Student’s Rights

The College requires that each candidate for the BA or BSc Honours Degree complete a minimum of 90 ECTS in residence.

The College is committed to the value of intellectual debate and diversity of opinion. In line with the above the College encourages students to practise good citizenship and to exercise their rights as citizens of a democratic country.

The College believes that students should be encouraged to learn, inquire about the truth and carry out their scholastic work within an atmosphere of freedom.

The College is genuinely concerned about the intellectual, spiritual and ethical well-being of its students. To guide them, the College publishes in its handbook the rules of student conduct, thus allowing the College to function in an orderly manner.

The College provides the necessary venues for students to participate in the process of managing the College. Central to this process is student participation in the Administrative, Disciplinary and Academic Committees. Students are encouraged to submit suggestions and recommendations for changes in policy through the relevant committees and their own Students’ Association.

It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that he meets the required academic standards and that he removes any academic deficiency as quickly as possible. Students who encounter difficulty should confer with their Department Head and Adviser without delay.

The College places importance on student-staff contact outside the normal teaching relationship. In this regard the College assigns to each student an Advisor. A student can contact his Advisor for assistance with academic and other general matters.

The College assigns the same Advoser to students of the same class. The Advoser is accessible to students to discuss overall performance. After informing the College management, the Advisor may communicate with the parents of students if he deems this to be necessary.

The Advisor submits to the Head of the Department, at regular intervals, progress reports on students he advises, including notes on particular areas such as learning problems and absences.

The College provides students with a special career guidance service to help them make career decisions. The College relies on the student Advisors to remain informed on career options and to be able to discuss with students their concerns and provide advice as appropriate. When needed the College commissions the services of external organisations to advise students on job searches and strategies, resume preparation, interviewing and other job placement activities.

Students are required to attend classes regularly and punctually, to carry out satisfactory work set by their lecturers and to take the prescribed examinations. Absence from examinations and failure to submit assignments when requested to do so, except for the most compelling of reasons for which evidence must be submitted to the lecturer and the Head of Department, may result in a failing grade.

Any student who, during an academic semester, accumulates a total of five days of absence from classes either without approved leave of absence or adequate justification is referred to the Academic Committee by the Head of Department for consideration of his case. Upon the submission of adequate cause, permission for absence may be granted by the Head of Department.

Some courses may require that students undertake one or more periods of practical training in industry, commerce or the professions. Progress in the course could partly depend on the standard of work achieved by the student whilst in a practical placement. It is expected of students to observe with diligence the guidelines relating to practical projects.

Students enrolled at the Philips College are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. The Philips College will not condone academic offences in any form. To do so would be unfair to those students who perform honestly. Academic offences undermine the confidence of the student in his ability to learn and perform and casts a shadow on the value of all Philips degrees: present, past and future. Students have a responsibility to each other to report academic offences to the proper academic authority. It is an academic offence for a student following any scheme of study to use unfair means in relation to any method of assessment.

It is an academic offence for a candidate to communicate with any other candidate or copy from any other candidate’s paper in a written examination or, unless expressly permitted in writing in the instructions for a specific written examination, to introduce any written or printed material into the examination room.

It is an academic offence for a candidate to present any work written by others as his own. In work for which a candidate is allowed access to written or printed material, direct quotations should be so indicated and page references should be made to the source. Where the work of another person is paraphrased or substantially followed this should be indicated with page references to the source. Quotations or paraphrases from unpublished work (including that of other students) should be acknowledged in exactly the same way as quotations or paraphrases from published work. Collaboration with others should be acknowledged and its precise extent described. Active collaboration with a person committing an academic offence shall itself constitute an academic offence.

In submitting any dissertation or thesis as part of the work to be assessed for a degree, candidates shall sign a statement that they have fully acknowledged any assistance from, or use of the work of others.

Project or other work which forms part of an examination must be submitted by the required date; otherwise, the student’s examination results shall be adversely affected.

Any student found guilty of an academic offence (cheating, plagiarism, fraud etc.) shall, for the first offence receive an «F» in the course. For a second offence a student shall be suspended from the College for the remainder of the semester or alternatively for one or two semesters. Readmission shall be contingent upon the approval of the Academic Committee.

When a student is charged with an academic offence, his Head of Department will send a letter to the student stating the formal charge and the sanctions to be imposed. The letter will also contain a five day deadline for the student to file an appeal with the Disciplinary Appeals Committee if he so wishes.

Students failing to meet the academic standards established by the College, that is students who fail to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 1,70 or better at the end of a semester, shall be placed on probation. A student will be removed from probation if both the cumulative and semester averages are 1,70 or higher.

