Courageous Conversations

Learn and grow from your choices

Mistakes happen. This is true at university as it is in life.

Your time at university can be the best time to learn from mistakes because you’re surrounded each day by people - students and staff - who are making mistakes and learning from them all the time.

We want to walk alongside you and help you learn from mistakes you make. At university those mistakes might be called “misconduct", however at MQ we do things differently. Rather than commencing a misconduct process against you, we start with another approach.

We call this approach Courageous Conversations - because we know it takes courage to admit when we’ve made mistakes, even if they are serious ones.

If we have concerns that you have not acted in line with the standards of behaviour or academic integrity expected of you at MQ, we will ask you to join us in a Courageous Conversation.

What will happen?

If concerns are raised about your personal behaviour or your academic work, you may be contacted by a case manager from our Complaint, Appeals and Misconduct team to have a Courageous Conversation. A Courageous Conversation is a less formal process than a typical investigation - usually between you and one of our Case Managers, either in writing, in person, or on Zoom as you prefer. The purpose is to enable conduct concerns to be raised with you in a supportive environment, using an educational and integrity-driven approach.

How this works

Courageous Conversations at MQ are held in accordance with the Student Conduct Procedure. If a Courageous Conversation is required, a Case Manager will contact you to discuss the concerns that have been raised. Once concerns are first raised, you will:

• have the opportunity to engage with them in a way that suits you - in writing, via video chat, or in person.
• be given 5 days to respond (unless you would prefer to meet earlier).

During a meeting:

• your case manager will explain the reason for those concerns
• you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you wish about the process, about the reasons for the concerns, or any other aspect that we can help with
• the details of the meeting and any outcomes will be kept confidential

If your lecturer or course coordinator has some concerns about whether you have met the learning outcomes for their course, they may also be asked to join the meeting.

Support available to you

If you are contacted for a Courageous Conversation, we encourage you to reach out for support.

• A Student Advocate can guide and support you in the process.
• You are encouraged to bring a friend or other support person to any meetings.
• You may also wish to contact MQ Wellbeing for support.

Outcomes and resolutions

If you agree that your conduct did not meet your responsibilities under the Code, a decision maker will issue a determination, including any applicable penalty outcome. There will be no further action taken, and you will be free to continue with your studies. In general, outcomes will reflect the severity of the behaviour involved, however any student who is honest during their Courageous Conversation will not be excluded from the university, because they took steps to regain their integrity.

If you dispute the concerns, a decision maker may refer the matter to the University’s Student Conduct Committee (made up of students and staff), who will make a final decision. If you are found responsible by the Committee, more severe outcomes may be applicable. Please review our information on the Committee and its processes