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All first-year students, of all types of study, have a mandatory requirement to complete the Bystander and Consent training module on Blackboard. This course will be made available to students on Monday 15 September 2025 with a deadline of Monday 20 October 2025 for completion.

This training will cover the following: 

Understanding consent

• Provide an awareness of the importance of understanding consent in sexual acts and everyday situations.
• Raise awareness and help students with the understanding of consent in a variety of situations and help students to form healthy and consensual relationships and friendships. 
• Set out the University’s stance on sexual violence/misconduct – that it is not to be tolerated.
• Highlight the universities work around this and support available to those affected.
• Raise understanding and awareness of students’ responsibility to make the Â鶹ÊÓƵ a safe and inclusive environment built on dignity and respect.
• Inform students of internal and external support, provide an opportunity for interaction through a quiz and finally provide students with an opportunity to be heard through feedback.

Bystander Intervention Training summary

• Introduce the that can be prevalent around campus and in communities, including Examples of unacceptable behaviours include discrimination, harassment, bullying, and assault.
• Raise awareness and share information on what an active bystander is and the four stages of being an active bystander.
• Explore and inform students of ways to prevent unacceptable behaviours from taking place in the future.
• Raise understanding and awareness of students’ responsibility to make the Â鶹ÊÓƵ a safe and inclusive environment built on dignity and respect.
• Inform students of internal and external support, provide an opportunity for interaction through a quiz and finally provide students with an opportunity to be heard through feedback.

You have been directed to this section as you chosen to “opt-out” of the Bystander training and Understanding Consent training Modules. 

As we mentioned, it is completely OK that you chose to “opt-out”. 

Please Note: by selecting opt-out and completing the opt-out process, you are confirming that you are doing this due to the following reason:

• If you are a victim/survivor of sexual violence of any nature, this includes: sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation.

If this is not your circumstance then please return to Blackboard to complete the training modules. If you wish to seek support this, please contact: 

We would like to give you the opportunity to fully understand and be reassured that at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ should you need this. 

We recognise the importance of being able to understand what this training is providing to help embrace a culture of safety and support as being part of the community of Citizens of Change. Therefore, at the bottom of this page is a summary of the course modules outcomes, without going into detail of the content in the training. 

How you can help us

We want to ensure that all training or information relating to this training is inspired and developed with our students’ voice at its heart. We hope the opt-out form on Blackboard has given you the opportunity to share your experience of the opt-out process and understand your support options. 

If you would like to receive support from Standing Together or understand further about support options following opting out, please complete the form below. Once you have completed this form, someone from the Standing Together team will be in touch to discuss your support options. 

Consent and Bystander Training Module 'Opt-out' form

The op-out form will be added to this web page before the training is made live on Monday 15 September.

If you have experienced, witnessed or know someone who has been a victim of sexual misconduct or harassment, then you can let us know by making an online disclosure on Report and Support.

You may see the words 'Disclosure' and 'Report' throughout this website, and you may even hear people at the University refer to these words . 

It is important to be clear about the difference between a disclosure and a report.

Disclosing or reporting are separate decisions that result in different levels of response or action by the University.

A disclosure is where someone tells you about their experience but does not necessarily want action to be taken. A disclosing party should be given time to make an informed choice about whether to make a formal report to the police or to the University.

A disclosure does not lead to a report unless you want it to.

A formal report is the first step in a formal disciplinary process. This report is completed by the disclosing/ reporting party (sometimes with support from a Standing Together case worker) and is sent to the Student Conduct Team to initiate the disciplinary process. The report will ask for information about the nature of an incident as well as any other relevant details. 

There is a short set of multiple-choice questions on this disclosure tool. 

You can let us know about the incident(s) in one of two ways, either anonymously or by leaving your contact details. You will be asked for your choice at the end of the process.

If you choose to disclose anonymously, we will not be able to offer direct support or begin any formal processes. 

If you let us know about something and leave your contact details, depending on whether you are a student, staff or visitor at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ, you will be contacted by a member of the team from Student Support Services to discuss your options for further support.

Please note that you can leave the form at any point.

Your disclosure is sent to our Standing Together team who are all trained specialist caseworkers. 

The team will offer you an initial appointment to talk through your support options. This can either take place face to face on campus or online via Microsoft Teams. This will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have about accessing support or the options available to you.

