Support & Wellbeing

Appealing a disciplinary decision

By ConductTeam 30 Jan 2024

This article is part of a series on behaviour and communal living issues in residences. In this article, we’ll cover:

What the review and appeals process is
Why you might ask for your case to be reviewed
How to ask for a case review
What happens afterwards

What the review and appeals process is

If you’ve received an outcome letter as a result of a disciplinary meeting, and you want to appeal the decision made by the ACS Student Conduct Team, there’s a review and appeals process you can use. In brief, this requires you to email the Deputy Director of Accommodation and Commercial Services (acs-deputy-director@sheffield.ac.uk) and ask them to review your case. You’ll need to do this within 15 days of receiving your outcome letter, and the information you need can be found in the Regulations relating to the Discipline of Students (available from The University of Sheffield Calendar). This article explains more about this process and how it works.

Why you might ask for your case to be reviewed

If you want your case to be reviewed, you’ll need to explain why you think the Conduct Officers' decision should be reconsidered. These are a few specific reasons why you can request this, and you must believe that one or more of them applies to your situation. They’re listed in the Regulations Relating to the Discipline of Students (which is available via the University Calendar). Here they are, with some additional explanation and examples.

Procedural irregularities

The official wording for this option says: ‘That there was a material procedural irregularity which rendered the process leading to the initial decision unfair’. This means that you think the proper processes weren’t followed, and as a result, you think that you were unfairly treated.

This might apply if, for example, you weren’t shown any evidence to explain why the Officers thought you were involved in the incident.

Disproportionately harsh penalties

The official wording for this option says: ‘That the penalty imposed was too severe as being disproportionate to the gravity of the act of misconduct’. This means that you think that whatever you actually did doesn’t match the penalty you received; that you feel it’s too harsh.

This might apply if, for example, you think the misbehaviour was relatively minor, but the fine you received was for a very large amount of money.

New evidence

The official wording for this option says: ‘That material of which the student could not reasonably have been expected to have been aware at the time of the initial decision casts substantial doubt upon the appropriateness of that decision.’ This means that there’s some sort of new information, which you didn’t know about during the investigation but do know now, which you think means the Conduct Officers’ decision needs to be reconsidered.

This might apply if, for example, you were very drunk at the time of the incident and couldn’t actually remember what happened, so the Officers decided on balance of probability that you were involved in the misconduct… but you were later shown video evidence of yourself, proving that you were somewhere else at the time.

If you believe at least one of these points applies to you and your case, the appeals process is potentially open to you, so you can ask for your case to be reviewed.

It’s worth noting that these are the only reasons why you can request a review of your case. You can’t appeal on the grounds that you just can’t afford to pay your fine. Instead, you can ask for a payment plan to let you pay in instalments. There may also be an admin fee to pay.

How to ask for a case review

Asking for your case to be reviewed is simple. First, review the information above, and decide which situation(s) you think applies to your case.

Then, write an email to the Director of Accommodation and Commercial Services asking for your case to be reviewed. You’ll need to explain, in your opinion, which of the reasons above applies to your situation and why. That’s all you need to do.

It’s worth noting that you must send your email requesting a review within 14 days of receiving your disciplinary outcome email. If you send it later, it may not be possible to consider your request under this process.

What happens next

Once your request has been submitted and approved, the Director of Accommodation and Commercial Services will review it. The Conduct Officers will share all the relevant information they hold about the case, including the evidence, what was discussed in the meeting, what decision was made and what penalties were imposed, and why.

The Director will then decide whether the original decision was fair or not. If it’s decided that the Conduct Officers’ original decision was fair and correct, you’ll receive an email explaining why. The original penalty will still stand, so you’ll still need to pay any fines you were given.

If the Director decides that the original decision wasn’t fair or correct, or is no longer valid, several things could happen.

The Director overturns the original decision

The official wording for this option says: 'They may quash the decision'. This means that the original decision is overturned. This usually means that you will be found not to have engaged in misconduct, and so you won’t have any penalties.

This might happen if, for example, you appealed because new information had later become available to show that you weren’t actually present when the misconduct took place. Your decision would be quashed, allegations against you would be dropped, and you’d be cleared of involvement in the incident.

The Director decides a new penalty

The official wording for this option says: 'They may substitute a different penalty'. This means that your original penalty would be replaced by a different one. You wouldn’t have to comply with the original penalty, but you would have to comply with the new one. This penalty could potentially be either more or less severe than the original one.

This might happen if, for example, you were fined for smoking inside and covering a fire detector, and you appealed on the grounds that you felt the penalty was too severe for the misconduct involved. If the Director agreed that the penalty was too harsh, you may be given a fine for a lower amount of money instead. However, if the Director felt the original penalty was actually too lenient, you could potentially be given an increased fine instead.

The Director requests a new investigation

The official wording for this option says: 'They may refer either the matter as a whole or the decision as to penalty for reconsideration by a different Investigator'. This means that your case, or part of the case, may be returned to the Conduct Team for a different Conduct Officer to investigate instead. That investigator would reach their own decision and may impose a new penalty, which you would have to comply with, instead of the original one.

This might happen if, for example, you appealed because you had new information that you felt meant the original decision was no longer fair. In this scenario, it might be fairer to you to hand the whole case to a different investigator, so they can start again, with the additional information included from the start, and reach a fair judgement.

What happens after you appeal

The Deputy Director will review your case and communicate with you directly to explain their decision, which may include different penalties. After this, if you disagree with the outcome of the review, you’ll still have the opportunity to make a formal appeal to Student Services.

Hopefully this article has helped you to understand what the review and appeals process is, why you might ask for your case to be reviewed, how to ask for a review, and what happens afterwards.

- ACS Student Conduct Team