Academic ethics and etiquette

Regulations for Academic Integrity at the University of Latvia

The Academic Ethics Codex of the University of Latvia

Academic ethics and etiquette

The Academic Ethics Codex of the University of Latvia stipulates that academic etiquette must be observed, but it is not specified what it is.

Our etiquette is a recommendation only.

"Please", "Thank you", "You are welcome!"

These everyday expressions of politeness, which, along with countless others, form student’s relationships at the university, based on three basic principles: respect, honesty and truthfulness. These basic principles allow students, lecturers and staff to strengthen informal and voluntary agreements, gaining good manners, conservative tact and a pleasant atmosphere.

1. Form of address

At the Faculty of Computing, the academic staff, employees and students are colleagues. It is good to know the names of lecturers and how they are pronounced. If you are unsure, ask. The usual form of address is "you".

The following forms of address are also acceptable:

student : lecturer

{professor! lecturer! assistant! teacher} [<surname>]!

Note. Associate professors are addressed in the same way as professors.

student : employee

Mr/Ms [<surname>]!

lecturer/employee : student

student [<name>] [<surname>]!

By mutual agreement in a narrow circle, other forms of address are also acceptable.

2. Politeness in e-mails, letters

E-mails and letters should be written and read with equal care before sending. Spelling is part of politeness.

Form of address in e-mails

When using the position title in the address, either the first and last name or "Mr"/"Ms" must be used. For example:

– Dear President Kaniņa! Dear Ms. President!

– Dear Mr. Director Bērziņš! (wrong)

When only using the position title in the address, it should be used together with the introductory name. For example:

– Dear President!

– Dear Director!

If the document is sent to several uniform authorities, the addressee may be indicated in general:

– Dear university lecturers!

E-mail address

It is recommended to use e-mails with the address in the format <name>.<surname>@<...>.<national abbreviation>, or e-mail addresses provided by the University.

In the case of change of e-mail, it is desirable to send a notification about the change of address.

Addressees

When sending e-mails to many recipients, you need to consider whether everyone needs to see the e-mail addresses of other recipients. In such cases, you can send an e-mail to yourself and put other recipients in Bcc:

It must also be checked that the information sent to all recipients is up-to-date.

E-mail forwarding

When forwarding an e-mail, state in 1–3 sentences why it is being forwarded. The text of the e-mail to be forwarded may not be changed, but so-called edits with good intentions are allowed. If the e-mail has been forwarded frequently in the past, it is advisable to shorten the history. Don't send chain letters and avoid "Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw:" in the subject!

E-mail subject

The subject should be as short as possible, written in a concise manner and summarising the purpose of the e-mail. Capital letters are only used to draw special attention. If the subject indicates the time, then the precise time designation must be used, e.g. "deadline – 20.05.2010"; do not use the terms "today", "tomorrow", "in a week", etc.

E-mail content

The content must be concise and well-structured. It is not easy to read a long text. Keep one thought to one paragraph.
Numbering should be used where, for example, the required actions are to be listed.
Places that require special attention can be separated by a new paragraph and highlighted by using bold, italics or CAPITAL LETTERS.
It should be remembered that the use of these tools is only useful in cases where the text of the e-mail is really important.

A response e-mail

The letter begins with an address. If you reply to the same addressee several times a day, you can skip the address.
It is desirable to answer with a compound sentence. Do not use a short "yes" or "no" answer to the question while deleting the original e-mail. If there is a lot of accompanying text in the e-mail, it is advisable to quote the original question. The question must be separated by a “>” symbol. Example:

– > Are materials available in the library?

Yes! They are freely available in our library at Raiņa bulvāris 19.

E-mail sign-off

Best regards,

[<full signature, i.e. position/n. course student, e-mail address, telephone, etc.>]

Sign-off examples:

Best regards,
Yours sincerely,
Respectfully,
Yours faithfully,
etc.
The length of the sign-offs should not exceed 4 lines.

E-mail language

If you are not sure that the recipient of the e-mail understands your language characters, use the letters of the Latin alphabet. Due to this limitation, diacritical mark replacement techniques can be used, such as ā - aa, ē - ee, ķ - kj, Ļ - lj, č - ch, etc.
In official university correspondence via e-mail and university resources on the internet, it would be polite to act in accordance with the Netiquette Guidelines (RFC 1855).

3. Presentation at conferences, defence of final theses and other official events

When presenting or mentioning a person present at academic events, the same form of expression should be used as when addressing. The non-systematic use of address/mention forms is particularly unacceptable. The presenter should determine all academic titles and degrees in advance and use them consistently.

4. Cleanliness

Personal hygiene in places where a lot of people gather indoors is an essential practice. Hands and hair should always be clean and well-groomed. Grooming and fresh clothing are elementary courtesy. Fresh clothing means that every garment, including a blouse, shirt, jacket, etc., is clean and has a fresh aroma. No clothing should be worn for two days in a row.

5. Clothing

Clothing needs to be appropriate. No one should have any doubts about someone's relevance to the environment in which he/she is.

