Independent review of non-academic student discipline

An independent review commissioned by Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland in 2022 on our student discipline procedures relating to complaints and incidents of harmful sexual behaviour was completed by external expert Shayne Mathieson of Top Drawer Consultants. 

The review included: 

• Interviewing a wide range of staff members, students and external experts
• Conducting surveys of student groups and reviewing submissions from staff
• Reviewing relevant legislation and best practice models at other universities and in other jurisdictions
• Reviewing past cases of harmful sexual behaviour considered by the Discipline Committee.

Downloadable copies of the review and the detailed management response are available at the bottom of this page. 

The review makes 70 recommendations in total. The recommendations include affirmation of existing practice, encouragement to continue existing practice, as well as recommendations for actions that have already been completed by the University, or were already in progress at the time the Review was conducted. Therefore, the number of new recommendations is relatively small compared to the total number.

The recommendations can be organised into five themes:

1. Changes to the Statute for Student Discipline and associated Discipline Committee
2. Training required for all parties in the discipline process
3. Enhancements to communication throughout the process and in prevention work
4. Clarification of roles and responsibilities of different staff members in the process
5. Enhancements to existing policies and processes to improve the experience

The draft management response includes the implementation status of each recommendation. Many of the recommendations overlap and some are substantially the same. However, to retain the integrity of the report and to allow ease of reporting against all recommendations, we have considered each of the 70 individual recommendations written in the report.

We welcome your feedback on the report and the management response. Please share your feedback to proctor@auckland.ac.nz.