Student Discipline Committee

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Minutes of the meeting of the Student Discipline Committee held on 12 June 2012.

Members: A M Mumford (Chair), R Bhamra (ab), J Blackwell, J B C Blood, R Bridger, L A Brown, S A Brown, P Childs (ab), F T Edum-Fotwe, F Fay (ab), N Honey (ab), H Midgely, A Muir, S Musgrave (ab), L Padolsey (ab), J Painter (ab), A Rae (ab), M Shuker (ab), J A M Strong, A Watson (ab).

By invitation: S J Christie, P P Conway (ab), J C Nutkins (ab), C N Walker (ab), N Thomas.

In attendance: C Dunbobbin.

Apologies for absence: R Bhamra, P P Conway, F Fay, N Honey, S Musgrave, J C Nutkins, A Rae, C N Walker.

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12/8 Minutes
DISC12-M1

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2012 were confirmed as a true record.

12/9 Matters Arising from the Minutes

9.1 Bans from LSU Facilities (minute 12/2.1 refers)

The issue of imposing bans from LSU premises, on the recommendation of Student Disciplinary Panels was being considered by LSU as part of a wider review of its student disciplinary procedures. It was agreed that the new LSU President and Vice-President (Finance) would be briefed on this matter, and would bring forward details of new procedures to the next meeting of the Committee in November 2012. ACTION: R Bridger

12/10 Committee Effectiveness

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The following points were noted:

i) It was agreed that the existing pattern of three meetings each academic year was appropriate in view of the level of recurring business and to maintain the active engagement of members.

ii) The Committee’s role was to take an overview of the operation of the University’s student disciplinary activities, rather than to micro-manage specific initiatives.

iii) The minutes of previous meetings should always be circulated in hard copy with agendas and papers (as well as by email).

12/11 Review of the Impact of Students on the Local Community at the Start of the 2011-12 Academic Year: Recommendations

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11.1 The Committee welcomed the progress made against the recommendations, and agreed that a further update should be brought to the next meeting in November 2012. By that stage most of the actions would have been completed and there would have been an opportunity to consider their impact on the start of the 2012-13 academic year. Clarification was provided that the LSU President, and a range of relevant University staff including the COO, the Director of Change Projects, the Director of Student Services, the Security Manager and the Community Relations Officer had been involved in taking forward the recommendations.

11.2 The Committee discussed a proposal from the COO that an annual report be published to the local community, containing statistical information on the numbers of minor and major offences, and the range of penalties imposed, together with a short narrative. Issues considered in a previous discussion (minute 11/17.1 refers) were touched upon, and the Committee reiterated that it did not support the publication of such information for the following reasons:

i) Most student discipline cases related to incidents which occurred on, and whose impact was confined to the University campus.

ii) The need to preserve the anonymity of those involved meant that only broad summaries of student discipline cases could be released, and without detailed information of the full circumstances of each case, information on penalties imposed would lack meaning, and would be likely only to give rise to further requests for information.

iii) There was a danger that details of student disciplinary cases would be presented by local or national press in a way which impacted negatively on the reputation of the University.

As an alternative, the Committee proposed the publication of the following:

iv) A statement of the University’s commitment to investigate all complaints received from members of the local community in relation to student misbehaviour, and to report back to the complainant in a timely fashion with information on the actions taken by the University and the outcome.

v) Information on the number of complaints received from members of the local community in relation to student misbehaviour, and details of actions taken and outcomes (including response times).

vi) General information on how the University deals with student disciplinary cases under Ordinance XVII.

The Committee’s view was that the information in iv)-vi) would, on a general level, help to reassure local groups that the University took the issue of student discipline seriously and was concerned about the impact of student antisocial behavior on local residents. It would also help to satisfy those who contacted the University that attention had been given to their specific complaint or concern.

It was noted in this context that it was important that students received periodic reminders, throughout the academic year, in relation to their responsibilities under Ordinance XVII, and in relation to associated issues such as alcohol awareness.

12/12 Amendment to Ordinance XVII: Repeat Minor Offenders

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The Committee agreed to recommend to Senate and Council a proposal to amend Ordinance XVII to allow the Chief Operating Officer more flexibility to refer students who committed multiple Minor Offences for action under the Major Offence procedures. The following points were noted in discussion:

i) Where students who were found guilty of more than one minor offence were referred for action under the major offence procedures, the COO would commission an investigation into the matter as per the normal major offence procedures.

ii) Progress still needed to be made to ensure the University was alerted to all incidents of student misbehaviour (including those dealt with by the police or LSU).

iii) It was agreed that the Security Manager would consult with the COO regarding a proposal that some or all authorised officers be empowered to impose ‘on the spot’ fixed penalty fines for certain minor offences. It was suggested that such powers would be particularly helpful to Security Officers and Community Wardens in dealing with cases of noise disturbance in the local community. ACTION: S Christie

12/13 Major Offences 2011-12 (up to 25 April 2012)

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The Committee received a summary of Major Offences dealt with by Student Disciplinary Panels in the 2011-12 academic year, up to 25 April 2012. It was noted that there had been two cases where suspended fines had been activated because of a failure to comply with a penalty imposed.

12/14 Minor Offences

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The Committee received a summary of Minor Offences reported during the period 7 February to 29 May 2012. The following points were noted in discussion:

i) At a recent meeting of Hall Wardens, there had been a discussion of a paper produced by the Chair of the Student Discipline Committee, containing data on the number of minor offence cases and penalties imposed across all Halls. It was evident that different approaches to discipline existed, and some Wardens felt they were able to maintain good behaviour without imposing penalties under the minor offence procedures. The Committee noted, however, that offences relating to fire-safety were non-discretionary, and that penalties for such offences should always be imposed.

ii) It was agreed that future annual summaries of minor offences should contain a comparison with previous years, broken down by offence category. ACTION: Secretary

iii) Imago staff had been provided with equipment which allowed them to better document cases of damage in halls, and this had resulted in a significant fall in the number of successful appeals against charges for damage.

iv) Straightforward cases involving the possession of cannabis in Halls were being dealt with by the relevant Hall Warden (having been initially reported to the COO). However, it was not clear that the consistent approach to penalties in such cases developed by Panels in recent years had been communicated to Wardens. It was agreed that guidance would be issued. ACTION: Secretary, N Thomas

12/15 Local Community Newsletters

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The Committee received the most recent editions of the University and LSU local resident’s newsletters, and noted that members had been added to the mailing list for the University newsletter. Further LSU newsletters would be circulated with future agendas. ACTION: Secretary

12/16 Valedictory

The Committee recorded its thanks to retiring student members of the Committee.

12/17 Date of Meetings in 2012-13

Tuesday 30 October 2012, 2pm

Tuesday 5 February 2013, 2pm

Tuesday 4 June 2013, 10am

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Author – C Dunbobbin