Responsibility and openness: further details and guidelines
In which situations could you be confronted with the theme Responsibility and openness? Where can you find further details and guidelines?
Internal procedures reporting and investigating suspicions of integrity violations
Integrity Violations
In the event of undesirable behavior and/or scientific integrity violations, other procedures apply that are included in the complaints procedure for undesirable behavior and/or complaints procedure for scientific integrity or situations to which the Whistleblower Regulations apply.
Integrity violations occur in the case of:
- Conflicts of interest.
- Manipulation or misuse of information.
- Abuse of power or position.
- Incompatible positions/activities.
- Crimes such as theft, embezzlement, fraud, or corruption.
- Abuse of university property.
Duty to report
Managers and program coordinators must always report any suspected breach of integrity to their Division or School Director.
Division or School Directors must always report any suspected breach of integrity to the integrity coordinator.
Investigation into compliance with the Code of Conduct
If, whether or not following a notification or complaint, the Executive Board has a concrete suspicion that this Code of Conduct or specific rule of conduct is not complied with, the Executive Board may give
instruction to enter into a joint discussion on the matter, to conduct a (personal) investigation, or to carry out a risk analysis.
A personal investigation of employees, students, and guests is conducted as follows:
- The integrity coordinator examines whether a notification is admissible and how best to deal with it. This depends on the severity, nature, urgency, and extent of the suspicion.
- If the notification is related to undesirable behavior or scientific integrity, the integrity coordinator will refer to the confidentiality advisor or the confidentiality advisor scientific integrity.
- If the notification is related to a situation to which the Whistleblower Procedure applies, the Integrity Coordinator refers, depending on the report, to the supervisor, promoter or student counselor, or the confidential adviser or the Whistleblower House.
- The integrity coordinator is authorized to discuss the notification and initial findings with the Legal Affairs team and/or the Director Human Resources and may seek advice from them.
- The integrity coordinator advises the Executive Board (and the relevant Director) on how to handle the notification.
- In some cases, a manager can handle a notification him/herself and the integrity coordinator offers advice on how to handle the issue or makes recommendations for improvement.
- In those cases in which the Executive Board, after prior advice from the integrity coordinator, considers that the seriousness of the notification gives rise to further investigation, the Executive Board commissions a (preliminary) fact-finding study
- After prior advice from the Legal Affairs team and based on instructions from the Executive Board, the integrity coordinator is authorized to gain access to the Tilburg University account and data carriers and to conduct research using public sources (social media, etc.).
- The intensity of the investigation will be determined after weighing the proportionality (justified purpose and privacy of data subjects) and subsidiarity (least burdensome and infringing option preferred) of the investigation. If possible, the person(s) concerned are informed of a personal investigation in advance and, in any case, afterwards.
- In the case of personal investigations, there is always an oral hearing with the person(s) concerned prior to the final determination of the outcome of the investigation.
Fraud and plagiarism in education
If a lecturer or invigilator detects fraud during a paper, thesis or examination, or if he or she suspects it, he or she can draw up an official report and confiscate any evidence. The official report is sent to the
School’s Examination Board together with the work. In the case of plagiarism, the lecturer concerned will report this to the Examination Board.
Which sanction a student can expect in case of fraud or plagiarism depends on the seriousness of the fraud committed. The Examination Board may impose one or more of the following measures:
- in all cases: the invalidation of the examination;
- exclusion of a maximum of five specified examinations, whereby the Examination Board takes into account the candidate’s study phase;
- in case of fraud when writing a paper or thesis: writing a new paper or thesis.
As soon as the Examination Board has determined the sanction, it will inform the student of this in writing. If you, as a student, do not agree with the measure or sanction imposed, you can lodge an appeal with the Examination Appeals Board.
Scientific Integrity
In the event of non-compliance with the Code of Conduct on Research Integrity, a complaint may be submitted to the Academic Integrity Committee, and the Executive Board may request this Committee to carry out further (factual) research. The Academic Integrity Committee investigates the complaint and advises the Executive Board. See: Tilburg University Complaint Procedure Scientific Integrity.
Cooperation with investigation
A defendant—an employee, student, or guest against whom a complaint concerning undesirable behavior has been submitted in accordance with the Complaints Procedure Undesirable Behavior or the Complaints Procedure for Scientific Integrity or any other Regulations—is expected to cooperate in the investigation of the complaint, to settle the possible dispute, and then to act in accordance with any specific measures.
Sanctions and measures
The Executive Board is authorized to determine whether, and to what extent, this Code of Conduct or a special rule of conduct has been breached.
If the Code of Conduct or a special rule of conduct has been violated, the Executive Board will consider whether it is possible and desirable to impose a sanction or measure. Of course, a sanction must be appropriate and proportionate. The Executive Board is authorized to impose legal sanctions in serious cases, such as a reprimand, transfer, downgrading, or dismissal. In the event of serious violations, the Executive Board is also authorized to suspend or cancel a student’s enrollment. In less serious cases, the Executive Board may opt for a warning or other measure.
The Executive Board may decide to turn to bodies responsible for external supervision or those that are authorized to impose (other) administrative, disciplinary, or criminal sanctions.
Tilburg University always reports a criminal offence to the police.