(General Meeting of the School of Biology No. 319/19-9-2002)

1. UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME

The timeframe of the GSP is four (4) years or eight (8) semesters during which students must be credited with 145 credit units (CU), equal to 240 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) in order to be able to get a degree. Following the decisions of General Meetings Nos. 311/7-3-2002 and 316/13-6-2002) the Undergraduate Studies Programme has been structured into two levels of studies.

1. Semesters 1-4

Compulsory courses, common to all students, organized into those in which subjects of biological content and support subjects are included.

2. Semesters 5-8

The programme includes the following three disciplines:
1. Environmental Biology
2. Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biotechnology
3. Biology-Education

Selection of students to attend the disciplines of the School is considered necessary and is based on: a) The number of students to be selected to attend one of the three disciplines of the new GSP should not be higher than 65% of the total number of students registered in the School. b) Selection of students will be based on the criteria cited below, which are subject to change. c) Applications for discipline selection must be submitted by the students during the first 10 days of September. d) Final selection of students in the GSP disciplines is to be completed the last ten days of September.

Selection Criteria of Students in the GSP Disciplines. a) The total of grades in all courses of the first and second years which students have successfully passed, the examination period of June being included b) In case of equal grades students with the highest number of courses that they have successfully passed and with the highest total of grades in courses of the first year of studies are selected. Changes or adjustments to the above criteria are made by the Administrative Board of the School of Biology.

Discipline compulsory courses are taught during semesters 5 and 6 as far as the two first disciplines are concerned. During semesters 7 and 8 into which the diploma work and practicals are incorporated elective courses are taught.

As concerns the third discipline, students are free to select from all courses of semesters 5 to 8 (compulsory in the other disciplines and elective in the respective semesters).
Students of semesters 7 and 8 may select only one course as required-elective from the studies programme of semesters 5 and 6 provided that attendance of both lab and outdoor practicals required for other courses of the studies programme is not hindered. During their studies, students are also allowed to choose only one (1) course from other Schools of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, after submission to the AB of an application of justification.

The deadline for the final selection of courses of semesters 7 and 8 is 30 May.

DEFINITIONS

Credit Units (CU): According to article 24, paragraph 3 of the Law 1268/82, a CU corresponds to one teaching hour per week for a whole semester as regards teaching compulsory and elective courses and 1-3 teaching hours per week for the rest of the educational work provided.
Departments: According to Law (N1268/1982, article 24, paragraph 10) each course is assigned to a Department, which undertakes course assignments and is responsible for problem solving. Departments are defined by the area of specialization which is more relevant to the content of the course each Department is responsible for. Departments are decided upon by the General Meeting of the School of Biology, which has the right to alter previous decisions after satisfactory justification.

LABORATORY PRACTICALS
Lab practicals of the courses are carried out during the same semester the corresponding course is being taught. The grade students are merited with in the lab practicals equals up to 25% of that of the course.
Students must attend lab practicals at all times. Absence is not allowed. Students who miss a lab practical may attend its repetition provided that they bring forth a well-documented justification of their absence and that the tutor wishes to repeat the class. If students miss more than one of the lab practicals, they are obligated to repeat them in the next semesters.

STUDENTS EXAMINATIONS

According to Law (1268/1982) the manner by which students’ performance is evaluated depends on the examiner. Consequently, evaluation can also be made through oral examinations. Two students participate in oral examining in order to ensure its transparency and fairness. If only one student shows up, then he/she takes a written exam. Written or oral examinations take place only once for a granted exam period and for all examinees.
Examinations are taken strictly only within the exam periods defined by the appropriate committee of the relevant programme.
Progress examinations are not allowed during the teaching semester.

5. COURSE ASSIGNMENT - APPROVAL OF TEACHING AND REFERENCE BOOKS

Courses are assigned and teaching and reference books are approved by the Departments according to the law. The relevant decisions taken by the Departments are made known to the Secretariat of the School not later than the end of June. Full information (authors, title, publishing company, year of publication, number of pages, ISBN etc) on both teaching and reference books must be provided.
In order for their books to be approved, the authors submit to the Department an application with two reprints of the teaching or reference book at least ten (10) days before the scheduled meeting of the Department. The application is announced to the members of the teaching staff by the authors or the Head of the Department so as to be informed about the content of the books under approval.
This procedure is applied to the teaching and reference books published for the first time or re-published after they have been significantly changed (>25%).
For each course the Departments can approve of more than one teaching or reference books. Students have the right to select only one, whichever they wish and which is free of charge. The remaining approved books are available in adequate reprints (at least five) at the Library of the School and can be lent to students.

