Student Conduct

You have the right to appeal to the Senate Student Appeal Committee in relation to any penalty imposed by the Senate Assessors, the Head of Student Conduct, or the Conduct Committee. The grounds for such an appeal are specified in paragraphs 33.110 a), b) and c) of the Code of Student Conduct:

• if you have new material evidence that you were unable, for valid reasons, to provide earlier in the process and which is likely to have had a material bearing on the decision at the earlier stage;
• if the procedures set out in the Code have not been followed, to your detriment;
• if the finding of misconduct or sanction(s) imposed at the earlier stage was clearly unreasonable.

All conduct appeals must be submitted with the Student Conduct Appeals Form. Please carefully read the guidance provided in the form and fill it out accordingly. Your appeal will not be considered if it is not submitted on this form and does not include all of the supporting evidence you wish to submit.

Please note that some remedies may not be permitted by the University’s regulations and you are encouraged to speak with the SRC Advice Centre for further guidance on what remedies you may wish to seek.

Regardless of whether you are appealing against a decision of your School, the Senate Assessors, the Head of Student Conduct, or the Conduct Committee, your appeal must only be made on one or more of the three permissible grounds, or it will not be accepted. It is not enough to simply disagree with the penalty or offer an apology, or to restate the explanations you have already given at the interview stage.

33.112(a) If you are appealing on the grounds of new material evidence, you must explain why you could not have presented the new evidence at the earlier stage, and why it is likely to have a material impact on your outcome. You must submit all the new evidence with your appeal letter.  It will not be accepted later.

33.112(b) If you are appealing on the grounds of defective procedure, you must clearly demonstrate how the procedure was defective. If, for example, the procedures outlined in the Code of Student Conduct were not followed, to the student’s detriment, then this could be considered defective procedure.

33.112 (c) If you are appealing on the grounds of unreasonable penalty, you must clearly demonstrate why the penalty is clearly unreasonable.  Note that ‘clearly unreasonable’ means the penalty was disproportionately severe in the circumstances.  A penalty that prevents you from progressing or graduating is not necessarily ‘clearly unreasonable’ because it will depend on the severity of the misconduct.

Supporting evidence should:

• Be in English or accompanied by a certified English translation;
• For documents:
• Include a date that the document was issued;
• Show clearly the name of the organisation or individual responsible for issuing the document and contact details for that individual/organisation. For example, a doctor's letter should include the name of the doctor who wrote the letter, the surgery or hospital where they work, and their contact details;
• Show the whole document (one image per page, clearly visible, or attached as additional documents);
• For email correspondence: provide a copy of the email in .msg format. Screenshots from your phone do not always include the necessary information such as dates and times, and may show only parts of a conversation. A complete conversation will give the Appeals Committee a more reliable understanding of the circumstances;
• For screenshots of social media or text messages: provide the date and time of the posts or messages;

Do not submit fabricated or falsified documents. If you do so, then you will be referred to the Senate Student Conduct Committee, which may have serious consequences for your studies, including the possibility of being expelled from the University with no award.

The process for a Senate Student Appeal Committee hearing is outlined in 33.124 of the Code of Student Conduct.