student discipline regulations (monash university …...student discipline regulations (monash...

Student Discipline Regulations (Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia)

Made by the Monash University Council

Version incorporating amendments as at 2 November 2012

Part 1 – Preliminary

1. Definitions

In these regulations unless the contrary intention appears –

committee means the research graduate school committee established by and constituted in accordance with Statute 2.5 – Research Graduate School Committee;

defined area means an area of the university so prescribed by schedule 1;

PHEIA means the Malaysian Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) as amended from time to time and, where the context requires, includes any other relevant Malaysian laws applicable to private higher educational institutions;

responsible area or responsible faculty means an area or faculty prescribed by subsection 11.1 as responsible for managing a report of misconduct;

responsible officer means a person prescribed by subsection 12.1;

senior member of the academic community means a person who has experience relevant to an allegation of research misconduct or a student’s research, whether or not that person is an officer of the university;

senior officer in relation to a defined area, means a person prescribed by schedule 1 as the responsible officer for the defined area;

statute means Statute 4.1 – Student Discipline and where the context requires Statute 4.1 – Student Discipline as varied pursuant to Schedule 4 of these regulations;

sunway means the sunway campus of the university in Malaysia, located at Bandar Sunway in the state of Selangor and at its other sites;

registrar means the registrar of the sunway;

teaching staff means a person who is an employee of the university and holds the position of lecturer or above;

working day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in the relevant state in Malaysia.


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2. Interpretation and application of the regulations

2.1 Section 4 and subsection 5.3 of the statute shall apply for the purposes of interpretation and the application of these regulations.

2.2 The statute shall apply to sunway subject to the campus specific variations prescribed in Schedule 4 of these regulations and made under subsection 5.2 of the statute.

2.3 These regulations apply to sunway and all students at sunway.

Part 2 – Constitution of the panels

3. Constitution of faculty discipline panels

3.1 In this section 3 dean means the dean of the responsible faculty.

3.2 For the purposes of subsection 8.1 of the statute, the dean shall appoint a faculty discipline panel which shall consist of –

3.2.1 an associate dean of the faculty (or nominee), who shall be the chair;

3.2.2 a member of the faculty’s teaching staff; and

3.2.3 a student representative from the faculty,

provided such persons are not prohibited persons under section 7.

3.3 For the purposes of paragraph 3.2.3, where reasonably practicable the dean will appoint a student representative who is –

3.3.1 an undergraduate student, if the student concerned is an undergraduate student; or

3.3.2 a postgraduate student, if the student concerned is a postgraduate student.

3.4 A person who is appointed to a panel and ceases to belong to his or her category of appointment may continue as a member of that panel provided he or she remains an officer or student as the case may be.

3.5 For the purposes of paragraph 3.2.1, where the student concerned is undertaking a course of study at sunway, the dean may appoint a member of the teaching staff physically located in sunway, rather than an associate dean of the faculty, to be the chair.

4. Constitution of research discipline panels

4.1 For the purposes of subsection 9.1 of the statute, the committee shall appoint a research discipline panel which shall consist of –


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4.1.1 a member of the committee, who shall be the chair;

4.1.2 a member of the teaching staff or a senior member of the academic community; and

4.1.3 a postgraduate higher degree by research student,


4.2 For the purposes of subsection 4.1.2, where a report of misconduct involves an allegation of academic misconduct the committee shall appoint a member of the teaching staff nominated by the dean of the teaching faculty.

4.3 A person who is appointed to a panel and ceases to belong to his or her category of appointment may continue as a member of that panel provided he or she remains an officer or student as the case may be.

4.4 For the purposes of paragraph 4.1.1, where the student concerned is undertaking a course of study at sunway, the committee may appoint a representative of the committee physically located at sunway, rather than a member of the committee, to be the chair.

5. University discipline panel members pool

5.1 In this section 5 panel means a university discipline panel.

5.2 For the purposes of subsection 10.1 of the statute, the Academic Board shall appoint a pool of persons eligible to constitute a panel, which pool shall consist of –

5.2.1 at least six members of the teaching staff of the faculty of law;

5.2.2 at least two members of the teaching staff of each faculty other than the faculty of law;

5.2.3 no more than six undergraduate students from any recognised association under Statute 2.7 – Student Associations and Campus Service Councils;

5.2.4 no more than six graduate or postgraduate students from any recognised association under Statute 2.7 – Student Associations and Campus Service Councils;

5.2.5 no more than five persons who are former members of the committee,

and the following persons who must be physically located at sunway –

5.2.6 at least two members of the teaching staff of each faculty at sunway;

5.2.7 no more than six undergraduate students undertaking a course of study at sunway;


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5.2.8 no more than six graduate or postgraduate students undertaking a course of study at sunway;

5.2.9 no more than five persons who are former members of the committee or representatives of the committee.

