MU study and examination regulations (previous version)
(in force as of 1 September 2006)
Part One
Principal Statutes
Section 1
Introductory Statutes
(1) The Masaryk University Rules for Studies and Examinations (henceforth “Rules”) set forth the procedures for study in the degree programmes (henceforth “Programme”) accredited by Masaryk University and held at its faculties, as well as the rules for holding the advanced state examinations other than programme-closing ones. These Rules apply, similarly, for study in Programmes that are held at the level of Masaryk University (henceforth “MU”).
(2) The Rules are based especially on the Institutions of Higher Education Act No. 111/1998, and the alterations and amendments thereto (henceforth “Act”) and the Statutes of MU (henceforth “Statutes”).
(3) These Rules are binding for and apply to the whole MU, its elements, students and staff as well as other persons as stipulated in the statutes herein.
Section 2
Study Organising General Statutes
(1) The Dean and the Rector are responsible for the organization, administration, and control of studies under programmes at the particular faculty or MU level, respectively. The Dean or the Rector may delegate the authority or a part of it under his/her responsibility to the determined Vice-Deans or Vice-Rectors, respectively. They also may deliver the authority for organization of study, or a defined part of it to the appointed academic staff.
(2) The information, which is to be released as stipulated by these Rules will be communicated to the public through the IS MU unless these Rules specify otherwise.
(3) In the events specified by the appropriate regulations, information will be also communicated to the public by means of:
a) the official MU bulletin boards or the official bulletin boards of the MU faculties;
b) the printed catalogues of courses of the faculties, or
c) the institutional www-pages of MU and/or its faculties
(4) The students enrolled to the programmes held in a foreign language as stipulated in subsection 58 (5) of the Act are entitled to require so that instructions, course completion, closure of studies as well as any meeting with the students concerning study issues administration be held in the same language that is used for, in line with its contents, holding the questioned programme.
Section 3
Academic Year Schedule
(1) The academic year is twelve months in duration and is divided into fall and spring semesters. The Rector determines the beginning dates of the academic year and of instructions in each of the semesters. A semester includes at least one week set aside for enrolment to semester, no less than three weeks for course enrolment, no less than twelve and no more than fifteen weeks of instruction, and at least six weeks of examination period so that
a) The examination period does not overlap instructions and precede the next semester enrolment period.
b) The semester enrolment period ends not later than on the fifth working day following the instruction opening date of that particular semester.
c) The course enrolment period ends on the thirteenth calendar day following the instruction opening date of that particular semester except enrolment to intensive and/or specially scheduled courses being under Dean’s responsibility to stipulate the enrolment rules for such courses.
d) The remainder of the semester is vacations.
(2) The time schedule for the academic year is given by the timetables of MU and faculties. The timetables are set each year by the Rector after consultation with the Deans so that all faculties begin instruction on the same date, and so that a testing period of no less than three week duration takes place simultaneously at all of the faculties. The timetables must determine the semester course enrolment periods (section 11).
Section 4
Programmes and Modes of Studies
(1) The Programmes are grouped into fields of study (henceforth “fields of study”). The fields of study may be further divided into specialisations of study (henceforth “specialisations”). The programmes are generally held at the faculties.
(2) The list of programmes accredited at MU, divided into fields of study, including type, mode and standard length is posted on the official MU bulletin board. The list of programmes held by the faculties is, with the same content and in corresponding scope, posted on the faculty official bulletin boards.
(3) The documents that based rendering the decision on the program accreditation, including the contents of a programme according to section 44(2) of the Act (henceforth “programme content”) must be posted in full on www-pages and the faculties that hold the programme (henceforth “respective faculty”).
(4) No later than on 31 May, MU and each faculty enters the IS MU with the following Catalogue of Courses items content for the next academic year:
a) The timetable of the academic year for MU or the faculty, respectively,
b) A complete list of courses available for the students to enrol for in the following academic year, including number of contact instruction classes, credit values (subsection 6 (2)), prescribed completion options and lecturers’ names,
c) description of courses to include annotations, mentioning the knowledge and skills (competency) the students are expected to learn and/or develop in the course, and course syllabus and the content/formal requirements for course completion,
d) conditions that would restrict course enrolment, if applicable, especially the requirements implied by course flow within the programme (obligation of completing certain course(s) prior to enrolment) and marking for required and selective courses (subsection 11 (5)),
e) The regulations for determining plans of study under each of the programmes, fields of study or specialisations that shall be available for the students to enrol in or register for in the following academic year, including enrolment conditions for the courses mentioned under b),
f) A recommended plan of study for each of the programmes, fields of study or specialisations available for the students to enrol in or register for in the following academic year in the form of content-based draft schedule of course flow within standard length,
g) The complete Rules and all pertinent regulations of the faculty or Dean’s measures or a reference to their posting,
h) A list of persons responsible for correct content and formal implementation of each programme and for settling the collisions during study, if any.
i) The data mentioned under b), c) and d) shall be entered via the electronic Catalogue of Courses.
(5) The printed catalogue of courses may be updated as of the date of opening the course enrolment period.
(6) The studies in a programme may be held in either on-site, distance or combined mode.
Section 5
Interfaculty and Interuniversity Studies
(1) Interuniversity studies for the purpose of these Rules are considered studies held
a) in a programme accredited at MU that involves participation of other legal entities in the Czech Republic or abroad,
b) in a programme accredited at another university or institution that involves participation of MU,
c) in cooperation with a foreign university that holds a content-relative programme and where the student meets a part of his/her requirements of study.
(2) Interfaculty studies for the purpose of these Rules are considered:
a) single-field studies that involve participation of other MU faculties in substantial rate in line with programme content,
b) multiple-field studies composed of fields belonging to the programmes held by various MU faculties mentioned in the accreditation certificate.
(3) The regulations for holding interuniversity studies are defined in the agreement made by MU and other entities contributing to such studies implementation. The Dean of the faculty signs such an agreement if the interuniversity studies are held according to subsection 1, letter c), he/she can perform the authority after the appropriate doctoral board had given consent for the studies in a doctoral degree programme. The rules of holding interfaculty studies are determined in an agreement made by the involved faculties.
(4) For an interfaculty single-field study, the student enrols for study at the faculty that is mentioned in the accreditation certificate. For an interfaculty multi-field study, the student enrols for study at a faculty of those that hold the programmes where the multi-field study fields are embodied. The faculty shall be determined in the agreement mentioned under subsection 3 and the student enrols for corresponding programme at this faculty.
(5) The agreement under subsection 3 contains primarily:
a) admission procedure rules,
b) ways and dates of communicating academic records among the counter parties,
c) weekly timetable creation rules,
d) agreement on the procedures of final state examination or advanced state examination for medicine fields and the agreement on examination board composition procedure,
e) university diploma draft,
f) agreement on mutual payments for interuniversity study implementation,
g) determination of the faculty at which the students enrol for each type of multi-field studies,
h) identification of the academic staff or employees responsible for study organization and study-collision settlements, if any occurs, during study,
i) in case mentioned under 1 c) also
1. study conditions and ways to recognise its previous parts,
2. doctoral studies board establishment to include the representation of a foreign university for the case of doctoral programme studies.
(6) If the agreement made under subsection 3 stipulates so, the graduates from the studies held under 1 c) receive a common degree that follows the stipulations of subsection 45 (4), subsection 46 (4), or subsection 47 (5) of the Act and that are in compliance with legal regulations in force in involved countries. The university diploma states both of the contributing universities.