There are a number of ways that the team will be able to help you. Each student case is unique and the caseworker will make an assessment on what can be offered to you. A non-exhaustive list is noted below:

• Support with speaking to your personal tutor and School about any missed assessments due to any unacceptable behaviour you may have experienced
• Provide practical support and guidance, including emotional support where needed
• Support with making referrals or support students in referring themselves, both internally and externally
• Able to support students through processes such as the University disciplinary process
• Provide supporting for processes such as requesting mitigating circumstances
• Support students with issues or concerns not directly related to the original referred incident(s)
• Encourage to support the student in making informed decisions and choices, this can also include reporting options

Please be assured that our friendly team are here to help you in any way that they can. 

If you have any questions at all relating to this, please contact the team on standingtogether@le.ac.uk

A report can also be made to the police by calling 101. A report made to the police is separate from a report made to the University.

If you would also like to access support from the University after contacting the police then you can make a disclosure on Report and Support and a trained member of staff will be in touch.

We understand that experiencing or witness any unacceptable behaviour can have an impact on other parts of your university life. If you are engaged with our Standing Together team then your allocated caseworker will be able to signpost you to other services, in which you feel may be suitable for you, as we have a range available to help you. Additionally, if you feel that you are not at the stage to engage with Standing Together support, you can still access these services. Your voice and choice is important to us.  hese are also noted below: 

If you are a current student and would like to access mental health support, you can complete a self-referral form on this link (log-in required). If you have any questions relating to this you can email wellbeing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to access any disability support such as reasonable adjustments and study support, you can email accessable@le.ac.uk

For any practical, pastoral and financial support, please contact welfare@le.ac.uk

If you are unsure on what support you can access as a registered student, then please do not hesitate to call our Student Support phoneline on 0116 (Monday-Friday, 9.00am-5.00pm) and our friendly team can guide you through any queries you may have. You can also email your allocated Standing Together Caseworker.

We want all our students to have a clear understanding of how things work at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. 

This section brings together the key policies and procedures that guide how we support you during your studies. 

• Dignity and Respect
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• (log-in required)

These webpages and policy highlights our commitment to maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment for all students and staff.

• Student Sexual Violence and Misconduct - Our approach to handling incidents of sexual violence and misconduct.
• Freedom of Speech: Conduct of Practices - Guidelines on ensuring the right to free speech while maintaining respectful conduct

It can sometimes be helpful to get in touch with local or national organisations for additional support, or if you would prefer to speak to someone outside of the University. Below are some services which may be useful for you.

• : discrete medical, emotional, and practical support to anyone that has been subject to sexual assault 0116 273 3330  
• : free and confidential services following any form of sexual violence either recently or in the past  0116 255 5962.
• : supporting male rape and sexual abuse survivors and their supporters living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland 0116 254 8535
• : supporting victims through their journey of recovery in Leicestershire 0800 953 9595

Additional external support providers can be found on the .

All staff who have been assessed as having a high likelihood of receiving a disclosure from a student regarding sexual misconduct or harassment, have been appropriately trained. 

Further information on support for staff can be found on the .

The Student Conduct team is a small team based within Student and Academic Services, which deals with cases of academic and non-academic misconduct. Jon Putnam is our Head of Student Conduct, Complaints and Resolution, and we have a team of specialist conduct and complaints officers who are responsible for investigating cases of misconduct: Jess Pallett, Claire Mason, Ethan Lang and Gabby Provan. Our Conduct, Complaints and Appeals Coordinator is Alicia Brown, and our Administrative Officer is Carl Gudgeon. 
 
We support academic conduct officers in schools by dealing with cases of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism or collusion, which need to go to discipline panels for decisions. We are responsible for arranging discipline panels, preparing case files and letting students know the outcome of the process. We will also manage appeals against discipline outcomes. 
 
We also investigate a broad range of non-academic misconduct matters, including fraudulent fee payments, violence, harassment and sexual misconduct. We concentrate on the most serious matters, which might be considered “major misconduct,” and our processes are designed to address misconduct by students, not to resolve disputes between individuals. We investigate reports about potential student misconduct, to establish whether there is enough evidence to suggest that the University’s regulations have been breached. This will include interviewing reporting students, reported students and witnesses, gathering evidence such as CCTV footage, images and messages, and preparing reports for a decision to be made on how the matter should be resolved. If a discipline panel is required, we will arrange this, prepare outcomes for students, and process appeals they wish to make about outcomes. 
 