5.3 For the purposes of subsection 5.2, the Academic Board shall –

5.3.1 appoint members based on their experience and qualifications, as determined appropriate;

5.3.2 appoint each member for a term not exceeding two years;

5.3.3 seek, as nearly as possible, to have an equal gender balance in the pool of panel members; and

5.3.4 seek, as nearly as possible, to ensure that the members appointed under paragraphs 5.2.6 to 5.2.9 are representative of the equity groups at sunway.

5.4 A member whose term of appointment has expired shall be eligible for re-appointment provided he or she belongs to a category of appointment under subsection 5.2.

5.5 Subject to subsection 5.6, the membership of a person who ceases to belong to his or her category of appointment under subsection 5.2 is automatically revoked and the Academic Board may appoint a new member in his or her place.

5.6 Where a person ceases to belong to his or her category of appointment and –

5.6.1 is a member of a panel which has commenced but not concluded a hearing; and

5.6.2 continues to be an officer or student of the university as the case may be,

the person’s membership shall not be revoked until the panel of which that person is a member concludes the relevant hearing.

5.7 If a member is on a leave of absence or unavailable for a period of time, the Academic Board may appoint a substitute member for the period of the member’s leave of absence or unavailability, provided the substitute member belongs to the same category of appointment under subsection 5.2 as the member.

5.8 The persons appointed under paragraphs 5.2.6 to 5.2.9 are only eligible to be members of a panel convened to hear a report of misconduct involving a student undertaking a course of study at sunway.


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6. Constitution of university discipline panels

6.1 For the purposes of subsection 10.1 of the statute, the president of the Academic Board shall appoint a university discipline panel from the pool, which shall consist of –

6.1.1 a member of the faculty of law, who shall be the chair;

6.1.2 a member of the teaching staff of a faculty other than the faculty of law or a former member of the committee; and

6.1.3 a student representative,


6.2 For the purposes of paragraph 6.1.2, where a university discipline panel is constituted to hear an appeal from a research discipline panel, the president of the Academic Board shall appoint a former member of the committee.

6.3 For the purposes of paragraph 6.1.3, where reasonably practicable the president of the Academic Board will appoint a student representative who is –

6.3.1 an undergraduate student, if the student concerned is an undergraduate student;

6.3.2 a postgraduate student, if the student concerned is a postgraduate student;

6.3.3 a postgraduate higher degree by research student, if the student concerned is a postgraduate higher degree by research student; or

6.3.4 a member of a recognised association related to or connected with the student’s campus.

6.4 For the purposes of paragraph 6.1.1, where the panel is to be convened at sunway and there is no member of the faculty of law physically located at sunway, the president of the Academic Board may appoint a member of the teaching staff who is physically located at sunway as the chair.

7. Prohibited persons

A person who –

7.1.1 reported the misconduct or witnessed the misconduct;

7.1.2 was the responsible officer or a member of the panel which originally heard the report of misconduct;

7.1.3 has otherwise had previous involvement in the report of misconduct; or

7.1.4 in the determination of the person responsible for appointing the relevant panel, is affected by a reasonable apprehension of bias,


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is prohibited from being a member of a panel convened to hear the relevant report of misconduct or appeal.

8. Substitution of panel members

If at any time during a discipline process a member of a panel becomes unavailable, unable or unwilling to fulfil his or her duties as a panel member, the person responsible for appointing the panel may substitute that member with another person belonging to the same category of appointment.

9. Advisers to panels

9.1 At any time after a panel has been convened the chair of the panel may appoint one or more additional members of the teaching staff, or in the case of a research discipline panel one or more senior members of the academic community, to be advisers to the panel.

9.2 Where a panel is convened at sunway and the chair of the panel is not a member of the faculty of law, the chair of the panel may appoint a person who is legally qualified in Malaysia to be an adviser to the panel.

9.3 An adviser appointed under this section 9 may provide assistance and information to the panel and attend a hearing at the discretion of the chair of the panel, but will have no voting or decision making rights.

10. Objection to a panel member

10.1 After a panel is convened the student concerned may object to a panel member on the ground of a reasonable apprehension of bias.

10.2 An objection under subsection 10.1 shall –

10.2.1 be in writing and provide full particulars of the student’s allegation of a reasonable apprehension of bias;

10.2.2 be delivered to the person responsible for appointing the panel under Part 2; and

10.2.3 be made within 4 working days of the date of service of the notice of hearing or appeal.

10.3 A person who receives a notice of objection in accordance with subsections 10.1 and 10.2 may –

10.3.1 without making a finding, appoint a substitute panel member belonging to the same category of appointment and notify the student concerned of the name of the substitute panel member; or

10.3.2 notify the dean of the faculty of law, who must appoint a hearing officer to review and determine the objection.

