Student & staff disciplinary cases

The request

The number of disciplinary cases against security staff following complains of misconduct from students in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years.

Imperial College response, IMPFOI-24-009, 19 January 2024

There was one such case within the time period specified.

The request

Please provide details of formal disciplinary cases of antisemitism broken down by each academic year from 2019 to present. For each academic year:

• how many of those cases of antisemitism were perpetrated by students, and how many were perpetrated by university staff
• the outcome of each of these cases 
• on what date did your university adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism

Imperial response, IMPFOI-24-161, 23 April 2024

There have been no staff disciplinary cases concerning allegations of anti-Semitism in the time-period specified. There were three student disciplinary cases, all in 2023. The cases are still under consideration.

The College’s Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Group made the decision to refer to the full IHRA definition in the College’s  Statement on Religious tolerance in November 2020.

The request

The number of disciplinary actions and fines relating to student disciplinary cases involving drugs.

Imperial College response, IMPFOI-23-545, 18 October 2023

The request

How many academics are currently under investigation for academic malpractice at this university? Could you provide a percentage number of this as well?

Imperial College London response, IMPFOI-24-050, 29 February 2024

There are currently six cases involving allegations of potential research misconduct which are being investigated under the College's research misconduct procedures.  Five of these cases are still at the early screening investigation stage, while one has been referred for full investigation.

The College has 3,963 academic and research staff.  The number of staff currently being investigated for potential research misconduct represents 0.15% of the total academic and research staff.

The College publishes an annual report on research integrity, which includes information on the number of cases referred for full investigation under the College's procedures.  The most recently published annual report can be found here: Annual statement on research integrity 2022

Copies of the previous annual reports can be found on this page: Research misconduct

FOI request and response, IMPFOI-24-347, 13 August 2024

How much has been spent on added security around the protests? Eg how much additional resource has been put towards private security personnel around Gaza encampments or protesters at open days?

Please refer to a previous FOI response on this topic: College finance and funding, Costs of encampment. There have been no other security-related costs other than those stated in that reponse.

How many students do you understand have taken part in Gaza / anti-Israel / pro-Palestine protests on your campus? 

We do not have a figure for this.

How many disciplinary meetings has the university had with students regarding protests around Israel-Palestine and the Gaza war?

There have been 2 disciplinary cases against students relating to such protests.

Have any students been suspended or expelled from the university over the protests?

No.

Have the police been involved in any protests at the university since October 7? If so, how many times and were any arrests made? If so, how many and why?

There has been no police involvement and no arrests.

How many complaints have been made about the protests on campus? 

We do not have a figure for the number of complaints received relating to the protests. Complaints were made to various different people or teams within the university. Our student casework team who deal with complaints made by or against students, are aware of 9 complaints.

Have any students left the university, citing the protests as a reason for leaving?

We do not have a figure for this. Our student records system does not include this as an option when recording the reasons for a student withdrawing from their studies.

FOI request and Imperial College Response, IMPFOI-24-207, 8 July 2024

FOI Request and response, IMPFOI-24-207, Report and Support data

The request

1) Has your university used non-disclosure agreement settlements in relation to research misconduct complaints over the last five academic years? (2017-18 to 2021-2022). 

2) Has any legal action been taken against your university over the last five academic years due to a research misconduct case? 

3) How much has your university spent in legal fees in connection with research misconduct complaints over the last five academic years. Please breakdown by year.

Imperial College response, IMPFOI-23-051, 17 February 2023

The College has not used any NDAs in relation to research misconduct complaints over the last five academic years.

No legal action been taken against the College as a result of a research misconduct case in the last five years.

College expenditure on legal professional fees in relation to research misconduct complaints over the last five years is as follows:

2017-18 - £0

2018-19 - £0

2019-20 - £0

2020-21 - £46,068.70

2021-22 - £11,710.80

Further information about research misconduct can be found on the Research Integrity pages of the College's website, including annual reports on research integrity containing information on formal investigations that have been undertaken in the previous year.

The Request

 Do you have a distinct policy on sexual misconduct, or does it come under the scope of a wider policy e.g. on bullying and harassment?

