The Catalogue of Student Rights
The Law of Georgia on Higher Education grants students a broad catalogue of rights that is binding on every higher education institution. If you hold student status, the law gives you the following rights:
- to receive quality education and to participate in scientific research;
- to use the material, technical, library, information and other facilities of the institution on equal terms, in the manner established by its charter, internal rules and regulations;
- to elect a representative and to be elected to student self-governance and to the governing bodies of the institution and of the basic educational unit, through universal, direct and equal elections by secret ballot;
- to freely establish and/or join student organisations in accordance with your own interests;
- to freely express your own opinion and to give reasoned refusal to share the ideas offered during the learning process;
- to transfer to another higher education institution from the second year of study, in the manner established by Georgian legislation and the charter of the receiving institution;
- to receive a scholarship, financial or material assistance and other benefits from the state, the institution or other sources;
- to choose an educational programme and to participate in developing an individual educational programme;
- to periodically evaluate the work of the academic personnel.
This list is not exhaustive: beyond the rights named above, a student also exercises every other competence conferred by this law and by other legislation of Georgia. In addition, for students with disabilities the institution is obliged to create the appropriate conditions necessary for full-fledged education, as determined by the Georgian law on the rights of persons with disabilities and by the charter of the institution.
The Right to Mobility and Its Exceptions
As a general rule, the right to transfer to another higher education institution arises from the second year of study, and the concrete procedure for transfer is determined by Georgian legislation and by the charter of the receiving institution. The law simultaneously provides an important exception: if a higher education institution has been liquidated without determining a legal successor, has lost its authorisation, or the relevant educational programme is no longer delivered, the right to mobility arises for the student regardless of the length of the period of study at that institution.
Special rules apply to a convicted student: such a person does not have the right to be elected to student self-governance and to the governing bodies, nor to join student organisations. Within the limits established by Georgian legislation, a convicted student may also be restricted in the right to use the facilities of the institution on equal terms, to receive a scholarship and assistance, and to evaluate the work of the academic personnel.
A student of an Orthodox theological higher education institution does not enjoy the rights related to elections and to the evaluation of the academic personnel. The mobility of such a student to another, non-theological institution is impermissible; transfer to another Orthodox theological institution or programme is possible only under the rule established by the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia and the procedure defined by the charter of the institution.
Military Institutions and the State Security Academy
In a military higher education institution the right to suspend student status is regulated specifically. A student has the right to suspend student status in the following cases:
- upon enrolment in a military higher education institution when sent to a foreign country by the system of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia;
- during studies at the second level of academic higher education, if the suspension is necessary and is initiated by the administrative body in which the student is employed during the studies;
- during studies at the second level, in the case of non-payment of tuition within the set deadline — for a period of no more than 1 year.
Beyond these cases, the possibility to use the right of suspension is granted to the student on the grounds of pregnancy, childbirth and/or childcare, as well as during second-level studies if the state of health has deteriorated for at least 4 months — except for a student holding the status of military serviceman and a student presented by an administrative body. A student holding the status of military serviceman has the right to suspension upon deterioration of health on the basis of a finding of incompatibility with military service; on the same basis, that student may use the right to mobility during studies in a programme of the first or second level of academic higher education, in any semester.
If a person studying in a second-level programme at a military higher education institution is dismissed from the administrative body that presented him or her to that institution, the student status terminates after further mobility is declared. However, the status will not terminate if, within 10 working days from being notified of the dismissal decision, the person applies in writing to the military higher education institution either on paying the tuition and continuing the studies, or on suspending the status for no more than 1 year. A student of the State Security Academy has the right to suspend the status and to use mobility where the grounds envisaged by the academy's charter exist, and the grounds for termination of that student's status are likewise determined by the academy's charter.
Personal Information, Fair Assessment and Freedom of Expression
Personal information expressed by a student in the presence of academic personnel, information about the student's views, faith and political beliefs, as well as information about disciplinary measures taken against the student, is confidential. An exception is admissible only where the student gives permission, or the administration has a lawful interest in protecting the safety and legally protected rights of others. Information about the student's academic performance and about disciplinary measures must be stored separately, and when storing information about a student the administration is obliged to follow the procedure established by the General Administrative Code of Georgia.
A higher education institution is forbidden to use its powers and material-technical base in such a way as to create a threat of censorship or to restrict freedom of expression. At the same time, the institution is obliged to ensure fair assessment of the student's knowledge and for this purpose to develop appropriate procedures. In practice this means that assessment must rest on transparent and objective criteria rather than on an attitude toward the person.
Disciplinary Proceedings and Appeal
Disciplinary proceedings against a student must be proportionate to the disciplinary offence and may be carried out only in the cases and in the manner envisaged by the charter and internal rules of the institution, in compliance with the requirements of the law and of fair procedure. The institution is obliged to develop a code of student ethics, which may impose restrictions on the conduct of the student where this is connected with the management of the educational process, and to define in detail the rule of conduct that triggers disciplinary liability.
The commencement of disciplinary proceedings must not restrict the student's right to participate in the learning process, except in the cases envisaged by the charter and internal rules, where it endangers the protection of the rights, health, property and safety of others. The matter is decided by the institution itself, whose charter determines the body authorised to adopt the decision. The student has the right to attend the consideration of his or her own case and, in the course of the proceedings, enjoys the following guarantees:
- to receive a reasoned written decision on the commencement of disciplinary proceedings;
- to attend the consideration of the case and to exercise the right of defence;
- to submit to the relevant body the information and evidence at his or her disposal;
- to participate in the examination of the evidence obtained by the relevant body of the institution;
- to request that the case be considered at a public hearing.
The burden of proof in a disciplinary case lies on the accusing party, and the decision must be reasoned and based on evidence obtained in accordance with the legislation and the acts of the institution; every piece of evidence underlying the proceedings must be examined by the relevant body. A decision adopted by the institution may be appealed by the student to a court. Student status terminates upon completion of the relevant educational programme or in other cases envisaged by the charter of the institution.
Student Duties and Student Self-Governance
Along with the rights, the law imposes duties on the student: he or she is obliged to study, under the programme established by the institution, every subject chosen of his or her own will whose teaching is mandatory, and to observe the charter and internal rules of the institution.
Student self-governance in a higher education institution is created according to the basic educational units, by secret ballot, on the basis of universal, equal and direct elections. The union of the student self-governances elected in the basic units is the self-governance of the institution itself, which drafts the statute of student self-governance. In accordance with its statute, the self-governance:
- ensures the participation of students in the management of the institution;
- promotes the protection of students' rights;
- elects its representatives to the council of the basic educational unit and/or to the consultative body created by the head of an international school or an international master-doctoral school;
- drafts and submits to the relevant body proposals for improving the management system and the quality of teaching;
- exercises other powers envisaged by the statute.
The decisive guarantee is that the administration of the institution has no right to interfere in the activities of student self-governance. If in your assessment the administration restricts the self-governance or your own rights, bear in mind that any decision of the institution is subject to appeal in court.