Practices and principles concerning studies

The purpose of the rules and regulations is to promote the internal order of Centria University of Applied Sciences (hereinafter referred to as “Centria”), the unhindered flow of studies, and the security & safety and comfort of the Centria community.

The rules apply to all people in the premises and area of the Centria, as well as to staff and students when they perform tasks related to their studies in Centria premises or work elsewhere than in Centria. Where applicable, the rules and regulations are also complied with in activities related to the teaching and research of the university of applied sciences outside the premises of Centria. Internships comply with the agreements between Centria and the workplace, it´s rules and occupational health & safety instructions and, where applicable, these rules and regulations.

In addition to these rules, the university of applied sciences community complies with the legislation concerning its operations, especially the Universities of Applied Sciences Act (932/2014) and the internal guidelines of Centria. These include, among other things, Centria University of Applied Sciences

• Code of Conduct
• Substance abuse and addiction programme for students of Centria University of Applied Sciences
• Substance abuse programme
• Degree Regulations
• Thesis instructions
• Responsible conduct of research and ethical principles
• Academic misconduct and plagiarism guidelines
• Artificial intelligence policies
• Ethical review of the human sciences (TENK)
• Equality plan
• SORA legislation

In premises where separate regulations related to security and/or safety, or the use of the premises, are issued, they must be followed.

Centria University of Applied Sciences premises must behave appropriately. Everyone has the right to equal treatment, personal liberty and integrity, and the right to the protection of private life. All persons are treated fairly and equally, and no violent behavior, bullying, harassment, threats, discrimination or other inappropriate behavior is acceptable. Behaviour and actions must not endanger the security and/or safety or health of others.

Students have the right to a safe study environment. In teaching situations and other work situations, everyone has the right to work and study in peace. In teaching situations, separately given instructions are followed in photographing, recording and publishing them.

Everyone has a general duty to act when they notice a fire or other accident or a threat thereof. The duty to act includes preventing danger and notifying those in danger, making an emergency call and taking rescue measures according to one’s own ability.

Students must leave the campus by 8:00 PM on weekdays if their class has ended. For study-related reasons, some student groups may be granted the right to remain on campus until 9:00 PM.

The possession, use and being under the influence of intoxicants, narcotics or similar intoxicating substances is prohibited in the indoor and outdoor areas of Centria. Smoking is only allowed outdoors in designated areas.

It is not allowed to bring into Centria or to possess during the working day any item(s) or substance(s) the possession of which is prohibited by law, or which may endanger one’s own security and/or safety or the security and/or safety of another, or which is particularly suitable for damaging property, and the possession of which there is no acceptable reason. These include, for example, intoxicants and items and substances provided for in the Public Order Act (612/2003).

However, this does not apply to situations or environments where the use of items and substances classified as hazardous is appropriate in connection with research and teaching with the permission of the (Centria) staff. Storing electric (and non-electric) scooters and bikes indoors is prohibited, as is charging the batteries of electric vehicles.

During the opening hours of the University of Applied Sciences premises, you can move and stay in the premises freely. The premises are intended for study, research and other educational tasks. Access to certain premises may be restricted. If access is restricted and you need to enter the premises in question, you will need an access control tag. People who do not have the right to enter certain premises are not allowed to enter these premises.

In addition to access control and an intrusion alarm system, campus areas and common areas are monitored with camera surveillance system to maintain security and to verify misconduct(s) afterwards. There are signs on camera surveillance in the campus area and facilities.

Property in common use needs to be handled carefully. Any breakage or loss of property, as well as any defects, deficiencies or safety hazards detected in machinery and other equipment or in other environments, must be reported immediately to the Centria´s personnel.

Everyone is obligated to compensate for any damage caused to the property or facilities of the university of applied sciences intentionally or negligently in accordance with the applicable legislation.

As a rule, overnight stays in Centria’s premises are prohibited for fire safety reasons.

Everyone is also responsible for the cleanliness and comfort of the premises.

Vehicles must be parked in the designated parking spaces. The heating places (for cars) are only intended for the staff of the university of applied sciences and the places for visitors only to those visiting the campuses. Electric vehicles´ is charge for charging at charging points and they are only intended for electric and hybrid cars for a certain period (for more information, please contact the security officer at INFO point). Rescue routes are marked and must be kept clear and unobstructed.

