activities run normally and orderly. The academic norms include national policies and regulations, academic ethics, academic norms on scientific research, thesis writing, academic citation, academic evaluation, and other related aspects jointly observed by disciplines.

Article 5 Graduate students must abide by the basic requirements of academic norms in all scientific research and academic activities. The basic academic norms include：

 5.1 Respect for the scientific spirit and academic ethics.

5.2 Respect others' intellectual property rights. Indicate the source when quoting other scholars' academic achievements; Not take other scholars' academic achievements as the main part or substantive part of one’s own academic achievements; Explain and list the reference when inspired by or referring to other scholars' academic achievements without quoting them.

5.3 Undertake the corresponding responsibility for the publication of academic achievements. Sign in accordance with the participants' actual contribution to scientific research achievements when publishing the academic achievements; Obtain the partners’ consent when publishing the cooperated academic achievements.

5.4 Abide by the regulations of the laboratory, operation properly, and record the experimental process and results truthfully.

5.5 Strictly abide by the confidentiality regulations.

5.6 Abide by other academic norms recognized by the academic community.

 

CHAPTER 3 SCOPE

Article 6   The scientific Misconduct includes：

6.1 Fabrication or Falsification. Fabricate or falsificate original research records, data, Pictures, tables, documents, research or survey results, etc； Selectively omit research results and fabricate data.

6.2 Piracy or Plagiarism. Take other scholars' academic views, ideas, research methods, or achievements as one’s own academic achievements; Take the academic information of other scholars obtained by improper means as one’s own academic achievements; Take other scholars' achievements as the main part or substantive part of one’s own academic achievement although indicated the quotation; Translate or rewrite entire or part of other scholars academic achievements written in a foreign language as one’s own academic achievements.

6.3 Illegal Citations. Fail to indicate the source when quoting other scholars’ academic achievements; Fail to mark notes and citations properly, clearly, and adequately; Quote out of context fallacy; Fabricate references.

6.4Inappropriate Authorship. Exclude those who make substantial academic contributions to research from the list of authors; Include those without academic contributions in the list of authors; Sign on the academic research without academic contribution; Fail to sign in accordance with the participants' actual contribution to scientific research achievements; Publish the results without the consent of the collaborators; Publish the research result in the name of other units without permission, which illegally encroaches on the academic achievements or intellectual property rights of the University.

6.5Duplicate Submission. Submit the same manuscript to two or more journals or publishers; Republished the published academic achievements in a makeover.

6.6Default publication. Publish academic achievements without consent or authorization, Violate the scientific research projects management regulations; Fail to indicate the sponsor in the published academic achievements, violating the research funding agreement.

6.7Paper-sell or ghostwriting. Purchase, sell or organize the illegal sale of papers; Ask others to ghostwrite or ghostwrite papers for others; Organize ghostwriting activities.

6.8Hinder academic evaluation. Falsify or alter the letters of recommendation, appraisal opinions, evaluation opinions, transcripts, academic achievements, employment certificates of papers, signatures of tutors or others, and other supporting materials related to the personal academic situation; Use improper means to intervene and affect the evaluation and reward of academic research; Fabricate academic experience; Fabricate funded projects; Misrepresent academic achievement to sponsors; Exaggerate the academic contributions that violate objective facts deliberately; Fabricate the confidentiality attribute of academic achievements, tamper with the confidentiality level, and escape public academic evaluation.

6.9Breaches of Confidentiality. Breach the confidentiality regulations and publish or disclose confidential contents publicly.

6.10Illicit Competition. Interfere with and destroy the research activities of academic peers in a competitive relationship; Fabricate facts and damage the academic reputation of academic peers deliberately; Take improper measures to interfere with the process of academic evaluation.

6.11Other behavior that violates academic norms recognized by the academic community.

 

CHAPTER 4 DISPOSE

 

Article 7 Where scientific misconduct is substantiated, the University will take appropriate action, which may include academic or disciplinary punishment (either one or both) in accordance with the circumstances, consequences, and respondent(s)’ attitude. On the alleged criminal offense, transferred to the judiciary to deal with.

Article 8 All the academic or discipline punishment for scientific misconduct shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant documents of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, as well as the rules for Degree Awarding of Beijing Normal University, the Regulations on the Administration of Graduate Student Status of Beijing Normal University and the Measures for Disciplinary Punishment of Students of Beijing Normal University.