Part Two
General Provisions For The Progress of Studies
Chapter I
Organisation and Records of Studies
Section 6
Credit System
(1) Fulfilment of the requirements of studies in a programme (henceforth “studies”) is recorded through a credit system based on the principles of the European Credit Transfer System (henceforth “ECTS”).
(2) The basic unit of studies is a course. The amount of study necessary to complete a course is expressed in the assigned number of credits (henceforth “credit value”).
(3) The credit value of each course or group of courses or stage of studies is determined in line with the ECTS principles.
(4) A condition for completion of study in each of the programmes, fields of study or specialisations is the acquisition of credits awarded for completing the courses within a prescribed plan, the overall count of which reaches at least the minimum credit value of studies that is set at thirty times the standard length of studies in a programme expressed in semesters. For the programmes that combine multiple fields of study the minimum credit value is set as weighted average value calculated for each field of study. The weight of the value calculated for the field of study, is defined by the recommended number of credits that represents the field of study in the combination, or is determined in the programme. For the programmes accredited in combined or distance mode the minimum credit value is calculated from the standard length of study in equivalent programmes accredited in on-site mode, if such a programme exists, or the minimum standard length is used that is stipulated for the programme type in sections 44 through 46 of the Act.
(5) The credits received during studies in programmes including the lifelong learning programmes held at MU are included into all concurrently studied programmes for the purposes of subsection 12 (2).
Section 7
Student Records
(1) The progress of studies of each MU student is entered into student records kept in IS MU. For the purposes of the records the following is considered being a study:
a) studies taken by the student in a programme to include relation to a field of study and/or specialisation,
b) studies taken by the student in a programme to include relation to fields of study in combination with other fields of study.
c) Every entry of such a student’s study is kept individually.
(2) MU will issue to the student or former student, upon request, the student records transcript according to subsections 57 (1), letter b), and (3) of the Act, this in the form of a printout of the records of studies as mandated under subsection 1. The transcript may be issued to the student by the office for studies affiliated to the faculty without request if deemed necessary. In case of doubt, the Dean shall initiate investigation of the transcript data correctness and issues the result of it in a decision.
(3) The Examiner (subsection 16 (3)) or the Chairperson of the examination board (subsection 23 (1)) or another authorised person is responsible for that the course completion result of each student is entered in IS MU not later than in seven workdays after the date of completion.
(4) It is not student’s responsibility to authenticate information of his/her studies progress inherent in the academic records to MU, its bodies, parts or personnel.
Section 8
Courses and Groups of Courses
(1) For the purposes of these Rules, courses and groups of courses that are parts of the programmes held at MU, at the MU faculties or at other institutions of higher education, are classified as required, selective, or elective. This description of a course or a group of courses always relates to a particular study (subsection 7 (1)). The courses open by the faculties or university institutes beyond the programme framework are elective.
(2) Required courses are those whose completion as well as the prescribed manner of completion is mandatory. Selective courses are those included in a required group of courses. Required groups of courses are sets of courses from which it is mandatory to complete a certain number of them, including the prescribed manner of completion, or a minimum number of credits. Other courses are elective in relation to the study.
(3) Work on the thesis the defence of which is a part of the final state examination prescribed for the programme or the defence of which is a part of the closure of studies in the programme (henceforth “final thesis”) is a required course for the programme.
(4) For the purposes of study credit value, only credits for courses the content of which is not identical or substantially overlapping may be recognized. The Dean or Rector will appropriately limit the right of students to register for, enrol in, or have recognized credits from overlapping courses.
(5) For particular elective courses for which the content of study activities is substantially different each time the course is offered, the Dean of the faculty holding the programme may allow repeating the course more than once during the period of studies, and the accumulation of credits thus acquired. Enrolment in and completion of courses repeated in this manner are not considered repeated courses within the meaning of section 21.
Section 9
Instruction
(1) The instruction in the courses held by the MU faculties or by MU will be conducted by means of lectures, class exercises, seminars, practical work, laboratory exercises, practical training, field trips, internships, fieldwork, special courses, and consultations.
(2) For on-site students, participation in instruction is mandatory, with the exception of lectures and consultations. Participation in other types of instruction mentioned under subsection (1) may be substituted by other requirements depending on the statutes of course description (section 4 (4), letter c)). For combined/distance students, participation in instruction is optional unless programme content implies otherwise.
(3) Instruction during semesters is organized according to weekly schedules, with the exception of courses that require intensive or specially scheduled instruction being designated as such in the programme. The weekly schedules are furnished by the faculty so as to respect the recommended plans of study for programmes, fields of study and specialisations, and to minimize time conflicts among the courses for which individual students have enrolled concurrently.
(4) The faculty makes the weekly schedules public prior to the beginning of semester instruction. Timetables for intensive instruction and/or specially scheduled instruction are released by the faculty at least a week in advance.
Chapter II
Progress of Study
Section 10
Introductory StatutesEnrolment for Study and Repeated Enrolment for Study
(1) Received admission notification originates, as of the date of receiving admission notification, the right of the applicant accepted to a programme held at a MU faculty to enrol for studies and to enrol for the first semester. The applicant has got the right to be enrolled for studies in all programmes he/she has been accepted to. The applicant becomes a MU student enrolled at the appropriate faculty as of the date of enrolment for studies.
(2) The person whose studies have been interrupted (section 13) is entitled to re-enrol for studies and to enrol for the next semester (section 12) as of the date the interruption of studies expire. The person becomes a MU student enrolled at a particular MU faculty on the date of his/her repeated enrolment for studies.
(3) The period of enrolment for study and enrolment for semester (section 12) is defined in the academic year calendar. Enrolment for study or repeated enrolment for study has to be done personally at the faculty that holds the programme or at the faculty as determined in subsection 5 (4). Those who cannot enrol for study within the determined period may apply for an alternate date, however not later than on the last day of the period for enrolment. Should they fail applying for an alternate date or enrolling on the determined alternate date, their right of enrolment for study expires.
(4) In case of doubt, the Dean decides whether person’s right of enrolment for study or of repeated enrolment for study had or had not expired. The student who fails earning the right of enrolment for the next semester (subsection 12 (1) finishes the studies following subsection 56 (1), letter b), of the Act. The procedure of decision making in this case comply the stipulations of section 68 of the Act.
Section 11
Registration and Course Enrolment
(1) The student makes a choice of courses for each of the studies in IS MU in the period specified for next semester course registration (subsection 3 (1), letter c)). The courses are to be completed within the semester of study (henceforth “course registration”).
(2) Students apply for enrolment in courses for a given semester by registering through the IS MU (henceforth “registration”) during the period set aside for registration, as mentioned in the academic year timetable, or within the course registration period, if necessary.
(3) The period of registration will be set by the Dean so that its beginning precedes the first day of the period of enrolment for courses.
(4) For certain courses, the Dean of the faculty has the right to require registration sufficiently in advance of course enrolment so that information taken from registration can be used to assist in setting the schedule or in determining which of the courses will actually be offered for enrolment. This obligation does not apply to semesters immediately following enrolment for studies and or repeated enrolment for studies.
(5) The number of students who are to be enrolled in a course may be limited by the Dean in case of special need. In such a case, the Dean sets exact conditions of student prioritisation so that priority is given to the students who apply for these courses in the registration period and for whom these courses are required or selective. The Rector may set additional conditions for prioritisation in course enrolment applicable to all students, prior to registration starts.
