On this page: Purpose | Scope | Principles | Procedure information | Roles and responsibilities | Definitions | Policy information

1. Purpose

1.1 The Student Death Response Procedure (the procedure) provides practical guidance for staff in responding to the death of a UTS student. It also outlines the roles and responsibilities of staff.

1.2 The procedure provides information on how to:

  1. respond to the death of a student, ensuring actions are timely, coordinated and sensitive, minimising distress to family, friends and the UTS community, and
  2. apply Rule 13.2 and Rule 13.4.3 of the Student Rules where appropriate.

2. Scope

2.1 This procedure applies to all staff in responding to a student death. This procedure will apply to any student or participant undertaking a course or short form of learning at UTS. 

3. Principles

3.1 While it is hoped that this procedure will rarely be required, staff should seek advice (refer Roles and responsibilities) and work together with colleagues to balance operational requirements with a sensitive and compassionate response to bereavement. The actions outlined in this procedure must be managed promptly and as a university priority.

3.2 The following principles apply when responding to the death of a student:

  1. prompt notification and verification
  2. respectful and confidential handling of information
  3. empathy and support
  4. sensitive and respectful communication coordinated centrally, and
  5. compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.

3.3 In support of these principles, staff must not communicate with next of kin, notify other staff or students or otherwise discuss a student death before notifying response staff. Premature communication could lead to incorrect information, the spread of misinformation or disinformation or cause additional distress to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased student.

4. Procedure information

Notification to UTS

4.1 Staff who become aware of the death of a student must promptly notify the following response staff:

  1. the Director, Student Administration
  2. the Director, Student Wellbeing and Support
  3. the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students)
  4. the student’s faculty general manager, and/or
  5. the associate dean (teaching and learning).

4.2 Staff may notify the response staff by email, by phone or request to meet in person.

4.3 Where possible, and available, staff should provide the following information to help response staff provide a prompt and sensitive response:

  1. the student’s name and ID number
  2. the student’s course
  3. the source of information about the student’s death (including their contact details where available, the relevant website link or handle if via a digital or media source), and
  4. any known circumstances of the death.

Verification

4.4 The Director, Student Administration is responsible for verifying the student’s death as soon as practicable via one or more of the following methods:

  1. contact with NSW Police or Coroners Court
  2. published death or funeral notices
  3. confirmation from a reliable institutional or government source, and/or
  4. other appropriate means (including media reports or social media where necessary).

4.5 The Director, Student Administration may nominate an appropriate staff member to undertake or provide support in managing the verification process.

4.6 Staff must not:

  1. rely on unverified information to initiate communication or other action, or
  2. communicate a student’s death before formal communication has been circulated and/or without the permission of the Director, Student Administration.

Staff notification and immediate response 

4.7 Following verification, the Director, Student Administration will issue an internal notification to staff to whom the deceased student is known and to staff who will provide support to the UTS community. This includes but is not limited to the: 

  1. faculty general manager
  2. associate dean (teaching and learning)
  3. Director, Student Wellbeing and Support
  4. Director, Compliance, Insights and Relations (for international students)
  5. Director, Graduate Research School (for graduate research students), and/or
  6. Head of Communication (where appropriate). 

4.8 The Vice-Chancellor should be notified by close of business on the next working day where appropriate (for example, in high-profile cases).

4.9 The death of a student on campus is a notifiable incident. Where a student death occurs on campus, the Director, Student Administration and/or the Director, Student Wellbeing and Support must immediately report the incident to the Head of Security and Emergency Management in line with the Critical Incident Response Policy. This may require additional action under the Emergency Management Plan.

Academic administration

4.10  The Director, Student Administration will ensure that the student’s record is updated to:

  1. reflect the student’s status and amend correspondence settings
  2. make appropriate subject withdrawals, including fee refunds or reversal of outstanding debts where applicable, and
  3. withdraw the student from their course/s.

4.11 Within 3 days of verification, the Director, Student Administration will provide the formal condolence letter template to the dean (refer Sensitive and respectful communication) together with official graduation documentation (if available).

