Sharing an experience of a harmful behaviour can be distressing; you may want to access support services available to you which are listed on the Support section of this website.
Disclosing something you have experienced to a friend or to family, or even to staff at UCL, may not necessarily lead to action (unless there is a duty of care). If you report it to the University, for example through Report + Support, you can expect the University to take some action. The extent of that action will depend on how you choose to report it, what you have experienced and what you want to happen.
Report anonymously - If you choose to report anonymously, you will not share your name or contact details. UCL will not get any identifiable information from you, and thus we will be unable to get in touch or give advice on how to resolve the situation or any actions you can take, unless you have opted for two-way messaging. There is some limited action UCL can take if names or any identifiable information is mentioned in the incident details.
This option is useful when you want the University to know about harmful behaviours prevalent in the University, or you simply do not have the headspace or time to make a named report due to any reason, or perhaps you want to make a report with your details later. While we can take limited action if you choose not to give your details, the information from anonymous reports is collated and analysed to help monitor the prevalence of incidents that take place, and to launch different initiatives to improve the culture of departments by identifying hotspots if many anonymous reports are clustered together.
If you want a response or further support, you are encouraged to opt for two-way messaging or fill in the 'report with contact details' form.
Report with contact details - This option is for making a named report, which means that you will be asked to provide your name and contact details so that an advisor can contact you for further advice on action that can be taken and support options available to you. The administrators (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team) will assign your report to the relevant UCL's support services. A detailed description of the incident is not necessary in the form, but helps in assigning the report.
What happens after you submit a report:
If you have chosen to 'report anonymously', UCL will not be able to contact you directly, unless you have opted for two-way messaging. The report will be reviewed and read for oversight to consider if there are informal interventions that can be made. No formal action such as a disciplinary can be taken against someone named or identifiable. If there is an emerging pattern in several anonymous reports, UCL will initiate conversations with the department in question who will consider what they can do without an identifiable reporting party. Therefore, we recommend you select the department or area where the incident had occurred for us to be able to identify and work with issues clustered in specific departments. We also encourage you to explore support options for your situation on our available support and external support service providers pages on this site.
If you have chosen to 'report with your contact details', the report will be assigned to one of the relevant UCL's support services who will contact you by your specified contact method (email or phone/Teams call). We aim to respond within five working days. Different types of advisors are trained in handling disclosures and sensitive information and specialise in different types of advice. The assigned advisor will listen to the issue you have faced, and take you through options which you could follow to resolve the situation either informally, or if it cannot be resolved informally, they will guide you to formal disciplinary procedures. Please see our page on formal reporting for further information. Formal reporting usually involves stating in writing what has happened to you, then an investigation/hearing may take place, followed by an outcome/panel decision that can be further appealed.
Please note that reporting on Report + Support does not automatically result in formal action, but you will be provided with support and guidance to make a formal case if you would want to.
Action UCL takes:
When a report is made about a student or staff member, there are procedures that will be followed.
If informal action/resolution is pursued, then the reported person will be contacted by an appropriate manager or tutor in the situation, to try and resolve the matter.
If the matter proceeds formally, the reported behaviour of a student will be investigated under the Student Disciplinary Procedure, and the reported behaviour of a member of staff will be investigated under the Staff Grievance Procedure.
Where behaviour has been found to breach UCL’s policies, disciplinary action may be taken. More information is available on the above links for the respective procedures, including possible sanctions, for both students and staff.