10.4 For the purposes of paragraph 10.3.2, a hearing officer must be a member of the teaching staff of the faculty of law, who holds a position at the university


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that is no less senior than the panel member against whom the objection has been raised. For the purposes of this subsection, where the panel is to be convened at sunway and there is no member of the faculty of law physically located at sunway, the dean of the faculty of law may appoint a legally qualified member of the teaching staff who is physically located at sunway.

10.5 A hearing officer shall consider an objection and may, subject to the these regulations –

10.5.1 make enquiries and inform him or herself in any manner thought fit; and

10.5.2 determine his or her own procedure.

10.6 A hearing officer is bound by the rules of natural justice but is not bound by the rules of evidence.

10.7 After considering an objection a hearing officer may –

10.7.1 dismiss the objection if satisfied that it is not substantiated, in which case the panel shall be convened as originally appointed; or

10.7.2 uphold the objection if satisfied that there is a reasonable apprehension of bias and direct the person responsible for appointing the panel to appoint a substitute panel member belonging to the same category of appointment.

10.8 The student shall be provided with a written notice of the hearing officer’s decision and the name of the substitute panel member, if any.

10.9 A decision of a hearing officer under subsection 10.7 is final.

Part 3 – Dealing with allegations of misconduct

11. Responsibility for reports of misconduct

11.1 A report of misconduct as described in column 1 of table 1 will be the responsibility of –

11.1.1 the corresponding responsible area specified in column 2 of table 1; and

11.1.2 the corresponding responsible officer specified in column 3 of table 1.


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Table 1

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3

Act of misconduct Responsible Area Responsible Officer

Research Misconduct

Being either an act(s) of research misconduct alone or research misconduct coupled with academic misconduct, general misconduct or both

The committee The chair of the committee

Academic Misconduct

Being either an act(s) of academic misconduct alone or academic misconduct coupled with general misconduct

The teaching faculty of the unit in which the misconduct occurred

The associate dean of the teaching faculty

General Misconduct

Being an act(s) of general misconduct alone which occurred in a defined area

The defined area The senior officer of the defined area

General Misconduct

Being an act(s) of general misconduct alone which did not occur in a defined area and involved one or more students all from the same school at sunway

The student’s school The deputy head of the student’s school or closest equivalent

General Misconduct

Being an act(s) of general misconduct alone which did not occur in a defined area and involved multiple students from different schools at sunway

The student services unit

The director of student services

11.2 Each responsible officer shall deal with the type of misconduct as described in the corresponding row in column 1 of table 1 and no other type of misconduct.

12. Reporting an allegation of misconduct

12.1 For the purposes of subsection 7.1 of the statute, the responsible officers are those persons prescribed in column 3 of table 1.

12.2 An officer must report an act of misconduct to a responsible officer either verbally or in writing.


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12.3 A responsible officer who receives a report and is satisfied under section 11 that another person is the appropriate responsible officer, shall refer the report to the appropriate responsible officer.

Explanatory Note: For the avoidance of doubt, if a report is made to a person other than the responsible officer, that action shall not constitute a ground of appeal.

12.4 Where the responsible officer is satisfied that the circumstances of the allegation are of a serious nature and indicate that the student poses a risk to the safety of him or herself or another person, he or she must –

12.4.1 immediately notify either verbally or in writing the pro vice-chancellor and president of sunway and the dean of the responsible area; and

12.4.2 conduct an investigation in accordance with section 16.

12.5 Where the pro vice-chancellor and president of sunway or the dean determines that the student is excluded for safety reasons and directs that a panel be convened, the responsible officer shall cease the investigation and shall have no power to make a determination in relation to the report of misconduct.

13. Multiple allegations and reports

13.1 Unless subsection 13.4 applies, where a report involves allegations of multiple acts of misconduct arising out of the same or a related set of facts or incidents, the allegations of misconduct must be dealt with jointly.

13.2 Notwithstanding subsection 13.1, a student may be subject to separate findings and penalties in relation to each allegation of misconduct.

13.3 Where multiple reports are made by different officers in relation to the same student and the same act or acts of misconduct, the reports must be dealt with jointly as if they were one.

13.4 Where the manager of student administration, receives a report alleging that a student was found in possession of unauthorised materials in an examination, he or she shall –

13.4.1 deal with the allegation of general misconduct as described under paragraph 6.3.10 of the statute; and

13.4.2 if he or she considers that the student may have been in possession of the unauthorised materials for the purpose of cheating, immediately refer the report to the associate dean of the responsible area as a prima facie case of academic misconduct.

14. Joint misconduct

14.1 Subject to subsection 14.2, where a report alleges that two or more students have engaged jointly in an act or acts of misconduct and that report is the


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subject of a panel hearing, the relevant panel must hear the allegations against the students together.

