COLLEGE RULES
GENERAL
The College is a community in which a large number of people live closely together. It is essential that all members have due regard for the rights of others. Therefore activities such as disorderly, immoderate or irresponsible behaviour which impinge on these rights may lead to disciplinary action, even if they are not covered by specific regulations. College rules are intended to help preserve a happy and harmonious atmosphere for all those living and working in the College.
Any student who wishes to complain about a breach of College or Student Discipline Guidelines should do so as soon as possible after the event to the Porter, Dean or Assistant Dean. All complaints will be treated in the strictest confidence.
1 Furness College is a part of the University and the Rules of the University apply to all members of the College.
2 Noise in residential areas must be kept to a reasonable level at all times.
2.1 There shall be no undue noise at any time.
2.2 Noise should be kept within the confines of your own room between the hours of 12 midnight and 8.00 a.m.
2.3 The holding of parties or noisy functions in residences is not permitted.
2.4 Only quiet music should be played in the JCR and Bar before 6.00 p.m.
3 Behaviour which offends or disturbs other members or which causes damage to College property may lead to disciplinary action. This action can take the form of verbal or written warnings, fines, and in the case of serious offences, exclusion from residence. Members may also be excluded from areas of the College including the Bar.
4 No items of furniture should be removed from residence rooms at any time. Any item of furniture within the College space which is moved, should be returned to its original position.
5 Barbecues are not except in University designated areas.
6 Firearms, or dangerous weapons, whether real or imitation, are not permitted within the College.
7 Students must inform the College Office of their term-time and permanent addresses, and of any change thereof.
8 Furness College is a no-smoking College and smoking is not allowed in any of our residences or social spaces.
10 Fines, compensation for damage, loans or any other financial obligation to the College should be met within the time stated on the notice of the debt. When a student has failed to pay or make arrangements to pay their fine by the due date, an additional amount may be charged, at the discretion of the Dean, which would normally be double the original amount. This is subject to a maximum amount of £100. In accordance with Student Discipline Rules, a student in debt to a College may not be allowed to graduate.
11 Specific sets of regulations covering particular areas of the College may be posted from time to time by the Dean, after they have been approved by the College Management Committee, and must be respected.
12 College membership fees
College membership is a fee payable by all new members of colleges. Only 1/6th of the total college expenditure is raised through the membership fee. This money is put to various uses by each college. The categories below show what the majority of your money is spent on and what it provides.
Welfare
Part of the fee is used to support the welfare of college members through the college advisory system, welfare campaigns, events and drop-ins run by College Officers and the student exec (JCR/PGBoard).
Events
The colleges offer a variety of events throughout the year which are subsidised by college fees. These include arrivals day welcome dinner, Welcome Week activities and refreshments, end of year celebrations and days out. The fee also supports other opportunities such as Career talks, Lancaster Award briefings and personal development workshops.
Funding
Most colleges award grants and prizes for various achievements and challenges, such as outstanding academic achievement, travel grants and postgraduate scholarships.
General
The fee is also used to enhance the college social and study spaces including décor, furniture, IT/AV, support for the College Sports teams, recreational equipment and refreshment facilities.
THE COLLEGE DISCIPLINARY SYSTEM
Furness College has usually been fortunate to have amongst its members a responsible and well-behaved body. However, it is sometimes necessary to remind a few members of the rules of the College and to implement the disciplinary procedure provided by the College constitution.
Disciplinary procedures usually begin with a report from the Porters. Where they make a report of a breach of College rules, or where a complaint of a breach of College rules has been made, this is investigated by the Dean or Assistant Dean.
SUMMARY DISPOSAL
The Dean or Assistant Dean usually deal with breaches of College Rules by a summary procedure. This may result in any or all of the following penalties being imposed:
- a fine not exceeding the maximum specified by the Student Discipline Guidelines. Currently the maximum fine is £250 for most offences but £300 for tampering with fire alarms, disabled facilities or equipment associated with the aforementioned.
- payment of compensation for items destroyed, lost or damaged.
- exclusion from residence or a part/facility within the College for a specified period.
Generally, offences against persons are considered more seriously than offences against property.
Procedures for summary disposal are invoked with the agreement of the Dean/Assistant Dean and the accused person. The defendant will be informed of the offence of which s/he is accused and of the procedures to be invoked.
An automatic fine of £50 will be levied if the defendant does not appear before the Deanery without good cause, when requested to do so. This will be in addition to the fine the student receives when their case is heard in absence.
If the defendant has admitted the offence and agreed to summary disposal, the only right of appeal is to the Principal on the grounds that the cost of replacing or repairing items destroyed, lost or damaged is less than the amount of the compensation order.
Where the defendant has not admitted the offence and considers the decision of the Dean or Assistant Dean to be unreasonable, s/he has the right to ask for the matter to be referred to the College Tribunal. The Tribunal can confirm, dismiss, decrease or increase the penalty that can be imposed by the Dean or Assistant Dean.
COLLECTIVE FINES
Incidents may occur in which individual culprits cannot be identified, but which are sufficiently serious to merit disciplinary action. If such incidents can be shown to be the responsibility of a group of people (for example residents of a particular floor), the Dean may at his/her discretion impose on those individuals a fine and/or charge to defray the cost of repairs. The Dean also has discretion to exclude specific individuals from such action.
TRIBUNALS
The College Tribunal consists of two Senior Members, two Junior Members and a Chairperson who is a Senior Member of another college. Principals, Vice-Principals, Deans and Assistant Deans are not permitted to serve on tribunals.
The following procedural points will be observed by the College Tribunal.
- The decision will be based on a simple majority.
- The defendant will be given a minimum of five working days notice of the Tribunal.
- The defendant has the right to appear before the Tribunal accompanied by Tutor, friend or other adviser but may not have formal legal representation.
The procedure will normally be as follows:
- The Dean presents evidence; the defendant replies. Both have the right to call witnesses and to question each other and the witnesses. The Tribunal members may question the Dean, the defendant and the witnesses. Written evidence can be accepted with the agreement of Tribunal members.
- An automatic fine of £50 will be levied if the defendant does not appear before the Tribunal.
In serious breaches of the College Rules, cases may be withdrawn from the College disciplinary system and be referred to the University Dean.
The University Dean is then responsible for the investigation, summary disposal or presentation to the University Tribunal, of such cases. The University Dean and the University Tribunal have the power to impose a number of penalties where a defendant is found guilty, including (in the Tribunal’s jurisdiction) permanent exclusion from the University. (See Section 8 of the Rules of the University).
APPEALS
Following a College Disciplinary Hearing (either a summary disposal or a College Tribunal), there is a right of appeal against any penalty imposed or any finding of guilt of a breach of the rules. The student will be informed, in writing, of his/her right of appeal and any appeal by him/her must be lodged within 10 days of the letter informing him/her of the right of appeal.
An appeal against the findings of the disciplinary hearing may be lodged by the student on the following grounds:
- the production of new evidence, not previously available;
- that the disciplinary hearing procedures were not properly followed;
- that the level of fine was excessive in relation to the offence, and/or the compensation was disproportionate to the damage or loss caused.
All appeals must be made in writing. Normally the appeal will be heard by the Principal of the student’s own College. In circumstances where this is not appropriate (i.e. where the Principal is aware of the nature of the incident and the penalty imposed before the appeal is lodged) the Principal should ask the Head of Student Based Services to appoint an alternative College Principal.
The student has the right to have his/her appeal heard by the Principal of another College. In this case the appeal should be made directly to the Head of Student Based Services.