As a condition of admission, students are required to sign an Acceptance Record in which they expressly declare having read and agreed to the following policies, undertakings, and authorisation requirements.

NUS Honour Code

The full text of this is reproduced in the table below.

In this respect, it is important to note that all students share the responsibility for upholding the academic standards and reputation of the University.  Academic honesty is a necessary condition in the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge, and the University expects each student to uphold academic honesty. 

Academic dishonesty is any misrepresentation with the intent to deceive, or failure to acknowledge the source, or falsification of information, or inaccuracy of statements, or cheating at examinations/tests, or inappropriate use of resources.  There are many forms of academic dishonesty and plagiarism is one of them.  Plagiarism is generally defined as ‘the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own’ (The New Oxford Dictionary of English).  The University does not condone plagiarism.

Students should adopt this rule - You have the obligation to make clear to the assessor which is your own work, and which is the work of others. Otherwise, your assessor is entitled to assume that everything being presented for assessment is being presented as entirely your own work.  This is a minimum standard. In addition, the following guidelines will provide some assistance.

• When using the ideas, phrases, paragraphs and data of others in work presented for assessment, such materials should be appropriately credited and acknowledged, so that it is clear that the materials being presented is that of another person and not the student’s own.
• The amount of detail required when referencing and acknowledging a source will vary according to the type of work and norms of the discipline. For instance,
  • Supervised exams will require less detail in referencing and acknowledgement.
  • Papers written other than under exam conditions will require a full citation of the source. While a particular style of citation is not prescribed, the citation should provide enough information for the reader to locate the source.
• Research materials (including texts, graphics and data) obtained from the internet or other electronic resources should be treated in the same way as research materials obtained from traditional sources.

Any student found to have committed or aided and abetted the offence of plagiarism may be subject to disciplinary action.  In addition, the student may receive no grade for the relevant academic assignment, project, or thesis; and he/she may fail or be denied a grade for the relevant subject or module. Such a student caught plagiarizing would have to take that module for grade and not be allowed to exercise the S/U option for that module.

A student may not knowingly intend to plagiarise, but that should not be used as an excuse for plagiarism.  Students should seek clarification from their instructors or supervisors if they are unsure whether or not they are plagiarising the work of another person.  All students are also encouraged to:

• consult the resources compiled by the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning (CDTL) on how to avoid plagiarism;
• use the service provided by the Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT) to help detect and prevent web-based plagiarism; and
• access the Academic Culture module online.

Release of Liability

Student are expected to abide by applicable rules and regulations governing their participation in University activities and the use of University facilities, both as part of academic pursuits and requirements and as part of his/her residential experience in University accommodations. The University shall not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting from such participation and use and shall be indemnified against all losses and any other liability arising from the same.

Acceptable Use Policy for IT Resources

This policy applies to the use of the IT resources owned, controlled or managed by the University, such as computer accounts, personal computers, servers, workstations, disk storage, software, administrative and academic applications, email, public folders, newsgroups, online discussion forums, dialup, network, Internet and databases, among others.  All users who have been granted access to the IT resources, including students of the University, are to comply with this policy.

Rules Relating to Inventions, Innovations, and other works

In addition to the provision of educational facilities at tertiary levels, the functions and objectives of the University include the promotion of research and scholarship and the advancement and dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of all.  Consistent with its status as a publicly funded organisation, it is critical that the University ensures that the creation, dissemination and commercialisation of Intellectual Property is properly administered for the benefit of the public and the University.  These Rules shall therefore apply to all Intellectual Property developed or created by a University member, including students, in the course of University research.  The Industry Liaison Office manages all such issues.

Authorisation of Medical Procedures / Appointment of Local Representative for International Students

In the course of their studies in NUS, international students may need medical attention that requires surgery or other medical procedures.  For surgery or certain medical procedures to be carried out on an international student below 21 years of age, surgeons or consultants in hospitals in Singapore require a local representative to be present at the hospital to give consent for the surgery or medical procedure. 

In certain cases, a local representative may also be required to authorise or refuse consent to surgery or certain medical procedures on a student who is 21 years of age or above, e.g. where the student is unconscious and unable to authorise or refuse consent on his/her own behalf.  In order to avoid possible delays to any surgery or medical procedure that an international student may need, the University requires the international student or his/her  parent/guardian, as applicable, to:

• appoint a representative in Singapore (‘Local Representative’) who will have the authority to authorise or refuse consent for the surgery or medical procedure, on behalf of the student/parent/guardian; and
• authorise an NUS staff member to authorise or refuse consent for the surgery or medical procedure, on behalf of the student/parent/guardian, if neither a parent/guardian or a Local Representive (if any) is contactable at the time of need.

The International Student Services arm of the Office of Student Affairs oversees all such issues.

NUS Student Privacy Policy

NUS collects personal information of students to support many University functions including, but not restricted to, the teaching and personal development of students, research and administration of the University. Relevant information or data may be shared within NUS or with third parties on a need to know basis and for what the University deems an official or educational interest, unless such sharing is prohibited by legislation. Note that the University regularly shares with junior colleges, polytechnics information and centralised educational institutes on their former students and this shall be considered an official or educational interest.

The policy also allows the University to disclose at its discretion student information to third parties for purposes other than an official or educational interest. Such purposes may include providing information on graduating students to companies for purposes of recruitment. Students may opt out of such disclosure by the University.