14. The Vice-Chancellor has overall responsibility for maintaining student discipline. The Director of Academic Services (or nominee) is responsible for advising on the interpretation of the Disciplinary Regulations and for reporting on their operation.

15. Nothing within these Disciplinary Regulations prevents any member of staff from taking reasonable emergency action to prevent, stop, minimise, or otherwise control your conduct if the member of staff decides it is likely to cause immediate harm to others, disrupt the proper functioning of the University, or cause immediate damage to property.

16. We strongly encourage anyone making an allegation to share their name, unless there are good reasons for anonymity. This helps us ensure that any issues can be resolved in an atmosphere of trust, openness and fairness that preserves ongoing relationships. If an allegation is made anonymously, it can be much harder to investigate and to preserve fairness to all parties. Allegations that are made anonymously will be considered at our discretion. In exercising this discretion, the factors that will be taken into account will include:

• the gravity of the allegation
• the credibility of the allegation
• the likelihood of being able to conduct a fair investigation
• whether there is good reason for the complainant to remain anonymous.

17. At all points in a misconduct investigation, we will support the reporting student, the reported student, and any student witnesses. The process will consider any relevant reasonable adjustments as indicated in a Learning Contract.

18. We expect all students who are involved in any capacity, whether this is a reporting student, a reported student, or a witness, to act reasonably, honestly and fairly, and to cooperate and treat the process with respect.

19. It is expected that allegations will be raised in a timely fashion. Delays in raising allegations can seriously impair the ability of the University to conduct a robust and fair investigation.

20. You can bring someone with you to support you during any meetings held under this process. This may be a friend, a family member, a support worker, or a member of staff from the Students' Union Advice Service. The procedure does not seek to mimic the legal justice system and therefore, should not be adversarial or overly legalistic; therefore, there is no need to have formal legal representation. This supporter will not normally speak on your behalf. You must give the name and position of any accompanying person to the secretary at in advance of a meeting in line with the timescales stipulated in your meeting request. We reserve the right to refuse to permit attendance of the person you choose where there is good reason.

21. Disciplinary action may be taken against you if you:

• persistently make allegations outside of this procedure; and/or
• do not respect the confidentiality of other parties during an investigation; and/or
• persistently seek to publicise allegations about other staff or students that have been resolved or not upheld; and/or
• are adjudged to have made malicious or vexatious allegations.

22. Those investigating or adjudicating under these Regulations will do so impartially. All staff involved in a case will respect the confidentiality and information arising from it, and only disclose information as is necessary, for example for the proper investigation and conduct of the case.

23. We aim to deal with allegations of misconduct as quickly as possible whilst recognising the need for thorough investigation. We aim to complete the initial investigation and any formal stage of the process within 45 working days of the allegation being raised. If you request a review of the decision, we aim to respond within 20 days of your request for review.

24. If you leave the University, we reserve the right to complete action under these Regulations if we have already started it. If you are on a break in study, you remain bound by our regulations throughout the break, and we reserve the right to take any investigatory steps including formal disciplinary action under these procedures. We also reserve the right to act on allegations of misconduct which occurred when you were a student for up to six months after you cease to be a student.

25. The standard of proof required to deem you have breached the Student Code of Conduct is on the balance of probability, i.e. that based on the evidence available, it is more likely that the alleged breach occurred than not.

26. When deciding that a breach of the Student Code of Conduct has occurred, if there have been prior breaches of a similar nature, we may take this into account when reaching a decision.

27. When considering a sanction for a breach of the Student Code of Conduct, if there have been any prior breaches, we may take this into account when reaching a decision on the level of sanction to be applied.