Chapter Ⅰ General Provisions

Article 1 This policy is formulated to standardize the dissertation management, promote its academic atmosphere establishment, improve talents quality and deal dissertation plagiarism severely, according to Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Academic Degrees, Higher Education Law of the People's Republic of China and Implementation Rules of Dissertation Plagiarism of MOE.

Article 2 The rules shall be applicable to dissertations (design and practice) of doctoral, master and bachelor degree application.

Chapter Ⅱ Dissertation Plagiarism

Article 3 Dissertation plagiarisms included in this rules are as follows:

(1) Those who falsifying, buying or selling dissertations or organizing dissertations for deal;

(2) Those who ghostwriting to/ by others or organizing dissertations for ghostwriting;

(3) Those who plagiarizing others’ achievements in one’s own dissertation, stealing others’ academic viewpoints, academic ideology, experimental data and investigation results and copying others’ publications and academic achievements;

(4) Those who Fabricating or falsifying experimental/investigation data, results and referenced resources in one’s own dissertation deliberately;

(5) Other severe dissertation plagiarisms.

Chapter Ⅲ Supervisor’s Responsibility

Article 4 Degree applicant must abide by the academic ethics and norms, finish their dissertation independently under the guidance of their supervisors. Supervisors are directly responsible for their students’ abidance of academic ethics and norms.

Article 5 Supervisors should setting an example in abiding by the academic ethics and norms. Supervisors should propose clear requirements on academic norms to their students and provide specific guidance in the process of students’ research and dissertation. Also, supervisors are responsible for the independence of dissertation completion and are in charge of the dissertation examine on the accuracy and authenticity of related references, experimental data and academic viewpoints.

Chapter Ⅳ   Reporting and verification of Dissertation Plagiarism

Article 6 Reporting

(1) All kinds of reporting of dissertation plagiarism made by different degree applicants are accepted. The informant can forward letters or make oral report with evidence to relevant departments or organizations including academia construction committee (ACC), graduate school, education supervision division, discipline inspection commission, inspector-general's department and related schools (institutes). Departments and organizations received reports are obligated to maintain secrecy of informants and witnesses.

(2) After receiving the report, graduate school, education supervision division, discipline inspection commission, inspector-general's department and related schools (research institutes) should inform to ACC within 3 working days.

(3) After receiving the report from departments or informants, ACC should investigate according to information and materials provided by departments and informants promptly, then to decide whether launch violation investigation process or not afterwords.

Article 7 Investigation

(1) For assured dissertation plagiarism, ACC should inform relevant academic committees promptly and launch the investigate process. Investigators should begin examine in the light of deviance, resources and clues provided by informants.

(2) Relevant schools’ (research institutes’) academic committee should verify the investigation results with in 10 working days, in the meantime, they should inform ACC in writing forms. When necessary, ACC could hire experts both internal and external to carrying independent investigation.

Article 8 Investigation result verification

(1) The university’s ACC will make the final conclusion according to schools’ (research institutes) suggestions and independent investigation results. The conclusion should be informed to the informant and the person being reported against promptly.

(2) If the informant is not satisfied with the investigation result, one may appeal to the academic committee of LZU within 7 days of receiving the notification.

(3) After receiving the complaint from the informants, the academic committee of LZU shall start the review procedure and notify the informants and the person being reported against the final result of the review within 15 days. The decision of the academic committee is final. The final result is determined by the review decision of the university’s ACC.

(4) The university’s ACC should notify the final result to relevant departments such as graduate school, education supervision division and personnel division and report to the academic committee of LZU.

Article 9 The personnel involved in investigation should not have any relationship with the informants or the person being reported against. Informants and the person being reported against have the right to apply for the relevant personnel to withdraw from the investigation.

Article 10 In the course of accepting, reporting and investigating, the university’s ACC must take appropriate measures to protect the lawful rights and interests of informants, witnesses and the person being reported against.

Article 11 All relevant procedures and materials shall be kept confidential before any disciplinary action or organizational decision is made by relevant departments of LZU, and all personnel involved in investigation shall not disclose any information of the investigation and treatment.

Chapter Ⅴ Dissertation Plagiarism Disposal

Article 12 According to the final investigation decision of the ACC, relevant departments should put forward suggestions for handling or punishment within 20 working days. If the personnel concerned are graduate students of LZU, handling opinions or disciplinary action shall be proposed by graduate school; If the personnel concerned are undergraduate students of LZU, handling opinions or disciplinary action shall be proposed by the education supervision division; if the personnel concerned are graduate supervisors, handling opinions or disciplinary action shall be proposed by graduate school and personnel division; if the personnel concerned are other faculties and staffs, handling opinions or disciplinary action shall be proposed by personnel division according to relevant regulations.

(1) Serious falsehoods of degree applicants involving forging, purchasing, ghostwriting dissertation by others, or plagiarize seriously and data falsification, LZU shall cancel one’s degree qualification; for degree already obtained, LZU will revoke one’s degree by law and nullify the diploma. The decision of application cancellation or degree revocation shall be announced to the public.

For enrolled students, they will be expelled from LZU; for staffs, apart from disciplinary sanction, LZU will also circulate a notice to the unit where they belongs to.

(2) Those who ghostwrite dissertation for others, sale or organize dissertations for deal and ghostwriting, if they are enrolled students, they will be expelled from LZU; if they are faculties and staffs, LZU shall terminate the contract or give them the sanction of expulsion.

Article 13 LZU owns the right to give sanctions of warning and demerit recording to supervisors with dissertation fraud out of their failure to perform their duties including education of academic morality and academic ethic, dissertation guidance and qualification check; sanctions including revoke their supervisor qualifications, lower lever jobs till the termination of the employment contract or be expelled for its serious.

Article 14 Written decision shall served to the person concerned. If the party concerned refuses to accept the decision, one may lodge a complaint within 15 days to the decision-making institutes or the administrative department at the higher level.

Article 15 LZU will incorporate the review of the degree dissertations into the annual assessment. Repeated dissertation plagiarisms or which has a sharp vicious impact, LZU shall circulate a notice of criticism to the person in charge, subtract enrollment quotas, stop enrollment until abolish the degree authorization of corresponding schools.

Article 16 Dissertation plagiarisms in violation of the present Law, the legal liabilities therefore shall be investigated into.

Chapter Ⅵ   Supplementary Provisions

Article 17 After dissertation plagiarism disposed, LZU will report the result to the Department of Degree Management & Postgraduate Education (Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee) of the Ministry of Education for the record.

Article 18 The present rules shall come into effect as of the date of promulgation.

Article 19 The present rules are subject to the interpretation of ACC.