We would like the lecturers to come to the classes in a suit (jacket, buttoned shirt and dark trousers are allowed). A natural part of the suit is a tie. Wear a tie when you are wearing a suit or jacket only. A tie should have only geometric shape ornaments. Belonging to the Faculty of Computing is evidenced by a tie in the "Science Gold" (RGB = (213,163,0)) tone. Leather or its imitation shoes.

Lecturers' (female) clothing must be appropriate for work. The choice of clothing is much wider: it can be a dress, jumpsuit, skirt with a jacket or blouse. Clothing may be matched with inconspicuous jewellery and/or a scarf. Belonging to the Faculty of Computing is evidenced by neckerchiefs/scarfs in the "Science Gold" (RGB = (213,163,0)) tone. The shoes must have a closed toe and a medium-high heel. In summer they can also have an open back.

Shoes should always be cleaned and well-maintained. Especially in autumn and spring, during the thaw.

Recommended clothes for students

The student arrives at the university in business or leisure clothes. It should be remembered that study classes mostly do not take place on a beach or on a sports field, so beach slippers, shorts, a sleeveless shirt or a tracksuit are not allowed. There should also be nothing on the clothes that distracts from the study process.

Clothes for festive events

For formal and ceremonial events, wear the clothing specified in the event's dress code. If it is not specified – wear formal clothes (men should wear a suit, and women should match men accordingly).

Clothing for graduation

At the graduation of the faculty, both employees and students come in robes and square hats with a bouquet. The rector, vice-rectors, dean put on special academic uniforms.

6. Greetings

At the university

All rooms outside the auditoriums can be considered as a continuation of Raiņa bulvāris and, as has already been accepted, we greet while walking past.

In the auditorium

A centuries-old tradition, forgotten in some places: when a lecturer meets a specific group of students in the auditorium for the first time in the day, they greet him or her by standing up. The lecturer says "Hello", asks the students to sit down and starts the lecture.

If the lecturer is already in the auditorium (room), but wants to greet the audience (students), he/she leaves the auditorium a moment before the lecture starts and, when entering again, shows a desire to greet.

7. Observance of lecture time

It is courteous of a lecturer to start and finish the lecture on time. It is courteous of a student not to interfere after the class has started.

As the Faculty of Computing does not have a school bell, there is no ringing at the beginning and end of a class, as well as at the beginning and end of a break. One of the options is to use a mobile phone wake-up call instead.

8. Entering and leaving the auditorium at a non-standard time

You have to come to a lecture on time. A teacher can make a lecture longer, which may cause students to partly miss the next lecture or make their break a little shorter. If you do not arrive to a lecture on time, you should apologise to the lecturer and take the first seat in the auditorium. Get ready for work as quietly as possible. Try not to disturb others in the auditorium.

A student course/flow/group could leave the chairs/benches closest to the entrance unoccupied, so a student who is late can take it with minimal disruption to the lecture.

9. Use of electronic means of communication

Before you go to a lecture, turn off your mobile phone or at least the sound. In rare cases, it is permissible to leave the sound of the mobile phone on, but it has to be agreed with the lecturer before the lecture begins. This is only allowed in emergency situations. Note: "Hi, how are you?", is not an emergency.

10. Absence of a lecturer

If a lecturer is late, it is necessary to wait until the lecturer or an official from the faculty administration arrives and announces that the lecture is cancelled. Your teacher may be on a meeting with a student or late for personal reasons, so it is necessary to wait. You still should be in the audience at this time.

If a lecturer does not arrive within 15 minutes, the course/group leader should clarify the situation at the dean's office/master's secretariat.

In an emergency, a lecturer uses all opportunities to alert students in a timely manner, for example, by sending information via Moodle.

11. Some more general tips for students

Attend lectures. The quickest way to academic disaster is to do the opposite. Each lecturer has their own attendance policy and all lecturers know who attends their lectures regularly and who does not.

Do not collect your belongings until the lecturer has finished the lecture. Some lecturers exceed their allotted time, while others finish a lecture much faster. A lecturer must be allowed to finish a lecture. If it is absolutely necessary to leave a lecture before it ends, quietly, without disturbing others, collect your belongings and say goodbye to the lecturer with a nod. If you know in advance that you will have to leave a lecture before it ends, take a place closer to the exit and inform your lecturer before the lecture.

During the lecture, do not ask the question "Will this question be in a test?" All the information that is presented is useful. It is your responsibility to make your own notes and, in conjunction with other study materials, to determine what is required for the test. It is not in your interest to show that marks are more important than the knowledge gained. This offends your lecturer and other students who have a genuine interest in the course of study.

After not coming to the lecture, do not ask the teacher "Did I miss anything?" Of course you did! A whole set of lectures/seminars/activities.

If you are unsure about the assessment, make an appointment with a lecturer to discuss the issue. Do not run to a lecturer immediately after the class. Make an appointment instead, go home and review your test or assignment, so you can prepare your opinion on the assessment. Come to the meeting with your lecturer with an attitude that you want to learn from your mistakes, not just to improve your mark.