1. Do you have an online reporting system for sexual misconduct?
2. The number of reports of sexual misconduct alleged to have taken place on campus over the past five years (2017-22 - broken down by year)
3. Gender of the complainants and the accused (broken down by year)
4. The time it took to close/complete each investigation (broken down by year)
5. How many allegations of sexual misconduct were proven to be correct (broken down by year)
6. How many reports were referred to the police (broken down by year)
7. How many reports of sexual misconduct resulted in the expulsion of the perpetrator (broken down by year)

Imperial College Response (IMPFOI-22-561, 18 January 2023)

 The College takes any such allegation extremely seriously.  We have a dedicated Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence Policy that applies to all members of the College community. In addition we have a range of support for students who have experienced sexual harassment, misconduct or violence – whether it happened recently or in the past. This includes a team of Sexual Violence Liaison Officers (SVLOs) who are trained to handle disclosures of sexual harassment, misconduct, or violence from students, and who can guide students through their options in a sensitive and non-judgmental way – including helping them make a formal complaint if they choose to. The Report and Support tool can be used by staff and students to facilitate disclosures and to link with our support services. Summary data on reports made via the Report and Support tool is available on the College website.

If a student chooses to make a formal complaint of sexual harassment, misconduct, or violence against another student, this would be investigated under the Student Disciplinary Procedure. Such allegations are defined as major misconduct and will be heard by a College Disciplinary Panel. All formal complaints of sexual harassment, misconduct or violence are investigated. If a formal complaint is made against a member of staff, this would be investigated in line with the Disciplinary Policy and Procedure [pdf]. Due to the low numbers and consequent risk of disclosure of personal information, we cannot provide figures broken down by year nor details of outcome. In the period including the academic years 2015/16 to 2021/22, 23 complaints against students were considered by the College disciplinary procedures and 8 complaints about members of staff.

The College does not keep records on the length of time taken to close/complete each investigation.

The College would not necessarily be aware of reports made to the police and does not hold a central record of such reports in cases where we have been informed.

The request

For the academic years 2021/22 and 2022/23 (to date), the number of staff and student disciplinary cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct by a student, by the gender of the person complained about and the complainant, with the outcomes.

Imperial College response, IMPFOI-23-224, 31 May 2023

Please see the table below for the figures requested, in all cases the complainant was a female and the respondent a male.

The request

In the past three academic years (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23):

1. How many relationships between staff (all staff) and students at the university have been disclosed?
2. How many times has disciplinary action been taken against staff?
4. How many staff members have been fired as a result of an inappropriate relationship?
5. What is your stance on student/staff member relationships at the university?

 Imperial College response, IMPFOI-23-602, 22 November 2023

Imperial College's Personal Relationships Policy sets out the expectations and obligations of staff with respect to personal relationships between staff and students. 

The policy prohibits close personal or intimate relationships between staff and students where there is direct supervision. There must be a declaration where a close personal or intimate relationship exists between a staff member and student with no direct supervision.

The College does not keep a central record of disclosures made under the policy. In the past three academic years, there have been two staff disciplinary cases involving allegations relating to personal relationships with students. There have been no dismissals.

FOI request and response, IMPFOI-24-319, 30 July 2024

1.    How many reports of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation were communicated to university HR between January 1 2019 and January 1 2024? 

410. The majority of these reports were made anonymously on Report and Support so we were unable to take action in respect of them. 

2.    How many of these reported incidents were resolved at the informal or mediation stage? How many of these are currently unresolved? 

45 resolved informally. None are unresolved. 

3.    How many of these reported incidents proceeded to formal investigation? 

73

4.    How many of the incidents which proceeded to formal investigation were 

i) upheld or substantiated; 28

ii) partially upheld or substantiated; 11 

iii) ruled unsubstantiated? 34

5.    How many complaints were unresolved because the complainant or perpetrator had left the institution? 

3

6.    For grievances in the formal stage, how many investigations were conducted by external organisations or lawyers/barristers on behalf of the university?

1

7.    For cases under points (1) and (3), respectively, what is the average duration of time from a) the point of initial reporting to b) final case resolution? 

Under 6 weeks

8.    How many non-disclosure agreements in relation to reports of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation did the university sign in the period from January 1 2019 to January 1 2024?

None

9.    What is the sum of the settlement money that has been paid in relation to the non-disclosure agreements in point (8)?

N/A

10.    What is the annual legal cost incurred in responding to complaints of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation during the period from January 1 2019 to January 1 2024?

Such matters would usually be dealt with internally.. We do not keep of record costs incurred specifically in relation to dealing with complaints of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation. External lawyers may be involved at Employment Tribunal cases, but these tend to involve multiple allegations, some of which may be within the scope of this request and others not. It would not be possible in such cases to extract the costs solely related to allegations of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation.

The request

Please provide the number of student complaints of staff sexual misconduct that were made to the university in each of the past six academic years, including 2023/24

The number of student complaints of staff sexual misconduct that were upheld following an investigation in each of the past six academic years, including 2023/24. 

The action taken in the case of each upheld complaint, for each of these six academic years, whether this constituted dismissal, a formal/informal complaint, harassment training, or other. 