The probationary period provides students with the opportunity to correct deficiencies. Such a period may last for no more than two consecutive regular semesters. Failure to achieve the required standard by the end of the probationary period will disqualify the student from earning a degree but does not disqualify him from earning non-degree awards e.g. certificate or diploma.

If at the end of the first probationary semester, the student fails to lift his probationary status, a notice will be sent by the Academic Committee to the student, his Advisor and his Departmental Head stating that the student has been placed on probation for a second consecutive semester and that he will be disqualified from earning a degree unless he lifts this probation, or be suspended from the College or be dismissed from the College. Students who are dismissed may not apply for readmission.

Students who are suspended from the College may apply for readmission under the special conditions described earlier under the heading of “Readmission of Former Students”.

Students placed on probation are neither allowed to represent the College in extracurricular activities, nor to participate actively in teams, clubs, plays, committees or competitions. They may not be nominated for office in the Students’ Association.

An undergraduate student is classified as follows:

The normal semester ECTS load for a full-time undergraduate student varies in relation to programme requirements and is in the region of 30 to 35 ECTS. The department head’s approval is central to the determination of the student’s precise ECTS load. A ECTS is defined as one lecture or recitation a week. No student may extend his studies at the Philips College for more than eight years.

Student status shall be determined by the number of ECTS per semester. A full-time student is one who registers for 25 or more ECTS and a part-time student is one who registers for less than 25 ECTS. The only exception to this regulation will be those students who in the final semester before graduation need less than 25 ECTS to graduate. These will be considered as full-time students. A full-time student may not extend his period of study for the degree by more than four semesters.

The College places great importance on the emotional and social maturity of students, believing that students should be provided with ample opportunities to develop such attributes.

All students are encouraged to participate actively in sports and related physical education activities. This approach rests on the sound belief that such activities help students develop a better sense of team-work and competition. Social relationships are thus developed through play and interaction.

To help students fulfill the above objectives, the College encourages them to use the available sports facilities either to play on their own or to train in a more formal way as members of the College teams which participate in various national tournaments. Physical education activities are guided by qualified staff. On several occasions Philips sports teams have competed in Europe against other National champions.

In pursuit of its philosophy the College encourages students to participate in a variety of social and other creative extra-curricular activities which aim to help them develop their overall personality. Such activities cover, amongst others, music, dancing, theatre and shows. All these activities culminate in a public show at the end of the spring semester which is open to the community.

Students are encouraged to use their initiative and to develop relationships with organisations outside the College. In this way, they contribute in a wider sense and do not limit their contribution to the College community only. Such relationships span social welfare organisations and other related bodies. During national celebrations students participate actively with non-College bodies to make such activities a success.

Social activities with a more direct educational component are also encouraged. These include the organisation of lectures and presentations by outside speakers at the invitation of students. Panel discussions and debates feature strongly in these kind of activities. Students participate actively in debates either as individuals or as members of teams.

All such activities are spearheaded by the representatives of the students under the guidance of staff members with experience and interest in such activities. Orientation programmes are set up for new students to help them adjust to the academic and social life of the College. Such programmes, though developed by the College, rely heavily on the participation of third- and fourth-year students who act as guides to younger students helping them to adjust as quickly as possible. This approach rests on the belief that peer support is critical to speedy adjustment.

Students are also encouraged to involve themselves in writing and publication. In this regard they publish their own paper and contribute articles to the College journal. They also contribute articles to outside publications.

Transcripts are provided by the Registrar’s Office, and are issued only upon the written request of students at least three weeks prior to the date required. To collect transcripts a student must present valid identification. No transcript will be issued if the student has an outstanding debt to the College. All grades, disciplinary actions, academic suspensions and degrees awarded are included on the transcript.

An official transcript carries the College Seal and an authorised signature. Official transcripts are usually mailed directly to educational institutions and employers. A student may obtain a transcript for his or her personal use that does not carry the Seal and signature. Partial transcripts are not issued; each transcript must include the student’s complete record at the Philips College.

A student wishing to receive a transcript whilst the semester is still in progress may do so by completing a written application. Such transcripts include subjects completed in the previous semester.

Upon completion of a current semester’s work, the student may desire to send a follow-up transcript to include those subjects not covered in the original transcript. This follow-up transcript, called a “supplementary transcript,” is mailed free of charge. A request for a supplementary transcript must be made at the same time as the initial request by submitting two separate application forms. There is a charge for each original transcript issued. No transcripts can be issued until the student settles all his financial obligations to the College.

A transcript of work completed at any secondary school or at any College other than the Philips College must be obtained directly from that institution.