Evaluation, action and information management

University of Nottingham > Student Services > Harassment and sexual misconduct > Evaluation, action and information management

Evaluating our progress

The university is committed to ensuring we do everything we can to provide a safe and supportive environment for everyone. This includes students, staff and those visiting our campuses. Evaluating our progress, learning from outcomes, and continual improvement of our processes and resources are key to achieving this commitment.

Here are some of the ways we evaluate our progress:

Report and Support

We publish annual reports using anonymised data gathered through the platform. These outline reports of hate crime, harassment and assault received by the university. The annual report also contains information about responses to reports and wider safeguarding developments within the university. We also survey students who complete the Report and Support forms, whether they continue to engage with us or not.

By publishing this information, we aim to increase transparency around the reporting process. We hope that this will increase our community’s confidence in reporting to us if they have experienced or witnessed any of these behaviours.

Student Casework

We have introduced a Student Discipline Oversight Group that receives reports relating to student non-academic misconduct cases. The role of the Student Discipline Oversight Group is to provide oversight and scrutiny to the student disciplinary process, ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and considering the quality, impact and development of the Student Code of Conduct (Non-Academic)

Responsibilities of the SDOG:

To provide oversight and scrutiny to all student disciplinary matters, including staff to student sexual misconduct.
To ensure compliance with the Office for the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) good practice framework
Ensure compliance with the following areas of the Office for Students (OfS) expectations in relation to harassment and sexual misconduct (to be confirmed when the final guidance is published):
1. ensuring that those receiving information about, investigating, or taking decisions on, incidents of harassment and/or sexual misconduct are appropriately trained.
2. Ensuring investigations undertaken and decisions made in respect of incidents of harassment and/or sexual misconduct are credible, fair and otherwise reflect established principles of natural justice.
3. Ensuring that staff & students who are directly affected by any decisions made in respect of incidents of harassment and/or sexual misconduct are informed about the decisions and the reasons for them.
To consider guidance from Universities UK, Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) and others in the development of good and best practice in this area.
To receive qualitative and quantitative data (including feedback from students) on the management of student discipline and lead developments in relation to timescales, outcomes, equality & diversity, student experience and quality of process.
To identify trends in reports being received on Report and Support and managed through the disciplinary process to consider areas for prevention, awareness raising and educational approaches.
To consider and support training and communication requirements for staff and students engaged within the disciplinary process (including investigators, Student Misconduct Panel Members).
To lead the development and implementation of restorative practices at the University of Nottingham.
To ensure ongoing alignment with associated UoN polices (e.g. Dignity at Nottingham)

Staff Casework

We regularly assess staff conduct through the review of individual casework, disciplinary actions and reports through the Dignity procedures. Reports on staff conduct/ behaviour are compiled and analysed to identify patterns in the nature of issues raised, the process followed, and the outcomes and recommendations of cases.

This evaluation process allows us to monitor the effectiveness of our staff-related procedures and codes, ensuring they remain fair, consistent and aligned with organisational policies. By reviewing trends, we are able to identify areas for improvement, and ensure that the necessary support and guidance are provided to staff when required.

Steering Group

We have a Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Steering Group, co-chaired by the University and Students’ Union, which provides expertise and advice in the management of harassment, sexual misconduct and related issues.

Its responsibilities include the following:

