Support for responding students

You will be appointed a specialist caseworker, who is experienced at providing at support to responding students. Your caseworker will be your single-named point of contact at the University for support and can help you by;

• Explaining the process and procedure being followed;

• Making referrals to other services as needed (for example, to the Student Union Advice Service or the Counselling and Mental Health Service);

• Helping you to manage the impact of the circumstances on other areas of your life, for example, by ensuring you have mitigating circumstances in place;

• Supporting your wellbeing and any other issues that may be impacting you as a result of the circumstances (for example, housing or finance).

The Students’ Union Advice Service provides independent advice and support to students going through investigations or disciplinary processes. They can support by reviewing statements and your caseworker will offer you a referral to the SU.

When formal allegations are received, the University conducts a risk assessment to determine any precautionary measures that may need to be put in place whilst the case is being considered. Once this is completed, you will be informed of the allegations against you as well as any measures that have been put in place.

Precautionary measures are put in place in order to safeguard you, the reporting student, and the wider university community whilst the investigation is ongoing. They are determined through a risk assessment, which is guided by relevant sector and legal principles.  Examples of precautionary measures include;

• Conditions to manage contact with the Reporting Student (for example, a no-contact requirement, which require an accommodation move or prohibiting access to certain places within the University);

• A full or partial suspension;

• Identifying the members of staff within the University with responsibility for supporting the Reporting Student and Responding Student;

• Ensuring that arrangements are in place to maintain confidentiality as appropriate.

A specialist investigator will be appointed and the investigator is responsible for determining the key lines of enquiry dependent on the circumstances of the case. They will contact you to arrange an investigation meeting to gather your account of what happened. The investigator will identify any relevant lines of enquiry to explore with you, for example, potential witnesses or further evidence such as message screenshots or medical evidence.

The University’s standard of proof is “on the balance of probabilities”. In practice, this means the investigator is looking to determine whether the evidence indicates that the misconduct is more likely to have occurred than not.

The investigator will write a detailed report outlining their findings. A copy of this report and their findings will be shared with you and the reporting party. The investigator will make recommendations as to next steps, which may include the following;

• Referring the case to a disciplinary panel for further consideration.

• Closing the case, if the evidence does not support a disciplinary referral on the balance of probabilities.

This finding means that it has not been possible for the investigator to establish to the University’s evidence threshold (balance of probabilities) that the misconduct is more likely to have happened than not. This means there will be no further action taken. The University will ensure that you have continue to have support in place for as long as you need it. This may also include continuing recommendations around no-contact with the reporting student for the duration of your studies.

A disciplinary panel will be arranged to consider the case further. The panel will be responsible for deciding whether or not the misconduct is proven and they will receive a copy of all the investigation materials. You will be invited to attend the panel and to give your account to the panel.

The panel will decide whether or not the misconduct is proven on the balance of probabilities. If the panel are unable to find the misconduct proven on the basis of the available evidence, then the case will be closed. When this happens, the University will ensure that you have continue to have support in place for as long as you need it. This may also include continuing recommendations around no-contact with the responding student for the duration of your studies. If the panel make a finding of misconduct, they will impose a penalty on the responding student. Panels have a range of penalties available to them, which are detailed in the Procedure for Summary Discipline Panels and the Procedure for University Discipline Panels but could include;

• A reprimand and warning about future behaviour.
• A requirement to undertake appropriate training related to the misconduct.
• Exclusion from the University (or part thereof) for a set period (e.g., 12 months).
• Expulsion from the University.