Offering Choice in Misconduct Reporting at the University of Glasgow
Author
LESLEY WATSON
Student Conduct Case Manager
University of Glasgow
Summary
The University of Glasgow's student conduct team wanted to better support students disclosing sensitive issues, including gender-based violence, without requiring them to repeat their story. The team redesigned its process around student choice, allowing students to select how they report and engage, and making them feel truly heard.
The challenge
The University of Glasgow's Student Conduct Team handles reports of both academic and non-academic misconduct, including highly sensitive disclosures, often involving gender-based violence. Many of these students were already working with the University's Safeguarding Team, and a key concern was avoiding the distress of asking students to repeat painful information multiple times to different teams. Communication with students was largely conducted through email, and while the team ensured that students were given a named contact, they recognised the need to support students more directly, ensuring they felt believed and genuinely listened to rather than simply processed.
The approach
The approach was built around a simple principle: giving students choice. Working alongside the Student Representative Council’s student advice centre, the Conduct Team reviewed the emails they were sending to students, paying close attention to clarity of language, particularly for students with English as an additional language.
For students already engaging with Safeguarding, a new option was introduced: rather than having to provide repeated evidence, students could choose to let Safeguarding report the matter to Student Conduct on their behalf. More broadly, anyone reporting misconduct of any kind was given a choice in how they wanted to engage with the team: by email, at an in-person meeting, or via an online meeting.
The team has found that in-person meetings tended to work best for building understanding and trust, but recognised that this wasn't right for everyone. In some cases, students preferred not to engage directly with the conduct team at all, instead working through a support or assist worker. Where appropriate, emails would include a gentle suggestion that a meeting might be beneficial, while also making clear that students were welcome to bring a supporter along with them.
The impact
The shift in communication style has visibly increased student engagement and trust. More students are now coming forward to report misconduct, and the increase in face-to-face meetings has allowed the team to gather richer information and provide better-tailored support.
Informal feedback has been strongly positive, with students expressing appreciation for the chance to meet with a person, to be heard, and to feel they were not being judged. As awareness of the reporting process has grown, students appear increasingly willing to come forward and engage with compassionate, non-judgemental support.