Ordinance XXVIII: Appeals and Grievances considered by Council

1. This Procedure applies to Appeals and Grievances submitted to Council under the provisions of Statute 17(22), other than those by staff covered by Ordinances XXVII and XXVIII above:

2. The Pro-Chancellor, or a Deputy Pro-Chancellor acting as Chair pro tempore of the Council, shall appoint a Panel, normally consisting of three members (two lay members of Council and one member of Academic Staff), to consider the detailed case submitted and any oral evidence, and to make recommendations to the Council. The Chair of the Panel will be one of the lay members of Council.

3. The normal procedure taking account of precedent and approved by Council is:

a) In the event of doubt as to whether a prima facie case for consideration has been established, the Panel may hold a pre-meeting in camera to determine whether a hearing should be held. If it is clear that a prima facie case for consideration has not been established, the Secretery to Council may reject the case.

b) Those present for a hearing are the Panel, the Clerk (the Secretary to Council or nominee), and the parties to the case - the University representative and the appellant or aggrieved person, who may be accompanied by a member of the University as defined by Statute 2 willing to act as his/her friend or representative at the hearing. Witnesses as to evidence or character are present for their own evidence only. The Panel Chair will be responsible for the conduct of the hearing..91

c) The University case and the appeal/grievance case are circulated to the Panel and to the parties to the case at least one week before the hearing. Neither party should introduce new material at the hearing, or an adjournment may be required to allow the other party to prepare its answer to the new points made.

d) The Panel convenes for a hearing, with only its Clerk present.

e) The appellant or aggrieved person and friend and the University representative enter the room.

f) The appellant or aggrieved person (or friend) puts his/her case, and calls witnesses (who are not otherwise present for any part of the hearing).

g) The University representative questions witnesses (including the other party if he/she gives evidence). Members of the Panel may also ask questions, including any of the appellant/aggrieved person or his/her friend.

h) The University representative puts the case in reply, and calls witnesses (on the same terms as the appellant/aggrieved person).

i) Questions from the appellant/aggrieved person (or friend) and the Panel, as [g] above.

j) The appellant/aggrieved person (or friend) sums up the case presented, without introducing new material at this stage.

k) The University representative sums up, as above.

l) All but Panel and Clerk withdraw for deliberations by Panel; the Clerk takes no part in making the final recommendation.

m) The parties are not informed of the recommendation before it is transmitted to Council for decision. The Panel's recommendations should be circulated to Council one week prior to its meeting (as is normal for Council papers), with copies being sent to both parties, to arrive no earlier than external members of Council receive their papers. Exceptionally, because of the timing of the hearing, papers may be tabled at the Council meeting.

4. Appeals and grievances to Council complete the University’s internal procedures. When the process is exhausted, students who remain dissatisfied may wish to contact the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education, which provides an independent review of student complaints.