■VCG picture
Both the first and second instance litigation requests were rejected, and he stated that he would file a retrial application with the Guangdong Provincial High Court.
On February 2, 2018, Mr. Yu, an in-service doctoral student, believed that the school’s administrative behavior violated the In accordance with the principle of due process, the case of suing , Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, , the alma mater, was officially opened. This case of "doctoral student suing his alma mater" has attracted everyone's attention. The
reporter noticed that Mr. Yu’s claim was not supported by the court in the first instance. He then appealed. Recently, the Guangzhou Railway Transport Intermediate Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment. Yesterday, reporters learned from Mr. Yu’s side and his attorney that he is preparing materials and will file a retrial application with the Guangdong Provincial High Court.
■ Xinkuai News reporter He Shengting reported
The thesis was put on hold
Because his wife was suffering from cancer, he applied to extend his academic status
In September 2010, Mr. Yu entered Guangdong University of Foreign Studies to study for a doctoral degree on the job. His research direction was lexicography. The signature of his supervisor and the training unit The approved training plan states that Mr. Yu’s dissertation progress schedule is: course study from September 2010 to June 2011, proposal report in June 2011, first draft of thesis in June 2012, and pre-defense of thesis in January 2013. In March, the paper was submitted for review in March 2013.
But while he was studying for his doctoral degree, his wife contracted cancer, so he temporarily shelved his doctoral thesis. After his wife's condition stabilized in 2015, he continued to write his doctoral thesis.
Because Mr. Yu did not complete the thesis defense in 2016, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies issued a "Notice on Student Status Clearance" to Mr. Yu in November 2016, informing him of the content of the postgraduate student status clearance work.
After receiving the notice, Mr. Yu filled out the "Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (Soon) Postgraduate Student Status Clearance Registration Form for Exceeding the Maximum Study Period" and the "Letter of Commitment", and applied for extension of student status until the end of June 2017. He promised to complete the registration form before this deadline. Complete all the work for the degree application. If you fail to complete all the work for the degree application before this deadline, you will be subject to withdrawal. The application will be approved by the school the following month.
In addition, in March 2017, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies issued the "Notice on Completing Our University's 2017 Summer Postgraduate Degree Application", which requires doctoral training units to submit doctoral theses anonymously for review before April 7, 2017 Those who fail to submit the manuscript for review and related materials through the doctoral training unit to the degree office of the school before the above specified date will be deemed to have automatically given up their degree application.
On April 6, 2017, the plaintiff filled out the "Report on Request for Postponement of Graduation", stating that he could not submit the formal defense draft of his doctoral thesis before April 7. The proposal was approved on January 13, 2017, and he completed the first draft of the thesis. Complete thesis defense work before the end of the year.
Mr. Yu’s supervisor signed the agreement, and his doctor clicked to fill in the opinion and asked the graduate school to handle it as appropriate. However, the Graduate School of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies did not respond, and Mr. Yu did not participate in the doctoral thesis defense in the summer of 2017.
went to court
and was informed by the school that he would not be allowed to defend his thesis after the deadline.
But a few months later, Mr. Yu received a notice from the school requiring him to complete the graduation procedures. On September 20, 2017, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies issued a "Warm Reminder on Carrying out Postgraduate Student Status Clearance Work", saying that after verification, Mr. Yu exceeded the maximum number of years of study and required him to complete the graduation procedures.
On September 28 of the same year, he submitted a "Report on Requesting for a Doctoral Thesis Defense", requesting the school to consider his special circumstances and grant a thesis defense. On November 16, the school's Graduate School, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Research Center , the principal’s office all responded that they had exceeded the seven-year maximum study period required by student status management regulations, and therefore did not approve their application.
Mr. Yu believes that according to the regulations of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, the maximum study period for on-the-job doctoral students is 7 years. According to Article 15 of the "Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Graduate Student Status Management Regulations" included in the "Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Graduate Student Handbook" (2010 Edition), graduate students can complete their studies in stages. If they are unable to complete their study tasks on time due to special reasons, they must apply in person. , with the consent of the supervisor, the master's/doctoral program, and the approval of the Graduate School, the study time can be appropriately extended, including no more than 7 years for on-the-job doctoral students (including suspension of study).
