Student Disciplinary Procedures And Appeals¹

The College reserves the right to suspend or exclude a student, or to impose a form of probation or other disciplinary measure, if it is necessary in order to safeguard standards of scholarship, codes of practice and ethics, or the safety and integrity of patients, students or staff. These procedures include circumstances involving possible infringements of:

• College regulations.
  
  
• The Codes of Ethics and Practice of the professional bodies, together with the College’s additional requirements as detailed in the Clinic Handbooks and the Clinical Safe Practice documents.
  
  
• Codes of Ethics for specific modules, where these exist.

Matters dealt with under these procedures may include serious concerns about a student’s fitness to study and/or practise, when these relate to infringements such as those above. There are also separate Fitness to Study and Practise procedures which can be used when the Disciplinary Procedures are not appropriate.

In many cases the Disciplinary Procedures will be followed from Stage 1. However, the College reserves the right to begin the process at Stage 2 when appropriate, and to begin the process at Stage 3 in cases of alleged serious misconduct, such as breaches of the Code of Ethics for the clinic, or of the regulation prohibiting acupuncture practice without direct supervision, or when informal processes have already been used without satisfactory resolution.

All written communications with the student must be signed off by the Principal or College Manager before being sent.

Note that in cases of unfair practice, the Academic Integrity and Misconduct Procedure is followed.

These disciplinary procedures are often stressful for all concerned. Both staff and the student(s) concerned will be offered support through the process (usually by the Line Manager and Personal Tutor respectively). The member of staff initiating a meeting will consult the Concerns about Students and Student Support records to inform a decision on any further support or adjustments that may be required in line with our duty of care.

Stage 1 - Informal Communication

The member of staff most directly involved, and/or a member of staff nominated by the Course Director, should meet with the student(s) concerned as soon as possible and, if possible, resolve the situation to the satisfaction of the member(s) of staff. If the issue is identified by several members of staff the meeting may be with the personal tutor or other nominated member of staff (usually after referral from the Student Progress Committee). If a resolution is not possible, or does not result from this meeting, then the matter needs to be taken to the next stage.

Although this stage is informal, discussion with the student must take place in a private location.

Stage 2 - Informal Meeting

The staff member most directly involved, or one or more members of staff nominated by the Student Progress Committee, Course Director or Principal, will set up an informal meeting at the earliest opportunity between themselves, a senior staff member and the student(s) concerned and, if possible, resolve the situation to the satisfaction of the member(s) of staff. The student(s) may bring a friend or student rep (with their agreement) with them to help support them in making their case. If a resolution is not possible, or does not result from this informal meeting, then the matter needs to be taken to the next stage. Written notes of the meeting and its outcomes will be kept.

Although this stage is informal, the meeting with the student must take place in a private location.

In some circumstances the Course Director or Principal may decide to appoint one or more staff members to conduct an investigation of the matter causing concern. This may occur before or after the informal meeting, or take the place of the informal meeting, depending on the circumstances.

For details of the investigation process please refer to Stage 3 below. Interviews undertaken as part of an investigation will be recorded (either as transcripts or as video recordings). All participants will be asked to give consent to the sharing of these records at later stages of the process and with external agencies when necessary.

Invitations to attend the informal meeting or to contribute to an investigation will give an indication of the matter(s) to be discussed or investigated but will not prejudge the outcome of the meeting.

It is particularly important from Stage 2 onwards that both staff and the student(s) concerned are offered support through the process (usually by the Line Manager and Personal Tutor respectively). The member of staff initiating the meeting will consult the Concerns about Students and Student Support records to inform a decision on any further support or adjustments that may be required in line with our duty of care.

Stage 3 - Formal Meeting

Either: (a) The staff member(s) who is instituting the action will present prime facie evidence to the Principal (or in their absence the Course Director or another senior member of staff appointed by the Principal or the Course Director).  

OR: (b) In cases of alleged serious misconduct, the Principal (or at the Principal’s request the Course Director or other senior member of staff) may assemble prima facie evidence themselves.

This will start the formal procedures that may result in probation, suspension or exclusion.

Invitations to attend the formal meeting or to contribute to an investigation will give an indication of the matter(s) to be discussed or investigated but will not prejudge the outcome of the investigation or meeting.

In some circumstances the Course Director or Principal may decide to appoint one or more staff members to conduct an investigation of the matter(s) causing concern, particularly if an investigation has not previously taken place. In some cases an external person may also be appointed to assist the investigation. The investigation will take place before the formal meeting, or take the place of the formal meeting if all parties including the student(s) are interviewed as part of the investigation, depending on the circumstances. Interviews undertaken as part of an investigation will be recorded (either as transcripts or as video recordings). All participants will be asked to give consent to the sharing of these records at later stages of the process and with external agencies when necessary.

