Our education law specialists recently represented a first year student who was expelled from a nationally renowned university following what were considered to be initiation acts within a university sports team. The university learned of the acts...
To understand how to defend yourself in disciplinary issues, it will be helpful to know what sort of actions can be disciplined. Examples may include:
- Poor time keeping
- Unexplained absences
- Misuse or vandalism of University property
- Offensive or aggressive behaviour
- Failing to comply with safety procedure
- Refusal to comply with reasonable management instruction
- Breaching university trust
- Refusal to comply with university policy
- Any examples of gross misconduct – for example, theft, indecent behaviour, threat of violence, the possession of illegal drugs or weapons etc
At University it can be easy to get yourself into situations that potentially could be disciplined. In these situations it is important to seek advice at the earliest point possible to make sure your rights are protected. Some students have been disciplined for handing in assignments late or not attending lectures even when they have had a good reason for doing so. This is where we can help.
Most universities will have in place a procedure they must follow when dealing with these types of cases. This is important, if a university does not follow any procedure, it can be harder to promote good personal conduct in students as they may feel that they are not given a fair chance to defend themselves. Furthermore, it may provide an opportunity to appeal or seek to quash the findings.