Student Discipline Committee

DISC09-M3

Minutes of the meeting of the Student Discipline Committee held on 3 November 2009.

Members: A M Mumford (Chair), J Blackwell (ab), J B C Blood, S A Brown, H Chambers, H P Drake (ab), F T Edum-Fotwe (ab), N Honey, R Hulme, R M King, J Morgado (ab), J Oliver (ab), C Peel, M Shuker (ab), R Smith (ab), R Spokoini (ab), J A M Strong, J B Thomas, A Watson (ab).

By invitation: P P Conway, R J Kennedy, J C Nutkins (ab), S W Spinks, N Thomas.

In attendance: C Dunbobbin.

Apologies for absence: J Blackwell, H P Drake, F T Edum-Fotwe, M Shuker, A Watson.

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The Chair welcomed Henry Chambers, Norma Honey, Rob Hulme, and Chris Peel, all of whom were attending their first meeting.

09/16 Minutes
DISC09-M2

The minutes of the meeting held on 1 June 2009 were confirmed as a true record.

09/17 Matters Arising from the Minutes

17.1 Preparation and Prosecution of Student Disciplinary Cases

(Minute 09/10.3(ii) refers)

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) provided an update on contingency arrangements in the event of the Security Manager or Deputy Security Manager being unavailable to fulfill their roles in investigating and prosecuting cases. Tony Grant of the Security Office had been identified as an alternative COO’s nominee for these purposes, and had attended a Student Disciplinary Panel meeting during the summer as an observer in preparation for this role. It had also been agreed, in relation to relatively straightforward fast-track cases, that the strict separation of the investigation and prosecution roles would be relaxed. This would improve the availability of COO’s nominees to prosecute such cases.

17.2 Major Offences (Falsified records of previous academic achievement)

(Minute 09/11(iii) refers)

The Committee noted that at its meeting on 1 July 2009, Senate had approved the adoption of a procedure for verifying entry qualifications. It was hoped that this would reduce the number of student disciplinary cases involving falsified records of previous academic achievement. It was agreed, however, that clarification would be sought on the following:

(i) What proportion of applications would be involved in the random verification process.

(ii) How the new procedures would be publicised to applicants.

ACTION: Secretary to email information to members.

09/18 Membership and Terms of Reference

DISC09-P12

18.1 The Committee received and noted the Membership and Terms of Reference for the Student Discipline Committee for 2009-10.

DISC09-P13

18.2 The Committee agreed in principle to amend the Membership and Terms of Reference for the Student Discipline Committee, to establish membership terms for academic/academic-related and lay members of 3 years duration, which could be extended. There was some discussion about how this change would be progressed, and it was agreed that the Chair would engage in a dialogue with members outside of the meeting. ACTION: Chair

It was also noted that:

(i) The same principles relating to the establishment of fixed membership terms should also be applied to the Student Disciplinary Appeals Committee, the academic/academic-related and lay members of which were appointed annually by Council. ACTION: Secretary

(ii) The experience of those who ceased to be members of the Student Discipline Committee following the expiry of their membership term could be retained by adding them to the pool of individuals available to serve on the Student Disciplinary Appeals Committee.

09/19 Committee Effectiveness

DISC09-P14

This item was considered at the end of the agenda. The Committee was content that it was operating in an effective matter, and this view was shared in particular by the representatives of the LSU Executive present. No substantive matters were raised, and members were advised to contact the Secretary if they wished to raise any issues outside of the meeting.

09/20 Chair’s Report

DISC09-P15

The Committee received a report from the Chair on a number of areas relating to the implementation of procedures under Ordinance XVII. The following issues were discussed:

(i) Initial Contact, Support and Interviews

It was noted that there would be a meeting of interested parties prior to Christmas, to review aspects of the initial investigation processes. A report would be submitted to the next Committee meeting.

(ii) Membership of Panels

It was agreed that the practice of inviting academic and academic related members to attend Panel meetings as observers should be retained, as it was important for training purposes, and in providing replacement Committee members if required. However, in all cases, those attending as observers: (a) should be clearly identified as such to all participants; (b) should be silent, and should not contribute to the Committee’s consideration of, or discussions relating to the case; (c) should sit apart from the Committee.

It was felt that the number of observers should be limited as far as possible. It was noted, however, that Tony Grant would need to attend further Panel meetings for training purposes. The Director of Student Services noted also that it would help him to perform his role more effectively if he were to attend a Panel meeting as an observer.

(iii) Paperwork for the Panels

The Committee considered what materials relating to disciplinary charges should be circulated to Panel members, and in particular, whether Panel members should receive a copy of the memorandum sent by the Security Manager or Deputy Security Manager to the COO containing a summary of the alleged offence and a recommendation as to what action (if any) should be taken under the terms of Ordinance XVII. It was noted that the purpose of the Memorandum was to assist the COO in deciding whether to instigate action under the Major Offence procedures, and as such, it did not constitute evidence in its own right. It was agreed, therefore, that (a) the Memorandum should not be circulated to Panel members; (b) The question of what materials were circulated to Panel members, and particularly whether a purely factual summary was required, would be reviewed at the end of the 2009-10 academic year. ACTION: Secretary

(iv) Penalties

The Committee was satisfied that penalties being applied by Panels were appropriate and consistent.

There was some support for the introduction of wider community service penalties, to be carried out within the local community (rather than in the Students’ Union, or elsewhere on campus), in relation to offences that impacted upon local residents. However, there was a danger that students undertaking enforced community service would be confused with those volunteering through the LSU Community Action Programme, which would be highly undesirable.

(v) Serious Criminal Offences and the Role of the Student Disciplinary Committee

The Committee was alerted to a recent case in which a student was charged with committing a serious criminal offence. Prior to the case being considered by a Panel, a Group composed of senior University officers had considered, in principle, whether the student should be permitted to return to the University to resume his studies. (The Group had been established in order to ensure that the University was consistent in its decisions relating to the admission, and readmission of students who had been found guilty of serious criminal offences, and it had previously considered whether a potential student, who had committed a similar offence, should be admitted to the University). The Group had concluded that the student should be allowed to return, subject to certain conditions, and had communicated this to the Panel and to the student in an open process. It was agreed that the Academic Registrar should be asked to submit a paper to the next meeting in order to clarify procedures in this area, and in particular the respective roles of the Group and the Committee. ACTION: Academic Registrar

09/21 Major Offences 2008-09

DISC09-P16

The Committee received a complete summary of offences dealt with by Student Disciplinary Panels in the 2008-09 academic year.

09/22 Major Offence Appeals 2008-09

DISC09-P17

The Committee received a report on appeals submitted against decisions reached and penalties imposed by Student Disciplinary Panels in the 2008-09 academic year. The COO provided an update on further actions taken in relation to the cases involving misconduct at the BUCS Hockey Finals in March 2009.

09/23 Minor Offences

DISC09-P18

23.1 The Committee received a complete summary of minor offences reported in the 2008-09 academic year, and listings of all non-traffic and parking related minor offences by “offence type” and “University Officer.” It was hoped that there would be fewer parking offences in 2009-10 following the opening of the new multi-storey car park on campus.

DISC09-P19

23.2 The Committee received an analysis of reported minor offences in Halls of Residence in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09.

09/24 Dates of Further Meetings in 2009-10

9 February 2010, 2pm.

8 June 2010, 10am.

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Author – C Dunbobbin