For violations of the rules and regulations, the student may be given

• annotation
• written warning
• expel the student for a fixed period
• order to leave the premises
• refuse to participate in teaching

In situations that threaten security, the police can be contacted (112).

The updated rules and regulations came into force on 15^th October, 2025.

The rules and regulations are confirmed by the Rector of Centria University of Applied Sciences Ltd.

• The teacher of the course must inform the students of the principles, benefits and disadvantages of the use of AI on their course. If the use of AI is prohibited, the scope of this prohibition should be justified. Equality must be taken into account during the course. The use of AI cannot be required within a study unit if this would incur costs for the student. 
• In terms of accountability, AI does not fulfil the definition of an author. Works produced must be the author’s own – they must not present the ideas, information, words or other material of others without sufficient referencing. Authors are always responsible for the precision, accuracy, integrity and originality of their works, also when making use of AI. 

• The use of AI in producing the content of a work must be clearly stated and explained when the work is returned by the student, just as is the case for other software, tools and methodologies. This is done in accordance with the Centria University of Applied Sciences’ instructions on referencing. 
• The constraints listed above are applied with particular care in the case of theses. AI must not be used to support the preparation of a maturity test. 

When using AI tools, the student must pay attention to the following: 

• The author is always responsible for their own work. 
• AI systems are only programmes – they have their limitations. AI does not have competence in or understanding of the content it produces. Be aware of these limitations so that you can assess the suitability of the use of AI in different situations. 
• Follow general ethical principles such as fairness, equality and respect for other students and teachers. 

If a student either (a) uses AI in a context where its use is prohibited or (b) does not report the use of AI in the appropriate manner, they are considered guilty of cheating. Such cases are handled in accordance with the Centria University of Applied Sciences’ guidelines on dealing with cheating. 

Unethical conduct that violates good research practices can be classified as follows:

Unauthorised borrowing, i.e., plagiarism: using other people’s ideas, texts, information or other material produced by them without giving credit.

Examples:

• A student copies the texts of another person without quotation marks and in-text references indicating the source texts.
• A student presents another person’s ideas or theories in their own words without mentioning the source.
• A student uses information that is not commonly known without mentioning sources.
• A student does not mention their partners/classmates in joint homework or laboratory tasks.

Self-plagiarism: Using a student’s own ideas, words, information or other material produced by the student and delivered to Centria or other educational institution for evaluation or publication without mentioning this.

Example:

• A student submits the same assignment in two different courses.

Forbidden contract: hiring a third party to deliver work that is then used or presented as part of an official assessment as if it were the student’s own work.

Example:

• A student pays another person/company for work that is supposed to be their homework or thesis. 

Unauthorised cooperation: working with others without giving notice or using the ideas or words of another person’s work without giving credit, as if it were the student’s own. If a student allows others to use their ideas or words without giving them credit, this can also be considered unauthorised cooperation.

Example:

• A student requests a work from another student and delivers it as if it were their own
• A student assists another student during an EXAM test session.

Pretending to be another person in an exam or other study-related situation  Example:

• Student A pretends to be student B and participates in student B’s exam.
• Student A helps student B to pretend to be student C in an exam.

Fabrication, i.e., presenting fabricated observations or results as your own

Fabrication means falsifying or distorting information, results or other research findings or viewpoints. It may also be related to the presentation or storage of data; in which case the data are presented as if they were real. This may also concern documentation and falsification of the consents of people involved in a study.

Example:

• A student claims to have interviewed people or collected data using questionnaires even though they have not done so.

Possession of unauthorised materials or electronic devices during an exam or in other similar study-related situations Example:

• A student uses a dictionary in a Finnish language test even though the teacher has not allowed it.
• A student uses their phone during a test even though it is not allowed.
• A student uses unauthorized materials in the EXAM space.

Using AI contrary to teachers guidelines Example:

• A student uses AI against an instructor’s guidelines, such as failing to disclose AI usage or presenting AI-generated text as their own work.

The preceding list of plagiarism and cheating situations is not exhaustive, but it gives an overall picture of how you cannot or should not act at Centria University of Applied Sciences in order to comply with good, ethical study and research practices.