8.1 The academic punishment includes restudy courses, postpone defense, postpone graduation, expel, cancel the qualification for degree application, revoke the granted degree, etc.

8.2 The discipline punishment includes the warning, serious warning, demerit recording, detention, expulsion, etc.

8.3 Revoke the degree, degree certificate, and obtained honors and awards of the postgraduate students who have serious scientific misconduct during their study. No more degree applications will be accepted for at least 3 years from the date of making the punishment decision.

8.4 Disqualified the participating in all academic awards of postgraduate students in school with academic misconduct.

Article 9 Under any of the following circumstances, the respondent(s) shall be given a mitigated punishment： Actively admit mistakes and cooperate with the investigation; Repent after criticism and education; Take the initiative to eliminate or mitigate the adverse effects of scientific misconduct

Article 10 Under any of the following circumstances, the respondent(s) shall be given an aggravated punishment：

10.1 fabricate, destroy, and conceal evidence;

10.2 repeat academic misconduct;

10.3 involve multiple academic misconducts at the same time;

10.4 attack informants or investigators through threats, intimidation, or violence;

10.5 have other behaviors with bad influence. 

 

CHAPTER 5 ORGANIZATION SETTING AND WORKING PROCEDURES

 

Article 11 The Academic Ethics and Atmosphere Committee(AEAC) which is under the BNU Academic Committee is the functional organization of the construction of academic ethics and atmosphere of BNU. The AEAC set up a Special Office in the Graduate School(hereinafter referred to as the "special office") to accept accusations and complaints of scientific misconduct of graduate students, discuss every case and decide whether to start the investigation procedure; the office shall invite experts from relevant disciplines to form a temporary working group when necessary or entrust the Academic sub-Committee of the respondent(s)’s training units (or grass-roots academic organizations such as Degree Evaluation sub-Committee) to organize investigation and appraisal of academic misconduct and put forward decision-making suggestions according to the investigation results.

Article 12 AEAC shall submit the investigation report (including disposal suggestions) to the BNU Academic Committee after the investigation. The BNU Academic Committee shall give disposal suggestions within 15 working days after receiving the investigation report, and submit relevant materials to the Headmaster Office to make a disposal decision.

If the proposal of the Academic Committee is to cancel the granted degree, the decision shall be submitted to the Degree Evaluation Committee for deliberation and reported to the BNU Degree Evaluation Committee for approval.

Article 13 Where minor scientific misconduct is substantiated, AEAC shall authorize Special Office and sub-Academic Committee of the respondent(s)’s training units (or grass-roots academic organizations such as sub-degree Evaluation Committee) to form an interim working group to make a deal directly through summary procedures. However, summary procedures shall not be adopted for serious academic misconduct such as expulsion, revoke of degree application, or granted degree and circumstances with unclear facts or difficulty to judge.

Article 14 Respondent(s) may appeal the decision. Where respondent(s) has any objection to the decision, a written statement of the grounds for the appeal must be submitted to the BNU Student Appeals Committee within five (5) working days of written notification of the sanction(s). Masters who have graduated can appeal to relevant departments. The appeal procedure shall be implemented with reference to the Measures for the Administration of Student Appeal of Beijing Normal University.

Article 15 The decision shall come into force when the respondent(s) abandons the appeal or fails to file the appeal within the time limit.

Article 16 Any people who has an interest in the respondent(s) shall not participate in the investigation and disposal process.

Article 17 All the relevant have the responsibility to keep confidential the investigation data, the investigation, and disposal before making a disposal decision, so as to ensure that the reputation and legitimate rights of the informant and the informant are not infringed.

Article 18 The University and relevant parties should protect the reputation and legitimate rights of the informant if the investigation finds that the accusation is untrue.

Article 19 BNU has the right to publicly report the case of scientific misconduct truthfully based on the principles of openness, impartiality, and transparency, accept the supervision of the public and give full play to the educational and warning role of typical cases of scientific misconduct.

 

CHAPTER 6 SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 20 The BNU Academic Committee reserves the right of final interpretation of this policy.

Article 21 The Policy shall be implemented as of September 1, 2015. This Policy prevails when being inconsistent with other relevant provisions.