Depending on the type of offence, you may need to declare it.  Students must disclose any unspent criminal conviction for a relevant offence* at enrolment and registration to the Director of Academic Services (appeals@qub.ac.uk).  If you do not do so, this may constitute a misconduct offence under the Conduct Regulations.

Students on accredited programmes (medicine, dentistry, nursing and midwifery, psychology, teaching, social work, pharmacy, professional legal training) must declare all criminal convictions.  You should contact your School for further information.

*see below

What makes a conviction ‘spent’ depends on your age at the date of conviction and the length and type of sentence received. For convictions in Northern Ireland, the rehabilitation periods are outlined in The Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978, and you should check this Order to determine whether your conviction is spent or not. More information on this is available on the NI Direct website.

A relevant offence is a criminal offence involving any act of violence, offences concerning the intention to harm or resulting in actual harm, the unlawful supply of controlled drugs or substances where the conviction concerns commercial drug dealing or trafficking, offences involving firearms, arson, or those listed in the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 or The Terrorism Act 2006 or equivalent legislations for offences committed/conviction acquired outside the UK.

If your programme of study is covered by the Fitness to Practise Procedure, (medicine, dentistry, nursing and midwifery, psychology, teaching, social work, pharmacy, professional legal training) and you become subject to a police investigation, any bail conditions, or require a criminal record in relation to any criminal offence, you must disclose this to the Director of Academic Services (appeals@qub.ac.uk) and your School Office as soon as possible.

If your programme is not covered by the Fitness to Practice Procedure, you must notify the Director of Academic Services (appeals@qub.ac.uk) immediately if you are under police investigation for a relevant offence*, are charged with a relevant offence, are summonsed in relation to a relevant offence, or are subject to bail conditions which have any impact on their ability to attend campus or carry out study.  If you do not disclose this within two working days, this may constitute a misconduct offence under the Conduct Regulations.

Disclosures can be made by completing the online form which is available on our website.

If you do not comply with your obligation to disclose the required information to the University, this may constitute a misconduct offence under the Conduct Regulations, the standard penalty for which is expulsion.

The information that you provide will be reviewed, to determine whether a risk assessment is necessary.

If a Risk Assessment is required, a Risk Assessment Panel will meet under the Interim Measures Regulations, to decide whether any interim measures are required.

Interim measures may be put in place to protect members of the University in general, or to protect a particular member or members of the University, to prevent a reoccurrence of any (alleged) misconduct, or to facilitate your continued study at the University. 

The Risk Assessment Panel may: 

• Require you to move accommodation (if you are living in University accommodation); 
• Impose a Future Conduct Requirement. This is to minimise contact between you and another named individual(s) who is a member of the University (staff or student).  
• Impose a placement suspension. This would usually prevent you from attending your placement (clinical or otherwise) while any police investigation or legal proceedings are ongoing. 
• Impose a precautionary suspension. This would usually prohibit you from all or part of the University campus; it may prohibit you from attending your programme of studies; and it may prohibit you from accessing University services or facilities (e.g. the PEC, library or Student’s Union). If you are subject to a precautionary suspension, you will normally be able to access student support services e.g. Student Wellbeing, SU Advice. 
• Withhold the academic award. This may mean that you are not permitted to graduate until the police investigation or legal proceedings have been completed.  

You will be notified if a Risk Assessment Panel meeting is taking place, and details of the process will be provided to you.  

Before any placement suspension or precautionary suspension is imposed, or before a decision is made to withhold the academic award (except where the matter is deemed to be urgent by the Risk Assessment Panel), you will have the right to attend a meeting with the Risk Assessment Panel to present  your case.  

If the case is deemed to be urgent and the Risk Assessment Panel makes the decision to impose a placement suspension or precautionary suspension, or to withhold the academic award without inviting you to the meeting, you will have the right to request a review of the decision, and you will be invited to a subsequent meeting of the Risk Assessment Panel, to present your case.  

You have the right to appeal the decision of the Risk Assessment Panel to impose a placement suspension or precautionary suspension, or to withhold the academic award.  

You must submit the Risk Assessment Appeal Form to the Appeals and Complaints Team (appeals@qub.ac.uk) within five working days of notification of the decision of the Risk Assessment Panel.  

Your appeal will be heard by the Risk Assessment Appeal Panel and you will be invited to attend the Panel meeting to present your case.  

There is no right to appeal the decision to require you to move accommodation, or to impose a Future Conduct Requirement.  

The Risk Assessment Appeal Panel can decide to uphold your appeal and lift the interim measure; it can uphold your appeal in part and amend the conditions of the interim measure, or it can dismiss your appeal and confirm the decision of the Risk Assessment Panel.  

If the decision of the Risk Assessment Appeal Panel is that the interim measure (placement suspension, precautionary suspension or withholding of the academic award) should remain in place, the decision will not be re-evaluated unless there has been a development in the matter that impacts on the risk assessment. It is important that you inform the Appeals, Conduct and Complaints Team (appeals@qub.ac.uk) if there are any developments e.g. if bail conditions change or are lifted, if charges are dropped, or if a judgment is made and the legal proceedings are completed.   

Any period of placement suspension, precautionary suspension or withholding of the academic award may last until the police investigation or legal proceedings are concluded.

The decision of the Risk Assessment Appeal Panel is final, and there is no further internal right of appeal.  

You have the right to submit a complaint about maladministration in the procedure to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman within six months of the date of notification of the University’s final decision.  

All students must immediately inform the Director of Academic Services (appeals@qub.ac.uk) if they become subject to any of these Orders.  

Failure to do so may constitute a misconduct offence under the Conduct Regulations, for which the standard penalty is expulsion. Once a disclosure in relation to one of the above Court Orders has been made, a risk assessment will be carried out (see "What happens once I have made a disclosure?" above).