(6) The student is obliged to follow the programme (field, specialisation) study plan composition guide when enrolling for courses. Enrolment into registered courses may be conditioned with previous successful completion of other courses as specified in the rules resulting from the programme content.
(7) The Dean may set in advance more conditions for enrolment in elective courses whose nature demands such an attitude.
(8) Enrolment in a course gives the student the right to participate in all aspects of instruction or other study activity necessary to complete the course.
(9) The student may change enrolment in courses only in the period set forth for course registration, except intensive or specially scheduled courses enrolment, for which the Dean of the faculty that holds the course sets the rules.
(10) The Dean is authorized to cancel a course if the number of students enrolled in or registered for the course is less than predetermined. The Dean determines the limit number prior to the beginning of registration period. The students who have had their enrolment cancelled in such courses gain the right of additional enrolment in courses with equivalent credit value.
Section 12
Enrolment for Semester
(1) A student earns the right of enrolment for the next semester of the particular study (subsection 7 (1)) if he/she has
a) successfully completed all of the repeated courses (subsection 21 (1)) enrolled for in the immediately preceding semester and
b) met the condition of enrolment for following semester set in subsection (2).
(2) The condition of enrolment for the next semester in the meaning of subsection (1) letter b) is met by the student who has
a) earned at least 15 credits aggregated in all of his/her studies in the courses enrolled for in the immediately preceding semester, or who
b) earned at least 45 credits aggregated in all of his/her studies in the courses enrolled for in two immediately preceding semesters, or who
c) achieved the minimum credit value of a study of his/hers and the length of any study had not exceeded the standard length.
(3) The student enrols for the next semester through IS MU. In accordance with the programme content, further conditions may be set for enrolment in subsequent part of studies, related primarily to student’s register entry in the field or specialisation within the programme.
(4) The statements of subsections 10 (3) and (4) apply to the student who did not enrol for the next semester in the period determined in the academic year calendar.
(5) The student who did not earn the right of enrolment for the next semester as set forth under 1 to 3 by the expiration of the last day of the period of enrolment for semester, is due to follow stipulations under subsection 10 (4).
Section 13
Interruption of Studies
(1) A student may interrupt his/her studies upon request. The Dean will comply the request if the student fulfils the conditions of enrolment for the next semester and has successfully completed at least one semester of study (subsections 12 (1) and (2). Otherwise the Dean decides on the basis of the reasons given for the application. When the Dean decides to affirm the application, he/she is entitled to stipulate additional conditions of enrolment for semester immediately following the study reenrolment.
(2) The Dean may interrupt student’s studies in accordance with subsection 22 (9), subsection 31 (6) or subsection 32 (9).
(3) Study may be interrupted for a period of semester units plus the remainder of the semester the request for interruption was made in with the exceptions defined under section 4 and in subsection 22 (9) and subsection 31 (6). The total length of study interruption must not exceed the number of semesters of the standard length of study otherwise the study is finished following subsection 15 (1), letter b).
(4) In relation to the application for a state final or advanced (in medicine fields) or doctoral examination or the last part of any of those and student’s obligations to meet prior to the application the end of interruption of studies may be set to the beginning of the examination period of the last semester of the period of interruption.
(5) The person whose studies have been interrupted following subsection (1) re-enrols for study in line with section 10 preserving the condition defined in the second sentence of subsection (3).
(6) The person ceases being a MU student as of the date of interruption of study or on the last day of his/her concurrent studies.
Section 14
Recognition of Previous Studies
(1) The Dean may, upon request, recognise for student’s study the courses completed
a) within a previous study MU,
b) in a previous or concurrent study at a university in the Czech Republic or abroad,
c) in a previous or concurrent study in an accredited learning programme held by a college in the Czech Republic or abroad,
d) in a previous or concurrent study held within lifelong learning.
e) The Dean may recognise, in lieu of the course prescribed for study, a group of courses completed as defined under a) through d) if their content covers the requirements of the prescribed course. Only the courses completed in a previous study may be recognised that relate to the study for which they are to be recognised, required or selective, or other courses as set forth by the Dean. Previous study is a study concluded according to sections 55 or 56 or the Act.
(2) The student shall enclose the following documents to the application under 1 except for the courses completed under 1 a) the documents of which are available in IS MU:
a) an official document of completion for each course with the transcript of grades, credits and number of failed completions, if applicable, and
b) an officially confirmed syllabus for each of the courses and, if available, with the description of course integration in the programme, field or specialisation, within which it was taken.
(3) Acknowledgement of a course may be conditional upon the passing of equivalency examinations or other equivalency requirements. The Dean determines the Examiner and/or the method of equivalency requirements confirmation. The original evaluation of the course is replaced with the evaluation of the successfully completed equivalency exams or equivalency requirements.
(4) Along with the course, its grading including failed attempts of completion are acknowledged. If the rules as stipulated for the programme, the course is acknowledged for, allow the course is acknowledged along with its credit value except the situations subject to institutions under item 6. If the acknowledged course was not credited, the credit value shall be determined based on the rules applied to the programme the course is being acknowledged for.
(5) Courses or groups of courses from previous properly completed study (section 55 of the Act) may be acknowledged with credits under or equal the level by which the credits gained in the study had exceeded the level gained as thirty fold time of terminated study expressed in semesters. If the gained credits number is unknown, the courses are acknowledged with zero credit value.
(6) The credit value of the courses recognised from previous study is excluded from the credit number crucial for assessment of meeting the enrolment conditions for next semester as of subsection 12 (2), letters a) and b).
Section 15
Closure of Studies
(1) Studies may close by:
a) successfully completed final state examination in accordance with subsection 45 (3) of the Act, state final examination or state advanced examination in accordance with seubsection 46 (3) of the Act or by passing the doctoral state examination and defending the doctoral thesis in accordance with subsection 47 (4) of the Act (henceforth “duly completion of studies”),
b) loosing the right of enrolment in studies in accordance with subsections 12 (1) through (4) or subsectiob 13 (3) (subsection 56 (1), letter b), of the Act),
c) abandoning studies (subsection 56 (1), letter a), of the Act),
d) expulsion in accordance with subsection 65 (1), letter c), or section 67 of the Act (subsection 56 (1), letter e)),
e) revocation of accreditation or expiration of accreditation for the programme in accordance with subsection 80 (4) of the Act (subsection 56 (1), letters c) or d) of the Act).
(2) The date of closing studies is
a) in accordance with subsection (1), letter a), the day of passing the last part of the state final examination or of defending the doctoral thesis in case of studying doctoral programme if preceded by the doctoral state examination,
b) in accordance with subsection (1), letters b) or d), the day the relevant decision becomes effective,
c) in accordance with subsection (1), letter c), the day of delivery, to the faculty, of the written notification of abandoning studies at the faculty,
d) in accordance with subsection (1), letter e), the day determined on the basis of subsection 56 (2) of the Act.
(3) The person cease being a MU student on the date of closure of studies or on the last day of his/her concurrent studies.
(4) The Dean ensures enrolment in studies within a programme of similar content held by a MU faculty or by another university to those whose studies were terminated in accordance with subsection (1), letter e).
(5) The proof of closure of studies in accordance with subsection (1), letter a), is a university diploma and a diploma supplement.