For this reason, Mr. Yu believed that the school’s behavior of not allowing him to defend his doctoral thesis was illegal, and he filed a lawsuit with the Guangzhou Railway Transportation First Court. He believed that when he submitted a written application to postpone the thesis defense, the school's "Graduate Department" did not make a timely decision on whether to approve or not and gave a clear reply to the appellant. When the school made such an important decision for the student, it did not give him any opportunity to state his defense or provide relief, which seriously violated the principle of due process, violated his legitimate rights and interests, and violated his right to relief.
In addition, during the trial, he also mentioned that although the school clearly stipulates the maximum number of years of study for doctoral candidates, the actual implementation of the regulations varies from person to person and is treated differently. At least four doctoral candidates were obviously The school did not strictly abide by and implement the rules and regulations it established. It acquiesced and laissez-faire to some students who exceeded the maximum number of years of study, which violated the principle of fair and equitable treatment and harmed them. the right to education.
dismissed the lawsuit
The court held that the school’s behavior complied with the regulations
The court of first instance held that the defendant’s student status management regulations specified that the maximum length of study for doctoral students should not exceed 7 years. The plaintiff was also aware of this provision and promised in November 2016 that it would be completed in 2017. All the degree application work was completed before the end of June of 2018. However, the plaintiff exceeded the maximum number of years of study and failed to complete the degree application work in accordance with the procedures and deadlines determined by the defendant. Therefore, the defendant was not improper in denying permission for his doctoral thesis defense application. For this reason, the first instance rejected Mr. Yu’s lawsuit.
Mr. Yu was dissatisfied with the original judgment and believed that both the school and the original court considered that he had exceeded the number of years of study based on the provisions of Article 15 of the "Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Graduate Student Status Management Regulations" and did not grant an extension for thesis defense, which was an error in the application of law, so he filed a lawsuit. appeal.
In response, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies responded that Mr. Yu claimed that the school violated the principle of due process and had neither factual nor legal basis. The "review" process conducted by the school strictly followed the principle of due process and fully protected the students' right to make statements and defence.
In addition, the school believes that Mr. Yu is an in-service doctoral student. The basic study period is 3 years but can be increased by one to 4 years. However, the maximum study period is 7 years, and the maximum study period is not automatically enjoyed by graduate students. Instead, they need to apply year by year. In 2016, he had studied in school for 7 years and could not extend his study period. The
reporter learned that the focus of the second trial was whether the school’s administrative action of not allowing Mr. Yu to defend his doctoral thesis was legal, including whether the administrative action had a factual basis and whether the administrative action procedures were legal.
After trial, the Guangzhou Railway Transport Intermediate Court held that Mr. Yu failed to complete his studies before the expiration of the basic study period in June 2013, failed to apply for an additional year of study in accordance with the student status management regulations, and failed to complete the longest study period in June 2017. The formal defense draft of the doctoral thesis was submitted and defended before the expiration of the period of study. For this reason, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies did not allow the appellant to have a factual basis for the defense of the doctoral thesis.
As for the other cases cited by Mr. Yu to illustrate the lack of equal treatment, they are not the same as his actual situation and are not comparable. Therefore, the Guangzhou Railway Intermediate People's Court did not support the appellant's claim. Recently, the Guangzhou Railway Intermediate People's Court issued a second-instance judgment, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment.
After receiving such a verdict, Mr. Yu’s wife told reporters that she was still dissatisfied with the second-instance verdict. “When I applied for an extension of defense, my supervisor agreed and the doctoral program also signed, but the graduate school did not respond, and it has been more than 7 years. The student has also graduated, which is completely unexpected for the student. "The next step will be for the attorney to file a retrial application with the Guangdong Provincial High Court.
