Section 3 – Health, wellbeing and support to study, fitness to practise, and disciplinary matters

16. Health, wellbeing and support to study

16.1  We are committed to an ethos of equality and inclusivity and aim to promote positive mental health and well-being through the recognition and understanding of all disabilities. We encourage all students to ask us for support as soon as possible so that we can help you to realise your full potential and complete your studies.

16.2 We may take action under the Support to Study: Policy and Procedure (see www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Conduct and Welfare) if we are concerned about you, for example if:

• Your physical or mental health condition may impact upon your ability to fulfil your potential or the ability of others to fulfil their potential
• We are concerned about your behaviour and it is not a disciplinary matter
• We are concerned because you have been absent
• We are concerned about how you will manage your learning experience on a placement, field trip, exchange or other trip abroad.

16.3 In exceptional cases, our duty of care may require us to remove you from BU if we believe that you are at risk or may be a risk to other members of BU’s community. We will take urgent action in those cases (see paragraph 16.7).

16.4 Anyone involved in support to study procedures can be supported or represented by a third party (but not normally a legal adviser) at each stage: see the Third Party Involvement: Procedure for more information (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Complaints). You can also contact SUBU Advice (+44 (0)1202 965779 or email [email protected]). The Director of Student Services may appoint a representative to act on their behalf.

16.5 We may ask you to agree to share your personal information with relevant professionals outside BU so we can offer appropriate support or take action under this procedure. We will not normally share any personal information about you without your agreement, but may do so in exceptional cases to protect you or others (for example disclosure to the Disclosure & Barring Service of information relevant to its function of protecting children and vulnerable adults or under safeguarding should we believe you are a risk to yourself or others).

16.6 Support to study: We have three stages of the Support to study process. The first stage is a meeting, with Faculty staff who know you or with a member of the Residential Services team if the concerns have arisen in BU accommodation. At this meeting, any concerns will be outlined, and you will be offered the chance to discuss any underlying support needs that you may have.

The second stage meeting will occur should concerns about your welfare escalate, this meeting will normally be chaired by your Education Services Manager or the Head of Residential Services.

If the concerns are not resolved, or it is believed there is a high risk to you or to others, the Head of Student Support and Wellbeing will be informed and paragraph 16.7 will apply.

16.7 The Head of Student Support and Wellbeing will carry out a risk assessment of the concerns raised. If the Head of Student Support and Wellbeing believes that there is a high risk to you or to others, then we will hold a case conference, including other staff as appropriate.

You will normally be invited to that conference, but we may make a decision without your agreement. The conference will review the next steps, such as additional support, and may decide to suspend you or recommend that you are withdrawn from your course. We will write to you about the outcome, normally within five working days.

We will write to you if you are suspended. You will be able to return to your studies if we agree that you are subsequently fit to study for which you will need to provide medical evidence. The Head of Student Support and Wellbeing or their nominated representative will consider this and decide if you are fit to study. We may only allow you to return if you agree to a return to study plan or if you attend regular review meetings. If you are withdrawn from your course, you can appeal (see paragraph 16.8).

See paragraph 28 (Financial arrangements on withdrawal, suspension or other interruption) for more information about fees, refunds and access to funding if you are withdrawn or suspended.

16.8 Support to study appeals

You may appeal against a decision to interrupt you by emailing [email protected] within ten working days of the letter confirming the suspension. An Appeals Panel will review the appeal and will write to you with the decision. This decision is final and there can be no further appeal within BU. You may appeal against a decision to withdraw you. You must write to the Vice-Chancellor within ten working days. The Vice-Chancellor or a representative will review the appeal and will write to you with the decision. This decision is final and there can be no further appeal within BU.

If you have a complaint about the way that the Support to Study: Policy and Procedure is carried out, you can complain under the Student Complaints Procedure (see paragraph 15).

If you are not satisfied following the appeals procedure, you can complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (the OIA). You must have completed all the stages of our procedure first and the OIA will not look at all complaints (for more information see www.oiahe.org.uk).

17. Fitness to practise

17.1 If your course is intended to provide access to a regulated profession, such as a healthcare professional course, your fitness to practise is assessed under our Fitness to Practise: Procedure (see www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Conduct and Welfare). The Procedure takes into account the requirements of relevant professional codes of conduct set by the appropriate professional and regulatory bodies and is updated to reflect changes in those requirements.

17.2 We will normally report any suspected criminal offence to the police. If you are on an NHS funded course, or are an employee of the NHS, and the allegations if true may amount to fraud, we may refer the case to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority for investigation. We will disclose to the Disclosure & Barring Service information which is relevant to its function of protecting children and vulnerable adults.

17.3 Anyone involved in Fitness to Practise procedures can be supported or represented by a third party (but not normally a legal adviser) at each stage: see the Third Party Involvement: Procedure for more information (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Complaints). You can also contact SUBU Advice (+44 (0)1202 965779 or email [email protected]).

