Student Code of Behaviour

We want to make NTU an enjoyable and safe place for all students.

When you join NTU you sign up to the Student Charter which sets out our commitment to provide you with a high quality student experience and in turn our expectations of you as a student.  You must be responsible and respectful to other people. That includes students, NTU staff, visitors and the local community alike.

The Student Code of Behaviour applies to all students enrolled with the University (including further education, undergraduate, postgraduate taught, postgraduate research and degree apprenticeship students) and outlines the expected standards of behaviour, along with the procedures to be followed, and possible consequences, where these standards are not met.

NTU does not tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind, particularly serious unacceptable behaviour such as sexual misconduct; threatening, hostile, intimidatory or discriminatory behaviour, and criminal offences. All reports of unacceptable behaviour are taken seriously and reviewed through our Student Code of Behaviour.

Reporting concerns

If you have experienced or observed unacceptable behaviour from another student you should report it so that we can investigate on your behalf. You can do this in two ways:

1. Fill in our report form and email it to us
2. Make a report via Report + Support, to report sexual misconduct and assault, harassment, bullying, discrimination or hate. You can report anonymously or leave contact details, and you can also request support.

If your report is about a member of staff, our Human Resources team will also be involved, and we will action it through our Staff Disciplinary Procedures rather than the Student Code of Behaviour.

If you are unsure who to contact or you are unsure whether the perpetrator is an NTU student you can email our student conduct team for advice and support.

If you believe yourself to be in immediate danger you can contact Security on 0115 848 6462 (the number is on the back of your student card) or phone the police via 999.

If you have evidence to support what happened, please send this to us along with your report.

When you make a report, someone in our team will get in touch with you to discuss what happened, and what we will do next. If you are distressed by what has happened the team can put you in touch with other sources of support, such as our Student Support team or the Student’s Union Information and Advice Service. You can also contact these yourself if you prefer.

If the report is about serious unacceptable behaviour you will be provided with a key contact for support. This will be a member of staff who is completely independent from any investigation, and- where needed- is trained to support survivors of sexual violence. You can also be provided with a peer mentor, facilitated by the Students’ Union, who can support you through the process.

If the team believes you have been the victim of a crime, we can support you to report it to the Police. In some instances, we may report an incident to the Police directly.

We will support you through this as compassionately and sensitively as we can. We will keep you updated throughout any investigation and let you know the outcome as far as we can.

What happens if a report is made against you

If a report is made against you about suspected unacceptable behaviour by another student, a member of staff, a visitor to the University or a member of our community we will need to investigate this under our Student Code of Behaviour.

An Investigating Officer, who is a trained member of staff from one of our teams, will be appointed and they will contact you by phone or email to start a review. The purpose of the review is to understand the facts of what happened. They will tell you the allegations made against you and what evidence has been provided. They will give you an opportunity to tell them what happened and for you to provide any evidence that you might have. They will also tell you what happens next. Depending on the type of unacceptable behaviour reported you might also be invited to meet with the Investigating Officer. When this happens we will give you at least three days’ notice, and you can invite someone to join the meeting with you for support.

Having a report made against you may be very distressing so we will make sure that support is available to you. You also have the opportunity to be provided with a peer mentor, facilitated by the Students’ Union, who can support you through the process. If needed, the Investigating Officer can also put you in touch with other sources of support, such as our Student Support team or the Student’s Union Information and Advice Service. You can also contact these yourself if you prefer. If the report is about serious unacceptable behaviour we will provide you with a key contact for support. This will be a member of staff who is completely independent from any investigation.

Once the Investigating Officer has finished their review they will decide one of the following:

1. That no further action will be taken
2. That there is potential unacceptable behaviour and a disciplinary meeting is needed
3. That there is potential serious unacceptable behaviour and a Disciplinary Panel Hearing is needed.

You can find further information about this in the Student Code of Behaviour.

In some cases, we may need to suspend your studies while an investigation is completed. This means that you would be unable to access University premises and systems or continue your studies for a temporary period of at least three months. This is normally where you are the subject of an ongoing police investigation or where the matter is so serious we consider there may be a risk to other students. Where this happens the Student Conduct team will phone you to discuss the suspension and you will receive a letter outlining what the suspension means for you.

Unacceptable behaviour

Examples of unacceptable behaviour are provided in the Student Code of Behaviour. If the Investigating Officer believes that unacceptable behaviour may have taken place you will be asked to come to a Disciplinary Meeting. You will be given at least five working days’ notice of the meeting by both email and post. At this stage we will give you copies of relevant documents about the case. You can provide a written statement in advance if you want to. You can also invite someone to come to the meeting with you for support, such as a friend or someone from the Student’s Union.

During the meeting you can discuss the allegations and give any evidence that you want to. Notes will be taken at the meeting.

After the meeting you will be given an outcome in writing. This will tell you whether the misconduct has been confirmed or not, the reasons for this, and what penalty is proposed. You can find information about the full range of possible outcomes in the Student Code of Behaviour.

You might decide to admit the unacceptable behaviour before the meeting. If so you do not need to go to the meeting, and an outcome will be decided by the Investigating Officer and sent to you by email.

If you are worried about claims of possible misconduct you can get support from a support advisor or from the Students’ Union.

Serious unacceptable behaviour

Some unacceptable behaviour is more serious. The following are always considered to be  serious unacceptable behaviour and are investigated as such:

1. Sexual misconduct
2. Conviction of a serious criminal offence
3. Behaviour resulting in a formal Police caution or penalty
4. Behaviour which is threatening, hostile, intimidatory or discriminatory
5. Behaviour that is motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's protected characteristics.

Further information on serious unacceptable behaviour can be found in the Student Code of Behaviour.

If the Investigating Officer thinks that serious unacceptable behaviour may have happened on you will be asked to come to a hearing where a panel of colleagues, and a representative of Nottingham Trent Student’s Union will review the claims. You can give a written statement and/or evidence before the meeting takes place. You can also invite someone to come to the meeting with you for support, such as a friend or someone from the Student’s Union. You can also invite witnesses if you need to.

It is very important that you attend the hearing so that you can discuss the claims made. We will give you plenty of notice but if you can’t attend you must tell us as soon as possible and give reasons. At the hearing you will be given the chance to discuss the claims and give any evidence you might have. Notes will be taken at the hearing.

After the hearing the panel will decide an outcome and this will be sent to you in writing. This will tell you whether the serious misconduct has been confirmed or not, the reasons for this, and what it means for you. For example, if the serious unacceptable behaviour is confirmed you will be given a penalty.

You might decide to admit the claims of serious unacceptable behaviour before the meeting. If so you may not need to go to the Hearing in which case the panel will agree an outcome and send it to you by email.

If you are worried about claims of possible serious unacceptable behaviour you can get support from a support advisor or from the Students’ Union.

Appealing an outcome

If you are given a confirmed outcome for unacceptable or serious unacceptable behaviour, you can appeal if you feel that:

1. The University didn’t follow its processes correctly
2. You have new evidence that you couldn’t have given to us earlier
3. The outcome was unreasonable in the circumstances.

You can send in an appeal in writing by email. You must do this within ten working days of getting your outcome or the appeal will be rejected. When you send this in you must tell us the reason for your appeal and give any evidence you have.

Your appeal will be reviewed and will either be accepted or rejected. If the appeal is accepted the outcome will be looked at again, and may be changed (although this doesn’t happen in all cases). You will be told the outcome of your appeal in writing.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your appeal you can make a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education within 12 months of being told your outcome.