INTRODUCTION

These regulations shall apply to all students. The term ''student'' refers to a person who is enrolled for the time being at the College to pursue an approved course.

Regulations affecting students shall be made from time to time by the Management Committee and promulgated by the Principal. In addition to these Regulations, each Department, Library, Hostel, or any other unit of the College may issue its own regulations governing the conduct of students within its precincts, unless such regulations are not inconsistent with the regulations made by the management committee.

Copies of all regulations shall be deposited with the Registrar, Dean of Students, Directors, Heads of Departments and should be brought to the attention of students.

Ignorance of any regulations or any public notice shall not be accepted as an excuse for any breach of discipline. Accordingly, every student on enrolment shall be required to obtain a copy of such College, Hostel or other regulations relating to his/her conduct that are for the time being in force.

The operation of these Regulations is without prejudice to the laws of the land, which apply to all persons in the College.

The Principal of the College is the chief academic, administrative and disciplinary officer. Others who have special responsibilities, under the Principal are the, Directors, Deans and Heads of Departments. It shall be an offence to disobey these officers in the discharge of their duties.

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REGISTRATION

Arrangements for registration shall be announced before the commencement of the academic year.

Unless they hold a scholarship from the Government of Rwanda, students shall be required to pay all approved fees as a condition for registration.

A registration fee and refundable caution money (against loss of or damage to College property) shall be paid to complete registration.

A student admitted at the College may register as a full-time student or a Part-time student.

A full-time student is the one who opts for registration in a regular study programme, does required courses and sits for examinations in order to obtain a diploma of the College.

A Part-time student is the one who may register in fewer courses than a full-time student in any one study-programme in any one year, and therefore takes longer to complete the requirements for obtaining a diploma of TCT.

A full-time student may register for a Part-time course in another department provided the timetable permits and this does not adversely affect performance in the full-time courses.

To be admitted to lectures, tutorials, practicals or any other teaching/learning activities of a department, one must be registered under one of the categories of students defined in Article.2.4.

Registration shall be done within four weeks and end two weeks before the beginning of each academic year.

The student concerned shall do registration personally.

The Registrar shall be responsible for the registration of all students.

Applications for late registration shall be submitted in writing to the Academic Registrar latest two weeks after the beginning of the academic year. The Registrar shall assess the merit of each application and in consultation with the Principal and Heads of departments act accordingly. Late registration shall be subject to payment of a penalty fee amounting not less than 50% of the registration fee.  No student shall be registered after the fifth week of the Semester.

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Documents required for registration

All documents required for registration shall be submitted to the Registrar. The original documents shall be returned to the registering student soon after registration.

At the first registration, a student shall produce the following documents:

a)Original of National Examination Certificate or equivalent;
b)Two certified copies of National Examination Certificate or equivalent;
c)One copy of the National Identity card
d)One copy of medical certificate issued less than three months before the registration date;
e)Two recent passport size photographs;
f)Proof of sponsorship, if he/she has no bursary from government of Rwanda;

For any other subsequent registration, a student shall:

Fill the student registration form;

Produce two recent passport size photographs;

Present appropriate documents for any change of his /her personal life.

Registration and Special Fees

A student shall pay registration and special fees fixed by the Board and made public before registration. All matters related to fees such as payments by instalment, bank transfers, bank stop orders, etc. shall be referred to the Director of Finance.

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Student's Identity Card

A registered student shall be issued with a student's identity card. A fee of Frw 1000 shall be charged for each ID card issued. The card shall have the student's photograph, signature and registration number, the Director Academic Services (Registrars) signature and the stamp of the Institute.

Student’s identity card shall be required for use of the library, admission to lectures, tutorials, practical’s, laboratories, examinations and access to the restaurant, canteen and other services offered by the College.

A student who loses his/her card shall pay a fee of Frw 2000 in order to get a replacement.

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STUDENT DE-REGISTRATION

A student may be de-registered any time during the academic year due to one or more of the following reasons:

Grave omission or false declaration at the time of registration;

Grave violation of regulations governing registration;

Absence from the College without justifiable reasons, for one or more months;

Any serious case of indiscipline;

De-registration of a student shall be done by the Registrar on instructions by the    Principal and approved by management committee.