17.4 Fitness to practise: initial step: If concerns are raised about your inability/failure to maintain standards appropriate to professional practice, we may, after an initial review of the available facts, either allow you to remain in practice and carry out an investigation, or suspend you from practice while we investigate. We will normally invite you to comment during our initial review. We may consult with the organisation hosting your placement if appropriate.

We may suspend you from placement and/or study during the Fitness to Practise investigation and we will contact you in writing within five working days if we do this. You will need to tell your placement provider or employer. The host organisation may withdraw or suspend your placement. If you are on an Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funded apprenticeship, this may result in a break in learning and a suspension of funding for your apprenticeship.

We will contact you in writing to tell you whether you must attend a Fitness to Practise hearing. We may decide that a hearing is not necessary and give you advice and guidance. We will note this outcome on your student record. If we decide that there is no evidence of an issue and we decide not to take any action, a note will be placed on your student record to reflect this. If you are an apprentice on an Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funded apprenticeship, your employer may be involved in the Fitness to Practise investigation and/or hearing.

17.5 Fitness to practise hearing: If we decide to hold a Fitness to Practise hearing, we will write to you about the concerns and the arrangements for the hearing. The Fitness to Practise hearing is held as soon as practicable after the investigation ends and normally within 20 working days. We will normally give you ten working days’ notice.

If you wish to provide documentation for the Fitness to Practise Panel to consider, you must provide it before the hearing. We will give copies of the evidence to all parties before the hearing. The Fitness to Practise Panel may make additional enquiries and ask witnesses to attend.

Normally, we will tell you the decision of the Fitness to Practise Panel within one hour of the end of the hearing. We will write to you about the outcome, normally within five working days. If we decide that there is no evidence of an issue and we decide not to take any action, we will not record the matter on your student record.

17.6 Fitness to practise: penalties: The Fitness to Practise Panel may refer a matter to a professional body if a student has entered onto the professional register. The professional body may investigate under its own procedures and impose its own penalties. The Fitness to Practise Panel will consider this when considering penalties. See paragraph 28 (Financial arrangements on withdrawal, suspension or other interruption) for more information about fees, refunds and access to funding if you are withdrawn or suspended.

See the Fitness to Practise Procedure for more information. For example, penalties may include:

• Written warnings, which will remain on your record for a period of time and can be revived if there is a further incident
• Suspension from your course for a period of time
• A requirement to resubmit work, re-sit an examination or repeat a unit, or repeat a level
• A mark of 0%, or a capped mark for the relevant item, or for a whole unit or level
• Withdrawing you from your course, in some cases without credit.

We will inform the relevant professional body about the outcome of the Fitness to Practise Panel, unless the matter is dismissed. We may disclose the issue and the outcome in references that we give to prospective employers.

See paragraph 28 (Financial arrangements on withdrawal, suspension or other interruption) for more information about fees, refunds and access to funding if you are withdrawn or suspended. If you are on a healthcare professional course and in receipt of an NHS bursary, you will need to notify the NHS Student Services Office, see paragraph 28.2.

17.7 Fitness to practise appeals: You may appeal against a decision made or a penalty applied under the Fitness to Practise Procedure by emailing [email protected] within ten working days of the letter confirming the outcome. You must explain why you are appealing.

We will hold an Appeals Panel to hear the appeal and consider the penalty. We will normally put the penalty on hold until after the Appeals Panel, but if we have suspended you from practice, you will not be able to return to practice unless the Appeals Panel decides to end the suspension.

The Appeals Panel will write to you about its decision. The decision of the Appeals Panel is final and there can be no further appeal within BU. If you are not satisfied after following the appeals procedure, you can complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (the OIA). You must have completed all the stages of our procedure first, and the OIA will not look at all complaints (for more information see www.oiahe.org.uk).

18. General disciplinary matters

18.1 As a member of BU’s community, you must conduct yourself with regard for our good name and reputation. We will normally consider giving advice and guidance to improve conduct and behaviour before taking action under the Student Disciplinary Procedure. Minor disciplinary issues will normally result in an informal oral or written warning. For more information, see the Student Disciplinary Procedure (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Conduct and Welfare). The Director of Student Services is responsible for student discipline at BU but may appoint a representative to act on their behalf.

18.2 Anyone involved in disciplinary procedures can be supported or represented by a third party (but not normally a legal adviser) at each stage: see the Third Party Involvement: Procedure for more information (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Complaints). You can also contact SUBU Advice (+44 (0)1202 965779 or email [email protected]).

18.3 The Student Disciplinary Procedure does not normally apply to some matters, for example:

• Alleged breaches of the Residences Rules, which may first be dealt with under the Residences Rules (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Accommodation)
• Fitness to practise (see paragraph 17)
• Academic failure (see paragraph 19)
• Academic misconduct (see paragraphs 20 and 21).

