UQ introduces wider range of misconduct penalties
The University of Queensland has become the first University in the State to introduce community service as a punishment for misconduct.
To be known as "campus service", the penalty is one of many sweeping reforms the University has made in its Student Discipline and Misconduct Statute approved in June.
Under the new changes, students found guilt of non-academic misconduct such as vandalism or damaging university property could find themselves scrubbing graffiti off walls, cleaning grounds or reading to blind students to a maximum 50 hours of community service.
Academic misconduct such as cheating will still incur penalties such as suspension, expulsion or loss of academic credit. Other penalties under the new statute include increased fines, and the publication of the findings of misconduct hearings.
University Secretary and Registrar Douglas Porter said the wider range of penalties was part of an updating of the statute to bring it into line with modern university operations.
"At least one or more universities in the State will be introducing similar statutes after having looked at ours," Mr Porter said.
"Several years ago the Senate asked a committee chaired by Justice Margaret White to review the student discipline statute as the previous one was out of date.
"There was also a huge gap between what could be dealt with in a summary way and full blown disciplinary board hearings. The new statute was delayed while the whole University legislative framework was under review. Once the University of Queensland Act was approved by State Government, we were able to act."
Mr Porter said a key feature of the new statute was that it devolved the discipline and misconduct inquiry process to a larger number of people with power to act, including executive deans, president of the Academic Board, heads of departments and schools, and the Secretary and Registar.
"This allows for offences to be dealt with more quickly and effectively than in the past," he said. "The new statute introduces a 28 day time limit for allegations of misconduct to be made. It changes the way disciplinary hearings operate, making them less adversarial, more informal and inquisitorial to ascertain the facts as a basis for a decision or penalty.
"The reason we've introduced some of these changes is that students found the disciplinary boards daunting affairs involving the University legal officer as a prosecutor, which meant they often had to organise their own lawyers. Now there are no lawyers involved, students can be accompanied or represented by non-legal people, such as friends."
Director of the Office of Academic Administrative Support Linda Bird said an education program was underway for staff to understand the new statute and recognise the new ways for dealing with academic and non-academic disciplinary issues.
An education program involving University colleges, faculty representatives and the Student Union would be implemented for students to alert them to accepted practices and also what constituted non-acceptable practices, such as plagiarism.
"These changes are necessary to maintain the quality of our degrees, which are devalued for all students when a few students seek advantages for themselves through inappropriate behaviour, ," she said.
Details of the new changes will be posted to the University web pages and the full statute will be in the University Yearbook.
Further information: Douglas Porter, telephone 07 3365 1310.
