The Proctors are UC academics whose responsibility is to investigate breaches of discipline.

The Misconduct Committee is a panel made up of senior University staff members and a UCSA Student Executive.

The University Registrar is a senior member of the University who is responsible for implementing and enforcing University policies and ensuring the University fulfils its legal requirements in areas such as Privacy and Access to Information.

University of Canterbury defines Behavioural Misconduct as “student conduct that is in breach of University discipline for the purposes of these Regulations.” (Behavioural Misconduct Regulations, para 4(a)).

This means any behaviour that is:

• Contrary to how the University expects students to behave;
• Detrimental to the operation or interests of the University; and/or
• Detrimental to the interests of other UC students.

It also includes any behaviour that does not comply with:

• The UC Student Code of Conduct;
• Any University regulation, policy, or code; and/or
• Any instructions to students issued by or under the authority of the University Council, Academic Board, Vice-Chancellor or Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic

Behavioural misconduct does not include academic misconduct.

All students must comply with the UC Student Code of Conduct:

When you enrol to be a student at UC, you are required to sign the UC Student Agreement which states that you agree to abide by the statutes, regulations, rules, and policies of UC. As part of that agreement, you have agreed to abide by the UC Student Code of Conduct, which outlines the way UC students are expected to behave during their time at UC and reaffirms UC’s commitment to provide a safe working and study environment.

This is what you should do:

• Read the allegation letter carefully.
• Consider contacting a UCSA Student Advocate for support here. We can arrange an appointment with you in person, via Zoom, telephone, or email. Our experienced team can support you through the whole process.
• You have an opportunity to respond to the allegation, but you must do this within certain timeframes. The ways of responding to the allegation should be specified in the allegation letter.
• If the evidence supporting the allegation is not provided to you, you have the right to request them.

If you have received a letter alleging behavioural misconduct from the University Registrar, it is because your conduct is deemed by the University to have:

• Endangered, or threatened to endanger, the health, safety or wellbeing of others or yourself;
• Been disruptive enough to prevent effective teaching, learning or research; and/or
• Disrupted a safe and inclusive community.

If the University Registrar determines that action is necessary because of your conduct, they can then make any combination of the following b using their powers in matter of Health, Safety and Wellbeing:

• An order that the student be excluded from some or all University premises for a maximum period of up to 24 months;
• An order that the student’s enrolment be suspended for a maximum period of up to 3 months;
• An order that the student’s enrolment be cancelled for a maximum period of up to 24 months; and/or
• A non-contact order.

If the University Registrar makes an order to cancel your enrolment, you can request the decision to be reviewed by the University Registrar 3 months after the order was made.

The University Registrar also has the power to make recommendations that you seek medical help and impose a condition that you can only be readmitted to the University on receipt of a fit-to-return medical certificate from a qualified professional.

If you do not respond to the allegation sent to you by one of the UC Proctors, the Misconduct Committee, or the University Registrar, a decision will be made in your absence.

Often, decisions that are made in the students’ absences do not result in good outcomes for the students.

You can respond by submitting a letter or email, with relevant supporting documents if applicable.

If you accept the allegation, you can explain in your letter the circumstances that led to your actions.

If you do not accept the allegation, you can explain why the allegation is not true.

The UCSA Student Advocates can provide you with a letter template. The advocate can also review your draft response or email and provide feedback before you submit it. Please allow 1-2 working days for the Student Advocates to provide feedback. Please contact us here to arrange this.

You will be required to have a meeting with the UC Proctor, the Misconduct Committee, or the University Registrar.

The meeting/hearing will happen in a meeting room on campus or via Zoom.

The meeting with the UC Proctor will normally only involve the Proctor, the student and the UCSA Student Advocate if support is requested by the student.

A Misconduct Committee hearing will be attended by 3 senior UC staff members, a UCSA Student Executive, a secretary, a Proctor, the student, and the UCSA Student Advocate if support is requested by the student. The meeting may also include any UC staff members who can provide information relevant to the case, or members of the NZ Police if deemed appropriate by the Committee.

The meeting with the University Registrar will normally only involve the Proctor, the student and the UCSA Student Advocate if support is requested by the student. The meeting may also include any UC staff members who can provide information relevant to the case.

You will have the opportunity to talk about your case, and the Proctor / Misconduct Committee / University Registrar will ask you questions. You may also ask them questions.

The UCSA Student Advocates have speaking rights in these meetings/hearings.

Yes, you may bring a friend, a family member to the meeting/hearing as your support person with prior written approval of the Committee Chair. In some circumstances, a UC Student Care Advisor may be permitted to serve as a support person with permission from the investigator/Misconduct Committee. You will generally not be allowed to have any other University staff member as a support person. You may also not use anyone who is involved in the same matter as your support person.

Please note that support people generally do not have speaking rights in the meeting, i.e., they will not be allowed to speak on your behalf. Their role will be to provide you with emotional support.

However, we strongly recommend that you bring a UCSA Student Advocate with you to support you in the meeting/hearing. Unlike general support people, the UCSA Student Advocates have speaking rights in these meetings/hearings. This means the Advocate will be able to assist you to explain what happened to the investigator/Misconduct Committee.

However, you must inform the Proctor that a UCSA Student Advocate will be supporting you in the meeting with the investigator. Likewise, you must inform the Secretary to the Misconduct Committee that a UCSA Student Advocate will be supporting you in the hearing.

