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
- General misconduct: Disciplinary Procedure for Students
- Academic misconduct: Regulations on Assessment Offences
Precautionary / interim measures?
Subject to various grounds and the student’s right to make representations, the University may whilst a general misconduct investigation is ongoing:
- Exclude the student from areas/facilities of the School and /or halls of residence;
- Suspend the student from their studies;
- Suspend the student from attending School events/activities;
- Impose conditions on the student such as requiring the student to have no contact with the reporting student(s) or certain witnesses and/or requiring the student to move to alternative accommodation.
Approach to police involvement?
This University will not ordinarily pursue disciplinary action against a student while they are the subject of a police investigation, but it reserves the right to do so; particularly if a student’s registration is due to expire before the conclusion of any criminal proceedings, or the safety of one or more members of the School is at risk.
If acquitted of a criminal offence or where the police decide to take no further action, the University may still take action.
Right to be represented?
General misconduct
Only a right to be accompanied by a silent observer, unless there are exceptional circumstances / a good and justified reason.
Academic misconduct
Yes, but only to clarify something the student may have said or to ask a question/clarification if they think the student has not understood a question. This may include a legal representative.
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
Includes, but not limited to:
- Formal warning;
- Formal apology;
- Requirement to take appropriate training;
- A fine;
- Requirement to make good the cost in whole or in part of any damage caused;
- An order of Service to the School for a specified period to be determined by the Board of Discipline;
- Exclusion from the whole School or defined areas and/or facilities of the School including Halls of Residence for a specific period of time;
- Suspension from their studies, events and/or activities for a fixed period of time;
- Imposing conditions on a student’s access to facilities if the student has been convicted of a criminal conviction where such conditions are deemed necessary for the safety and security of members of the School; and/or
- Expulsion from the School.
Academic misconduct
A range of penalties depending on whether the offence is classed as ‘minor’ or ‘major’.
Right to appeal?
Yes.
General misconduct
No later than ten working days from the date of the Secretary’s or Board of Discipline’s written decision on one or more of the following grounds:
- A significant procedural flaw or irregularity that compromised the fairness of the process;
- New material evidence, which must be supported by an explanation of why it is being submitted at this late stage;
- An outcome being unreasonable or disproportionate; and/or
- That there is bias or a reasonable perception of bias during the procedure.
Academic misconduct
Within ten working days of the date of written confirmation of the Panel’s decision on one or more of the following grounds:
- that the Panel was constituted in such a way that it was not impartial;
- that there has been a material breach of these procedures that affected the fairness of the Panel's decision; and/or
- that relevant fresh evidence has been received that might have caused a different decision to have been made, provided the student can show that it was neither reasonable nor practical to have presented the evidence to the Panel before its decision.
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. The Completion of Procedures Letter will inform the student of their right to submit a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (“the OIA”). The Complaint will need to be submitted to the OIA within 12 months of the date of the Completion of Procedures letter.
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.
We treat all personal data in accordance with our data protection policy.