Fitness to Study

Procedures may be initiated when there are concerns as a result of:

• - A significant deterioration in your apparent health, wellbeing or academic functioning of you
• - A persistent inability to submit work or to attend classes, seminars of meetings, or to participate in other aspects of normal student life
• - Your behaviour causing concern in relation to your own wellbeing
• - Your behaviour adversely affecting the learning environment or the health and wellbeing of others
• - You yourself reporting problems

A key factor here is some element of significant deterioration or persistent inability to meet expected standards. Therefore, we'd encourage you to engage in support as early as possible to avoid needing to go through these processes, such as engaging in Student Welfare and Support Services (including the Disability Advisory Service).

You have a legal right to reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. You are encouraged to disclose any pre-existing conditions or diagnoses when you arrive at your College (or department, if non-matriculated), and, let your College (or department, if non-matriculated) know if you experience any changes to these or new diagnoses.

Once you have disclosed any disabilities, then Universities Disabilities Advisory Service will work with you to create a Student Support Plan. You have a legal right to these adjustments, and, needing reasonable adjustments for your disability is not grounds for a Fitness to Study concern.

If you are concerned that your difficulties are impacting your own fitness to study, you are encouraged to reach out proactively for support.

However, Fitness to Study concerns may be raised if despite your Student Support Plan, you are still failing to meet either reasonable academic requirements of the course and/or the reasonable social and behaviour requirements.

In most cases, Fitness to Study is able to help link you up with appropriate support services to help you to be able to get back on track.

In rare cases, for reasons of safety of welfare, the collegiate University may require you to suspend or withdraw your studies, move out of accommodation or remove access to college or department grounds. However, they can only impose these on you as the outcome of a formal process.

Generally, stage one of the process is an informal discussion between yourself and your College (or department, if non-matriculated). In this, they will let you know the concerns that they've got, and might recommend some actions they feel like would be helpful. This could be things like asking you to access support from Student Health and Wellbeing Services, your GP or another support service.

In this meeting we encourage you to be open and honest about any difficulties you’ve experienced, and, come prepared with any ideas you’ve had on how to resolve them. If you’ve already been accessing support for the concerns, then it's helpful to bring evidence of this, as the Collegiate University will appreciate your proactiveness in addressing them.

Then, you might be asked to agree with the Collegiate University an action plan. This action plan will likely have a review period to monitor the progress, and, if needed, modify the support plan. At the end of the review period, if the concerns are not fully resolved, then your case may be taken to Stage Two of the procedure.

For most colleges, this is a more formal meeting which may include a wider range of staff members to discuss how to most effectively support you.

It might be that you agree with the concerns raised and the proposed solutions. If so, then it is helpful to acknowledge this and agree to work with them on this plan.

If you disagree with either the concerns raised or the proposed solutions, then it is ok to explain this. Some advice on how to do this:

• - Get to know your College (or department, if non-matriculated) policy and consider whether your behaviours meet the definition of concerns in the policies? If not, explain calmly and politely why not, including if possible with evidence
• - If you have any reasonable explanations for the behaviours which they have not yet considered, explain these politely with evidence
• - If they have a different interpretation or understanding of events than you, explain what happened from your perspective and where you feel the miscommunication has occurred
• - If you acknowledge these have been challenging behaviours in the past but believe they are no longer an issue, reflect on what's happened previously and why it happened, and explain why you believe these behaviours will not happen moving forwards, including any support you've been accessing
• - If you agree with the concerns but aren't happy with the suggestions they've made on how to address them, then you can explain why (ideally with evidence) you feel these steps won't be helpful for you, and why your suggestions would be better

If you can provide any evidence to support your viewpoint, then it is helpful to do so. Your college/department may also specifically ask for you to meet with a counsellor, doctor or nurse that they recommend to get an external opinion on how you are doing.

Typically this a more formal panel hearing with around three members of your college leadership who haven't previously been involved in supporting or teaching you.

It's likely this will start with a representative from the college explaining their concerns, the things they've done to support you thus far and why they don't believe these have sufficiently help to allay their concerns. They may present some evidence to support their case.

You'd then be given the opportunity to give your response. Much like in earlier stages its helpful to agree with anything you are happy to agree with, show reflection on your behaviours and how you've been impacted, and show how you aim to address these behaviours. If you have a different interpretation of your current health and wellbeing to your college/department, it's really important to try and show this in evidence from a third party, such as a doctor or counsellor/therapist.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your appeal review, you can request a review of your college/the Universities final decision by the external adjudicator the OIA.