General Regulations 2008-09

Regulation 13: Student discipline

13.1 It shall be an offence under these Regulations for a student by his or her conduct or activities to prejudice the good order and discipline of the College either in the precincts of the College, or in buildings or in premises owned or occupied by the College, or elsewhere, or by his or her conduct to bring the College into disrepute.

13.2 The offence of plagiarism is dealt with separately under the Assessment Regulations, and student disciplinary offences in student accommodation are dealt with in the Student Accommodation Regulations.

13.3 In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of 13.1, it shall be an offence for any student by his or her conduct wilfully to disrupt teaching, study, research, examinations, or the administration of the College, or to obstruct staff of the College or any other authorised representative of it in the performance of his or her duties, or to damage or deface any property of, or in the custody of, the College, or wilfully to harm any member or authorised representative of the College.

13.4 The following shall (subject to the above) constitute misconduct:

1. disruption of, or improper interference with the academic, administrative, sporting, social or other activities of the College, whether on College premises or elsewhere;
2. obstruction of, or improper interference with, the functions, duties or activities of any member of the College, authorised representative of it, or authorised visitor;
3. violent, indecent, disorderly, threatening or offensive behaviour or language whilst on College premises or engaged in any College activity;
4. fraud, deceit, deception or dishonesty in relation to the College or its staff or in connection with holding any office in the College or in relation to being a student of the College;
5. action likely to cause injury or impair the health or safety on College premises of students or staff;
6. harassment of any student, member of staff or other employee of the College or any authorised visitor to the College;
7. use of social networking web sites or blogs or wikis in such a way as to bring the College's name into disrepute, or to be derogatory, demeaning, malicious, defamatory, abusive, offensive or hateful to any individual employed by or attending the College.
8. breach of any College Regulation as defined by the Ordinance for the Creation and Maintenance of Regulations, or any procedures or policies given authority by these College Regulations;
9. damage to, or defacement of, College property or the property of other members of the College community caused intentionally or recklessly, and misappropriation of such property;
10. misuse or unauthorised use of College premises or items of property, including computer misuse;
11. behaviour which brings the College into disrepute;
12. failure to disclose name and other relevant details to staff of the College or any other authorised representative of it in circumstances when it is reasonable to require that such information be given;
13. failure to comply with a previously-imposed penalty under these Regulations;
14. in the case of a student enrolled on a programme of study which leads to an entitlement to practice as a member of a profession, conduct which might call into question his or her suitability to practice that profession;
15. conduct which constitutes a criminal offence where that conduct:
    (a) takes place on College premises;
    or (b) affects or concerns other members of the College community;
    or (c) damages the good name of the College;
    or (d) itself constitutes misconduct within the terms of these Regulations;
    or (e) is an offence of dishonesty, where the student holds an office of responsibility in the College.

13.5 Misconduct that is also a criminal offence

13.5.1 The following procedures apply where the alleged misconduct would also constitute an offence under the criminal law if proved in a court of law:

13.5.1.1 Where the offence under the criminal law is considered to be not serious, action under these Regulations may continue, but such action may be deferred pending any police investigation or prosecution.

13.5.1.2 In the case of all other offences under the criminal law, no action (other than suspension or exclusion pursuant to section 13.5) may be taken under these Regulations unless the matter has been reported to the Police and either prosecuted or a decision not to prosecute has been taken, at which time the Warden may decide whether disciplinary action under these Regulations should continue or be taken.

13.5.1.3 Where a finding of misconduct is made and the student has also been sentenced by a criminal court in respect of the same facts, the court's penalty shall be taken into consideration in determining the penalty under these Regulations.

13.6 Warden's action

13.6.1 For the purpose of these Regulations, reference to the Warden may be taken to refer to a Pro-Warden who shall act for the Warden.

13.6.2 If the Warden has reason to believe that an offence has been committed, he or she shall have the power to take no further action in the matter, to reprimand a student, to deliver a warning, or to summon a student to appear before the Disciplinary Committee, and at his or her discretion to suspend or exclude a student from the College until such time as a hearing may be convened.

13.6.3 In the event of the Warden administering a reprimand or warning he or she shall do so in writing. The Warden will offer the student the alternative of having the matter referred to the Disciplinary Committee.