Chapter III
Evaluation of the Progress of Studies
Section 16
Completion of Courses
(1) Completion of a course means meeting its requirements in a manner of the following:
a) course-unit credit,
b) colloquium,
c) examination,
d) graded course-unit credit.
(2) Meeting the aggregated requirements of a group of courses explicitly defined as such in the programme is verified with a comprehensive examination before an examination board. The comprehensive examination may be indicated differently to comply the programme content.
(3) The result of completing a course in the ways listed in subsection (1) is determined by a person in charge of such decision according to the faculty internal regulation or according to Dean’s measures (henceforth “Examiner”). The comprehensive examination board is appointed by the Dean.
(4) The due dates of completion of courses in the ways listed in subsection (1) or of the groups of courses defined in subsection (2) are made public by the Examiner or the examination board Chairperson or another academic staff member appointed by the Dean in IS MU at least two weeks prior to the beginning of examination period. The number of dates of course completion must comply the type and form of course completion, number of enrolled students and course characteristic resulting from the requirements for course completion.
(5) The regular dates for completion of courses are scheduled for the examination period, or for the last two weeks of instruction in the semester. Excepted are the courses with intensive instruction and the specially scheduled courses whose regular dates for completion may come during the semester’s instruction period. The regular date for course unit credit or graded course-unit credit may be set at any time during the period of instruction upon student’s request provided the student has fulfilled the requirements of completing the course. Remedial dates are scheduled during the examination period. In case of a colloquium or an examination, the Examiner may also schedule remedial dates.
a) for the instruction period of the subsequent semester, but not later than on the thirteenth calendar day after the beginning of instruction, or
b) during the examination period of the subsequent semester; if the period comes before the beginning of repeated course instruction; however this option is only available for the students enrolled in the courses for the first time.
(6) For combined or distance study modes of Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programmes and all available modes of a doctoral degree programmes, the Dean sets the period of course completion off examination period. The institutions of item 5 are not binding though.
(7) It is student’s responsibility to apply for the dates of course completion in the form of a colloquium or an examination or a comprehensive examination through IS MU. The Dean sets the procedure for the students who fail the obligation on duly dates.
(8) If a student is absent from course completion on the date he/she has applied for or has been enlisted in (subsection (7)) without giving an acceptable justification for the absence in five days after date expiration, he/she is graded failed in completing the course.
(9) If in-term assessment(s) is(are) prescribed for course completion the results of which are included in the final record, no remedies may be set for accomplishment of the assessments.
(10) If a student fails completing a course even if utilising the right of repeated date of course completion he/she may exceptionally repeat course completion on the second remedial date; however, this option is only available during study not more often than the standard length of study measured in years.
Section 17
Grading Scale
(1) The grading scale complies ECTS principles employing the following grades:
| Grade | Letter symbol | Point value | Grade | Letter symbol | Point value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | A | 1 | Satisfactory | D | 2,5 |
| Outstanding | B | 1,5 | Acceptable | E | 3 |
| Good | C | 2 | Unacceptable | F | 4 |
(2) Grades are recorded in IS MU by their letter symbols. The point values are used only for grade point average calculation.
(3) Student’s grade point average is calculated separately for each of his/her studies as the weighted average of grade point values received on all dates of the graded completions of courses that count for student’s study record including unacceptable grading. The weight of a grade point value of a course is determined by its credit value.
Section 18
Course-Unit Credit and Graded Course-Unit Credit
(1) Course-unit credits or graded course-unit credits complete the courses whose requirements are fulfilled during the progress of instruction, organized into weekly or group schedules. The Examiner is obliged to post the requirements for completing the course prior to weekly instruction beginning or prior to group course beginning.
(2) If a student fails fulfilling the requirements of course-unit credit or graded course-unit credit within the regular period, he/she is entitled to fulfil them on the alternate date set for the examination period of the same semester.
(3) A course-unit credit is evaluated with the words “credited” or “not credited” (in the IS MU with the letters Z for credited (“započteno”) or N for non-credited (“nezapočteno”)). A graded course-unit credit evaluation follows the grading scale (subsection 17 (1)).
Section 19
Colloquium and Examination
(1) Colloquia or examinations complete the courses whose major burden placed upon the student lies in off-instruction work organized into weekly or group schedules. The Examiner is obliged to post the requirements of completing the course prior to weekly instruction begins or prior to a group of course begin.
(2) If a student fails passing a colloquium or an examination on regular date, he/she may repeat it on alternate dates (subsections 16 (5) and (10)).
(3) Fulfilled requirements in the progress of semester instruction may be a condition of the application for a colloquium or examination. The results of the requirements evaluation may be included in colloquium/examination grading. The stipulations of subsection (1) apply to posting the requirements.
(4) A colloquium is the completion of a course through discussion on the course general content and/or through submission of a thesis dealing with a topic within the course. The colloquium is graded with the words “passed” (in IS MU with P letter) or “not passed” (in IS MU with N letter).
(5) An examination may be written and/or oral. All parts of an examination are usually held on the same date, otherwise the dates for all parts have to be posted in advance. The examination results evaluation follows the grading scale (subsection 17 (1)).
Section 20
Comprehensive Examination
(1) The rules for being admitted to take a comprehensive examination are specified by the programme.
(2) A comprehensive examination consists of one or more parts, out of which one may be in the form of discussion on the topic of the semester or minor paper, if any of these was assigned. Each of the other parts is either written or oral. The individual parts of a comprehensive examination may take place on different dates. Admission to a part of the comprehensive examination cannot be conditioned by successfully passed previous parts. Comprehensive examination results are evaluated following the state examination grading scale (subsection 24 (1)).
(3) The Dean appoints the comprehensive examination board. The statutes of subsection 23 (2) apply to Board’s sessions accordingly.
(4) If a student fails passing a comprehensive examination on the regular date, he/she is entitled to repeat it in the same semester, but not more than twice. The student has the right of setting the second repeated exam date of the comprehensive examination to the following semester examination period. This right has to be executed not later than on the last day of course enrolment period for the next semester.
(5) The Dean sets the rules of comprehensive examination dates determination.
Section 21
Repeating a Course
(1) If a student has not successfully completed a course he/she enrolled for, he/she is obliged to reenrol in it in the first following semester the course is offered (henceforth “repeat” course). The student who could not complete a repeat course after all possibilities defined under subsection 16 (10) had been used looses the right of enrolment for next semester (subsection 12 (1), letter a)).
(2) The student may decide to unfulfil the obligation of repeat course as defined under item (1) in case of courses that are elective in relation to student’s study, but not more than one tenth of the minimum credit value of this study. After completing the required group of courses requirements, the other courses enrolled for within the group are considered elective.
(3) The stipulations in subsection (1) also apply to comprehensive examinations.
Chapter IV
Duly Completed Studies of Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes
Section 22
Final State Examination
(1) Studies (subsection 7 (1)) are duly completed by a final state examination (subsection 45 (3) and subsection 46 (3) of the Act) or, for medicine branch, by an advanced state examination (subsection 46 (3) of the Act) before an examination board. The holding of and announcement of results of state examinations are open for public to attend.
(2) Final state examination (henceforth “state exam”) consists of separately rated parts.
a) A part of the state exam is the defence of Bachelor’s thesis, if this is required in the Bachelor’s programme, or the defence of diploma thesis.
b) The other parts of the final state examination are explicitly defined in the programme (henceforth “state exam subjects”).
The advanced state examination in medicine consists only of the parts listed under item b). The state exam parts may take place on different days.
