Student Disciplinary Procedure

Breach of rules for facilities (8.1-8.3) will be investigated by the senior officer for the specific service. Where the breach of rules could not also be considered another type of ‘misconduct’, the senior officer may withdraw access to the facility or impose lesser penalties such as a warning, loss of deposit or fine or compulsory attendance at a workshop/coaching session. More serious breaches of rules for facilities which could also be considered ‘misconduct’ will be referred onto the secondary stage.

Breach of other misconduct regulations (8.4-8.7) – A report of alleged misconduct by a student (other than that relating to any specific St George’s facilities) by a student shall be made to the SCC Team via email to scc@sgul.ac.uk. The person making such a report must identify themselves. The SCC Team will attempt to establish whether the student admits to the misconduct and whether this could potentially be major or minor misconduct. In the case of a minor breach of St George’s rules or Regulations which is admitted by the student, the SCC Team may issue a formal written warning to the student, and/or a final written warning about future conduct and the requirement to abide by SGUL rules and regulations. Any failure to comply with a written warning may be taken into account under future consideration of the matter under this procedure.  

Where the alleged misconduct is considered to be a serious/major case of misconduct, regardless of whether the student has been notified of the alleged offence or has responded to this notification, the matter is referred to the formal process as detailed in section 10

If allegations of serious misconduct are brought against a student, an independent Investigating Officer will be appointed. The IO will gain as much information as possible about the allegations, interview the student and other individuals concerned and will prepare a report which will include the details of the investigation and recommendations for further action.

The IO has the authority to reach the following outcomes:

(i)    Outcome 1: That there is no case to answer and thus, no further action necessary.

(ii)    Outcome 2: That there is a case to answer, but it can be redressed via the imposition of the following penalties:

1. That the student receives a warning
2. That the student submits a reflection
3. That the student is required to complete an educational activity
4. That the student is required to offer an apology
5. That the student is required not to contact other individuals either directly or indirectly.
6. A fine of not less than £50 but not exceeding £250 per offence.
7. A requirement to make good the cost in whole or in part of any damage caused, and/or repay/make good any financial loss to the University.
8. Any other redress action deemed appropriate.

These penalties may be applied singly or in combination.

(iii)  Outcome 3: That there is a case to answer and that the case should be referred to a Student Disciplinary Panel (or if appropriate, a Fitness to Practise/Study Panel) because the matter is serious and/or the behaviour is persistent. 

The student will receive a copy of the report.

At each stage of the process, information, options and action points will be clearly communicated to the student in writing and reference will be made to procedural timescales.

Not every investigation will result in a student being referred to a student disciplinary panel. Where a student is referred to a panel by the IO, the date will be notified 5 working days in advance to allow time to prepare for the hearing and seek support and advice. St George’s will send written notice to the student and the student will be asked to provide a written response to the St George’s case. On the day of the hearing, the student can be accompanied by a person of their choice. During the hearing, both parties will be able to present their case to the panel and the panel will be invited to ask questions in accordance with the running order.

The decision of the panel and their reasoning for the decision will be communicated to the student within 5 working days of the hearing in the form of a formal report.

A Student Disciplinary Panel may impose the following outcomes:

a)      No further action

b)     all penalties listed under paragraph 3.2.3 of the procedure

c)      Temporary or permanent exclusion from the use of specific University facilities or services

d)     Conditions– A condition is imposed when the Panel have significant concern about the student but feel that she or he may respond positively to remedial tuition, health intervention or increased supervision.  Conditions should be proportionate, workable, and measurable. Conditions may require the student to re-sit a specified part or parts of the course or any other action considered appropriate by the Committee to prevent further incidents of misconduct.

e)     Suspension–This prevents a student from continuing on their programme for a specified time and stops them from graduating at the expected time. This is applied to behaviour that is serious but not serious enough to require expulsion.

f)       Expulsion – The Panel can expel a student from the programme in cases of serious misconduct. The Panel must decide whether the student is eligible for an exit qualification.

Under the terms of the procedure, students have the right to appeal an outcome under certain circumstances. The process for this is outlined in section 14 of the procedure. If you wish to appeal, please fill out the form below and send it to scc@sgul.ac.uk:

• Disciplinary Panel or IO outcome appeal form

The President of Welfare and the Education and Walfare Support Officer are able to meet with students to guide them through the operation of the student procedures and provide general advice and support.

Students and staff with Equality and Inclusion queries should contact Sanjana Panchagnula (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Adviser).

All St George’s students can access an external online support service called Togetherall. This service is available 24/7 and is completely anonymous. They also offer a number of self-guided support courses. More information about Togetherall can be found on the University’s Togetherall webpage and in the following resources:

• Togetherall - Self Guided Support Courses (PDF)
• Togetherall - Interactive PDF (PDF)
• Togetherall - User Guide (Education)(PDF)

Students are required, under the university’s general regulations, to self-disclose any change to their criminal record status without delay to the Registry via the Student Conduct and Compliance Team. The online enrolment process takes place around August/September each year. During re-enrolment, students agree to the following:

• I undertake to notify the Registry should any incident occur that may reasonably be regarded as preventing me from working with children or vulnerable adults during the remainder of my training.

• I undertake to notify the Registry should I be subject to any further criminal convictions (this includes spent convictions), bind overs, cautions, investigations or other findings or orders of a criminal nature.

• I agree to St George’s requesting a further enhanced DBS check if it is considered necessary and that I will be liable for the cost of the check.

• I understand that continued registration on the programme of study is dependent on fulfilling this requirement and that failure to comply with this requirement would be addressed as a disciplinary or fitness to practise issue in line with university policies and procedures.

If during your time at St George’s you are accused of, convicted or charged with an offence, you must declare this immediately to the university by contacting Jenny Laws (Academic Registrar) and the Student Conduct and Compliance Team. Do not wait until the point of re-enrolment to disclose that you are under police investigation or that there has been an alteration to your criminal record status.