Independent Advice
Free, independent and non-judgemental advice for all current students.
Independent Advice
If you ever find yourself in a tricky spot - don't struggle alone!
Our advice service is here to provide support, in particular for issues that you might not feel comfortable speaking to Academic Staff or other university departments about.
We can directly assist with:
- Concessions
- Disciplinaries
- Appeals
- Complaints
How can we help?
We ensure that you, the student, feel supported and will work with you towards your desired outcomes. This includes but is not limited to:
- Friendly and non-judgmental explanations of policies and procedures
- Support with procedural application forms
- Investigation preparations
- Attending as support for meetings
- Guidance on next steps following on from outcomes
- Signposting to relevant departments
Book us in for a chat
You can book an appointment by emailing the advice service at SUAdvice@law.ac.uk.
- Please try and explain as best you can what issue you are experiencing, and think about what outcomes we can work towards.
- Please include your student reference number, and let us know your student email if you are contacting us from a personal email address.
- Appointments are usually available Tuesday-Thursday, 09:30 – 16:30 (excluding bank holidays and university closures).
- All meetings are virtual on Microsoft Teams and last up to 30 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next, you will be notified of your informal investigative hearing.
This will be a discussion about your case within which you will be given the opportunity to explain your work and any surrounding circumstances. You can bring along 1 person to support you in this hearing, however they will not be permitted to speak on your behalf. If you’d like the Advice Coordinator to attend any meeting with you, please provide them with as much notice as possible.
Once the meeting has taken place, the investigating officer will report to your Dean, suggesting one of two options:
- They have gathered enough information related to your allegation and believe that this does not need to go any further.
- The case needs to be escalated to a formal investigation due to clear evidence of misconduct.
If your case is being escalated to a formal investigation, you will be notified then given a new appointment to attend. This will allow you to present your case again, along with any new information or findings.
After the formal investigation, you will be given an outcome alongside any disciplinary actions.
You have the right to appeal this if you believe that the outcome is unfair, however you must provide adequate grounds for this as detailed in the student disciplinary regulations.
Once you have received notification that the university will be investigating your submission, you will be notified about the investigation appointment and investigating officer. You should start to prepare for this in advance by gathering evidence of your situation if possible. We can help you with this so do get in touch if you would like any advice or support.
Investigation outcomes are dependent on the offence.
Offence Categories are as follows;
- Poor academic practice
- Academic Misconduct
- Severe Academic Misconduct
- Non-Academic Misconduct
- Gross Misconduct
For details on potential outcomes for each offence please review the student conduct regulations that would have been sent to you alongside your notification.
Concession forms are usually available to download via Elite or can be retrieved from your assessments team. If you are unsure about how to complete a concession form and need guidance on what should be included, please contact us.
You can contact the complaints team directly on StudentCasework@law.ac.uk, this starts the process of an informal investigation. Depending on the case details this may automatically be escalated to a formal complaint.
You should try to gather any evidence which shows that the work is original. This could be drafts of the assignment, any notes/websites you used to write the work, or proof that someone else may have had access to your work without your consent. We are happy to advise on the types of evidence you may be able to find to support your case. You will be able to email your evidence to the investigating officer 2 days before your hearing.
We are an independent service, operating separately from the university to achieve the best outcomes for students.
We will not share information about your case with the university without your permission, except if circumstances arise where we believe you or another individual are at risk of harm.
If we need to refer you to another service, we will either ask for your permission to share your information, or we will provide you with the details directly so you are able to contact them.
As our team only includes homeworkers, in most situations we will communicate with you via email, video call or telephone.
If you are unhappy with the support you received from our main Advice Coordinator, or another member of staff, please contact the Students’ Union Manager: Emma.Beenham@law.ac.uk.
If you received support from the SU Manager, and you are unhappy with this service, please contact : Patrick.Johnson@law.ac.uk
If you have a question that hasn’t been answered here or would like further support with any case, please contact us at SUadvice@law.ac.uk.
