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Discipline and appeals: how a student can contest a school's decision under Order No. 41

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

A student who disagrees with a Chinese university's sanction decision may submit a written appeal to the university's student appeals committee within 10 days of receiving the decision document. The rules come from the Ministry of Education of the PRC, not from any home-country regulator, and they reach international students because Article 66 of Ministry of Education Order No. 41 says that schools manage international students by reference to that order, and Article 31 of Order No. 42 says that universities manage international student status by reference to the rules for Chinese students. This register's section page covers admission, fees and study.

Whose rules these are

Order No. 41 is the Provisions on the Administration of Students in Regular Higher Education Institutions (普通高等学校学生管理规定) of the Ministry of Education. Article 66 says that schools manage students in higher education continuing education, students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and overseas Chinese students, and international students, by reference to these Provisions.

Order No. 42 is the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (学校招收和培养国际学生管理办法), issued jointly by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. Its promulgation text says it takes effect on 1 July 2017. Article 31 says that higher education institutions carry out student-status management for international students by reference to the rules for Chinese students. It also says that when a school decides to withdraw an international student or expel them, the school shall file the decision for the record in accordance with the regulations of the education administration department under the State Council. This page does not include those State Council regulations.

The English wording on this page is this site's own translation of the Chinese texts. This page holds no university's own published rules for international students, so the periods and procedures at a particular university must be checked against that university's rules.

Kinds of sanction

Article 51 of Order No. 41 says that the school shall give criticism and education to a student who breaks the law or regulations, this Order or school discipline. Depending on how serious the case is, the school may give one of five sanctions:

  1. warning;
  2. serious warning;
  3. demerit (记过);
  4. probation (留校察看);
  5. expulsion from student status (开除学籍).

Grounds for expulsion

Article 52 says that a school may give expulsion from student status where a student falls within one of eight situations:

  1. the student violates the Constitution, opposes the Four Cardinal Principles, undermines stability and unity, or disrupts social order;
  2. the student breaks national law and commits a criminal offence;
  3. the student receives a public security administration penalty, where the circumstances are serious and the nature is bad;
  4. the student takes an examination in another person's name or has another person take it in the student's name, organizes cheating, uses communication devices or other equipment to cheat, sells examination questions or answers for profit, or commits other serious cheating or disrupts examination order;
  5. the student commits academic misconduct such as plagiarism, alteration or fabrication in a thesis or a published research result, where the circumstances are serious, or writes or buys and sells theses;
  6. the student violates these Provisions or school rules in a way that seriously affects teaching order, living order or the management of public places;
  7. the student infringes the lawful rights of other individuals or organizations and causes serious consequences;
  8. the student repeatedly violates school rules, has received disciplinary sanctions, and does not change after education.

Before a decision: the right to be told and heard

Article 55 says that before a school makes a sanction or another adverse decision, the school shall tell the student the facts, the reasons and the basis for the decision. The school shall also tell the student of the right to state their case and to rebut, and shall hear the student's statement and rebuttal.

Article 55 also sets out how decisions are served. Decisions, sanction decisions and sanction notices shall be served directly on the student. If the student refuses to sign, service may be made by retention (留置). If the student has already left the school, service may be made by post. If the student is hard to contact, service may be made by announcement on the school website or in news media.

The written decision

Article 53 says that a school that gives a student a sanction shall issue a sanction decision document. The document shall contain:

  1. the student's basic information;
  2. the facts and evidence on which the sanction is based;
  3. the type, the basis and the period of the sanction;
  4. the ways and the time limits for appeal;
  5. other necessary content.

Who decides the gravest measures

Article 56 says that decisions to cancel admission qualification, cancel student status, withdraw a student, expel a student, or make another decision involving a student's major interests shall be submitted to a president's office meeting or a special meeting authorized by the president for study and decision. A legality review shall be carried out in advance.

How long a sanction lasts

Article 57 says that, apart from expulsion, a sanction generally shall set a period of 6 to 12 months, and it is lifted at the end of that period through the school's procedure. After a sanction is lifted, the student receives commendations, awards and other rights, and the original sanction no longer affects them.

The appeals committee

Article 59 says that the school shall set up a student appeals committee to hear a student's appeal against a decision on a sanction or another adverse decision. The committee shall be made up of school leaders, heads of functional departments, teacher representatives, student representatives and the head of the body that handles legal affairs. It may invite outside experts in law and education. The article sets no number of members.

Article 61 says that the committee reviews the appeal. If the committee finds that the facts, the basis or the procedure of the sanction were improper, it may give a review opinion recommending revocation or change. The relevant department then studies the opinion and resubmits the matter to a president's office meeting or a special meeting for decision. The committee may also recommend that the school suspend the decision in question while the review is under way.

Appeal and review time limits

The time limits below are the ones printed in Order No. 41.

Step Provision Time limit as printed
Written appeal to the school's student appeals committee Article 60 Within 10 days from receiving the school's sanction decision document
Review conclusion by the committee Article 61 Within 15 days from receiving the written appeal; in complex cases the time may be extended by 15 days with the approval of a school leader
Appeal against the review decision to the provincial education department Article 62 Within 15 days from receiving the school's review decision document
Decision by the provincial education department Article 62 Within 30 working days from receiving the written appeal
Period where the decision document does not state a time limit Article 64 Runs from the day the student knew or should have known of the decision, but for no more than 6 months

Waiver

Article 64 says that a student who does not appeal within the appeal period after a decision document is served is deemed to have waived the appeal. The school or the provincial education department then no longer accepts an appeal from that student on that decision.

Questions people ask

How long does a student have to appeal a school's sanction decision?

Article 60 of Order No. 41 says that a student may submit a written appeal to the school's student appeals committee within 10 days of receiving the school's sanction decision document. Article 64 says that a student who does not appeal within the appeal period is deemed to have waived the appeal.

What must a written sanction decision contain?

Article 53 of Order No. 41 says that the decision document shall contain the student's basic information, the facts and evidence, the type, basis and period of the sanction, the ways and time limits for appeal, and any other necessary content.

How long can a sanction last?

Article 57 of Order No. 41 says that, apart from expulsion, a sanction generally shall set a period of 6 to 12 months, and it is lifted at the end of that period through the school's procedure.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, is not published by the bodies named, promises no admission, examination or registration outcome, and the official text and the instructions of the issuing authority prevail if they differ.

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