Imperial response, IMPFOI-24-460, 21 October 2024

FOI response, IMPFOI-24-460, allegations of sexual misconduct by staff

FOI request and response, IMPFOI-23-658, 21 December 2023

• Please provide the number of student disciplinary cases involving allegations of anti-Semitism raised between 2 November 2020 and 6 October 2023, the outcome of the disciplinary procedure and whether the matter was taken to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education and details of the Independent Adjudicator's findings in each such case.

There were no disciplinary cases cases involving allegations of anti-Semitism during this period.

• Please provide the number of student disciplinary cases involving allegations of anti-Semitism raised between  7 October 2023 and 1 December 2023, the outcome of the disciplinary procedure and whether the matter was taken to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education and details of the Independent Adjudicator's findings in each such case.

Two complaints from students relating to antisemitism have been made within this period. These cases have only just been received and are not concluded. The OIA will not consider complaints until the university’s complaints procedure has been completed.

The request and response, IMPFOI-24-076, 27 March 2024

1.      How many student complaints and/or student disciplinaries have been investigated in relation to sexual misconduct from the period September 2019 - September 2023?

22

2.      Regarding Point 1, please confirm how many complainants were female and how many were male.

21 complainants were female, 1 male

3.      Regarding Point 1, please confirm how many respondents were female and how many were male.

22 of respondents were male, 0 were female

4.      Regarding Point 1, please confirm the number of complaints/incidents, if any, were alleged to have taken place on University premises.

4 of the reports relate to incidents which took place on College Premises (including Halls of Residence). Some reports relate to more than one incident, in 2 cases at least one incident occurred at College premises with others taking place elsewhere.

5.      Regarding Point 1, please provide the number of working days each investigation ran, from the date the complaint was first submitted to the date the complaint outcome was formally communicated to the complainant.

We do not keep a log of the number of working days an investigation takes. We adhere to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s recommendation that processes are completed within 90 days, however in some cases disciplinary matters may take longer. This can be for a number of reasons, including pausing investigations while students complete examinations, for welfare reasons and while police investigations are ongoing. We endeavour to keep students updated on the progress of the investigation.

6.      Regarding Point 1, please confirm the outcome of the investigation. Where the investigation or complaint was dismissed, please provide the reason for this.

6 of the cases listed above are still ongoing.

7 cases did not reach a conclusion either because the reporting student withdrew their complaint or the responding student left before the process could be concluded.

In 2 of the cases the investigation found that there was no case to answer.

1 case was referred to the Student Union to consider under their Disciplinary Procedure.

6 cases resulted in disciplinary findings against the responding students. The penalties included the following or a combination of the following:

• Expulsion
• Formal warning
• Requirement to give an undertaking as to future good conduct
• Restriction from accessing areas of campus
  
  

The table below shows details of formal disciplinary cases against students involving allegations of sexual misconduct:

Please note, regarding the 2021-22 data, there remain 2 cases under investigation because these were cases that were first reported to the police. Under our former Student Disciplinary Procedure (applicable until until September 2023), cases under consideration by the police would not be investigated by the University until the outcome of the police enquiry was confirmed. 

The Request

How many students have been reported to your student disciplinary procedures over misconduct relating to the conflict since October 7, 2023?

How many students have been found to have breached University rules on student conduct relating to actions regarding to the conflict?

Imperial College response, IMPFOI-24-013, 2 February 2024

Two complaints have been made involving allegations of misconduct relating to the conflict in Israel and Gaza since October 7 2023. The cases have not yet been concluded.

The request

Please provide the total number of Fitness to Study and Fitness to Practice Medicine cases.

Imperial College response, IMPFOI-23-344, 4 July 2023

The table below shows the number of cases considered at the formal stage of the College’s Fitness to Practise Medicine Procedures  and Fitness to Study Procedure (this was introduced in October 2020). 

The request

Please provide the numbers of students suspended or expelled for misconduct, by year, since 2017/18 to 2022/23, and so far in the current academic year:

• For each year, the total number of students suspended and the total number expelled
• For each year, the total number suspended split by reason for suspension
• For each year, the total number expelled split by reason for expulsion
• For each year, the number referred to the police.

Imperial response, IMPFOI-24-168, 23 April 2023

For details of disciplinary action taken in academic misconduct cases: Academic Misconduct Cases 2017-18 to 2022-23 (pdf)

In disciplinary cases not involving academic misconduct, there were no suspensions or expulsions in the years specified, apart from:

• In 2022/23 one student was suspended and one was expelled, both cases involved sexual misconduct
• In 2017/18 one student was suspended for assault and damage to property, one was expelled for threating another student with a knife

The College did not refer these matters to the police.