About our ready-to-run training

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The easiest way to book our training for your team:

1. Select a date and time that works for you and your organisation.

2. Pay by debit/credit card, or request an invoice.

3. We'll contact you to agree and confirm your selected delivery time.

 

You will receive the details of your session and a Microsoft Teams link to provide to your attendees, and we'll deliver the session live and online. After the session, you will receive a report of the feedback from your participants and a resource pack to share with those who attended.

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This is a half-day session lasting 3½ hours.

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About this session

In this session, we explore the purpose of Fitness to Study panels, how we should plan and prepare for a panel meeting, how a panel should consider evidence about the student, and how we can respond to tricky situations that arise during the panel meeting itself.​

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Most universities and higher education institutions have a process for convening a Fitness to Study panel (which might go by a different name, such as a Support for Study panel). This is generally how more complex Fitness to Study cases are handled – involving convening a meeting of key people to consider the case and decide on an appropriate outcome, which might range from no action being taken through to a student being suspended or withdrawn from their programme altogether.

The role of chairing or being a member of one of these panels can be daunting, given that the stakes can seem high for the student concerned, and given that these Fitness to Study cases, by their very nature, are generally complex and high-risk. Being part of a panel like this can also be a part of our role that we are asked to take on without any specialist training.

This half-day course takes you through, step-by-step, the different stages of running a Fitness to Study panel meeting – from the initial preparation and evidence gathering stages, including inviting the student to the panel meeting, through to ensuring the smooth running of the panel meeting on the day.

Fitness to Study panel meetings can also give rise to a range of complex scenarios. What should we do if a student turns up for a panel meeting with a lawyer? How should we respond if a student, who is expected to attend a panel meeting, does not turn up on the day? What should we do if we receive unclear or overly simplistic medical evidence about a student’s fitness to continue on their programme? When should we allow an appeal against a panel decision? Join us as, together, we explore these and other key aspects of running an effective Fitness to Study panel.
 

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Who is this session for?

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This session is relevant to anyone who may be asked to chair, or be a member of, a Fitness to Study panel. This can include:

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• Directors and managers of student services teams

• Senior colleagues in faculties, such as faculty registrars, and/or academic leaders who may be asked to act as a chair of, or advisor to, a panel
  University secretaries, registrars or other senior/executive-level managers

• Student services practitioners – including colleagues from welfare teams, wellbeing teams, mental health teams, international student support teams or other specialist support services

• Colleagues who are leading on, or reviewing, approaches to Fitness to Study cases in your institution

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Learning outcomes

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By the end of this event, participants will understand:

• What we are seeking to achieve with a Fitness to Study panel and who should be involved in the process

• How to plan and prepare for a Fitness to Study panel meeting

• Practical ways to respond to complex or challenging scenarios that might arise during a Fitness to Study panel meeting