(3) A condition of admittance to Bachelor’s or diploma thesis defence is it had been revealed as in subsection 38 (2). The programme sets forth additional conditions of admission to state exam, or a part of it, including other requirements and their sequence. Submitted Bachelor’s thesis (if prescribed for the programme) or diploma thesis is the condition of admission to the last part of state exam as in subsection (2), letter b), unless Dean’s measures in force for the programme stipulate otherwise. A Bachelor’s thesis or a diploma thesis is considered submitted if it has been entered in IS MU in the defined way. The Dean may take measures to define other ways for submitting Bachelor’s theses or diploma theses in the programme.
(4) The Bachelor’s or diploma thesis defence is oral. The examination of state exam subjects is written and/or oral. The defence of Bachelor’s or diploma thesis does not condition admission to the following parts of state exam.
(5) The regular and remedial dates for state exams for each programme and field of studies are set by the Dean in accordance with academic year timetable. The dates for state exams and the examination board members’ names are posted in the IS MU and on the official bulletin board of the faculty at least two weeks before the state exams start in the semester.
(6) The student is obliged to apply for state exam, or the first part of it, either for the period set aside for state exams in the semester he/she has completed all necessary conditions or in the following semester. The Dean decides upon the procedures in case the student would not meet the obligation.
(7) If a student applying for or registered for state exam (subsection (6)) does not appear at the state exam or a part of it on the determined date and does not submit acceptable justification within five days following the date, the grade received for this state exam part is “unacceptable”.
(8) The student whose state exam overall result (subsection 24 (2)) is “unacceptable” on duly date, may repeat the state exam on a resit date. Unless the Dean determines otherwise, the resit date is timed for the state exam period in the following semester.
(9) The state exam may be repeated two times at most. The student only repeats those parts of state exam for which he/she gets “unacceptable” grade. The Dean may interrupt student’s studies until state exam resit date. The time of interruption under these circumstances is excluded from the total length of interruption under subsection 13 (3). The Dean may stipulate additional conditions of arranging resit dates and applying for them.
(10) The student is obliged to pass the last part of state exam within his/her studies not later than in the semester after the end of which the period of two fold standard length of study expires since enrolment in the study. The studies of the students who fail passing state exam within such a period are terminated in accordance with subsection 56 (1), letter b), of the Act. The statutes of section 68 of the Act apply to the decision-making procedures on this subject.
Section 23
Examination Board
(1) Each one of the state exam parts takes place before an examination board (henceforth “Board”) the members of which are always:
a) professors and associate professors appointed by the Dean in accordance with subsection 53 (2) of the Act and, if appropriate
b) other experts appointed by the Dean having been approved by the Faculty Scientific Board according to subsection 53 (2) of the Act,
c) while the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (henceforth “Ministry”) may appoint more examination board members out of the leading experts in the branch (subsection 53 (3) of the Act).
d) The Rector, on Dean’s recommendation, appoints the Chairperson of the Board. The Chairperson of the Board steers and is responsible for the Board actions. The Board together with its members are appointed for an indefinite period of time.
e) The Chairperson and the members of the Board appointed under a) or b) may be revoked by the same body that had them appointed when consented by the appropriate Scientific Board.
(2) The Board has a quorum if at least three of its members are in attendance to include the Chairperson. The Board makes decisions by a simple majority of members in attendance.
(3) If there is more than one Board appointed for a field of studies not further divided into specialisations, or for a programme comprised of one field of studies, the Dean decides on students distribution to various Boards. The distribution has to be posted prior to the date of the state exam (subsection 22 (5)).
(4) If the defence of Bachelor’s or diploma thesis is a part of state exam, the Dean appoints a member of the faculty academic staff or a university degree holder in the field, as appropriate, to be the thesis reader. If the Bachelor’s or diploma thesis reader or the supervisor is not a Board member, this person may attend Board sessions including the closed parts of them as a consultant. The thesis reader and supervisor make a written evaluation each that would include grading recommendations according to subsection 24 (1). The student has the right to be informed of the evaluations at least three days before the defence.
Section 24
Evaluation of State Exams and Duly Completed of Studies
(1) In each part of state exam the Board votes on its result. The result for each part of the state exam is graded with the words to comply the grading scale set under subsection 17 (1).
(2) The Board evaluates the overall result of the state exam after the completion of its last part with one of the grades described under subsection 17 (1). The overall result of state exam is “unacceptable” if one or more of its parts are evaluated “unacceptable”.
(3) The overall result for duly completed studies is evaluated with the words as follows:
a) “passed with honours” or
b) “passed”.
(4) The conditions for awarding the “passed with honours” overall evaluation of duly completed studies are as follows:
a) all parts of the state exam have been successfully completed in the regular period and evaluated “Excellent” or “Outstanding”,
b) the overall evaluation of the state exam is “Excellent”,
c) the grade point average according to subsection 17 (2) is not more than 1.5,
d) the student has not received an evaluation of “unacceptable” for any graded course in the entire length of his/her studies,
e) the student has received “acceptable” grade at maximum of two times in the entire length of his/her studies.
(5) The overall evaluation of duly completed studies is indicated in the university diploma.
Chapter V
Special Statutes for Doctoral Degree Programmes Studies
Section 25
Doctoral Boards
(1) A doctoral board is established for each programme in accordance with subsection 47 (6) to monitor and evaluate study and to guarantee its continuously high level. The doctoral board members are MU academic staff or other prominent experts in the field, as appropriate.
(2) The Dean appoints and revokes the doctoral board members after approval has been given by the faculty scientific board, based on suggestions included in programme content and recommendations made by the staff with appropriate responsibility. The doctoral board Chairperson submits recommendations for alterations of any doctoral board member to the Dean, after their approval by the doctoral board.
(3) The doctoral board consists of at least seven members, out of which three are MU staff and at least two are not MU staff. The doctoral board elects its Chairperson and vice-Chairperson from their midst by simple majority of all members’ votes. Based on this election, the Dean appoints and may revoke the doctoral board Chairperson.
(4) The doctoral board has a quorum if more than a half of its members are in attendance. The quorum necessary for electing the Chairperson and vice-Chairpersons, for making recommendations concerning alterations of its composition and recommendations for members, Chairperson and vice-Chairperson of doctoral committees (subsection (5)) is simple majority of all doctoral board members. The quorum for other matters is at least two thirds of doctoral board members in attendance. The doctoral board members may vote by post or via electronic means. The Board’s quorum then is the simple majority of all its members.
(5) When recommended by the doctoral board, the Dean may establish doctoral committees for the fields of the programme. The Dean appoints doctoral committee members, Chairperson and vice-Chairpersons after the recommendations submitted by the doctoral board. The doctoral committee Chairperson must be a member of the doctoral board.
(6) A doctoral committee consists of at least five members out of whom three are MU staff and at least two are not MU staff. The stipulations of subsection (4) apply to doctoral committees voting.
(7) The doctoral board or the doctoral committee is established for a period that equals the period the degree programme or the field of study is accredited for. The doctoral board or doctoral committee members may be appointed to positions repeatedly.
