Code of Practice for Research Students

1. All registered students of the College are subject to the provisions of these Regulations for Students, the College Academic Regulations, and such other Regulations and Instructions for Students as the College may from time to time approve. Imperial College London degree regulations 

2. Any student whose sessional tuition fees have not been paid in full may not be allowed to proceed to the next year of the programme and may be required to withdraw from the College. If any fees are still unpaid at the time when a student enters for the last examination necessary to qualify for the award of a degree/diploma, the award may not be conferred and no certificate in respect of the award will normally be issued until the debt has been paid in full.

3. Any student wishing to occupy residential accommodation provided by, or on behalf of, Imperial College will be required to abide by the terms and conditions of the Licence. Acceptance of an offer of accommodation will signify acceptance of such terms and conditions.

4. Every registered student of the College is automatically a member of Imperial College Union unless, under the provisions of the Education Act 1994, a student has formally opted out of student union membership by recording that decision with the Academic Registrar in the manner prescribed.

5. Student disciplinary offences of a non academic nature are dealt with under a code of procedure agreed by Imperial College Union and approved by the Governing Body. In the case of serious offences, this may involve the suspension and/or expulsion of the student from the College. Students must not engage in any conduct which causes harm or unreasonable disturbance to students, staff, neighbours or visitors to the College, or damage to any property of the College or its students, staff, neighbours or visitors, or engage in any activity or behaviour which is likely to bring the College into disrepute. Illegal acts on or near College may also constitute offences under these College Regulations for students.

6. Candidates for the research degrees are required by the College regulations to give conditional authority for their thesis or dissertation to be made available for public consultation. Candidates who wish to seek a delay to making the thesis available for public consultation may seek an embargo for a limited period of normally no longer than 24 months. Acceptance of a place as a research student at the College is deemed to imply acceptance of these conditions.

7. Students must inform their Senior Undergraduate/Postgraduate Tutor if they are absent from College for more than three days during term. If the absence is due to illness a medical certificate must be provided for periods of more than seven days. If an examination is missed students must contact their Senior Undergraduate/Postgraduate Tutor on the day of the examinations and, if the absences is on account of illness, a medical certificate must be provided within five working days in accordance with the Mitigating Circumstances Policy.

8. A student who contracts an infectious or contagious disease may be required to present a medical certificate acceptable to the Imperial College Health Centre, indicating freedom from infection, before resuming attendance at the College.

9. The College may require a student to be assessed by the Imperial College Health Centre, or other appropriate medical practitioner approved by the Imperial College Health Centre, if there is reason to believe that the student’s state of health makes them unable to pursue their studies, or causes disruption to other members of the College, or causes or has the potential to cause harm to themselves or others. If the medical assessment confirms that it is not in the interests of the student or the College that the student should continue their programme of study the Head of Department shall consult the Senior Faculty Tutors and, taking into account their advice, may suspend the student until they are fit to continue their studies or require the student to withdraw from the College. A student who refuses to undergo assessment may be suspended until such time as a medical practitioner acceptable both to the student and the College has assessed the student and confirmed in writing that the student is fit to resume study.

A student who is required to withdraw has the right to appeal against the withdrawal decision but not against the results of the medical assessment on which the decision is based. The student may, however, request that a second medical assessment be obtained from a medical practitioner approved by the Imperial College Health Centre. The responsibility for hearing and deciding upon appeals is vested in the Senate and is delegated by the Senate to Appeal Committees, whose decisions are final.

A student who is suspended will be regarded as having taken an interruption of studies, and will be required to provide medical evidence as to fitness to return to study in accordance with the conditions attached to the granting of interruption of studies.

10. No work may be carried out in any part of the College except in accordance with the current College Safety Policies. This includes, but is not limited to; Ionising radiation, biological agents, compressed gases and hazardous substances. Details of these policies can be found on the safety website: www3.imperial.ac.uk/safety/policies/individualpolicies

11. Students who make use of College Computing facilities are required to familiarise themselves with and to abide by the current edition of the Imperial College Information Systems Security Policy and Codes of Practice and Guidelines.

12. Computer misuse will be regarded as a serious offence and will be dealt with under the College Disciplinary Procedure or, where appropriate, under the provisions of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

13. Students who are authorised, as part of their studies, to make use of ‘data’ and ‘personal data’ as defined under the Data Protection Act 2018 are required to familiarise themselves with, and to observe the provisions of, the Act. Further details are available from the College Data Protection Officer.

14. All students must familiarise themselves and comply with the College’s Intellectual Property Policy.

15. Students must ensure that their personal data on student e-service is kept up to date at all times including any change in their home or term time address or their emergency contact details.

16. Where a student has a pre-existing relationship, or develops a relationship during the programme of study, with a member of staff such that there is a potential conflict of interest, especially with regard to the student’s assessment, the student and member of staff must declare this in confidence to the Head of Department at the start of the programme of study or at the point at which the relationship has started if this is during the programme of study.

17. The College may on occasion record lectures and other learning and teaching activities. Student contributions to these activities may also be recorded.

18. The covert or concealed audio or video recording of staff or students by individual students is not permitted and will be treated as a disciplinary offence.