Each university has its own distinct set of disciplinary policies and procedures. Please use the links below to reveal the information of interest.
Links to procedures and policies
Precautionary / interim measures?
Yes.
- Suspension
- Exclusion, or
- Restriction of activity.
approach to Police involvement?
a. in cases where the alleged misconduct could constitute a criminal offence Queen Mary will usually consider the case under this Code with a view to determining if the alleged misconduct has occurred in accordance with paragraph 17 [a] – [s]. Any decision of the alleged victim not to report to the Police or to press charges, any decision of the Police not to investigate or prosecute, or any eventual not-guilty verdict, will not prohibit Queen Mary from following this Code and taking action as it sees fit. Queen Mary can make no determination with regard to offences under the criminal law, and decides misconduct issues on the balance of probabilities as set out in general principle 6.
b. if the alleged misconduct has been reported to the Police, usually no further action (other than suspension, exclusion or instruction restricting activity) will take place under this Code until the outcome of the Police investigation or criminal proceeding is known. However, Queen Mary reserves its rights to take further action under this Code where it considers this to be appropriate.
c. the student under investigation will keep Queen Mary informed of any developments in the Police investigation or criminal proceedings. Once the outcome is known, a Vice-Principal will review the case and determine whether further action under the Code of Student Discipline should be taken.
d. if a student has been sentenced by a court in relation to the same matter, the penalty imposed by the court will be taken into consideration in determining a penalty under this Code.
e. staff dealing with the incident should clearly document their involvement and any decisions made, and bear in mind that any notes made or documents created could be requested by the Police as a part of a criminal investigation.
f. where one student has made allegations against another student, both must be treated fairly and Queen Mary will take into account the interests and welfare of both, particularly when considering suspension, exclusion or instruction restricting activity. Queen Mary will also consider any support arrangements that need to be put in place for the students involved, such as counselling sessions or academic adjustments.
23. When action is taken for misconduct, following conviction, the conviction will be taken as evidence that the misconduct has occurred, and will be open to challenge only to the extent that the student disputes that they were the person convicted.
24. The registration of a student who is convicted in a criminal court and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or more will be terminated, and the student may be re-admitted only with the permission of the President and Principal.
Right to be represented?
General misconduct
Yes. At all stages of the process a student may be represented or accompanied by one person of their choosing. A maximum of two individuals are permitted to accompany a student at any meeting, interview or hearing.
Academic misconduct
Yes. A student may be assisted or represented by any one person.
N.B. Even where universities state that legal representation is not permitted, we have often successfully argued that students ought to be in accordance with the principles of natural justice.
Penalties?
General misconduct
The following penalties may be imposed at school/institute level:
- a. A reprimand which is a formal penalty for the misconduct.
- b. The requirement to apologise in specified terms to one or more named persons by a specified date.
- c. A formal instruction restricting activity for a specified period.
- d. A first written warning, which is formal advice to the student that if the misconduct is repeated a more severe penalty will result.
- e. A final written warning, which is formal advice to the student that if the misconduct is repeated a more severe penalty will result.
- f. A fine not exceeding £100.
- g. Compensation in respect of damage to property at the value of the damage where its value is no more than £250.
- h. Compensation in respect of injury to a person not exceeding £250.
- i. Prohibition from holding any office, or any particular office, including committee membership of any body or society of Queen Mary.
- j. Exclusion from prescribed departmental or Students’ Union and/or Queen Mary facilities, including Student Services and IT Services, for a period of no more than one calendar year, but not including attendance at lectures, classes, tutorials or other timetabled teaching and learning activities student’s programme of study.
The following penalties may be imposed by a Student Disciplinary Committee:
- a reprimand which is a formal penalty for the misconduct.
- the requirement to apologise in specified terms to one or more named persons by a specified date.
- a formal instruction restricting activity for a specified period.
- a first written warning, which is formal advice to the student that if the misconduct is repeated a more severe penalty will result.
- a final written warning, which is formal advice to the student that if the misconduct is repeated a more severe penalty will result.
- a fine not exceeding £1000.