If you intend to have any UC staff member or any person involved in the appeal to act as your advocate in a Misconduct Committee hearing, you will need to obtain prior written approval of the Committee Chair.

You can also call witnesses to provide evidence in support of your story during the hearing if you wish. However, you must inform the Committee at least five working days prior to the hearing, and you must provide the names of any witness you want to appear at the hearing.

At the end of the investigation process, the outcome of the process will be notified to you in writing.

The investigator may decide:

1. that there is inadequate evidence from which to conclude that misconduct occurred;
2. that misconduct occurred and to impose a penalty for the misconduct; or
3. to refer the matter to another person or another committee.

The penalties the Proctor can impose are:

• a reprimand;
• a direction that the student apologises in writing or in person (or both);
• a fine not exceeding that specified in the Fees and Fines Regulations;
• a requirement that the student make restitution in respect of property stolen, lost, or damaged, or of costs incurred by the University through unauthorised activities;
• a direction that training, education or support by undertaken, e.g., drug or alcohol courses, counselling, mediation, anger management, cultural education; and/or
• a requirement that the student undertake specified unpaid University or community service not exceeding 40 hours in duration.

The penalties the Misconduct Committee can impose are:

• a reprimand;
• a direction that the student apologises in writing or in person (or both);
• a fine not exceeding that specified in the Fees and Fines Regulations;
• a requirement that the student make restitution in respect of property stolen, lost, or damaged, or of costs incurred by the University through unauthorised activities;
• a requirement that the student undertake specified unpaid University or community service not exceeding 40 hours in duration;
• a direction that training, education or support by undertaken, e.g., drug or alcohol courses, counselling, mediation, anger management, cultural education;
• conditions to prevent any future breach or disturbance;
• the suspension of the student for a specified period of time or until a specified condition is met; and/or
• the expulsion of the student.

The Proctor may impose the following measures pending resolution of the misconduct process:

• refusal of enrolment;
• non-contact order;
• order to exclude the student from parts of the University.

The Proctor may also impose the following measures on any student to ensure that UC remains a safe and inclusive community:

• non-contact order;
• order to exclude the student from parts of the University.

If a student does not fulfil the requirements of penalties imposed on them, the Proctor and the Misconduct Committee may impose the following measures:

• Preventing their future enrolment;
• Preventing their graduation;
• Preventing them from accessing their transcript.

If the student is found to have committed Behavioural Misconduct, the University will keep a record of the allegation and any decisions made by the Proctor, the Misconduct Committee, the University Registrar, or the University Appeals Committee in the Misconduct Register for a period not longer than ten years.

The Misconduct Register is private and can be viewed by only a few University staff members.

If you are undertaking a qualification that results in professional accreditation, the University may disclose information on the discipline register to the relevant professional body. You should contact your department or Faculty if you want further information on this issue.

If you disagree with the decision made by the Proctor, University Registrar, or the Misconduct Committee, you are entitled to appeal the decision and /or any outcomes imposed. The letter informing you of the decision will inform you of how to appeal the decision.

You have 10 working days from the date you received the initial decision to appeal that decision. This is the date the notification arrived in your mailbox and not the date you opened the notification.

If you are applying to appeal after the 10 working days deadline, you will need to keep in mind that:

1. late application to appeal will be accepted only in exceptional circumstances, and
2. the decision by the Committees to not accept a late application cannot be appealed.

Where the decision is that of the Proctor or the University Registrar, the appeal will be to the Misconduct Committee.

Where the decision is that of the Misconduct Committee, the appeal will be to the University Appeals Committee.

You have ten working days to appeal a decision, and a late application to appeal will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

If you are considering appealing the outcome, please contact us (LINK Advocacy online form here) for support and more information. The UCSA Student Advocates will explain the appeal process, identify whether there are grounds for an appeal, help you navigate UC Regulations and Policies, and support you through the appeal process.

After considering the evidence and information provided, the Misconduct Committee/ University Appeals Committee will deliberate and make a decision regarding the outcome of the appeal.

You will usually receive formal notification of the outcome of your appeal within 20 working days of the appeal. More complex cases may take longer for an appeal decision to be notified.

The possible outcomes of a misconduct appeal are:

• the Committee confirms that the original decision stands;
• the Committee changes the original decision in some way; or
• the Committee overturns the original decision.

The University Appeals Committee has the same powers as the Misconduct Committee.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome from the Misconduct Committee, you can seek leave to appeal to the University Appeals Committee. The outcome letter will also inform you of how to appeal the decision, please note, the deadline to appeal the decision will remain 10 working days from receiving your letter.

In order for leave to appeal to be granted, you must show that:

• there has been a breach of process in relation to the first appeal; or
• you have new evidence or information that was not available to you at the time of the first appeal.

If leave is granted by University Appeals Committee, the appeal will be heard by the Committee. The hearing will operate in a similar way to that of the Misconduct Committee.

If the outcome is a decision from the University Appeals Committee, there are no further rights of appeal within the University. The decision of the University Appeals Committee is final.

If you believe that the University’s appeal process has been conducted incorrectly or that the outcome is unreasonable, you have the right to raise the matter for external and independent review with:

• Dispute Resolution Schemes
• iStudent Complaints
• Disputes Tribunal
• The Human Rights Commission
• Office of the Ombudsman

Behaviour Misconduct Regulations

UC Student Code of Conduct

Misconduct Procedures – Guide for Students

Appeals Regulations