The University manages student discipline cases under Senate Regulation 11, which provides the process we need to follow when we investigate matters. We also follow the Good Practice Framework published by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, to make sure our investigations are thorough and fair.

If you wish to make a complaint about another student’s conduct, we recommend that you reach out to Standing Together or make a report via in the first instance. This will put you in touch with one of our Standing Together caseworkers, who will discuss your report with you, help you understand your options, signpost or refer you to support services, and offer support for your well-being during any investigation. 

If you decide that you wish to go ahead with making a formal report, this can be made by completing an Interpersonal Non-Academic Misconduct (INAM) report. In this report you will tell us who you are complaining about, what you wish to report, what the impact has been on you and what resolution you are looking for.

When we receive your report, we will make a careful assessment of what you are reporting, what evidence might be available, and what resolutions might be appropriate.

We may make some initial enquiries to find out more, which could include meeting with you or your Standing Together caseworker, or key staff members such as tutors, to understand more about the situation. We would not speak to the person/people you are reporting at this stage. 

We do not take every case into a formal process; sometimes there may not be enough evidence, or we feel that other options may be more effective. Where this is the case we will explain why, and offer assistance to find alternative solutions. This might include offering informal resolutions, such as mediation or speaking with the reported student/s to offer advice about their conduct. 

All Conduct cases are referred to the University’s Cause for Concern (CFC) group, which will monitor any risks and wellbeing issues, and consider whether precautionary measures are required. Precautionary measures include Non-Contact Orders (where students are prohibited from contacting each other), Temporary Exclusion Orders (where a student can continue to study but is prohibited from coming to certain places or the whole campus in person) or Temporary Suspension Orders (where the student’s studies are suspended entirely and they are prohibited from campus). These measures are used sparingly and are not intended as punishments.

The University follows the when deciding whether there is enough evidence. We must be able to demonstrate on the balance of probabilities (more likely than not, or more than 50% sure) that our regulations have been broken, and this must be supported by evidence. This is higher than simply believing that something is likely to have happened, and it is for the University to prove the breach, not for the reported student to prove they haven’t breached the rules. This is called the 'Standard of Proof.' This is a high standard to meet, and if we don’t feel it is met, this does not mean we didn’t believe what was reported or that we haven’t taken the case seriously. 

Where we decide that the case requires a full investigation, it will be allocated to one of our Conduct and Complaints Officers for further enquiries. The Conduct Officer will contact you to arrange a meeting, in which they will explore your report, take a statement from you and collect any evidence you wish to provide. You are welcome to bring a friend or your Standing Together caseworker to this meeting for support if you wish. 

The Conduct Officer will also record statements from any witnesses you put forward (if they agree to be involved). 

Once this evidence has been gathered the Conduct Officer will contact the student/s you have reported to invite them for a formal interview, where they will be asked to respond to the report made about them. 

This process can take several weeks, and there are sometimes occasions where we may pause an investigation, for example if the police are investigating too, or if you or the reported student/s are undergoing exams or assessments. The Conduct Officer will keep you updated on progress, and you are welcome to reach out to them directly or through your caseworker if you would like any particular update. 

Under Senate Regulation 11, many decisions are made by the Academic Registrar. However, the Head of Student Conduct is nominated to make day-to-day decisions on the Academic Registrar’s behalf. The Head of Conduct will usually make the initial decision on whether to investigate a report, and may also make recommendations to the Academic Registrar during investigations.

Where we fully investigate a report, the Conduct Officer will complete their report and submit it to the Academic Registrar. The Academic Registrar will then carefully review the case and decide on an outcome, as follows:

• Dismiss the case. This is usually in cases where the Academic Registrar believes there isn’t enough evidence to prove that the regulations have been broken. 
• Sanction. Under the Regulations the Academic Registrar has the power to make certain sanctions in less serious cases, where there is a suitable outcome available. This may include a fine, a requirement to apologise, a reprimand or a written warning. 
• Refer to Panel. In more serious or complex cases, the Academic Registrar will refer the case to a discipline panel. The panel will consist of three independent people from across the University who have had no previous involvement in the case, and have not had previous dealings with any of the students involved. Cases of major misconduct, such as sexual misconduct, will almost always go to a panel. In the most serious cases, the panel can suspend or expel a student.