13.6.4 Except in cases of urgency, where a student may be excluded temporarily by a member of the staff of the College in order to protect the members of the College in general or a particular member or members, no student shall be suspended or excluded unless he or she has been given an opportunity to make representations in person to the Warden or, when it appears to the Warden that it is not possible for the student to attend in person, to make written representation. Where a student has been excluded as a matter of urgency, by a member of staff other than the Warden, a report on the circumstances surrounding the exclusion shall be made to the Warden at the earliest opportunity.

13.6.5 Suspension shall involve a total prohibition on attendance at or access to the College and on any participation in College activities; but it may be subject to qualification, such as permission to attend for the purpose of an examination.

13.6.6 Exclusion shall involve selective restriction on attendance at or access to the College or any premises owned or occupied by the College, or prohibition on exercising the functions or duties of any office or committee membership in the College or the Students' Union, the exact details to be specified in writing.

13.6.7 Where a student has been suspended or excluded from academic activities associated with his or her programme of study pending a police investigation or prosecution, the decision to suspend or exclude shall be reviewed by the Warden every four weeks in the light of any developments.

13.6.8 A student may appeal against the decision of a Disciplinary Committee, in which case an Appeals Committee will be convened. The notification of appeal must be sent to the Registrar and Secretary within fourteen days of the outcome of the Disciplinary Committee.

13.7 Disciplinary Committee

13.7.1 The Disciplinary Committee shall comprise:

   A Pro-Warden, nominated by the Warden, as Chair
   One Head of an academic department
   One member of Academic Board in Class 2 or 3
   One enrolled student of the College nominated by the President of the Students? Union

No one shall serve on the Disciplinary Committee who has prior knowledge of the offence, or who has knowledge of the student being considered, who is from the same department as the student.

13.7.2 The quorum for a meeting of the Disciplinary Committee shall be three members.

13.8 Penalties which may be imposed by Disciplinary Committee

13.8.1 The following penalties may be ordered by the Disciplinary Committee:

1. warning;
2. reprimand;
3. suspension or exclusion from the College or from premises owned or occupied by the College for a stated period;
4. removal from a relevant programme of study;
5. permanent dismissal from the College;
6. payment of a fine not exceeding £200, the sum of the fine being paid to a registered charity nominated by the Students' Union;
7. payment of a sum determined by the Director of Finance, not exceeding the cost thereof, for the repair of damage caused by, or the defrayal of other expenses arising from, the offence.

13.8.2 The Disciplinary Committee shall also have the power to impose combinations of the above penalties.

13.8.3 The Disciplinary Committee may order that the measures agreed will be imposed immediately or that the imposition will be deferred. The conditions of any such deferment shall be clearly stated as part of the decision of the Committee.

13.8.4 The Disciplinary Committee will consult the Head of the relevant Department prior to imposing any penalty in respect of a student enrolled on a programme of study which leads to a professional qualification.

13.8.5 The Disciplinary Committee will pay due regard to any mental health issues that may have affected behaviour when considering the penalty to be imposed.

13.8.6 Council, on the recommendation of Academic Board, shall approve procedures to be followed when a Disciplinary Committee is convened.

13.9 Appeals

13.9.1 A student may appeal against the findings of the Disciplinary Committee during a period of fourteen days after their announcement. The appeal shall be heard by the Appeals Committee.

13.9.2 A student shall not be entitled to admit new evidence unless it shall have satisfied itself that this had become available since the hearing of the Disciplinary Committee and that there were good reasons why the evidence could not be presented to that hearing.

13.10 Appeals Committee

13.10.1 The Appeals Committee shall comprise three members:

   An independent member of Council as chair
   A Pro-Warden OR a member of the academic staff who is also a member of Council
   A Head of an academic department
   One enrolled student of the College nominated by the President of the Students Union

13.10.2 None of the above members shall be persons who have served on the Disciplinary Committee or have been directly involved in the case or in the teaching of the student(s) concerned. All must be present to form the quorum.

13.10.3 Council, on the recommendation of Academic Board, shall approve procedures to be followed when an Appeals Committee is convened.

13.11 Petition to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator

13.11.1 If dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeal Committee a student may appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which is an independent agency established to consider complaints from students. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator will only consider a petition once the College's own internal procedures have been exhausted. In order to submit an appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator a student must obtain from the Academic Registrar's Office, a letter of completion of procedures.