Statute of limitations planned

New university law: Withdrawal of titles for plagiarism made more difficult

Even those who copy should be able to keep their title after a certain period of time (symbolic image)(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The Council of Ministers approved the draft for the higher education law package on Wednesday. It provides for changes to the plagiarism rules: It should be more difficult to revoke the title of people who have copied.

A statute of limitations is planned in the draft, which will now be submitted to parliament. The possibility of revoking or withdrawing an academic degree due to plagiarism should therefore become time-barred. However, plagiarism itself should still not become time-barred, as the Ministry of Education's press release states.

Title awarded for entire degree course
Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) justified this change to the previous draft in the document by stating that Bachelor's or Master's titles would be awarded for all academic achievements, not just for the academic thesis.

Education Minister Polaschek presented the higher education law package.(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

However, when asked on Wednesday after the Council of Ministers, he did not want to say how many years after graduation this statute of limitations would apply. A statute of limitations was already provided for in a draft for the 2021 Universities Act: After 30 years, it should no longer be possible to revoke the academic degree. However, the plan was dropped due to constitutional concerns.

Politicians' work examined
Plagiarism allegations have recently caused quite a stir in Austrian politics: the self-appointed "plagiarism hunter" Stefan Weber scrutinized the theses of several politicians and found plagiarism in the work of Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP), for example.

However, no intent to deceive was found in subsequent proceedings. A title was therefore not revoked. In January 2021, however, Minister of Labor Christine Aschbacher (ÖVP) resigned due to allegations of plagiarism.