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ACCOMMODATION

Residence Hall Regulations are those policies and procedures that assist in maintaining a safe and secure environment in the residence halls. These regulations affect a resident’s status as a tenant only, but may escalate to further charges through the college’s Code of Conduct.

Students may be offered accommodation in the College's hostels or opt to stay   in private facilities outside the College.

Students assigned rooms shall sign for property found in the rooms at the beginning of the semester and will be surcharged for damaged to College property or loss of any at the end of the semester. No student who is yet to pay fully for an assessed damage to or loss of college property, may be assigned to a room.

The room key and building access card/fob a resident receives at check-in is for his/her own use exclusively. This is also true of any "spare key/access card/fob" that a resident signs out temporarily. Giving or loaning your key and/or access card and/or fob to others is prohibited.

Duplication of any College keys, including room keys, is also prohibited. Repetitive use of spare keys or cards is an unsafe practice. Any student who checks out more than four spares a semester may face Disciplinary committee action.

Possession of unlit candles and/or incense is prohibited. The burning of candles and/or incense is considered a College policy violation and will be referred to the disciplinary system for sanctions.   Electric candle warmers are also prohibited.  Moving College furniture from assigned areas to other areas of the building is prohibited. Lounge furniture is intended for use by all residents and is not to be moved in to student rooms

 Keeping pets in the Residence Halls is prohibited. Quiet Hours are designated to support an environment that is conducive to learning. While Quiet Hours are in effect, no one should hear your noise in another room or study area.

Courtesy hours are always in effect when Quiet Hours are not. During Courtesy Hours, your music, voices or noise should not be disruptive to your community. During Courtesy Hours, residents must comply with the requests of others to lessen or eliminate noise.

 Residence hall facilities cannot be used for commercial enterprise or personal gain. No door-to-door solicitation or distribution of materials/information is permitted with the exception of those items distributed by College administration or members of the Facilities and Residence Life staffs within the parameters of their official duties.

Solicitations of information (examples include, but are not limited to, surveys, polls, etc.) are not permitted except by the students’ Council or members of the Office of Residence Life in the performance of their duties.

 All College buildings, including residence hall rooms, apartments and public areas are smoke-free. Smoking is permitted at designated areas outside of the residence halls. These designated areas must be at least 10 feet from any entrance or window of the building.

Playing athletic games such as floor hockey, Frisbee, football, etc. or using athletic equipment (such as skateboards, bicycles, rollerblades or spikes) inside a building is prohibited.

A host will be held responsible for the behavior of his or her guests and should ensure that guests comply with all College’s Policies and Residence Hall Regulations. Prior to hosting a guest, residents should read Guidelines for Hosting Visitors in the Halls to understand the College's expectations of both hosts and guests.

Further regulations for their conduct while residents are provided in paragraph 11 with which students must familiarize themselves.

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Misuse of college Materials, Services, or Property

      A student shall not misuse any college material, service or property. 

Prohibited Activities

Specific violations of this standard include, but are not limited to:

Destroying, damaging, misusing, or defacing any of the College buildings, facilities, or properties, or any private property on-campus or being used for a University-sponsored event;

 Destroying, damaging, misusing, reproducing, or defacing any student identification card, University-provided key or other access card, laboratory equipment, athletic equipment, or any material issued or owned by the University;

Impairing or otherwise hindering another’s use of a College material, service, or property;

Reading, duplicating, removing, photographing, forging, counterfeiting, or altering any College document or record without authorization;

Littering on or in any College property, facility, or building; or

Engaging in conduct that may result in damage or destruction of any University building, facility or property, including without limitation skateboarding or rollerblading on steps, railings, banisters or curbing

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MATRICULATIONS

At the close of registration, each registered student shall be required to take the Matriculation Oath at public ceremony:

I promise on my honour
To obey the Principal and all who are placed in authority over me
To abide by the rules and regulations of the College
To keep the peace on campus
To obey the laws of the land
To study diligently, and in every way possible to advance the aims of the College
So help me God

After the oath, each student will enter his/her full name in the matriculate or register and append his/her signature.

