The number of disciplinary cases - for example cheating, plagiarism, or harassment that requires action from the university, has increased sharply in recent years. SFS has the task of providing support to students who handle the issues, and works to get common guidelines so that the handling is more equal.
Exam time is approaching. For several students, this is the first time they will be tested and have their knowledge tested. It is a tantalizing time that shows whether we have learned what was expected but also get to learn further in the examining part. Unfortunately, the proportion of disciplinary cases has increased sharply in recent years, especially during the last school year during the corona pandemic.
An increasing problem
A review of decisions in disciplinary matters shows that 2 students were the subject of a disciplinary action in 466. This is an increase of approximately 2020 percent from 61 when the number was 2019, and by 1 percent since 528 when the number was 86. The most common reason to the fact that students are subject to disciplinary measures has always been plagiarism.
The statistics and diagram above come from UKÄ's report 2021 - "Disciplinary matters 2019 and 2020 at universities and colleges".
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of suspensions increased sharply - by about 68 percent compared to 2019. Of the universities that have answered the questions about covid-19's possible impact on the number of disciplinary cases, 25 of them (75 percent) believe that they have seen an increase which they assess / believe is due to covid-19.
The reason is that the increase has taken place in connection with the transition to digital distance education and digital examinations / home exams. A contributing reason has also been that the information and communication about the rules that apply to digital examinations has not been clear enough, as this was something that was not done in connection with the rapid changeover in the spring of 2020.
This is how SFS works with the issues
For the financial year 2021/22, SFS has been commissioned by the annual meeting (SFS council) to work to ensure that disciplinary matters are handled and assessed in an equal and legally secure manner. At present, there are large differences between the higher education institutions' handling of cases, not least in terms of the outcome for different typical cases. The procedure at the higher education institutions may differ, but the assessment and sanction should, as far as possible, be equivalent regardless of which higher education institution the student works at. This applies partly to cheating but also to cases involving sexual harassment, which should be dealt with promptly.
SFS calls for the development of university-wide guidelines for disciplinary matters, a work that the Swedish Association of Universities and University Colleges, SUHF, has begun. SUHF has appointed a working group which is tasked with inventorying the process for disciplinary matters. In addition, the group shall consider the production of joint declarations, recommendations or frameworks regarding the prevention of cheating, reporting, assessment and sanction of disciplinary matters at the country's higher education institutions. SFS is part of the SUHF working group and has also set up a reference group to contribute to the work. Disciplinary matters are increasing throughout the country and this is a priority issue for several, after which the reference group includes students from several higher education institutions.
Provisions on disciplinary measures against students who, for example, cheat on exams, break rules of procedure or harass others are stated in Chapter 10. the Higher Education Ordinance (1993: 100) and thereafter the higher education institutions have local routines. Students who commit various types of offenses can be warned or suspended from their studies for up to six months. The discrepancy between the higher education institutions can be a contributing factor to students being judged differently, something that cannot be considered certain from the student's perspective.
There are ambiguities both within higher education institutions and between higher education institutions, which makes it difficult for students to orientate themselves. In some cases it is a question of students having had joint notes during group work, but that when the students are later examined, these have not been allowed but it is not information that has been clarified for the student - because if one has collaborated in group work, it is not obvious that exam opportunity would be impermissible. Here, SFS calls for clarity in the instructions, which is adjacent to a teaching staff's higher education pedagogical competence.
SFS is also tasked with working to ensure that students who are involved in disciplinary matters have knowledge and support in their work. As a representative of Sweden's students, we also need to be self-critical and see what we as an organization can do to strengthen the students who are part of the higher education disciplines' disciplinary committees. At each university and college there is a disciplinary committee that decides on disciplinary matters and the students as student representatives sit at the table and participate in deciding on the matter - it is these individuals that SFS can support in their work through educational materials and meeting places with others in similar positions.
If you are a student representative in a disciplinary committee, you are welcome to SFS focus on 23 November to learn from others and share your experiences! More info to come on SFS event page shortly.