DIPLOMA DISSERTATIONS

The aim of a diploma dissertation is to give students the opportunity to acquire experience in research methodology and in the manner a paper standing out for its scientific form is written. Carrying out of a diploma dissertation is based on the following principles:
1. Working on a diploma dissertation is optional. The topics of the diploma dissertations should fall into the area of specialization of biology.
2. Diploma dissertations are chosen by students of semester 6, according to the procedure stated below and are completed during semesters 7 and 8. Selection of diploma dissertations by students of higher semesters is not permitted, except in well justified cases which are documented in writing by the supervisor, approved by the Department and eventually decided upon by the AB of the School.
3. Diploma dissertations equal 9 CU (ECTS 225 hours of work done by the student), distributed in semesters 7 and 8.
4. Supervision of diploma dissertations is an obligation for each member of the teaching staff of the School. Members of the research and teaching staff (EEDIP II), with a doctoral degree, may well participate in co-supervising diploma dissertations. Each member of the teaching staff has the right to supervise up to three diploma dissertations. If a member of the teaching staff is on sabbatical leave, even for six months, he/she is not allowed to supervise a diploma dissertation. Co-supervising of diploma dissertations by members of the teaching staff of the same or other Departments is allowed in case the topic requires it. They will also act as examiners. In co-supervisions the total will amount to six (6) diploma dissertations. Supervision of diploma dissertations is recognized as didactic work.
5. Part or all of the experiments of a diploma dissertation can be carried out outside the School of Biology provided that it is done in reputed Greek or foreign Institutes (University Schools, Research Centers, Institutes etc.). At the suggestion of the member of the teaching staff interested in the relative Institute, the Department is called to vouch for the validity of the Institute. In such cases the main supervisor is a member of the teaching staff of our School and the co-supervisor can be a researcher belonging to the outside Institute. If this researcher is also a member of the teaching staff, he/she can be decided by the Department to act as co-examiners. Otherwise, the Department again decides to replace him/her with a member of the teaching staff of the School of Biology or any other School.
6. Each member of the teaching staff introduces at least one topic of a diploma dissertation at the General Meeting every April. Along with the topic of the dissertation, supervisors must also state the relevant courses. Topics are announced at the General Meeting of the Department and after approval they are put up on the announcement board of the Department from 1 to 15 May. Two to three members of the teaching staff are assigned by the relevant Department to brief students in on topics of diploma dissertations during the period stated above.
7. Dissertation topics should be concise so that carrying out a dissertation can be completed in two semesters.
8. Students wishing to do a diploma dissertation must submit a simple application to the Department not later than 31 May, also writing down their grades in the relevant courses. Decisions of the Department are finalised by 15 June and the topics assigned to the students of each Department are announced by 30 June. A copy of the above decision is submitted to the Secretariat of the School to be kept in the archives.
9. Selection of students is based on the following criteria: a) The average of the student’s grades in all courses b) The average of the grades in relevant courses c) The courses required for the selection of students to carry out a dissertation should include not only those attended and passed by the students but also courses to be attended during semesters 7 and 8 d) The number of courses students have not passed e) The knowledge of a foreign language, which is tested by the supervisor of the dissertation (orally or in writing) during the interview g) Students who are to carry out a diploma dissertation must be interviewed by a member of a teaching staff of their own choice.
10. Information for criteria a, b and d of the above paragraph is incorporated in the student’s application or is supplied by the Secretariat of the School. These data will then enable the member of the teaching staff responsible to introduce the topic of the dissertation to the General Meeting of the Department. Selection is finalized by the decision of the Department.
11. The topics of the diploma dissertations which have not been covered are promptly put up on the announcement boards of the Department. These positions are filled by applications accepted within the first week of September and are approved by the General Meeting of the Department not later than 15 September. No further diploma dissertations are accepted beyond this date.
12. Students are to register their diploma dissertations with the Secretariat of the School every September along with the statements of the elective courses.
13. Any change in the field of the diploma dissertation is allowed until the end of semester 7. Changes are made known to the Department by the supervisor in writing where the reasons for them are stated.
14. Termination of diploma dissertations is allowed only under very serious circumstances which are satisfactorily accounted for in an application provided by the student and in a document provided by the supervisor. Termination should be effected only at the end of semester 7, approved by the Department and ultimately decided by the AB of the School. Termination of diploma dissertations can also be caused by the supervisor after he/she realizes that the student’s performance is inadequate. Students terminating their diploma dissertation must replace it with three elective courses (9 CU).
15. Students start writing their dissertations at the end of semester 8. These are written and presented in the Greek language. The examination committee consists of the supervisor and one more member of the School (member of the teaching staff or member of EEDIP II).
Students who carry out diploma dissertations and are going to present them, ought to submit a copy of them fifteen (15) days before deadline of presentation. Presentation and examination of diploma dissertations are performed in public during the academic semester and after they have been announced at least two days before presentation date. Presentation takes place in front of the examining committee and those interested in attending. It covers a fixed period of time (20-25 min). After completion of examination and by the Examining Committee’s consent, questions relevant to the subject of the dissertation can be posed to the student. Presentation and examination should not exceed one hour. After its presentation the student must conform to any comments made by the members of the Examining Committee. When ready the dissertation is printed in 5 copies, two of which and a third in electronic form, are submitted to the Central Library of the School. The librarian provides a certificate of submission, which is handed over to the Secretariat of the School in order for the grade to be announced. The final grade of the diploma dissertation is the average of its written evaluation, its presentation and the student’s performance during the carrying-out of the dissertation as well of the responses provided by the student to the questions posed to him/her by the Examining Committee.
16. The supervisor (member of the teaching staff of the School) is responsible for the intellectual property rights concerning the publication of the results derived from the diploma dissertation. In any case participation of the student should be recognized in a fashion better judged by the supervisor.