To ensure alignment across the university’s policy and procedures on the identification and management of harassment, sexual misconduct and related areas.
To consider and recommend the steps the university could take to make a significant and credible difference in protecting students from harassment, sexual misconduct and related areas, including preventing and reducing incidents.
To identify appropriate training and awareness-raising activities for staff and students, in relation to harassment, sexual misconduct and related areas.
To oversee consent training for students, providing support and direction to the Consent Training Working Group.
To receive qualitative / quantitative data and reports on harassment, sexual misconduct and related areas to support the understanding of issues at the university, making recommendations for the development of support and services for students.
To consider themes identified by the data or feedback from staff or students and undertake deep dive exercises to develop institutional understanding of the issues experienced.
To identify learning from lived experience and the management of harassment, sexual misconduct and related areas, and make recommendations as to how this can be embedded into future developments, practice and training.
To report to relevant student experience and other committees, such as the Code of Conduct Working Group, and other relevant groups as required.
To consider where expertise is required from across the sector/other sectors to support the university’s approach to managing harassment, sexual misconduct and related areas.
To consider how the Office for Students (OfS) statement of expectations impacts on the university’s policies, procedures and codes, providing advice and support to the development of these where required.
To advise on the development and review of this ‘single document’ expected by the OfS to set out the university’s policy and procedures relating to then harassment and sexual misconduct.

Review

This document and its associated webpages will be reviewed yearly by the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Steering Group. This group includes Student’s Union Student Representatives.

Action being taken to protect students from harassment & sexual misconduct

The University is committed to providing a positive, inclusive, and supportive working and learning environment and expects staff and students to treat each other with dignity and respect; it regards bullying, harassment, discrimination, victimisation and sexual misconduct as unacceptable behaviour.

Unacceptable behaviours can have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of those directly affected by such behaviour or who are witness to it.

The University aims to create an environment where individuals feel empowered to raise a concern or complaint about unacceptable behaviour with the knowledge that their concerns will be taken seriously, dealt with in a timely manner, appropriately and fairly and they will not be at a detriment for raising a concern or complaint in good faith.

All students must uphold the Sudent Code of Conduct (Non-Academic) which states that:

University of Nottingham is committed to fostering an environment that values and respects all members of the university community. We expect everyone to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the values of inclusivity, fairness and respect.

Expectations of behaviour

All students receive information about expectations of behaviour before you arrive at the university through your student contract and the Get Ready for UoN module, which has specific information about harassment and sexual misconduct. This module is sent to new students via email before they are due to arrive on campus.

Report and Support

Our reporting platform Report and Support is heavily promoted throughout your time at the university. The platform has information on unacceptable behaviour and provides a means for students and staff to inform the university about incidents that have occurred. An annual report is published every year on the platform including information on what is being reported, factors identified within reports and actions taken following reports.

Campaigns and training

You will also receive information about unacceptable behaviour, including harassment and sexual misconduct, from your accommodation and school, as well as through central university campaigns, such as Let's be Clear on Consent and Let's be Clear about Domestic Abuse.

Our Stronger Together campaign makes it clear that the university expects everyone to extend respect to others both on and off campus

We have also developed online training courses on consent, misogyny and hate crime, and harassment.

Support from staff

Our dedicated Report and Support team respond to incidents reported via the platform, and includes staff specially trained to respond to disclosures of sexual violence and domestic violence. We also have a 24/7 security team who can be contacted by anyone seeking support.

Details about staff member’s roles and responsibilities can be found on the relevant linked webpages and linked documents and policies

Other activities:

The University and Students’ Union regularly collaborate and consult with relevant networks, groups and societies to understand students’ experiences and perspectives of harassment,sexual misconduct and related issues. Students and Student Union Officers have also been consulted and included in the development of this document and its associated webpages.

Report and support

Information management and sharing

You can find information about why and how we collect and use personal data in the context of the Report and Support tool and your rights under data protection laws in the Privacy Notice.

Reporting students

If you make a report through Report and Support, you will receive information about how your information will be used. This will be repeated when you first have contact with the Investigations and Resolutions team.

Witnesses

During the investigation process, witnesses may be identified. Before a witness statement is taken, the witness will be informed that they will be identified and about how their information will be used/shared. The witness will need to consent to this before they give their statement.

Further guidance

You can find information about sharing of information in the Student Code of Conduct (Non-Academic), section 11.

The university observes guidance provided by Universities UK regarding the sharing of personal data in harassment cases.

Student code of conduct (non-academic)

Wellbeing

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