Complaints process

Once the documentation for a complaint has been received, the student will be contacted and advised in writing. The student will be given a copy of the complaint memo and the documents.

Natural justice requires that all the documents seen by the Chairperson of the Student Discipline Committee or the Student Discipline Committee are also made available to the student.

There are three types of hearings:

1. Summary Jurisdiction

   If the student has not had a previous finding of misconduct then the complaint will be heard by the Chairperson of the Student Discipline Committee at a summary jurisdiction hearing. This process generally takes about two weeks for a final decision to be sent to the complainant. An Academic Delegate in a Division may have the ability to hear Summary Jurisdiction in their Division. There are certain conditions where a complaint may be heard by an Academic Delegate.

2. Student Discipline Committee

   If the student has a finding of misconduct for the same behaviour, or the assessment item is worth 100%, or the complaint is of a serious or precedent setting nature then it will be referred to the Student Discipline Committee. As the student is given 14 days notice of this hearing it will take up to three weeks to resolve and get an outcome.

3. Tikanga process

   This process is between the complainant and student subject to complaint and it is facilitated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori assisted by a tikanga panel who have been appointed by the DVC Māori (see section 23 of the Student Discipline Regulations).

The complainant (person making the complaint) may attend the student discipline hearing if they wish. On some occasions the complainant will be contacted and asked to clarify information in the complaint. This can happen when the assessment item is of a technical or specialised nature.

Contact the Student Discipline Manager to obtain details on this process.

The complainant may also be asked to respond to the student’s submission.