OUTDOOR PRACTICALS

1. Outdoor practicals authorized by the Departments constitute part of the laboratory training and participation of students in it is obligatory.
2. If students fail to take part in one of these outdoor exercises they ought to repeat it next year.
3. Outdoor practicals are realized on the basis of a programme drawn up by the relevant committee, approved by the General Meeting and subsequently submitted to the Rector‘s Secretariat.
4. The programme of outdoor practicals is approved every December and is valid for the following year.
5. After its approval, participants, the Departments and students are informed.
6. When the programme is being prepared, care is taken to avoid coinciding the outdoor exercises with other classes, weekends and holidays as well.
7. Outdoor practicals are realized only according to the approved programme. If they fail to take place due to external causes, change in the programme is justified and must be approved by the General Meeting, the AB or the Chairman of the School depending on the emergency degree. The Rector, the bus agency, students and all involved should be notified in writing.
8. Failing materialization of an outdoor practical due to the tutor’s inability to do so constitutes dereliction of duty.
9. It is imperative that at least one escort be present on the bus carrying students according to the decision of the relevant Department. Escorts should be included in the programme of the outdoor exercises.
10. Before departure the escort must have been given by the Head of the Department a written order authorizing him/her to participate in the outdoor practical.
11. Outdoor practicals are funded with money payable by the Secretariat of the Department to those having attended them within ten (10) days since return.

PRACTICALS

The General Meeting of the School of Biology based on decisions no. 159, 128 and 241 has passed Practicals as an elective course delivered to students on the premises of factories, hospitals etc. The aim of Practicals is to cover the training needs of the students as regards their future professional orientation in productive areas. These areas concern Hydrobiology-Aquacultures, Health, Applied Genetics, Industry, Biotechnology and Environmental Biology.
Practicals is an elective course of semesters 7 and 8 (decision of General Meeting No 316). It equals six (6) CU and is registered to the Secretariat of the School every September along with the other elective courses.
Organization and realization of the course “Practicals” have been assigned to the Coordinating Committee (CC). Each year in May the CC in cooperation with members of the teaching staff of the School (Supervising Professors) makes a list of units willing to receive and train the students. Students submit a specific application and select the unit where they wish to carry out their practicals at.
Selection of students for each unit is made by the CC in cooperation with the Supervising Professor after the following has been taken into consideration: 1) their general performance during their years of studies (average grade), 2) an interview by which the candidate’s personality, maturity, professional objectives and financial needs are evaluated, 3) selection from students attending classes related to topics of the practicals and 4) the successful completion of the courses which are related to the practical.
After selection the CC makes a list of the students selected writing down the reception unit, the Supervising Professor and the Trainer of the Unit. The list is submitted to the Secretariat of the School, announced in the Departments and finally put up on the announcement boards not later than 15 September. Since “Practical” is regarded as an educational activity, selection of students is verified by the decision of the Department to which the respective member of the teaching staff belongs.
Practicals last 2 months and are carried out in July to August which ensue the 4th year of studies. If possible, it may take place earlier, provided that the rest of the educational work is not hindered. After completion of practicals, each student is obliged to:
1. Bring to the Supervising Professor a certificate of the carrying-out of the practicals given by the person in charge of the unit, which also includes the evaluation of the student’s performance and response.
2. Submit a paper both to the Supervising Professor and to the one in charge of the unit.
3. Present his/her work in front of the Supervising Professor, a member of the CC and audience. Presentation should take 15-20 minutes and is followed by the student’s oral examination by the Supervising Professor and the member of the CC.
4. Evaluation and grading of the student is made by the Supervising Professor after the following criteria have been assessed: 1) evaluation by the individual in charge of the unit 2) evaluation of the written task 3) presentation of the work by the student 4) response of the student to the questions asked during oral examination and 5) the opinion of the member of the CC.
5. In case students fail a practical or if a practical is not realized, students are obliged to replace it with two elective courses.

THE ECTS SYSTEM

The ECTS System (European Credit Transfer System) has been developed in the framework of the ERASMUS ( European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) in order to facilitate the procedures concerning the academic recognition of studies throughout the European Community. It has been valid since 1992-1993 between country-members of the European Community and any other country which is part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) so that students can follow part of their studies in universities abroad. The ECTS System enables the transfer of the student’s work (credit unit transfer) between cooperating institutes.

The courses that the student is going to choose are considered as elective and are all recognized if the student has passed successfully the exams in the respective course. 30 ECTS are required for an Erasmus student to safeguard a semester.