14.2 Section 14.1 will not apply and the students will be subject to separate hearings where –

14.2.1 the chair of the panel is satisfied that it would be unreasonable or impractical for the allegations against the students to be heard together; or

14.2.2 one of the students has successfully objected to the allegations being heard together under subsection 14.4.

14.3 Notwithstanding subsection 14.1, each student will be subject to individual findings and penalties.

14.4 A student may object to a joint hearing on the ground that he or she would be unfairly prejudiced at a joint hearing.

14.5 An objection under subsection 14.4 must be made in writing and delivered to the chair of the panel within 7 working days of service of the notice of hearing or appeal, who will determine whether the objection is upheld or dismissed.

14.6 A decision of a chair of a panel under subsection 14.5 is final.

Part 4 – Investigations and decisions of responsible officers

15. Dismissing a report of misconduct

For the purposes of paragraph 7.3.1 of the statute, a responsible officer may dismiss a report if reasonably satisfied that the allegation –

15.1.1 does not constitute misconduct under the statute;

15.1.2 would be more appropriately addressed through a university policy, procedure or guideline;

15.1.3 is minor, trivial, vexatious or frivolous in nature;

15.1.4 should not be the subject of a formal disciplinary process.

16. Procedure for investigation of reports of misconduct

16.1 For the purposes of paragraph 7.3.2 of the statute, an investigation by a responsible officer must be conducted in accordance with this section 16.

16.2 Prior to finding that a student has engaged in misconduct and imposing a penalty, the responsible officer must –


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16.2.1 notify the student of the allegation of misconduct and the grounds of the said allegation in writing; and

16.2.2 provide the student with an opportunity to respond to the allegation.

16.3 During an investigation, a student may be accompanied, assisted, and represented at any meeting with a responsible officer by an employee at sunway or a student undertaking a course of study at sunway. The student will have the right to present his or her case, give evidence and make submissions either orally or in writing.

16.4 If a student does not respond to an allegation of misconduct within the time allowed by the responsible officer, the responsible officer may make a determination without hearing from the student.

16.5 Subject to subsection 16.6, after conducting an investigation the responsible officer may –

16.5.1 dismiss the report if satisfied that the misconduct has not been proved;

16.5.2 find the misconduct has been proved and impose one or more penalty in accordance with Part 7 and schedule 2; or

16.5.3 if the allegation is of general misconduct occurring in a defined area, determine that the misconduct be dealt with under a relevant university policy, procedure or guideline.

16.6 Where the report alleges academic misconduct whereby the student has cheated in an examination, the responsible officer shall –

16.6.1 find the student to have committed an act of academic misconduct by knowingly cheating in an examination and –

16.6.1.1 impose one or more penalty in accordance with Part 7 and schedule 2; or

16.6.1.2 refer the report to a faculty discipline panel for hearing; or

16.6.2 dismiss the report of academic misconduct, if the student demonstrates to the satisfaction of the responsible officer that he or she was –

16.6.2.1 in possession of unauthorised materials in an examination for a reason or reasons that did not include cheating; or

16.6.2.2 unintentionally in possession of the unauthorised materials in an examination.


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16.7 Where the report alleges academic misconduct and the associate dean appoints a nominee to exercise his or her power to make a finding under subsection 16.5 or 16.6, the nominee must be a member of the faculty’s teaching staff.

16.8 Where the student has been informed of the allegation of misconduct, the responsible officer shall provide the student and the registrar with a written notice of the decision, reasons and penalty imposed (if any). Such a notice shall be provided within 7 working days or 14 calendar days, whichever is shorter, of the responsible officer’s decision.

Part 5 – Panel hearings

17. Interpretation

In this Part 5 chair means the chair of a panel unless otherwise described.

18. Referring a report to a panel

A responsible officer may, at any time, refer a report to a panel for hearing by notifying the person responsible for appointing the relevant panel under Part 2, who shall then convene a panel.

19. Procedure for panel hearings

19.1 The chair of a panel must provide the student with –

19.1.1 notification of the allegation of misconduct and the pending hearing and the grounds for the said allegation in writing; and

19.1.2 at the same time or a later date, a hearing notice which sets out –

19.1.2.1 the members of the panel and designated chair;

19.1.2.2 the names of the witnesses proposed to be present at the hearing and the nature of the evidence they will give; and

19.1.2.3 the date, time and place for the hearing, which must be at least 10 working days from the service of the hearing notice or sooner with the consent of the student.

19.2 A student may make an objection to a panel member in accordance with section 7. Where the objection cannot be determined prior to the hearing date set under subparagraph 19.1.2.3, the hearing date shall be delayed.