As teaching experts, Centria teachers will recognise assignments that have been copied from another source or that have not been properly referred to. Teachers may also use specialised programs such as (but not limited to) Ouriginal and Turnitin to verify the authenticity of students’ assignments. These tools can detect any text matching with an original source. The teacher also has the expertise and obligation to intervene in other forms of cheating described above.

Originality check is part of the assessment and evaluation of a study attainment. A student cannot refuse to use a system to check their study attainment if they want their study attainment to be graded. Upon request, the student must submit their study attainments in electronic format for assessment and grading.

The student’s consent is not needed for the temporary storage of the study attainment in the system when the study attainment has been submitted to the teacher for assessment or grading or when the study attainment has been assessed.

In the following text, when referring to “register,” the term means an internal application created for Centria. Information is submitted to this register via an online form, and access to the register’s data is granted to degree program managers, leaders of teaching, and the IT department.

Cheating has been proven in a single assignment that affects evaluation

• The teacher rejects the assignment and explains the reason to the student.
• The information is entered in a register.
• The student redoes the failed assignment or cheating is taken into account in the assessment as indicated by the teacher.

Repeated cheating in assignments or cheating in an exam/final assignment

• The Head of Education asks the student and the teacher to write a statement on what has happened.
• Based on the statements of the student and the teacher, the Head of Education makes a decision on issuing a note to the student.
• The Head of Education notifies the student of the decision by e-mail.
• The Head of Education enters notification to the incident in a register.
• Documents related to the notifications, such as relevant emails and statements, should be submitted to kirjaamo@centria.fi.
• The student redoes the failed assignment, possibly on a new topic.

The student continues cheating or cheats in their thesis

• The Head of Education asks the student and the teacher to write a statement on what has happened.
• The Head of Education invites the student, teacher and, if necessary, the Vice-Rector (Education) (or person Vice-Rector appoints) to attend a hearing. The student may also invite another person for support.  During the meeting, the student is asked to provide consent for electronical notifications, using a designated consent form.
• A memorandum is prepared on the hearing and sent to the Vice-Rector (education)
• The Vice-Rector (education) makes a proposal to the Rector on potentially issuing a warning for disciplinary proceedings under section 38 of the Universities of Applied Sciences Act.
• The Rector decides on the warning and makes a separate D decision, all documents related to matter are stored in the case management system. 
• The decision shall be sent for information to the parties concerned.
• The student redoes the failed assignment on a new topic.

Student continues cheating despite the hearing or the warning

• The Vice-Rector (Education) (or person Vice-Rector appoints) invites the student in question and the Head of Education to attend a hearing. The student may also invite another person for support.
• A memorandum is prepared on the hearing and sent to the Rector. During the meeting, the student is asked to provide consent for electronical notifications, using a designated consent form.
• The Rector makes a proposal to the Board of the University of Applied Sciences on the student’s temporary suspension for up to one year under section 38 of the Universities of Applied Sciences Act.
• All documents related to matter are stored in the case management system.
• The Board decides on the suspension of the student for a fixed period.
• Information on the suspension is also entered in the Peppi system.

Good governance must be complied with when dealing with plagiarism and cheating cases. It is particularly important that the matter is dealt with without undue delay and that students are given the opportunity to be heard before any decisions on sanctions are made. 

Students must also be given the opportunity to invite a support person in the personal hearing, reprimand or other meeting organised by Centria for discussing the matter. The process of handling allegations of misconduct is not public. When a case is dealt with, it will only be communicated to those who process the case as part of their duties or who can provide additional information on the matter. The student will be informed of the progress of the case.

The student may receive a written warning if they:

1. interfere with teaching;
2. behave violently or threateningly;
3. cheat or otherwise violate the order of the university of applied sciences;
4. refuse to present a drug test certificate referred to in section 36; or
5. have, on the basis of the report referred to in section 36, used drugs for non-medical purposes in such a way that their functional capacity has deteriorated.

If the act or neglect is serious or if the student continues the inappropriate behaviour referred to in subsection 1 after receiving a written warning, they may be suspended from the university of applied sciences for a fixed period of no more than one year.