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NAMES OF STUDENTS

8.1 For the purposes of the College, students shall be known by the names entered in the Register of Matriculation and in the sequence in they are which entered (that is, first name, middle name (s) and surname).

8.2 Where a female student gets married, she may apply to have her name altered to include the surname acquired by marriage, followed in parenthesis, by the word ''nee'' and her former surname. In such cases, proof of marriage will be required before the official change is effected.

8.3 A student may apply to the Dean of Students for recognition by the College of a new name and if the Dean is satisfied that legal requirements have been met, he/she shall submit an application to the Principal who, on approval of the said applications, shall authorize the change. Any change of name shall be entered in the Register of Matriculation.

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THE CURRICULUM

Each Department shall have academic programmes comprising all lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, practicals, seminars, as appropriate etc.

All academic programmes shall be approved by the Board on the recommendation of Senate. They shall indicate the objectives and contents of each course.

Coding of subjects

Each course of the syllabus shall be indicated by a code, which is a literal abbreviation of two letters followed by three digits.

The Two letters designate the department.

The first digit shall designate the year of study

The second digit shall designate the semester: odd numbers for first semester subjects and even numbers for second semester subjects.

The last digit shall designate the subject number.

The title of the course shall be indicated immediately after the code. The number of hours for each course shall be indicated in brackets immediately after the title.

At the beginning of each course a Tutor shall inform students on the course outline showing the content to be covered and the methods to be used, the assessment procedure and the reading list.

That the academic programmes are followed and respected.

The academic programmes shall be based on the Semester System. A normal semester shall have 15 weeks of including week for revision and two weeks for examinations.

Two semesters shall form an academic year. There shall be a vacation at the end of each semester, the length of which shall be determined by the Management Committee.

On the recommendation of the Management Committee, Board may change the length of any semester or any vacation.

The diploma course at TCT shall last two and half years and lead to the award of a Diploma.

The College may also award special certificates in certain fields. The Board, on the recommendations of Senate shall set the minimum requirements of the award of each certificate.

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ATTENDANCE

The participation of a student in lectures, tutorials or exercises, practicals and examinations shall be compulsory.

A student anticipating to be absent from classes shall seek permission from the Registrar in writing with copies to be submitted to the Heads of Departments concerned.

A student who misses class for medical reasons shall submit, within 3 days, written evidence from an approved physician to the Registrar who shall inform the Heads of Departments concerned.

The monitoring of class attendance shall be done according to modalities fixed by each Department.

The Department shall deny a student whose unjustified absence from a course is 30% or more the right to sit the course examination and the decision shall be communicated to the Registrar. Such a student shall be disqualified for writing the final examination.

A student who misses any one continuous assessment for reasons not acceptable to the examination Board shall automatically be disqualified for writing the final examination.

In special cases, the Principal may allow a student to withdraw temporarily from the College for a period not exceeding one academic year. In that case, the student may be allowed to rejoin the College after withdrawal and shall repeat the semester in which he/she withdrew.

Class boycotts for any reason are prohibited. Any student or group of students found guilty of boycotting a class or any other legal academic activity shall be dismissed from the College.

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EXAMINATIONS

Examination of the College shall proceed on the basis of a set of published Examination Regulations with which students must familiarize themselves.

GRADUATION

Students who meet the requirements for graduation following the appropriate course of study shall be entitled to a diploma to be awarded at a public graduation ceremony.

RESIDENCE

11.1 Further to the regulations provided under paragraph 4 regarding accommodation, students shall be expected to take good care of rooms and furniture therein assigned them in a hostel

11.2 Furniture or fittings may not be transferred from any part of the College without prior permission from the Dean of Students.

11.3 Other than reading lamps, table, radio, record player, television, electric iron/ electric Kettle and Computers no electrical appliances or devices shall be permitted in students' rooms.

11.4 No cooking i.e. frying, roasting, baking or warming by use of electricity or other energy source is permitted in student rooms.