19.3 Not later than 4 working days before the date of the hearing or as otherwise agreed by the chair of the panel, the student must give the chair written notice of the names of –

19.3.1 any witnesses –


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19.3.1.1 required for questioning by the student; and

19.3.1.2 attending to give evidence for the student; and

19.3.2 any other persons (legally qualified or otherwise) accompanying, assisting and/or representing the student at the panel hearing.

19.4 A panel may at any time and for any reasons thought fit, adjourn a hearing for a set period of time and subject to one or more conditions.

19.5 Without limiting subsection 11.1 of the statute, a panel must not consider any evidence, material or other information related to any incident of prior misconduct by the student for the purposes of determining a report, unless the panel is determining a report of academic misconduct, in which case the panel may consider evidence of previous advice or instruction provided to a student by the university regarding plagiarism, collusion or cheating.

19.6 At a hearing the student will have the right to –

19.6.1 be accompanied, assisted, and represented at any meeting by an employee at sunway or a student undertaking a course of study at sunway;

19.6.2 question witnesses in support of the allegation, provided notification has been given under subsection 19.3 or as otherwise allowed by the chair;

19.6.3 bring witnesses to give evidence on the student’s behalf;

19.6.4 produce documents and evidence; and

19.6.5 present his or her case, give evidence and make submissions either orally or in writing.

19.7 After the hearing has concluded a panel may –

19.7.1 dismiss the allegation if satisfied that the misconduct has not been proved; or

19.7.2 find the misconduct has been proved and impose one or more penalty in accordance with the statute and Part 7.

19.8 A decision of a panel must be a decision of the majority.

19.9 Within 7 working days or 14 calendar days, whichever is shorter, of making a decision pursuant to subsection 19.7, the chair must provide the student and the registrar with written notice of the decision, reasons and penalty imposed (if any).


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Part 6 – Appeals

20. Appealing a decision

20.1 A student found to have committed an act of misconduct by a responsible officer under Part 4 or a panel under Part 5, may appeal on a ground specified in subsection 20.3 against –

20.1.1 the finding and penalty; or

20.1.2 the penalty alone.

20.2 Notwithstanding paragraph 20.1.1, a student may not appeal against a finding where the student admitted committing the misconduct to the responsible officer or panel.

20.3 A student may appeal a finding of misconduct on one or more of the following grounds –

20.3.1 subject to subsection 20.4, a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the responsible officer;

20.3.2 subject to subsection 20.5, that the penalty imposed is excessive;

20.3.3 subject to subsection 20.6, the existence of new evidence of a substantial nature, being evidence not reasonably available to the student during the investigation or hearing;

20.3.4 a breach of the rules of natural justice which had the potential to affect the outcome of the investigation or hearing; or

20.3.5 the decision is so illogical or irrational that it could not have been reasonably made.

20.4 Where a student did not lodge an objection against a panel member in accordance with section 7, that student may only appeal on a ground of reasonable apprehension of bias based on the conduct of the panel member during the hearing.

20.5 A student may not appeal on the ground that the penalty imposed is excessive where the penalty is a fine in an amount fixed under schedule 3.

20.6 A student may not appeal on the ground of new evidence of a substantial nature where the student has admitted committing the act of misconduct.

20.7 An appeal must be –

20.7.1 made in writing and brought on a ground of appeal specified in subsection 20.3;

20.7.2 brought not later than 20 working days after the date of service of the notice of decision; and


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20.7.3 delivered to the person responsible for appointing the relevant panel where the appeal is from the decision of the responsible officer; or

20.7.4 delivered to the president of the Academic Board where the appeal is from a decision of a panel.

20.8 An appeal against a decision of a responsible officer shall be heard by –

20.8.1 a faculty discipline panel of the responsible faculty where there is a finding of general misconduct, academic misconduct or both;

20.8.2 a research discipline panel where there is a finding of research misconduct, either solely or in combination with any other act of misconduct; or

20.8.3 a university discipline panel where there is a finding of general misconduct committed by multiple students from different faculties.

20.9 After receiving a notice of appeal pursuant to paragraph 20.7.4, the president of the Academic Board must within 10 working days appoint a chair of the panel in accordance with section 6.

20.10 The chair must review the notice of appeal and may –

20.10.1 dismiss the appeal, if satisfied that it is frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or lacking in substance; or

20.10.2 advise the president of the Academic Board to appoint the remaining two members of the panel.

20.11 If a decision is made pursuant to paragraph 20.10.1, within 7 working days or 14 calendar days, whichever is shorter, of the decision, the chair must provide the student and the registrar with a written notice of his or her decision and reasons.

20.12 A decision made pursuant to paragraph 20.10.1 is final.

21. Procedure for hearing appeals

21.1 In this section 21 chair means the chair of a panel unless otherwise described.

21.2 The panel shall review the notice of appeal and determine whether the appeal ground has been made out.

21.3 Where the panel determines that the appeal ground has not be made out, the appeal will be dismissed.

21.4 An appeal, if not dismissed under subsection 21.3, is by way of hearing de novo, unless the appeal is solely on the ground of excessive penalty in which case the appeal will be a rehearing in the strict sense.


