An environment of safety, respect and dignity – that’s what we want for everyone at Otago. The Ethical Behaviour Policy sets out what you can expect from others – and what they can expect from you.
The Policy is about how we interact as members of the University Community so that it is a safe, and fulfilling environment for everyone. It asks us to be courteous, honest, fair, timely and ethical, to respect the living and working environments of others, to act without discrimination and to use authority appropriately. As well, specific behaviours are identified as being unacceptable – personal harassment, bullying, sexual harassment, racial harassment, abuse of supervisory authority, discrimination and an undisclosed or unmanaged conflict of interest.
The policy explains the informal and formal ways you can take action if you feel that you are not experiencing an environment of safety, respect and dignity, and your own attempts to resolve things haven’t worked.
Read the Ethical Behaviour Policy
Informal approaches
The university mediator or your supervisor may be able to help you deal with your concern informally. Informal approaches aimed at resolving the problem are usually more successful than formal complaints and these people will help you identify an informal option which will work for you.
Formal complaints
If self-help or informal help haven’t worked or are inappropriate, the Policy outlines the formal complaint processes you can use.
- You can make a formal written complaint about a student to the Proctor using the Code of Student Conduct.
- You can make a formal written complaint about someone who is not a student to the Director of Human Resources.
Ethical Behaviour Committee
The Ethical Behaviour Policy and issues related to ethical behaviour on Otago’s campuses are the responsibility of the Ethical Behaviour Committee, an advisory committee to the Vice-Chancellor. If you would like to raise an issue with the committee you can send it to the Mediator in the first instance.