IITM BS Non Academic Rules Every Student Should Know

The full non academic rules for IITM BS are kept in a separate document. The DS student handbook links to it from its "Non Academic Rules" section. The handbook itself adds a few rules you should know. Do not put more than five people in the CC line of an e-mail. Do not use the IIT Madras name on your own research. And finish the compulsory POSH training and medical certificate.

Where the full rules are

The DS handbook has a short section called Non Academic Rules. It does not list the rules inside the handbook. Instead, it links to a separate published document with the full rules. Open the handbook, go to that section and read the linked document. The rules can change, so read the current version rather than a copy someone shared.

The same section also links to consolidated malpractice data up to the September 2025 term. That section was updated on 4 January 2026.

The e-mail rule: five people at most in CC

Both the DS and ES handbooks have the same e-mail guideline. Do not include more than five recipients in the CC field. The handbook says group mailing is blocked under programme policy. (The handbook text reads "clocked", which looks like a typo for blocked.)

In practice:

• Write to one team at a time, about one issue.
• For most queries, use a support ticket instead of e-mail. The escalation guidelines say that sending many e-mails, or escalating the same issue to many teams, can slow down the answer.
• If you must escalate, follow the levels in order. See support tickets and the escalation matrix.

Using the IIT Madras name in research

The DS handbook has a research paper policy right after the non academic rules. You cannot list "IIT Madras" or "IIT Madras BS Degree" as your affiliation in a paper unless the work was done under a faculty member or instructor officially linked with the institute. Independent work must be published in your personal capacity. Wrong use of the institute's name is treated as a violation. It can lead to disciplinary action as severe as cancellation of your registration. The details are in publishing a research paper as an IITM BS student.

Other compulsory tasks

These two tasks are not grades or exams, but skipping them has a cost:

Read the POSH training rule and the medical certificate rule for the steps.

Conduct and prizes

Your conduct record also matters for awards. Students eligible for a Certificate of Merit or Distinction must have a clean academic and disciplinary record. Any past malpractice or disciplinary violation disqualifies you from the certificate, however high your marks are.

Common questions

Can I send one e-mail to a big group of students or staff?

No. The handbook says group mailing is blocked by programme policy. Keep the CC list to five people or fewer.

Is the non academic rules document the same for DS and ES?

The DS handbook links to the separate rules document. The ES handbook has no non academic rules section. It only repeats the e-mail guideline. ES students should ask support which rules document applies to them.

Can I mention the IITM BS programme on a blog or a project I built myself?

The handbook's rule covers research publications. It says independent work must not use IIT Madras as the affiliation. For anything else, check the non academic rules document or ask support.

Can one malpractice case affect my prizes later?

Yes. The handbook says any instance of malpractice or disciplinary violation in your history disqualifies you from the Certificate of Merit or Distinction.