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21.5 For the purposes of an appeal the panel must adopt the procedure prescribed by subsections 19.1 to 19.5 and –

21.5.1 any reference to a hearing notice shall be taken to be a reference to an appeal notice; and

21.5.2 for the purposes of subsection 19.3, the notice to the chair shall also state whether the student wishes to exercise his or her right to be legally represented.

21.6 The student concerned will have all the rights prescribed by subsection 19.6.

21.7 After the hearing has concluded the panel may –

21.7.1 affirm the decision of the responsible officer or original panel;

21.7.2 vary the decision of the responsible officer or original panel; or

21.7.3 subject to subsection 21.8, set aside the decision of the responsible officer or original panel and substitute it with its own decision and penalty (if any) in accordance with the statute and Part 7.

21.8 When substituting a penalty imposed by a responsible officer or original panel, a panel may only impose a penalty which the responsible officer or original panel was empowered to impose.

21.9 A decision of a panel under this section 21 must be a decision of the majority and is final.

21.10 Within 7 working days or 14 calendar days , whichever is shorter, of making a decision pursuant to subsection 21.7, the chair must provide the student and the registrar with written notice of the panel’s decision, reasons and penalty imposed (if any).

Part 7 – Penalties

22. Power to impose penalties

22.1 Pursuant to subsection 13.4 of the statute and subject to these regulations –

22.1.1 a responsible officer may impose any penalty prescribed by schedule 2;

22.1.2 a faculty discipline panel may impose any penalty prescribed by subsection 13.1 or 13.2 of the statute; and

22.1.3 a research discipline panel or a university discipline panel may impose any penalty prescribed by subsection 13.1, 13.2 or 13.3 of the statute.


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22.2 Any penalty imposed by a responsible officer or panel must be imposed in accordance with the statute and this Part 7.

23. Considerations when imposing penalties

23.1 Pursuant to subsection 14.4 of the statute, a decision maker must have regard to the matters for consideration prescribed by this section 23.

23.2 For the purposes of paragraph 13.1.1 of the statute, a penalty of no penalty should only be imposed where the misconduct has been proved and the decision maker considers that no additional penalty should be imposed as –

23.2.1 the act of misconduct is determined to be minor in nature; and

23.2.2 the decision maker is reasonably satisfied that the student is unlikely to engage in another act of misconduct.

23.3 For the purposes of paragraph 13.1.4 of the statute, a fine may only be imposed in relation to an act of misconduct specified in and for an amount fixed by schedule 3.

23.4 For the purposes of paragraph 13.1.6 of the statute, a prohibition from entering a university precinct should be imposed for the protection of any person or university property and must specify –

23.4.1 the area from which the student is prohibited from entering;

23.4.2 the period of time for which the prohibition applies; and

23.4.3 any conditions.

23.5 For the purposes of paragraph 13.2.2 and 13.3.2 of the statute, disallowance of work, research or a mark may be achieved by –

23.5.1 disallowance of the work or research by prohibiting assessment where the work or research has not been assessed; or

23.5.2 disallowance of the mark where the work or research has been assessed.

23.6 A decision maker who imposes a penalty pursuant to paragraph 13.2.2 of the statute shall –

23.6.1 order that the student be allowed to resubmit the piece of work within a set period of time and on set conditions; or

23.6.2 deem the disallowance to be a failure in relation to that work and award a mark of zero.

23.7 Where a piece of work has not been assessed pending the outcome of a disciplinary process and a penalty pursuant to paragraph 13.2.2 of the statute is not imposed, the decision maker must instruct the appropriate person to assess the work concerned.


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23.8 For the purposes of paragraph 13.1.5 of the statute, a requirement to make restitution should only be imposed to require a student to “make good” any damage caused.

23.9 Any penalty may be imposed with conditions.

24. Imposing conditional penalties

24.1 For the purposes of paragraph 13.1.3 of the statute, a conditional penalty, which may be limited by time, is a penalty which imposes upon a student a condition or requirement which is related to the misconduct and intended to encourage rehabilitation and a change in behaviour to avoid further misconduct, and may only be imposed with the agreement of the student concerned.

