Although 2014 witnessed a nine percent drop in overall offending in comparison to 2013, that figure did increase by almost 20 percent during 2015 when compared to 2014, with 576 separate incidents occurring. The large majority of those were simply disorderly behaviour, which totaled 174, while other significant contributors to this figure were willfully breaking glass (62), unlawfully on property (42), and breach of ID regulations (27).
Despite a 10 percent drop in disorderly behaviour in 2014 compared with 2013, the university saw a 13 percent increase in 2015, with 201 separate disorderly incidents taking place, just four short of 2010’s six-year high of 205. OUSA President Laura Harris told Critic that 2015 “is higher than previous years but that does correlate with the increased vigilance of students coming forward to disclose to appropriate authorities when they come across negative behaviours. Even at OUSA we hear from students who are fed up with the behaviour of a select few in their residential areas.”
University of Otago proctor, Dave Miller, who will be leaving the position on April 27 after just five months in the job, agreed with Harris, saying, “last year we noticed an increasing trend in students not tolerating unacceptable behaviour in their community. Many were increasingly vigilant and drew attention to poor behaviour. We view this as a positive trend as we work with the student community towards improving the safety and enjoyment for everyone in North Dunedin.”
The report noticed a larger number of students arriving back in Dunedin earlier than in previous years, with many of those returning living in flats on Castle and Hyde Street, which, “coupled with the run of fine weather” caused a “corresponding larger number of students referred to the Proctor/Deputy Proctor” throughout the early months of the academic year. Also notable was the was great organisation of the Hyde Street party, the University’s coordinated response to October’s gunman threat, as well as the significant amount of work to deal with the burglary of examination papers that occurred in November; that offender was “subsequently arrested and is still awaiting sentencing.”
A total of 177 students paid fines resulting in $21,380 during 2015, as well as 33 students serving a total of 658 hours of community service, and 116 compensation payments being made, resulting in $17,837.
During last year there were 35 cases of academic misconduct, which the University of Otago defines as plagiarism, unauthorised collaboration, multiple submissions of a single assessment, impersonation, and use of unauthorised materials as well as several other academic misdemeanors that contravene the values and accepted practices associated with academic integrity.
Of the 35 cases of academic misconduct, two were PhD students, whose theses had “been found to contain plagiarised text… both candidates were required to re-enroll and pay tuition fees as a penalty (PhD candidates revising their theses for examination do not normally pay fees).”
Moreover, thirteen of the 35 cases were within humanities, eight in sciences, and six in both commerce and the health sciences. All of the academic conduct breaches in 2015 were within level two (level one being far less serious and level three being “extremely serious”).
Incidents involving fire have also fallen significantly since 2011, in which 258 incidents were dealt with. That figure has dropped each year since, and now lies at just 128, a reduction of just over 50 percent. Dave Miller said, “Students have become increasingly aware of the zero tolerance around fire starting and fuelling, which I believe has contributed to the decrease in students willing to jeopardise their study or potential futures, by engaging in that behaviour.”