18.4 The Student Disciplinary Procedure applies to misconduct, which is essentially improper interference with the functioning or activities of BU, or of those who work or study at BU, or action that otherwise damages BU or its reputation. Examples of misconduct include:

• Violent, indecent, disorderly, threatening, intimidating or offensive behaviour or language • Sexual, racial or other harassment
• Fraud, deceit, deception or dishonesty
• Theft, misuse of, or damage to property, or unauthorised use of BU’s buildings
• Failure to respect the rights of others to freedom of belief and freedom of speech
• Disruption of BU’s activities or obstruction of, or interference with, the activities of others
• Actions likely to cause injury or impair safety at BU
• Breach of this student agreement or the provisions of any BU rule, regulation, policy, procedure or code of practice.

18.5 Any student who represents BU in a sports team is also required to abide by the TeamBU Athlete Code of Conduct which has been specifically designed for sporting and social situations. Any student athlete, and if appropriate entire teams, who are found to be in breach of this Code are likely to be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in the SportBU (TeamBU) Disciplinary: Procedure and/or 11K – Student Disciplinary: Procedure (see www.bournemouth.ac.uk/important-information, under Conduct and Welfare).

18.6 We will consider reporting any suspected criminal offence to the police, taking into account the nature of the suspected offence and the wishes of affected individuals. We will disclose to the Disclosure & Barring Service any information which is relevant to its function of protecting children and vulnerable adults.

18.7 Disciplinary suspension: If an allegation of misconduct is made against you or criminal proceedings are taken against you, we may suspend you whilst we carry out an investigation or criminal proceedings are completed. We will normally give you an opportunity to comment before suspending you. In urgent cases, particularly if we believe that there is a risk to the safety of others, we may suspend you immediately. Suspension is a neutral act.

We will write to you about the terms of the suspension and the reasons for it. We will review your suspension after 20 working days or if the circumstances change. If you are suspended, you can appeal (see paragraph 18.13).

See paragraph 28 (Financial arrangements on withdrawal, suspension or other interruption) for more information about fees, refunds and access to funding if you are suspended.

18.8 Disciplinary: initial review: The Complaints and Conduct team will review the matter and, if they believe there may be grounds to proceed will ask you to respond within ten working days. A member of the Student Services Executive team will review the response and decide to take no further action, to seek and review further evidence or to continue with disciplinary action. A member of the Student Services Executive team may suspend you while we take action (see paragraph 18.7).

18.9 Disciplinary: summary process: If you agree, a member of the Student Services Executive team may deal with the matter without a Disciplinary Panel.

If a member of the Student Services Executive team does not consider it appropriate to deal with the matter, or if you do not agree, then we will refer the matter to a Disciplinary Panel under the procedures set out in paragraph 18.11. A member of the Student Services Executive team may impose penalties (other than withdrawal). See paragraph 18.12 for more information about penalties.

A member of the Student Services Executive team will write to you to confirm the outcome of the meeting. You can appeal against the decision and any penalty (see paragraph 18.13).

18.10 Anti-social behaviour, noise and nuisance: Anti-social behaviour not only damages BU’s reputation but also impacts upon the relationship between students and the local community. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will deal with these issues. If the Council issues an abatement notice, you can appeal under the Council’s own procedures.

18.11 Disciplinary hearings: If a matter is not dealt with under the summary procedure described in paragraph 18.9, we will hold a Disciplinary Panel. We will write to you about the arrangements. The Disciplinary Panel is held as soon as practicable and normally within 20 working days after the initial meeting. We will normally give you ten working days’ notice.

A member of the Student Services Executive team, or nominated representative, will attend the hearing to present the case. If you wish to provide evidence for the Panel to consider, you must provide it before the hearing. We will give copies of the evidence to all the parties. The Disciplinary Panel may make enquiries and ask witnesses to attend.

Normally, we will tell you the decision of the Disciplinary Panel within one hour of the end of the hearing. We will write to you about the outcome, normally within five working days.

18.12 Disciplinary penalties: When deciding penalties, we take into account the seriousness of the misconduct, the circumstances of the misconduct, and your means and general personal circumstances. Penalties may include:

• Written warnings
• A fine or a requirement to pay reasonable compensation or a requirement to perform services for the BU community
• Suspension from your course for a fixed period of time, up to twelve months
• Exclusion from the award of a degree or other academic award
• Withdrawing you from your course. See paragraph 28 (Financial arrangements on withdrawal, suspension or other interruption) for more information about fees, refunds and access to funding if you are withdrawn or suspended.

18.13 Disciplinary appeals: You may appeal against a decision made or a penalty applied under the Student Disciplinary Procedure by emailing [email protected] within ten working days of the letter confirming the outcome. You must explain why you are appealing. An Appeals Panel will hear the appeal and consider the penalty. If you appeal against a decision of a Disciplinary Panel to withdraw you, the withdrawal will be deferred until the Appeals Panel has taken place.

The Appeals Panel will write to you about the outcome. The decision of the Appeals Panel is final and there can be no further appeal within BU.

If you are not satisfied following the appeals procedure, you can complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (the OIA). You must have completed all the stages of our procedure first, and the OIA will not look at all complaints (for more information see www.oiahe.org.uk).