24.2 Without limiting paragraph 13.1.3 of the statute or subsection 24.1 –

24.2.1 a conditional penalty for an act of general misconduct may include a requirement that a student –

24.2.1.1 seek counselling;

24.2.1.2 assist with a university event or activity;

24.2.1.3 apologise to any person aggrieved by the misconduct;

24.2.1.4 write a reflective piece of writing in relation to the act of misconduct,

24.2.1.5 a conditional penalty for an act of academic misconduct may include a requirement that a student –

24.2.1.6 not enrol in more than a specified number of units;

24.2.1.7 enrol in a particular unit;

24.2.1.8 develop a study plan to be approved by a member of the teaching staff;

24.2.1.9 write a reflective piece of writing in relation to the act of misconduct;

24.2.1.10 seek academic counselling;

24.2.1.11 make contact with a course supervisor at specified intervals;

24.2.1.12 meet the conditions or requirements imposed by an academic progress committee under Statute 6.2 – Exclusion for unsatisfactory progress or inability to progress,


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24.2.2 a conditional penalty for an act of research misconduct may include a requirement that a student –

24.2.2.1 withdraw or remove the research from publication;

24.2.2.2 withdraw or remove any data from publication or a data technology source;

24.2.2.3 seek academic counselling or research skill development;

24.2.2.4 write a reflective piece of writing in relation to the act of misconduct;

24.2.2.5 apologise to any person aggrieved by the misconduct.

24.3 If a conditional penalty is imposed on a student, adherence to the conditions shall be monitored by the relevant responsible officer.

24.4 If a student fails to comply with a condition, the responsible officer shall –

24.4.1 where the student provides reasonable reasons for non-compliance, provide a notice to the student extending the time for compliance or waiving compliance as considered appropriate in the circumstances; or

24.4.2 in all other cases, refer the matter to a panel in accordance with the statute and regulations.

24.5 A panel which receives a report pursuant to paragraph 24.4.2, must consider and determine whether the student has failed to comply with the conditional penalty.

24.6 Where a panel finds that a student has failed to comply with the conditional penalty, the conditional penalty as imposed upon the student is annulled and the panel must impose a new penalty having regard to the finding and evidence before the original panel.

PART 8 – GENERAL

25. Requests for information

25.1 At any time during an investigation or panel hearing, a decision maker may request information from any person or body by providing a written notice setting out details of the –

25.1.1 information or records sought; and

25.1.2 date by which the information is required.

25.2 A request under this section 25 may be made by letter or email.


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25.3 A decision maker is not required to disclose the reasons for the request.

25.4 Subject to any requirement of any law, a person who receives a request for information under these regulations must provide the information requested within the required time frame or give detailed reasons as to why the information cannot be provided.

26. Electronic service of documents

26.1 Any notice under the statute or these regulations can be delivered by email to a student’s email address as recorded on the university student information system.

26.2 A notice will be deemed to have been served –

26.2.1 where it is delivered by email or hand, on the date on which it is sent; or

26.2.2 where it is delivered by post, 2 working days after the date on which it is delivered.

27. Reports

Each faculty board in relation to a faculty discipline panel, the chair of the committee in relation to a research discipline panel and the director of the central secretariat of the university or equivalent in the case of a university discipline panel must annually cause a confidential report, in an approved form, on the proceedings of the panel to be made to the Academic Board.


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Schedule 1 – Defined Areas

The following areas are the defined areas.

Defined Area Senior Officer

Examinations Area An area designed for an examination at sunway

Manager of Student Administration

ITS Information Technology Services at sunway

Director of ITS

Library and Learning Commons at sunway

Head of Library and Learning Commons & Chief Librarian

Sporting facilities within sunway

Director of Student Services

Campus Grounds The campus grounds at sunway other than an area designated to a school or other area falling within a defined area.

Director of Student Services


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Schedule 2 – Penalties

Pursuant to subsection 13.4 of the statute and Part 7 of these regulations, each responsible officer is empowered to impose penalties as follows –

Responsible Officer Penalties (pursuant to section 13 of the statute)

Deputy Head of School* and Director of Student Services**

A record of guilt on the student’s file with no further penalty imposed A reprimand A conditional penalty Prohibition from entering a university precinct for a period not exceeding 4 weeks A fine as prescribed by schedule 3 A requirement to make restitution

Associate Dean and Chair of the Research Graduate School Committee

A record of guilt on the student’s file with no further penalty imposed A reprimand A conditional penalty Prohibition from entering a university precinct for a period not exceeding 4 weeks A fine as prescribed by schedule 3 A requirement to make restitution Disallowance of mark

Manager of Student Administration

A record of guilt on the student’s file with no further penalty imposed A fine as prescribed by schedule 3

Director of ITS*** Head of Library and Learning Commons & Chief Librarian*** and Director of Student Services***

A record of guilt on the student’s file with no further penalty imposed Prohibition from entering the relevant Defined Area for a period not exceeding 4 weeks A fine as prescribed by schedule 3 A requirement to make restitution

* For General Misconduct Being an act(s) of general misconduct alone which did not occur in a defined area and involved one or more students all from the same school at sunway ** For General Misconduct Being an act(s) of general misconduct alone which did not occur in a defined area and involved multiple students from different schools at sunway *** For General Misconduct Being an act(s) of general misconduct alone which occurred in a defined area


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Schedule 3 – Fines

For the purposes of these regulations a fine may be issued by a responsible offer for an act of misconduct in the following amounts –

Act of Misconduct Amount of Fine in penalty units

Disrupts the orderly conduct of a university examination 1

Possession of a mobile phone or other unauthorised material in an examination

1

Falsification of a university parking permit 2

Theft of or damage to university property 2

Theft within a university precinct 2

For the purposes of paragraph 13.1.4 of the statute, one penalty unit for a fine imposed on a student undertaking a course of study at sunway is equivalent to Ringgit Malaysia one hundred and fifty (RM150.00).


