Case Summaries

The provider decided that the student had not met its expectations of student behaviour in two ways. Firstly, the student agreed they had been singing part of the old German national anthem, explaining that it was intended as a joke. The provider decided that because of the anthem’s association with the Nazi party and antisemitism, this conduct met the definition of anti-social behaviour under its procedures because it was inappropriate and offensive. It also decided that it was a demonstration of hate speech.

Secondly, the student agreed that they’d made comments questioning whether asexuality could be considered a sexuality. The provider decided that this conduct met its definition of anti-social behaviour because comments that deny the validity of asexual persons’ identity are offensive to members of the LGBTQ+ community. It also decided the comment met its definition of hate speech. As a penalty the student was required to read educational materials and complete a reflective essay. The student appealed the disciplinary finding and penalty, but the provider did not uphold their appeal. The student complained to us.

In both their complaint to us and their appeal to the provider, the student said that the provider’s decision hadn’t properly considered the OfS’s guidance on freedom of speech or taken its own code on freedom of speech into account. The student argued that their comments were lawful. The student also thought there had been a procedural irregularity because the same conduct was considered under two different categories of misconduct. In their complaint to us the student said that the provider hadn’t engaged with them appropriately as a student with autism during the investigation.

We sent a copy of the student’s complaint to the provider. The provider looked at the case again and decided that it hadn’t followed the correct procedures, which had resulted in an incorrect and unfair outcome. The provider explained it was taking steps to ensure appropriate handling of similar cases in the future. It decided to put forward a settlement offer of £5,000, an apology and a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor to discuss the case. It also said it would remove the disciplinary findings from the student’s record. The student accepted the offer and the complaint to us was closed as Settled.