11.5 Light may not be left on during the day or when not needed.

11.6 For the avoidance of nuisance and annoyance to other residents, musical instruments may be played to room sound only/and in any case, not between midnight and 6:00 am.

Students may not entertain visitors during the hours of 9: 00pm and 6:00am.

Students must vacate their rooms at the close of each Semester.

MEALS

Served at prescribed times, all meals shall be taken in the Dining Hall/Restaurant.

Smoking is not allowed in the Dining Hall/Restaurant.

Students may not enter the kitchen or remove any equipment such as cutlery grasses or cutlery provided for their meals.

Complaint or criticisms of services at the Dining Room/Restaurant may be made to Dean of students through the student leaders appointed to oversee meals.

HEALTH

All new students shall undergo a thorough medical examination for which they will be provided forms prior to registration. On reporting at the College, students will be required to undergo a further examination by the College's medical staff if necessary.

All full-time students are required to take Medical Insurance, as the College is not responsible for provision of medical care. Students who do not have medical care shall not be registered. 

A list of students who are unavailable to attend lectures for being under medical care shall be submitted to:

Dean of Students
Heads of Department who will in turn inform Tutors concerned

Students shall report back to the medical staff after their treatment and submit the records to the Dean of Students for filling if such treatment occurs outside the College.

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FORMATION OF SOCIETIES AND CLUBS

Students' societies and Clubs in the College shall be formed at the request of at least ten interested students. In addition, there must be a member of the senior staff who will be put on to be the advisor.

A request to form an association or club shall be submitted to the Dean of Students through the students Association and shall be accompanied by the recommendation of the Student's Association and the Constitution / By-laws of the proposed society or club.

The proposed Society or Club shall be formally promulgated in the College after the approval has been given.

Within three months from the date of the promulgation of the society of club, the secretary shall deposit the names of persons holding principal offices of the society or club with the Registrar and the Dean of Students. Thereafter, the Registrar and the Dean of Students shall be furnished with the names of their Principal Officers once a year.

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PUBLIC FUNCTIONS

Students who wish to organize any public function within or outside campus shall obtain prior permission from the Dean of Students who shall in turn inform the Registrar and the Principal.

An application for permission to organize a function should provide the following information:

Date and time of the function;
Place where the function is to take place;

Names and description of Lecturers, Speakers, or Performers at the function.

This information together with evidence of fulfilment by the organisers of any requirements imposed by law in relation to the holding of such a function should normally reach the Dean of Students at least three days before the function takes place. The Dean of Students may impose such other requirements and conditions as may appear to him to be necessary desirable.
 
For the purpose of this section, a public function is the one to which persons other than staff and students of the College are invited or entitled to attend.

For functions involving use of musical instruments such as at a dance, permission may be given up to 12 mid – night. Only the Principal may allow a function to proceed beyond 12 midnights.

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PROCESSION AND DEMONSTRATION

Any student or students wishing to organize a procession/demonstration in the College shall notify the Dean of Students in writing with a copy to the Registrar at least three days before the procession /demonstration is due to begin.

The notification shall state the purpose of the procession/demonstration and the name (s) of the organizer (s).

The Dean of Students may prescribe special conditions, limitations or restrictions; as may be considered appropriate in the circumstances.

No procession/ demonstration shall be held between the hours of 6: 00 p.m. and 6:00 am

During the procession/demonstration, nothing will be done or said that may occasion violence or cause a breach of the peace.

If in the opinion of the Dean of Students, the procession/demonstration will be likely to lead to a breach of the peace or cause serious interference with the work of the College, he/she may so advise the College who may take appropriate action.

If any acts of violence and / or breach of College or other regulations occur during a procession/ demonstration or other mass action, the perpetrators as well as the organizer(s) shall be held jointly and severally responsible.

The fact that a procession/demonstration is not prohibited in any way implies that the College has either approved of or is in sympathy with its objectives.

For processions /demonstrations outside the College, the organizer(s) should, in addition, seek prior permission from the police.

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CORRESPONDENCE

All official correspondence by students to Government or other official bodies both within and outside the country shall be channelled through the Principal.