(8) The doctoral board is responsible primarily for the following:
a) approval of doctoral theses topics,
b) assessment of whether individual student’s plan of study comply programme scope,
c) recommendations of admission committees members and Chairperson to the Dean and specifies admission requirements,
d) recommendations for appointments/withdrawals of supervisors to the Dean,
e) designation of the supervisor to a student while observing student’s right of choosing supervisor and doctoral thesis topic, in accordance with subsection 62 (1), letters c) and f), of the Act,
f) originating, discussing and coordinating the programme course instructions, seminars and other arrangements related to studies,
g) at least once a year, discussing and assessment of each student’s progress in study together with the supervisor and for making minutes of the meetings to become an obligatory part of the documents filed in IS MU; if requested by the doctoral board the supervisor presents student’s progress report in written form,
h) recommendations for appointments/withdrawals of the Chairperson and the members of the board for the doctoral state examinations to the Rector or to the Dean,
i) recommendations for appointments/withdrawals of the doctoral defence board Chairperson and members and then doctoral thesis readers to the Rector or Dean,
j) recommendations of the dates for doctoral state examination and doctoral defence to the Dean,
k) recommendations of doctoral committees establishment and manning.
l) Should doctoral committees been established, the Dean delegates them, upon doctoral board’s recommendation, the authority for executing some of or all the responsibilities mentioned under a) to j) above related to the particular field.
(9) Doctoral board/committees members’ names are made public.
(10) The doctoral board/committee Chairperson convokes its meetings as necessary but not less than once a year. The minutes of meeting results are made to enter the documents in IS MU.
(11) The stipulations of this section related to the Dean and to a faculty scientific board apply to the Rector and MU scientific board if the particular programme is held by MU outside of a faculty.
Section 26
Supervisor
(1) Studies held under a programme or field of study follow individual study plans under supervisor’s leadership. The Dean appoints and withdraws the supervisor upon doctoral board’s recommendation and after approval has been given by the faculty scientific board. The professors or associate professors, independent researchers or research leaders are recommended for supervisors. Exceptionally, the Dean may appoint an academic staff member who falls short of the requirements set in the previous sentence after approval given by the scientific board but the person must be a Ph.D., CSc. or Dr. or equivalent degree holder.
(2) The list of supervisors and the list of students lead by each supervisor are revealed along with the doctoral thesis topic issues.
(3) The supervisor is primarily responsible for the following:
a) presentation of student’s doctoral thesis proposed topic to the doctoral board,
b) collaboration with the student in drafting the study plan,
c) leadership of the student in terms of work in the field of research and doctoral thesis topic,
d) student’s progress reports as of the dates as requested by the doctoral board.
(4) Should the student filed the application for doctoral defence, the supervisor presents the report on the thesis to the doctoral defence board. The student has the right of getting acquainted with the report at least a week prior to the defence.
(5) The supervisor may resign for the position if circumstances arise during the studies of the programme that disable him/her of leading the student properly. The resignation shall be made in the form of letters addressed to the Dean, the doctoral board Chairperson and the student. The doctoral board then appoints a new supervisor. The doctoral board can make the decision of student’s supervisor substitution when found circumstances disabling the supervisor of leading the student properly. Doctoral board’s decision should be made so that supervisor substitution would affect the student as less as possible.
Section 27
Length of Study
(1) Doctoral degree programme standard length of study is set to comply its content.
(2) The maximum length of on-site doctoral degree programme study is four years. The Dean decides, upon the proposal made by the student and approved by the supervisor as documented with doctoral board Chairperson’s statement, on continuation in on-site study after the standard length of study expired. If an on-site student is unable to complete study within four academic years, he/she is transferred to the combined mode of study.
(3) The maximum length of time between the enrolment for doctoral degree programme and regular completion of study is seven years. This length excludes the periods for which study was interrupted for parental leave or serious health reasons or due to compulsory military or alternative service. The interruption periods according to subsection 31 (6) and subsection 32 (9) are excluded from the length of study too.
Section 28
Special Statutes of the Progress of Study
(1) Progress of study follows the individual study plan approved by the doctoral board drafted by the student and presented by the supervisor. The individual study plan takes priority over the academic year calendar.
(2) The doctoral thesis credit value in accordance with subsection 8 (3) is set to from one half to usually two thirds of study minimum credit value. The doctoral board sets the exact value considering programme content. The supervisor evaluates course requirements meeting in the form of a colloquium in each semester the student enrolled for the course.
(3) The student is obliged to prove during the progress of study his/her proficiency in academic and technical English or other world-used language usual for the programme or field. The prove of proficiency may be done in any of the following ways:
a) completion of two semester-long courses, as appropriate,
b) course-unit credit acquired for a publication in the foreign language written for a journal or proceedings and a course-unit credit acquired for giving a lecture in the foreign language plus steering the following discussion with qualified expert forum; the course-unit credits are awarded by the supervisor or the evaluator appointed by the doctoral board.
(4) The studies of a doctoral degree programme include research for doctoral thesis (subsection 8 (3)) and, primarily, the following:
a) courses to enhance and amplify knowledge in the field beyond the scope of Master’s degree study,
b) courses to amplify special knowledge,
c) special technical seminars,
d) preparatory work and assistance in the instructions for the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes.
e) If the doctoral board decides so, the study includes preparatory work on doctoral thesis topics.
Section 29
Special Statutes for Studies Held in Cooperation With a Foreign Institution
(1) The inter-university studies in accordance with subsection 5 (1), letter c), may be held in double-supervision doctoral degree programmes on the basis of the agreement made by MU and another university or research institution in a foreign country.
(2) If the agreement mentioned in subsection (1) establishes conditions for, the Dean appoints with the approval of the doctoral board, another supervisor for the student from among the experts affiliated to the foreign university or research institution. The other supervisor’s rights and duties comply the statutes of these rules, unless the agreement mentioned in the first sentence stipulates otherwise.
(3) The student of inter-university studies in accordance with subsection 5 (1), letter c), may apply for being involved in the process of awarding the European Doctorate degree. The documents of completion doctoral degree programme studies state the studies have been completed in a manner complying the conditions of awarding European Doctorate provided that
a) the student had in the period of at least 3 months met a faction of the obligations related to doctoral thesis research implied from the programme at a university in another European country,
b) the doctoral thesis either whole or at least its introduction, abstract and conclusions is written in a foreign language which may be either English or the official language of a European country approved by doctoral board,
c) doctoral thesis reports made by at least two readers from another European country are presented for doctoral defence while the supervisor and the readers must not work for universities in the same country,
d) at least one doctoral defence board member works for a university in another European country.
e) The statutes of subsection (1) do not commit the student in terms of filing the application. The Dean decides on the application based on doctoral board’s recommendation.
Section 30
Doctoral Thesis
(1) The student is supposed to present the results acquired in the progress of the programme study in the doctoral thesis. The supervisor is responsible, together with the head of the determined organisation unit, for providing the student with opportunity he/she needs so that he/she is able of meeting programme requirements.
(2) The doctoral thesis must content original results published or accepted for publication. The doctoral boards set detailed requirements of results publication and of doctoral thesis volume. A complex of works already published or accepted for publication in printed or other form dealing with the topic, completed with integral introduction to the topic issue and with commentary by the student may be acknowledged a doctoral thesis.
(3) The doctoral thesis may, with the approval of doctoral board, be presented in another language than implied from subsection 2 (4). The doctoral thesis may always be presented also in English language without a special approval by doctoral board.