The investigator(s) will make every effort to enable the clear articulation of the issue. The investigator(s) may invite one or more of the parties to a meeting to discuss the matter, to ensure they fully understand the issue(s). The student will be allowed to be accompanied by a friend to support them, if they wish. The investigators may also interview others involved in the disciplinary issue (e.g. students or members of staff) and scrutinise documents, and they may ask the student to provide relevant evidence, which may include independent medical evidence, reports by professionals, financial information or witness statements. The investigators will produce a written report summarising their findings, which will be presented to the panel appointed for the formal meeting, to the Principal, and usually to all parties (in some cases it may not be appropriate for us to share specific details with all parties).

All investigations will be handled sensitively with regard to confidentiality. Information will be released only to those who need it for the purposes of investigating. However, it may be necessary to ask staff or students involved in the disciplinary process to comment on reports or statements made. In some circumstances it may be possible to provide anonymised reports or statements, but this is not always possible.

Invitations to attend the formal meeting or to contribute to an investigation will give an indication of the matter(s) to be discussed or investigated, but will not prejudge the outcome of the meeting. All written communications with the student must be signed off by the Principal or College Manager before being sent. Both staff and the student(s) concerned will be offered support through the process (usually by the Line Manager and Personal Tutor respectively). The member of staff initiating the meeting will consult the Concerns about Students and Student Support records to inform a decision on any further support or adjustments that may be required in line with our duty of care.

When a formal meeting is needed, the Principal (or at the Principal’s request the Course Director or another senior member of staff appointed by the Principal or the Course Director) will convene the formal meeting with one or more members of either the Academic Board or the Board of Directors. Both the staff member(s) most immediately involved and the student(s) concerned will present their cases to this meeting, and the report and evidence resulting from any investigation will be considered. The student(s) may bring a friend or student rep (with their agreement) with them to support them in making their case. Then the meeting will decide on the appropriate action to be taken, if any, and communicate this decision in writing to all parties within 7 days. If this is not possible, the lead investigator or the convenor of the meeting will inform all parties and we will do our best to provide an estimate of how long the process may take.

All parties have the right of appeal.

Written minutes of the meeting and its outcomes will be kept.

Among the options open to the meeting, it can decide to:

• take no action;
  
  
• put the student on probation, with conditions and a review;
  
  
• suspend the student, with conditions and the option of a review;
  
  
• exclude the student from the College.

All parties will be provided with an outcome of the investigatory process where the College is able to share this information, or an explanation of any actions the College has taken, or not taken, as a result of the disciplinary process.

Stage 4 - Student Appeal Against Disciplinary Action

Any student wanting to appeal against a decision regarding probation, suspension or exclusion should petition the administration to establish a Hearing Committee. Such petition must be submitted to the College administration in writing not more than 7 days after receiving the notice of the decision of the Stage 3 formal meeting. The Hearing Committee shall consist of two members of the Academic Board, or one member of the Academic Board and one member of the Board of Directors, a student representative, and an External Examiner or other external person nominated by the Principal. To ensure no conflict of interest, no member of the Committee shall be the subject of or the initiator of the suspension or withdrawal. The Hearing Committee shall evaluate the student's petition and set a date for a formal hearing. This hearing will provide an opportunity for both the student and those who initiated action to present their case. The student(s) may bring with them a friend or student rep (with their agreement) to help them present their case. The Hearing Committee shall provide a written decision to the student, to the initiator of the action and to the College administration within 7 days. All decisions of the Hearing Committee are final with regard to internal College procedures.

When an appeal results in a change of outcome, all parties will be informed.

Stage 5 – Final Review of Appeal Outcome Procedures

The outcome decision of the Hearing Committee is final within the NCA’s procedures however students registered on a course validated by the HSU have the right to refer this outcome decision to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the HSU for review within 21 days from receiving the outcome.

You may refer the outcome for review to the HSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) if:

a) The NCA’s procedures were not followed properly.

b) The outcome was not reasonable.

c) You have new material evidence which, for valid reasons, you were unable to provide earlier in the process.

d) There is bias or reasonable perception of bias during the procedure.

e) The penalty imposed was disproportionate, or not permitted under the procedures.

To request a review of the outcome, you should write to the Registrar at the HSU () providing a copy of the outcome and an explanation of why you are requesting a review, in addition to any evidence to support your request.

Further to the review, the HSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) may either uphold the original outcome or refer the case back to the formal stage for reconsideration by the NCA.

Where the case is referred back to the formal stage, reconsideration of the case will be undertaken as soon as possible by the NCA, and where practicable within 90 calendar days.

The decision of the HSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) will be final and a Completion of Procedures Letter shall be provided to you as soon as possible and within 28 days confirming the review decision outcome and reasons for the review decision.

Thereafter you have the right to refer the matter to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (the OIA) (http://www.oiahe.org.uk/). You must refer the matter to the OIA within 12 months of the date of your Completion of Procedures letter.

¹Reviewed by Academic Board 11/05/2023 next review May 2027