Guide to disciplinary regulations

The University’s Disciplinary Regulations and Procedures exist to deal with alleged breaches of the Student Code of Conduct. You may receive notice that you are being investigated under the disciplinary regulations; or, if you think another student has breached the code of conduct, you can raise this with the University via the complaints process or through a reporting mechanism such as Report and Support. See the Regulations for full details of ways to report a breach

Students and staff can raise a concern about the behaviour of a student via the following methods:

• through contacting Hallam Help
• via the Hallam Help Portal
• through a Student Support Adviser
• contacting the Student Policy and Compliance team by emailing StudentConduct@shu.ac.uk
• via Report and Support

You can raise a concern about another student, another student can raise a concern about you. Members of staff, members of the public, placement providers, the police can raise concerns about you.

I’ve received an allegation that I’ve breached the Student Code of Conduct. What do I do?

If there is an allegation that you have breached any part of the code of conduct, there will be an investigation. If it is considered that there has been a clear breach, then it will be elevated directly to the formal stage (see sections below). If necessary, you may be suspended whilst this process is carried out.

An Investigating Officer will be appointed to the case, who will act impartially. You may be invited to an investigation meeting, to help the investigating officer decide whether to take the matter to a formal stage. You will be given up to two days’ notice (this may be less if the allegation is serious) and should be sent the details of the allegation in writing. You are entitled to be accompanied at the meeting, for example by a friend or family member.

We would advise you to contact our service if you are invited to an investigation meeting. See our self-help guide for more information and the possible outcomes of this.

We can advise you on how to prepare and support you further if the case is not closed at the informal investigation stage.

Formal Stage 1

If your case is taken to this stage, you will be invited to a meeting with a manager from the University Student Policy and Compliance Team to discuss the allegation. We would advise you to contact our service if you are invited to a formal meeting.

We always advise students to attend their investigation and/or disciplinary meetings. If you are unable to, you could try to reschedule it by contacting the email address provided in your invitation. If you cannot attend at all, you could contact the team and ask to submit a written statement instead. Advice on how to write a statement is included in our self-help guide, and it is a good idea to write some notes for yourself in this way even if you will be attending the meeting.

At the meeting you will be able to give your account of events and provide any evidence relating to the allegation. Upon reviewing all the information, the manager will decide whether there has been a breach of the Student Code of Conduct and will make a recommendation to the Academic Services Director (or nominee) on a sanction where appropriate.

You will be notified of the decision within five working days.

You can find details of the possible outcomes at this stage here
 

After the meeting

The initial investigation and any formal stage of the process should be completed within 45 working days of the allegation being raised.

After the meeting, and upon reviewing all of the information, a Policy and Compliance Team Manager will decide whether there has been a breach of the Student Code of Conduct and will make a recommendation to the Academic Services Director (or nominee) on a sanction where appropriate.

The standard of proof required to deem you have breached the Student Code of Conduct is on the balance of probability, i.e. that on the basis of the evidence available it is more likely that the alleged breach occurred than not. One or more of the following sanctions may be set as an outcome from the Formal Stage 1:

• A written warning advising of the likely consequences of a further breach of the Student Code of Conduct;
• A behavioural contract;
• A requirement for you to pay reasonable costs in respect of any identified and quantified damages and/or losses suffered by the University and/or third parties as a result of your actions;
• Withdrawal of specified services and/or exclusion from particular areas of the University;
• Restorative justice, including voluntary work
• A requirement to participate in a programme to educate students about misconduct and its consequences;
• A temporary restriction on access to facilities or buildings, or contact with staff and/or other students, for a period not exceeding the remainder of the current academic session, providing that this does not prevent your academic progress;
• Suspension or temporary suspension from a University Sports team, and/or prohibited from participating in/representing Sheffield Hallam at University Sporting events.
• Escalation of the case to Formal Stage 2.

You will be notified of the decision within five working days. Note, if you are on a professional course then where the alleged misconduct is dealt with under the Disciplinary Regulation and you are found to have breached the Student Code of Conduct, the outcome of the case will also be considered under the Fitness to Practise Regulation.

Formal Stage 2

The investigator could also decide to escalate the issue to Formal Stage 2. If this is the outcome for your case – or if your case has been taken straight to Formal Stage 2 - you can contact our service for advice.

See the Disciplinary Regulations and Procedures for more information about Formal Stage 2.

I do not agree with the outcome of my meeting(s), what can I do?

You can request a review of the decision by writing to appealsandcomplaints@shu.ac.uk within 10 working days of the written decision being sent to you. See the Disciplinary Regulations and Procedures for more information about this and valid grounds for requesting a review. If you are planning on doing this, you can contact us for further advice. The University should respond within 20 days of your request for a review.