(4) The thesis shall be presented in electronic version through IS MU and in three hard copies. The thesis must comply the following:
a) The cover and the title page must be of the same design, the thesis must be in a standard format usual for the faculty and all copies must be bound permanently.
b) Should the student presented research teamwork results for his/her defence he/she contributed to, the thesis explicitly indicates what parts were done by the student.
c) The thesis must contain co-authors’ statement to confirm student’s authorship of the indicated parts of the thesis and to appraise his/her contribution.
d) The Dean or the doctoral board, as authorised by the Dean, lays down more requirements for the thesis, such as volume, form or layout.
Section 31
Doctoral State Examination
(1) The prerequisite of filing the application for doctoral state examination is meeting all obligations set forth in subsections 28F (3) and (4). The student shall present doctoral topic issues, if prescribed so by doctoral board’s decision, not later than at filing the application. The application is presented to the Dean through IS MU in due time as laid down in the academic year calendar.
(2) The doctoral board recommends and the Dean sets the date of doctoral state examination for the semester for which the student applied in due time.
(3) The programme content includes the general requirements of doctoral state examination. The student shall receive additional requirements laid down by doctoral board in written not later than 4 weeks prior to examination date.
(4) The doctoral state examination takes place in Czech or English language, or in another language in which the doctoral thesis is presented. A part of the examination is the discussion on doctoral thesis topic issues, if prescribed by doctoral board’s decision.
(5) The doctoral state examination result is evaluated with the words following the grading scale defined under subsection 17 (1).
(6) If a student fails passing the doctoral state examination, he/she is entitled to repeat it but not more than once; the Dean sets the date of repeat doctoral exam based on doctoral board’s recommendation so that it takes place by the end of the next semester. The Dean may interrupt the studies for the student until the date of repeat doctoral examination. The period of study interrupted in this manner is excluded from the total length of interruption following subsection 27 (3).
(7) If the student is absent from doctoral state examination on the determined date without giving an acceptable justification for the absence in five days after the date expiration, he/she is graded “unacceptable”.
(8) Doctoral state examination holding and the announcement of the result are open for public to attend.
Section 32
Doctoral Thesis Defence
(1) The conditions of filing the application for doctoral defence (henceforth “application”) are the following:
a) previously passed doctoral state examination, or
b) concurrently filed application for doctoral state examination; then doctoral defence takes place on the same date as the doctoral state examination; and
c) carried out doctoral thesis reading procedures (subsections (4) and (5)).
(2) The applicant files the application to the Dean through IS MU in due time as set in the academic year calendar. The application includes:
a) prescribed number of doctoral thesis copies and an electronic version of the thesis previously entered in IS MU (subsection 30 (4)),
b) doctoral thesis abstract,
c) list of applicant’s works published and/or accepted to be published, and
d) applicant’s professional curriculum vitae.
e) Enclosed to the application is, if set so in doctoral board’s decision, also a summary. The doctoral board determines and releases its volume, form and number of copies of the abstract or summary or other requirements, if applicable.
(3) The doctoral board recommends and the Dean lays down the date of doctoral defence for the semester the application has been filed for.
(4) The Dean appoints, based on doctoral board’s recommendation, at least two doctoral thesis readers out of which at least one is not a MU employee. The supervisor cannot be a reader. The same applies to the former supervisor, if the appointment had been changed, or to a person similarly engaged.
(5) Each of the readers makes a thesis report evaluating thesis quality, student’s personal contribution and his/her capability for working independently and creatively in research. The report shall also assess the language and formal levels of thesis. Reader’s report conclusion shall explicitly state whether the student has or has not proved creative abilities in the field of research and whether the thesis does or does not meet the standard requirements of doctoral theses in the questioned field. It is inadmissible to request additional reports if the readers’ opinions differ. The student has the right of getting acquainted with the reports at least 7 weekdays prior to the date of defence.
(6) If the conclusions prescribed by subsection (5) contain at least one negative statement in each of the reports the student is not obliged to present the thesis for defence. He/she is obligated to communicate the intention of utilising the option not later than 5 workdays prior to defence date via IS MU, otherwise the application for reading procedure turns into application for thesis defence. The student may use the option of waiving thesis defence only once.
(7) The language of doctoral defence is Czech or English, or another language that is usual for the field and was approved by doctoral board.
(8) Doctoral defence is evaluated with the words following the grading scale defined under subsection 17 (1).
(9) The student is entitled to repeat defence if the defence concluded with “unacceptable” grading, but only once. The Dean lays down the date of repeat defence based on doctoral board’s recommendation and the doctoral defence board sets the conditions of repeating. The date must be set for not later than within the two next semesters. The committee is obliged to stipulate repeating conditions not later than in one month after the date of unacceptable defence. The Dean may interrupt study for the student until the date of repeat doctoral defence. The period of study interrupted in this manner is excluded from the total length of interruption following subsection 27 (3).
(10) If the student is absent from doctoral defence on the determined date without giving an acceptable justification for the absence in five days after the date expiration, he/she is graded “unacceptable”.
(11) In case the state examination and doctoral defence take place on the same date, only one board is appointed that complies the conditions applicable to the members of both the doctoral state examination board and doctoral defence board.
(12) Doctoral defence holding and the announcement of the result are open for public to attend.
Section 33
Examination Board
(1) The doctoral state examination is held before the board for the doctoral state examination. The board members are always
a) professors or associate professors appointed by the Dean on the basis of doctoral board’s recommendation following subsection 53 (2) of the Act, and, if appropriate
b) other experts appointed by the Dean on the basis of doctoral board’s recommendation and faculty scientific board’s approval following subsection 53 (2) of the Act.
c) The Ministry may appoint more examination board members out of the leading experts in the branch (subsection 53 (3) of the Act).
d) The Rector appoints on doctoral board’s recommendation the Chairperson of the Board from among the members appointed following a) or b). The Chairperson steers the meetings of and is responsible for the board’s actions. The Chairperson and the members of the board appointed following letters a) or b) may be revoked by the same body that had them appointed. The doctoral board makes the request for revocation.
(2) The board consists of at least five and at most seven members appointed following subsection (1), letters a) and b). At least two board members appointed following subsection (1), letters a) or b) are not MU employees. The supervisor is a board member, however cannot be the Chairperson.
(3) The board for the doctoral state examination has a quorum if more than a half of its members appointed following subsection (1), letters a) or b), are in attendance to include the Chairperson and if at least one of the present members is not a MU employee. The state examination may only take place if the board has a quorum.
(4) The board for the doctoral state examination discuss the progress of examination at a closed meeting and vote for the result by ballot based on the simple majority of members in attendance.
(5) The doctoral defence takes place before the doctoral defence board. The stipulations of subsections (1) through (4) apply to the doctoral defence board. The readers attend the board meetings including the closed sessions, but if they are not board members they may only present advisory opinion.
(6) The permanent members of the boards for the doctoral state examination or doctoral defence boards may be appointed for particular programmes or fields, usually for the period of programme accreditation length.
Part Three
Advanced Examination Procedure
Section 34
Advanced Examination Procedure
(1) The academic degrees awarded in advanced examination procedure after passing the advanced state examination (section 35) comply subsection 46 (5) of the Act.
(2) Advanced examination procedure begins with filing an application including the required items following subsection 35 (4).
Section 35
Advanced State Examination
(1) The advanced state examination (henceforth “advanced exam”) in the same field is accessible for Master’s programme graduates who had received the “Master” degree in the field.
(2) Advanced thesis defence is a part of advanced exam.
(3) The applicant has the right of using MU facilities and information technology when getting ready for an advanced exam following subsection 46 (5) of the Act under the conditions imposed by appropriate faculty.