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Schedule 4 – Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia

1. Pursuant to subsection 5.2 of the statute, the statute applies to Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia subject to only to the variations set out in this Schedule 4.

2. The definition of “day” is replaced with the following definition –

“day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in the relevant state in Malaysia;”.

3. The definition of “officer” is replaced with the following definition –

“officer means any person who is an employee of the university or at sunway and includes without limitation a person holding office or appointed under Statute 3 – Officers of the University;”.

4. The definition of “regulations” is replaced with the following definition –

“regulations means any regulations made by or under this statute and expressed to apply to sunway;”.

5. The definition of “student” is replaced with the following definition –

“student means a person who –

(a) is admitted at the university in a course of study to be undertaken at sunway;

(b) is enrolled at the university in non-award study or one or more unit of study (on an assessed or non assessed basis) to be undertaken at sunway without admission to a course of study;

(c) is pursuing a course or unit of study at sunway through an exchange or study program or other arrangement between the university and another university or educational institution;

(d) is engaged or involved in a student mobility program at sunway and involving the university whether or not such program is credited towards a course or unit of study;

(e) has completed a course of study at sunway, but on or to whom the relevant degree, diploma, certificate or other award has not been conferred or awarded;

(f) is on an intermission or has been suspended from or has deferred enrolment in a course of study being undertaken at sunway;

(g) has consented in writing to be bound by this statute and the regulations;”.

6. The following definitions are inserted –


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“PHEIA means the Malaysian Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) as amended from time to time and, where the context requires, includes any other relevant Malaysian laws applicable to private higher educational institutions;”

“sunway means the sunway campus of the university in Malaysia, located at Bandar Sunway in the state of Selangor and at its other sites;”.

7. The definition of “university” is replaced with the following definition –

“university means Monash University which includes (without limitations) sunway, and where the context requires, refers to sunway;”.

8. The following subsections 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6 are inserted after subsection 5.3 –

“5.4 The pro vice-chancellor and president of sunway may take all and any necessary action or step to comply with and/or give effect to the PHEIA. In the event of inconsistencies between the PHEIA and this statute and its regulations, the provisions of the PHEIA shall prevail.

5.5 All officers, panels, bodies and decision makers named in this statute and its regulations shall be deemed to have respectively been delegated with the powers and authority of the pro vice-chancellor and president of sunway to communicate with the students, issue notices, receive applications and appeals, conduct investigations or hearings, make decisions, impose penalties and to do such other acts as deemed appropriate and/or prescribed by this statute and its regulations.

5.6 Any student who is dissatisfied with the decision of any disciplinary proceeding taken against the student may submit an appeal in writing to the Malaysian Registrar General of Private Higher Educational Institutions pursuant to the PHEIA.”.

9. Subsection 6.3.5 is replaced with the following subsection 6.3.5 –

“6.3.5 breaches any law, statute, regulation, rule, published policy or procedure, directive, or otherwise of the university and/or proper authorities;”.

10. The following subsection 7.6 is inserted after subsection 7.5 –

“7.6 Reports of general misconduct involving act(s) of general misconduct alone, will be dealt with locally at sunway, in accordance with this Statute and the Regulations.”.

11. Subsection 12.1 is replaced with the following subsection 12.1 –

“12.1 A student may be accompanied, assisted, and represented at any meeting, hearing, appeal or other stage of the disciplinary process conducted under this statute, by an employee at sunway or a student undertaking a course of study at sunway.”.

12. Subsection 18.2.2 is replaced with the following subsection 18.2.2 –


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“18.2.2 must be made to a person appropriately qualified and experienced and at a senior level within a relevant division (or its closest equivalent) or faculty of the university.”.

13. The term “Statute 4.1 – Discipline” in subsections 22.1 and 22.3 is substituted with the term “Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia Student Discipline Policy”.

End Notes

1. These Regulations were made by the Council of Monash University on 14 December 2011and came into operation on 23 July 2012.

2. Table of amendments:

Amendment Sections amended

Commencement Date (promulgation)

Student Discipline Regulations (Amendment) (No. 16 of 2012)

Subsection 21.8 and Schedule 3

2 November 2012

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