No student or group of students may print, publish, disseminate or otherwise circulate any false or fabricated information.

No student, student group or association may circulate information without the names and signatures of the authors.

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PUBLICATIONS

The Principal will be informed of any intention to produce a student publication within the College and his approval in writing shall be obtained for such a publication.

A copy of each issue will be lodged with the Principal and Dean of Students and the College Librarian on the day of publication.

Each issue shall state the name of the Editor, the Membership of the Editorial Board and Publisher.

The members of the Editorial Board will be held jointly responsible for the full contents of each issue of the publication.

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False Information
 
 A student shall not provide false or misleading information. 

Prohibited Activities

Specific violations of this standard include, but are not limited to:

Making a false or misleading oral or written statement to any college official or department member when the student knew or should have known the statement was false;

Making a false or misleading oral or written statement that misrepresents the character, qualifications, or reputation of another;

Falsely reporting the presence of an explosive or incendiary device, or fire or other safety hazard;

Falsely reporting a crime or a violation of this general regulation; or

Possessing or displaying any form of false identification or any identification not one’s own.

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USE OF VEHICLES

Any student who wishes to use or keep a vehicle on the campus of the College must obtain permission from the Principal through the Dean of students.

The College accepts no responsibility for such vehicles, or for any damage that may occur to them or to their owners, drivers or passengers. The use of such vehicles is a privilege which is enjoyed at the sole risk of the persons concerned and which will be withdrawn if it is abused.

COLLECTION OF MONEY

Permission to make general collections of money, other than for club subscriptions and cinema shows or parties, must be obtained from the Dean of Students. Students are advised to ask to see the license of other valid authority of any collector who comes from outside the College.

COLLEGE PROPERTY

Every student shall exercise the highest standard of caution in handling College property so as to avoid possible damage.

Any student who wilfully or negligently damages College property shall be guilty of an offence.

No College property of any description shall be taken from its proper place without the written consent of the Head of department concerned.

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DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

General Disciplinary Offences

These shall include the following: -

Conduct which does or is likely to cause damage, defacement or violence to person or property within the College; 

Using force against or striking a fellow student, an officer or any other person at the College or outside the campus;

Maliciously damaging, defacing or destroying a wall, gate, fence, post or any other item or property of the College;

Act or conduct, which is likely to obstruct or frustrate the holding of: -

Any lecture, class workshop activity given or authorized by the College
Any meeting, function or lawful activity authorized by the College;

Unauthorized use of or interference with any technical or other service or installation of the College.

Theft committed within the College where a student is charged with and convicted, the College may take disciplinary measure against such a student not withstanding that he/she is prosecuted and or punished by a court of law;

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Unauthorised possession of a key to the College property;

Refusal or failure to comply with a lawful order or directive given by any officer of the College acting on his behalf or under an order from any competent organ or officer of the College;

Use abusive, slanderous, obscene or threatening language by any student against any other student(s) or employee or officer of the College in course of performance of such officer’s or employee’s duties;

Forging a document or uttering a false document or perpetrating forgery with intent to cause loss to any person, College or any other institution whether in cash or otherwise;

Knowingly inviting or entertaining a student (s) in the College whose name or names appears on the Notice board as having been barred from the College’s premises by a competent authority.

Refusal or failure to obey any lawful order issued under the College regulations or rules promulgated by a competent organ of the College;

Failure or refusal to attend a meeting called or authorized by the Disciplinary Authority or any other competent organ of the College when summoned to do so by a proper written notice by such authority.

Refusal or failure to abide by the ruling, decision and/or penalty made imposed by the Disciplinary Authority or any other competent authority;

Inviting outsiders as guest speakers and/ or social entertainers without the permission of the relevant organs of the College;

Forming and/ or establishing unauthorized student groups, which are likely to cause disunity and disorder at the College or in the wider community;

Without derogating the right to freedom of expression, wilful writing of defamatory literature or uttering insults or obscure language by any student or group of students against any other student(s) or employee (s) of the College;

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Sexual harassment of whatever kind;
 
Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when

(1) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic advancement,

(2) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions or academic decisions affecting such individual, or

(3) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unlawfully interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or unlawfully creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment.