(4) The applicant applies for an advanced exam to the Dean of appropriate faculty through IS MU in the due dates determined in the academic year calendar. The required items for the application are the following:
a) advanced exam field identification,
b) officially authenticated copies of the proof documents of studies except the studies completed at MU after January 1, 1998,
c) applicant’s professional activity overview in the field of advanced exam, list of the results published or accepted to publication, if applicable,
d) advanced thesis in three copies and an electronic copy having been input in IS MU,
e) receipt of payment for any cost prescribed to the applicant following subsection (3).
(5) The Dean sets the date of advanced exam for the semester for which the applicant filed the application in due time.
(6) Advanced exam takes place before the board for the state advanced exams (henceforth “board”) in Czech language. If requested by the applicant, it may be held in another language usual for the field.
(7) The advanced exam consists of the following parts:
a) advanced thesis defence,
b) oral examination in the subjects defined for the particular field by the content of the programme. All the parts of the exam take place on the same date. Successful defence is a prerequisite for applicant’s access to the next part of advanced exam.
(8) The advanced exam result is evaluated with the words: “passed” or “failed”.
(9) If the student fails passing an advanced exam, he/she is entitled to repeat it at most once on the date determined by the Dean based on board’s recommendation so that it takes place by the end of the next semester. Successful advanced defence is unnecessary to be repeated.
(10) If a student is absent from the advanced exam on determined date without giving an acceptable justification for the absence in five days after the date expired, the exam result is “failed”.
(11) Advanced defence holding and the announcement of result are open for public to attend.
Section 36
Advanced Thesis Requirements and Defence
(1) The advanced thesis must content original results or originally processed integral area in the field at the level conforming the publication standard of the field.
(2) The advanced thesis may take the form of collected applicant’s published works or works accepted for publication completed with an integral introduction to the topic issue and with a commentary made by the student.
(3) The statutes of subsections 30 (3) and (4) in force for doctoral thesis apply to advanced thesis except the possibility of using other than usual language for the field.
(4) The applicant may apply for the possibility of presenting the doctoral thesis topic issues as the advanced thesis provided they comply the requirements of subsections (1) through (3). The Dean decides on the application based on the recommendation of the doctoral board for the programme within which the topics are presented.
(5) The statutes of subsections 32 (3) through (7) apply to advanced defence provided that:
a) the statutes related to supervisor are left unused,
b) doctoral board’s tasks are accomplished by the board for advanced exam,
c) each reader’s report conclusions include a statement of whether the thesis does or does not comply the requirements of subsection (1).
(6) If both readers’ reports state the advanced thesis does not meet the requirements following subsection (1), the applicant may waive the advanced state examination, but once at most.
Section 37
Examination Board
(1) The rules applicable to doctoral state examination (subsections 33 (1) to (4)) except the statutes related to supervisor apply to the board for advanced state examination composition, quorum and appointment.
(2) Similarly, the statutes of subsection 33 (5) apply to the advanced state thesis readers.
Part Four
Concluding and Interim Statutes
Section 38
Thesis Disclosure
(1) The Bachelor’s, diploma, doctoral or advanced theses (henceforth “theses”) whose defence had taken place are disclosed on non-profit basis including the evaluation reports and defence result. Disclosure means a hard copy of the thesis is filed in the central library of the faculty and the electronic version in IS MU archive, unless this is in contradiction to another legal obligation that would assure thesis disclosure.
(2) The theses must be disclosed at least five weekdays prior to defence would take place. Disclosure for theses purposes means laying a printed or electronic version of the thesis open to public inspection as under section 47b of the Act. The laid thesis is available for making extracts, duplicates or copies.
(3) Submitting an application for thesis defence includes author’s disclosure agreement as under subsection (1), regardless of defence result.
Section 39
Review of Evaluation
(1) The student is entitled to request a review of the evaluation of a completed course or a review of the evaluation of a comprehensive examination (henceforth “result of studies assessment”) or a review of the evaluation of state exam or a part of it or of the defence of doctoral thesis.
(2) The Dean revokes, on the basis of the request made under subsection (1), the questioned result of studies assessment or the result of state exam or a part of it or of doctoral thesis defence if, during the procedures leading up to result determination or the studies assessment, the state examination or a part of it, or doctoral thesis defence, any particular legal regulation or internal MU or faculty regulation was violated, or if the evaluation was made capriciously. In that event, the Dean takes the necessary measures to restore student’s rights that were in such a manner violated.
(3) If a result of studies assessment is revoked according to subsection (2), a new completion of the course or group of courses or comprehensive examination takes place before a three-member board appointed by the Dean. The statutes of subsection 23 (2) apply to its sessions and quorum. If the result of a state exam or a part of it is revoked according to subsection (2), the state exam or the part of the state exam takes place before different state examination board.
(4) Upon student’s request, student’s confidant he/she has chosen from the ranks of the MU Academic Community members may attend the meeting of the Board described in subsection (3). Student’s confidant is not a member of the Board.
Section 40
Decisions on Students’ Rights and Duties
(1) The appropriate statutes of the Act, MU Statutes and these Rules apply to the decisions on students’ rights and duties.
(2) The student submits the requests for appeals of a decision to the authority that had issued the decision within 30 days following the date of delivery of the decision. Would the authority be the Dean, he/she only can approve the request and himself/herself cancel or alter the decision. In any other case the request is forwarded to the Rector.
(3) The Rector alters or cancels, on the basis of the request under subsection (2), the decision if it contradicts legal regulations or the internal regulations of MU or the faculty.
Section 41
Extraordinary Measures
(1) The Dean or the Rector is entitled at the request of a student to make exceptions to the sections of these Rules. Section 68 of the Act applies to the procedures in these matters.
Section 42
Special Provisions for Study Support
(1) Rector’s regulations define the conditions and the procedures applicable to the utilisation of extraordinary measures of these rules to arrange for execution of the rights and duties, implied by these rules, of the students requiring support of study due to mobility or sensory imparity
Section 43
Interim Provisions
(1) Unless otherwise implied by programme content, the doctoral programmes may always record accomplishment of all items included in the individual study plan in the semester by awarding 30 credits, or the doctoral board decides on the number of credits awarded for a partially accomplished individual study plan.
(2) The Dean may award the doctoral programme students whose study records were registered in other way than credits before these rules become effective, credits for the courses completed so far to include research for their doctoral theses. The Dean sets out the credit value of the courses that missed it based on doctoral board’s recommendation. Execution of this rule will follow the provisions issued by the Dean by the end of the academic year 2005/2006.
(3) The Rector may decide on exceptions to these Rules for the academic year 2006/2007.
Section 44
Application and Effect
(1) These Rules supersede the Rules for Studies and Examinations for Students in Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes of Masaryk University registered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Physical Education as of July 23, 2004 under No. 21 972/2004-30.
(2) These Rules supersede the Rules for Studies and Examinations for Students in Doctoral Degree Programmes of Masaryk University registered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Physical Education as of July 23, 2004 under No. 21 972/2004-30.
(3) These Rules were approved in accordance with subsection 9 (1), letter b), of the Act by the MU Senate on March 20,.2005.
(4) These Rules become effective according to subsection 36 (4) of the Act on the date of their registration by the Ministry.
(5) These Rules become applicable on September 1, 2006.
Prof. PhDr. Petr Fiala, Ph.D.