4.12 For international students, the Director, Compliance, Insights and Relations will work with the dean or nominee to:

  1. liaise with embassies/consulates
  2. coordinate repatriation and funeral arrangements
  3. report the death via PRISMS (when required)
  4. support insurance and financial matters and communication and condolences.

Support and wellbeing 

4.13 The Director, Student Wellbeing and Support will assess support needs within one working day of verification. Appropriate support actions may include one or more of the following:

  1. offering counselling services for affected students and staff
  2. offering chaplaincy or cultural and/or religious support
  3. consulting with Jumbunna where the student was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
  4. engaging with staff to support impacted cohorts, classes or residences, including UTS Housing and the UTS Students’ Association
  5. engaging with the People Unit to ensure support is provided to impacted staff, and
  6. recommending to the faculty that appropriate adjustments be considered for impacted students.

4.14 The Director, Student Wellbeing and Support may nominate an appropriate staff member to undertake or help to coordinate support and wellbeing actions. 

Sensitive and respectful communication

4.15 At the same time as coordinating support, the Director, Student Wellbeing and Support will work with relevant response staff (refer Notification to UTS) to agree on coordinated and respectful liaison with family members or next of kin and arrange support for any affected family member or friends in the UTS community. This support may include:

  1. assistance navigating administrative processes
  2. support in coordinating with external agencies (police, hospitals, coronial services), and/or
  3. practical and pastoral support.

4.16 The dean (or nominee) is responsible for sending the formal letter of condolence on behalf of the university, unless it is determined that a formal communication should be sent by the Vice-Chancellor. This decision should be recommended by the Director, Student Administration in consultation with the dean. The formal communication must be sent within one week of verification of the student’s death.

4.17 Following formal communication, the dean (or nominee) will then notify any staff who have a working or educational relationship with the deceased student so they may express their condolences informally, using a sensitive approach in coordination with the Director, Student Wellbeing and Support. 

4.18  Internal and external communication must be centrally coordinated as approved by the nominated director to ensure it: 

  1. is respectful, discreet and culturally sensitive
  2. avoids any speculation and unnecessary detail, and
  3. complies with the Equity, Inclusion and Respect Policy, the Privacy Policy and this procedure.  

Faculty protocol

4.19 The faculty general manager, together with the associate dean (teaching and learning), will develop faculty protocol and processes in support of this procedure in consultation with the Director, Student Administration and the Director, Student Wellbeing and Support. This should include guidance on how to: 

  1. inform relevant academic staff
  2. manage impacted classes or assessments 
  3. coordinate support within the faculty, and
  4. where possible and appropriate, provide feedback to inform procedural review. 

Academic credentials

4.20 The associate dean (teaching and learning) or responsible academic officer (RAO) will assess the deceased student’s eligibility for a posthumous award in line with Rule 13.4.3 and submit a recommendation to Academic Board for approval in line with Rule 13.2. 

4.21 If a posthumous award is approved, the associate dean (teaching and learning) or RAO will advise the Director, Student Administration. Student Administration will manage the academic records (refer Academic Records Policy) and the awarding process and issuing of official graduation documents.

4.22 The Ceremonies and Events team will liaise with the family or next of kin regarding graduation ceremony participation.

Procedural breaches

4.23 Compliance with this procedure is mandatory. Breaches of this procedure will be managed as a breach of the Code of Conduct. 

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Procedure owner: The Director, Student Administration is responsible for implementation, awareness and compliance with this procedure. 

5.2 Procedure contact: The Director, Student Administration, together with the Director, Student Wellbeing and Support, is responsible for the day-to-day implementation and administration of this procedure and for providing advice on fulfilling its provisions. 

5.3 Implementation and governance roles:

Faculties and units should develop local procedures aligned with this procedure.

The Director, Compliance, Insights and Relations is responsible for working with the Director, Student Administration to coordinate communications with families and next of kin for international students. 

6. Definitions

The following definitions apply for this procedure. These are in addition to the definitions outlined in Schedule 1, Student Rules. Definitions in the singular also include the plural meaning of the word.

Campus is defined in the Campus Policy.

Notifiable incident is defined in the Critical Incident Response Policy.

Policy information