False confessions fear for Dundee University students
A Dundee University practice of letting students who own up to misconduct charges escape punishment could be encouraging innocent students to make false confessions, an ombudsman has found.
- By Bruce Robbins
- Published in the Courier : 18.11.10
- Published online : 18.11.10 @ 05.06pm
An investigation of a complaint against the university by the parents of a student, Mr A, said the temptation to make a confession might prove "rather strong for some innocent students."
The public services ombudsman was looking into a case involving a male student who was late for an exam.
On the understanding there had been a timetabling error, he was allowed to sit the exam the following day but a subsequent probe by the university resulted in an allegation of student misconduct against him.
The student, who had protested his innocence throughout the whole affair, was suspended from the university for a year and required to repeat his third year.
The complaints raised against the university were that it had failed to follow its own procedures in reaching its decision, failed to take into account the student's special needs when carrying out its investigation and the punishment was not commensurate with the allegations made against the student.
The ombudsman upheld the first complaint about the university failing to follow its own procedures but rejected the two others.
It made a number of recommendations to the university, including apologising to the student and his parents for its failings, which were all accepted.
In his findings, the ombudsman noted that guilty students can be "let off" by admitting their guilt at an early stage.
He said, "I am concerned that by routinely offering students this opportunity, the university may be encouraging innocent students to make false confessions rather than presenting their case at an independent hearing.
"Faced with the choice of accepting the allegations and receiving no punishment, as Mr A was advised would be the case, or proceeding to a formal hearing, the outcome of which cannot be predicted, I fear that the temptation to make a false confession may be rather strong for some innocent students."
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