The following types of actions may constitute sexual harassment, whether the harasser is a co-worker, supervisor, student or faculty member:

Demand for sexual favours accompanied by implied threats about the person's employment status, or implied promises of preferential treatment;
Persistent, unwelcome flirtation, requests for dates, advances or propositions of a sexual nature;
Unwanted touching such as patting, pinching, hugging or repeated brushing against an individual's body;

Repeated degrading or insulting comments that demean an individual's sexuality or sex;
Unwarranted displays of sexually suggestive objects or pictures,
Sexual assault;

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Other Unlawful Harassment

Other unlawful harassment includes any verbal or physical conduct toward another that is based on the other's race, colour, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law, and that

(1) Unlawfully creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive learning and/or working environment or

(2) unlawfully interferes with an individual's work or academic performance.

Threatening, intimidating or engaging in hostile acts that create an unlawful, hostile environment based on an individual's race, colour, gender, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law may constitute unlawful harassment, whether the harasser is a co-worker, supervisor, student or faculty member.

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Safe and Prudent Conduct;

Mismanagement and/or embezzlement of students’ organization funds and/or of any other organized student society established under the auspices of the student’s organisation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the students’ organisations’ constitution for the time being in force;

Machinery for Implementation of the Regulations of the College.

Any member of the College has the obligation to report to the authorities any infringement of rules, which comes to notice and to check immediately any disorderly or improper conduct or any breach of these regulations wherever they may occur.

Breaches of College or Hostel regulations may become the subject of a report to the Dean of Students or Principal and may result in the student concerned have to appear before a disciplinary committee.

At the Hostel - there shall be a Disciplinary committee, which shall include the following:

- Social Discipline as Chairman
- Two senior staff
- Two students

The quorum for which will be the chairman and one each from the other categories

In each case of a hearing, the complaint against the student shall be indicated in writing to him/her by the chairman to request a response in writing within 72 hours. The Committee shall hold an inquiry into the complaint but while observing the principles of natural justice will not be obliged to follow the rules of evidence as in a court of law.

The Committee has power to do any or several of the following:

-Dismiss the case
-Reprimand the student
-Demand an apology from the student
-Impose a fine not exceeding 5,000 FRW
-Demand refund of cost of repair of damage to College
-Property or loss of any property
-Remove the student from the hostel
-Recommend temporary or permanent removal of the student from the College to be communicated to the student within 7days of the conclusion of the hearing.

At the College level, there shall be a College Committee of Discipline, which shall include the following:
-The Principal as Chairman
-The Director of Administration and HR as Secretary
-The Dean of students
-Two senior academic staff appointed by the Principal
-Two student’s representatives
-Any other relevant person on the decision of the Principal.

The Committee shall serve as an appellate body for all appeals from the Hostel Disciplinary Committee. It may also initiate the leavings into any breaches of regulations, which are referred to it.

Following the leaving, the committee may do any or several of the following, which shall be communicated in writing to the student within 7days:

-Dismiss the case against the student
-Reprimand the student
-Demand an apology from the student
-Impose a fine not exceeding 25,000 FRW
-Demand refund of cost of repair of damaged to College property or loss of any property
-Confirm to the Principal a recommendation of temporary or permanent removal of a student from the College

The Principal may consider an appeal against decisions taken by the College Disciplinary Committee and change the verdict. If the student still feels aggrieved an absolutely final appeal lies with the Board or the Courts of Law where applicable.

It is a violation to ignore, disobey, disregard, or otherwise violate any provision of this general student’s regulations or any applicable rule.

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Prohibited Activities

Specific violations of this standard include, but are not limited to:

Failing to comply with the directive of any College official or department member, including any sanction imposed by the Office of Dean of Students upon a group or individual; 

Failing to comply with the terms of any policy, procedure or agreement, including the College’s Housing and Dining Agreement or any other agreement between a student and a College official or department;

Failing to comply with any applicable state, or local law; or

Failing to advise the College of an off-campus Criminal Charge or conviction.