All students involved will be updated on what decision has been made and why. If the decision has been made to dismiss the case, we will consider whether anything else can be done to help resolve the situation. 

The Student Conduct Team aims to decide on whether to take on an investigation within five working days. This can be quicker in urgent cases, but may take longer during busy periods or in very complex cases which require fact-finding.

Our investigations are thorough and detailed, so they can take some time. We aim to complete investigations within 90 days, but many investigations will be quicker than this. Sometimes our enquiries will take longer, particularly in complex cases, or those which the police are also investigating. 

If a case progresses to a discipline panel, the panel will aim to provide its decision within 5 working days. Again, depending on the circumstances of each case, this may be shorter or longer. 

All students involved in the investigation will be kept updated on how the case is progressing, and can also request updates or ask their Standing Together caseworker to find out information.

Where misconduct is proven on the balance of probabilities, there are a range of available sanctions to deal with the matter. Some of these can be set by the Academic Registrar, but in more complex or serious cases a panel will make the decision. We take great care over deciding what level of sanction to apply, taking into account many factors such as the impact on reporting students, the outcomes of previous similar cases, any ongoing risk to people involved, and the need to be reasonable under guidelines set for us by our ombudsman, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE).
 
This table shows what sanctions are available and who can authorise them: 

How decisions are communicated

We recognise that conduct investigations are stressful for everyone involved, so at the start of the investigation and throughout the process we will agree with you how you would prefer to be contacted when there are key updates, such as outcomes. 
 
This could either be through your Standing Together caseworker, from the conduct officer dealing with your case, or occasionally from the head of conduct. 
 
We will usually communicate by email, particularly when we need to send outcome letters. This ensures all important information is given clearly in writing. We can also set up telephone calls or Teams meetings if you would prefer for us to explain things verbally to you.  

Appeal process

Reported students
 
If you have been found to have committed misconduct and are given a sanction by the University as a result, you can appeal against the outcome in certain circumstances, where one or more of the following grounds are demonstrated:

• There was a procedural irregularity in the consideration of the case by the Authorised Officer or Student Discipline Panel
• Evidence available to the Authorised Officer or Student Discipline Panel was not fully considered
• There was prejudice or bias in the conduct of the Authorised Officer or Student Discipline Panel
• The decision was unreasonable
• The sanction imposed was excessive
• That there is new material evidence that for good reason was not available for consideration by the Authorised Officer or Student Discipline Panel.

You must be able to outline in your appeal where you feel there is evidence that gives you grounds to appeal, and you must submit your appeal to studentconduct@le.ac.uk within 10 working days of being notified of the outcome. 

Appeals will be reviewed by the Academic Registrar or another nominated person, usually an experienced panel member, who will be known as the “designated member”. They will conduct a full and independent review of the entire case to decide whether they agree that there are grounds for an appeal. If they do agree, where they feel the penalty was excessive or there was a procedural irregularity, they can take action to change the penalty or fix the issue. Otherwise, an appeals panel will be arranged to consider the appeal in full. The panel will be made up of three people who have had no previous involvement with the case. 
 
If the designated member does not believe you have demonstrated grounds for an appeal, you will be notified in writing and the University will also provide you with a Completion of Procedures (CoP) letter. This letter explains how you can request a review of the University’s decision by approaching the OIAHE. You must submit your case to the OIAHE within 12 months of receiving the CoP letter. The OIAHE provides its services free of charge to students.
 
Reporting students
 
If you are a reporting student and are dissatisfied with the outcome of a discipline process, unfortunately you are not able to submit an appeal. This is because the panel is set up between the University and the reported student to establish whether the student has broken the regulations, and reporting students are treated as witnesses who help in this process.  
 
However, several other options are available for you to raise any concerns. You are able to request an informal review of the decision or the disciplinary process by contacting studentconduct@le.ac.uk or approaching your Standing Together caseworker. We will ask for someone independent to review the circumstances to see whether there is any learning for the future. 
 
You also have the right to provide feedback, or make a formal Stage One complaint by submitting a complaint form. More information about the feedback and complaints process is available on the student complaints page.

A review or complaint will not change the outcome of the investigation but will enable the University to understand where it may need to make improvements for the future.