Discipline committee meetings

The Committee members will depend upon the type of the Discipline Committee that is considering your matter:

• University Discipline Committee members include representatives from the faculties, a student member and the Chair of the Academic Senate.
• Faculty Discipline Committee members include key faculty representatives, including faculty academic staff.

University administrative staff will also attend to provide secretariat support to the meeting.

Consider the following steps before the meeting:

Step 1: Confirm  your attendance at the meeting

You are strongly encouraged to attend as you can respond to the alleged misconduct and provide the Discipline Committee with additional information. Should you not attend the meeting the Discipline Committee will consider the information and make its decision without you.

Step 2: Confirm if a support person will also attend the meeting

Should you attend the Discipline Committee meeting, a support person can attend with you.

A support person cannot directly participate in the meeting, but may quietly advise you during the meeting and provide personal support. A support person should not be a legal practitioner.

Step 3: Consider providing a written submission prior to the meeting

You can also prepare a written submission prior to the meeting for the Committee.

A written submission can give context to what happened, can provide your version of the situation including relevant supporting material and allows you to cover points you may forget on the day of the meeting or may not have the time to go into.

Step 4: `Seek support and assistance as required

It is recommended that you meet with Student Advocacy to obtain independent advice and support before the meeting.

Student Advocacy provide free, independent support and advice on areas which include:

• Helping you understand what to expect with the Discipline process
• Review draft submissions
• Attend the meeting as a support person

Student Advocacy can assist you with your written submission.

• State plainly your version of the incident. Do you accept the allegation or not?
• Did a friend witness any incident? Would he or she be prepared to attend at the Committee to describe things? Would this help you?
• Help the Committee understand the events leading up to the incident.

You will not be penalised for not attending the meeting, however, you are strongly encouraged to attend as you can respond to the alleged misconduct and provide the Discipline Committee with additional information. If you do not attend the meeting, the Discipline Committee will consider the alleged misconduct and make its decision without you.

Please note that there may be an option to attend the meeting via videoconference. Further information on this option will be provided to you in the notification.

The meeting will be rescheduled:

• If you have an assessment which cannot be completed at another time.
• If you have a significant personal commitment that cannot be rescheduled.

The meeting will not be rescheduled under the following circumstances:

• If you have a class scheduled during that time. You are expected to make attending the meeting a priority, however, if you advise the secretary of the Discipline Committee early, they may be able to schedule a time around your classes.
• If your support person cannot attend at that time.

Any request to reschedule the meeting must be submitted as early as possible and must include the reason for your request and any necessary documentation to support your request. Please note that if you are considering rescheduling, your matter could be delayed significantly. Rescheduling the meeting should be avoided if you want to resolve the allegations of misconduct as quickly as possible.

You may challenge any member of the Discipline Committee for bias if you believe that they cannot be fair in considering your matter. You should raise this issue at the commencement of the Discipline Committee meeting and clearly explain the reasons preventing the Committee member participating fairly in the meeting.

The Committee chair may then briefly recess the meeting to assess the challenge.