- compensation in respect of damage to property at the value of the damage with no upper limit.
- compensation in respect of injury to a person not exceeding £2,000.
- a requirement to undertake some service to the Queen Mary and/or QMSU community, the nature and timing of the service to be determined by the President and Principal or Committee as appropriate.
- prohibition from holding any office, or any particular office, including committee membership of any body or society of Queen Mary.
- exclusion from prescribed departmental, Students’ Union and/or Queen Mary facilities, including Student Services and IT Services, for a period of no more than one year, but not including attendance at lectures, classes, tutorials or other timetabled teaching and learning activities student’s programme of study.
- suspension from Queen Mary for a period of up to one year. Suspension may be ordered to take effect subject to such terms and conditions as the Committee may prescribe, but otherwise will prevent the student from entering Queen Mary or making use of any Queen Mary facilities or participating in any Queen Mary activities.
- recommendation to the President and Principal that the student’s registration be terminated and the student expelled from Queen Mary. The President and Principal considers the recommendation and either supports the recommendation or imposes an alternative penalty.
In addition to imposing one of the above penalties, an informal caution or other informal cautionary advice may be imposed.
Academic misconduct
- a formal reprimand;
- capping to the minimum pass mark for the assessment in which misconduct occurred;
- failure (a mark of zero) in the element of assessment in which misconduct occurred, with a resubmission of the element permitted with the same attempt at the module. This will not count as an additional attempt, but the mark for the resubmitted element will be capped to the minimum pass mark;
- capping to the minimum pass mark for the module in which misconduct occurred;
- failure (a mark of zero) in the module of which the assessment forms a part, with the maximum mark on any resit or retake limited to the minimum pass mark;
- failure (a mark of zero) in the module of which the assessment forms a part, with no permission to resit or retake the module;
- capping to the minimum pass mark for all modules taken (and yet to be taken) in the current academic year. Any module marks below the minimum pass mark will stand.
The following penalties can only be applied after a full meeting of the Academic Misconduct Panel:
- For postgraduate research students only: a requirement that the student rectify any material that is deemed to have breached the Academic Misconduct Policy within a specified timeframe, which is to be determined in consultation with the student’s supervisor/s and the relevant Faculty Deputy Dean for Research;
- A recommendation to the Principal that the student be suspended from the programme for a period of up to one academic year; where it is deemed appropriate, the Chair of the Panel may also recommend that the student receive marks of zero in all modules taken during the academic year in which the misconduct occurred;
- A recommendation to the Principal that the student be expelled from Queen Mary; where it is deemed appropriate, the Chair of the Panel may also recommend that the student receive marks of zero in all modules taken during the academic year in which the misconduct occurred.
Right to appeal?
Yes.
There is a single appeals process for both general misconduct and academic misconduct. All information on appeals, including the Appeal Policy, can be found here.
A student may appeal on one or both of these grounds:
- ‘Procedural error’. The process leading to the decision being appealed against was not conducted in accordance with Queen Mary’s procedure, such that there is reasonable doubt as to whether the outcome might have been different had the error not occurred. Procedural error includes administrative error, and bias in the operation of the procedure.
- ‘Exceptional circumstances’. Exceptional circumstances, illness, or other relevant factors were not made known for good reason, or were not properly taken into account.
‘Good reason’ requires a student to demonstrate that circumstances beyond their control prevented disclosure of the relevant facts at the appropriate time. Personal embarrassment or unwillingness to disclose personal circumstances does not count as ‘good reason’ for the purposes of this policy.
A Formal Appeal form [DOC 38KB] must be received within 14 calendar days of formal notification of the decision appealed against.
Member of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (“OIA”) Scheme?
Yes – this means that you could potentially complain to the OIA once you have exhausted the University’s internal procedures.
Contact our Student & University lawyers:
If you require further information or advice from our team of specialist lawyers, please contact a member of the team using one of the methods below.
This information was drafted in the months leading up to September 2023. It does not constitute legal advice. As University policies are updated from time-to-time, the information on this page may contain some inaccuracies and you should always check your University’s resources and/or seek legal advice where appropriate.
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