STUDENT MISCONDUCT PROCEDURE

In the event that a student conducts him/ herself in a manner which causes harm or distress to others or that contravenes the ethical practices of training delivery as identified in ‘Student Code of Conduct’ Veterinary Nurse Solutions may bring disciplinary procedures into effect.

A student may be immediately suspended from attendance at a training course or a workplace for a period not exceeding 72 hours by their Educator, a senior Veterinary Nurse Solutions staff member or the Academic Director for serious and life threatening contraventions of the Code of Practice. A written statement must be completed detailing the circumstances of the suspension and immediately forwarded to the Academic Director.

The Academic Director must advise the student, and where the student is under 18 years of age, the Parent or Guardian of the misconduct charge.

Students involved in disciplinary procedures will be given every opportunity to present their viewpoint with regards to the matter involved and every attempt will be made to secure a fair and reasonable resolution.

The Student Discipline Procedure follows the general format of the Complaints, Grievances and Appeals procedures:

1. The Veterinary Nurse Solutions staff member or representative should discuss their concerns with the student. If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of all parties the Veterinary Nurse Solutions staff member or representative should inform the Academic Director regarding the nature of the complaint.
2. A formal complaint must be filed by the Veterinary Nurse Solutions staff member, workplace or representative within fifteen (15) working days of the date that the alleged incident that initiated the formal complaint.
3. The written complaint should be submitted to the Academic Director. The Academic Director will undertake an investigation to determine if the complaint has merit and if the complaint can be resolved by mutual consent of the parties involved.
4. The student/client will be informed at this point of their right to invite a support person to attend any further discussions relating to the disciplinary procedure.
5. If the matter is not resolved within five (5) working days, to the satisfaction of all parties an appointment should be arranged with the student/client, their support person, any staff members directly involved in the grievance, and the Academic Director.
6. In the event of an issue not being resolved internally, the student/client will be advised of external resources available to them to pursue the issue further. A request for an appeal of a decision made in relation to a complaint must be made within five (5) working days of the complaint outcome being reached.
7. Details of the complaint will be filed in a secure location and held on the student file.
8. The Academic Director may take any of the following actions in relation to a charge of Student Misconduct:
   • Modify or dismiss the complaint
   • For assessments, grade the assessment as Not Satisfactory
   • Withdraw the Student
   • Recommend that further action must be taken.