Student discipline

Hello everyone.

I really need everyone's help and advice.

I am a University undergraduate student. I am very stressed and concerned because 3 students from my University have made allegations against me about harassment/stalking. This is all to do with online communications and social media.

I have stated to the University I have not committed to anything associated with harassment/stalking but they do not appear to be working with me.
One of the discipline cases have been going on since March 2019. Another was made in March 2020 and the other was reported on July 2020. I was temporarily suspended and excluded from the University for about 7 months but I am now allowed back onto campus.
2 students reported their allegations against me to the Police but the Police took no further action against me. They realised it was not a criminal matter. This is something I was not surprised about at all.

I keep asking the University when they will progress with the cases through an investigating officer and through a panel but they keep saying that they cannot give out much information and can't give a time scale of when they will progress with the discipline cases. They say that they cannot answer due to "data protection" reasons.

I need help and advice. There must be something that the University is hiding. Otherwise they would have progressed with the discipline cases. I am extremely worried that these cases will go into next year and the University will stop me from graduating. I also was considering doing a masters at the University due to the Covid situation and the job market. I am scared that they will take my Undergraduate degree away from me and stop me from pursuing a masters at the University.

Please give me advice on this matter. I need everyone's help. Why can they not give any information as to when they will progress with the discipline cases?? It surely cannot be for "data protection" reasons.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hello everyone.

I really need everyone's help and advice.

I am a University undergraduate student. I am very stressed and concerned because 3 students from my University have made allegations against me about harassment/stalking. This is all to do with online communications and social media.

I have stated to the University I have not committed to anything associated with harassment/stalking but they do not appear to be working with me.
One of the discipline cases have been going on since March 2019. Another was made in March 2020 and the other was reported on July 2020. I was temporarily suspended and excluded from the University for about 7 months but I am now allowed back onto campus.
2 students reported their allegations against me to the Police but the Police took no further action against me. They realised it was not a criminal matter. This is something I was not surprised about at all.

I keep asking the University when they will progress with the cases through an investigating officer and through a panel but they keep saying that they cannot give out much information and can't give a time scale of when they will progress with the discipline cases. They say that they cannot answer due to "data protection" reasons.

I need help and advice. There must be something that the University is hiding. Otherwise they would have progressed with the discipline cases. I am extremely worried that these cases will go into next year and the University will stop me from graduating. I also was considering doing a masters at the University due to the Covid situation and the job market. I am scared that they will take my Undergraduate degree away from me and stop me from pursuing a masters at the University.

Please give me advice on this matter. I need everyone's help. Why can they not give any information as to when they will progress with the discipline cases?? It surely cannot be for "data protection" reasons.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hey, Thank you so much for your response.

I want to focus on my education, but I don't want to work my absolute socks off for my degree and then be told, that we cannot let you graduate because of these reports and allegations.

The police took no further action. They were on my side suggesting that it is not a criminal matter, but the Universities rules are different. I am just concerned as to whether they are trying to investigate more than the police and then perhaps get me in front of a panel, so they can then make a decision.

I keep telling them that I want them to move things faster but they keep saying that they cannot give much information away due to "data protection" reasons. I just wonder whether there is a 3rd party involved or something. I keep saying that I have not committed to misconduct, but obviously they have to go through the student discipline process due to these allegations, which I personally know I have not committed to.

What are the other students claiming that you've done? To have 3 separate disciplinary cases against you spaced so far apart suggests to me that they had clear grounds/evidence to believe that what they said was true, as well as for you to be suspended for 7 months.

The university may still be awaiting evidence or for individuals related to the case to be available to hear it.

Do you know the identities of the people who have made the allegations?

Yes I do know the identities of these individuals. However the University have stated that I cannot contact them indirectly or directly. Its soo frustrating and very stressful. They are 3 University students and also go to the same University as me.
I want to have my views looked at and I want the University to proceed with the discipline process so that they can make a decision and hopefully realise after looking at all the evidence, that no misconduct has occurred. But they just seem to not be giving any details of what is going on. They have had several months and in one case over a year to progress with the cases, but this does not appear to have happened and they keep saying that we "no internal investigation is taking place" and we cannot give any further information due to "data protection" reasons.

What’s the context here?
Do they have any reason to accuse you of these things, did you do something that doesn’t class as harassment but they have perceived it to be?

The fact the police NFA’d it is helpful but isn’t a gurantee the uni wont go further, as NFA’s by the police can often be due to there not being enough evidence for a courtroom as opposed to being innocent.

If it’s a blatantly false accusation then it should be fine but if there is behaviour that could be taken that way then it may be different. What’s the story?

The context is that one student made a harassment stalking report in March 2019, then another did in March 2020 and the other was reported on July 2020. They are all to do with harassment and stalking, apparently through social media and online communications (this is based on the information from the University and the Police).
These allegations and reports are of similar nature from what I know from the Police and the University.
I have not committed to any action of harassment and stalking but the University does not appear to be working with me and give me details as to why they cannot progress with the student discipline cases. Its very frustrating. I never would have thought i would be in this position in such an excellent, prestigious University which was my first choice when I originally applied to it to at college. They keep saying that the University is not proceeding with an internal student disciplinary investigation at this current time and they cannot to provide further detail at this present time due to "data protection reasons". This is what I just simply do not understand.

You say they’re not proceeding with an internal investigation...surely that means they’re finished with it...no?

Yes they are not proceeding with the case at this moment of time. As in the investigation is not progressing for some reason or another. The case isn't closed yet. They are not saying why they are not progressing with the case. Perhaps a 3rd party is involved. I just don't know because they won't say due to "data protection" reasons.