Reporting Mistreatment

You can report your concern or experience, anonymously or confidentially, through the report online function. You will be contacted within 72 hours to discuss next steps. Your report will not be forwarded to another party until it has been discussed with you.

If you prefer to contact a faculty member directly to discuss mistreatment, please see the Contacts page for more information.

Expect to hear back directly from the faculty member you contacted (response times will vary by individual work schedule). The faculty member will discuss your options, including making an online report, to ensure it is forwarded to the appropriate person to respond to your situation.

When mistreatment is reported, the primary goals are to provide information and support and to stop the behaviour that is negatively affecting you or disrupting the learning environment. You will be asked to provide as much detail as you can about your concerns or experience. This will help to assess your options and determine the best way to respond to your situation.

Reporting a concern does not mean that you have to take any further action. You are not required to file a formal complaint or participate further in any steps the Faculty will take, though a decision not to have any further involvement may limit the responses available to you.

If you wish further action to be taken, the Faculty will contact the individual or office in your Program who is best able to follow up on your concern. The Faculty will discuss whether your identity will be disclosed at this point. Information you provide is only disclosed to those within the Faculty of Dentistry who have responsibility to address the concern or complaint, or as required to meet obligations imposed on the Faculty by University policy or legislation. It may be necessary for the person responding to your concern to gather additional information before there can be any intervention with regards to the behaviour.

In situations where there are multiple reports of ongoing mistreatment or unprofessional conduct suggesting a pattern of conduct, or when a learner reports a concern about alleged conduct that threatens the safety of learners, or the integrity of the learning environment, the concerns may be addressed in the absence of a formal complaint and without disclosing the identity of any particular learner. This may require the Faculty to undertake an institutional inquiry into the concerns raised. An institutional inquiry may present an opportunity to resolve the concerns or it may indicate the need for a formal investigation into individual conduct identified during the inquiry.

In many cases, addressing reported concerns can be accomplished through informal discussions with the individual who is reported to be engaging in the unprofessional or disrespectful behaviour. Individuals engaging in mistreatment may be required to participate in educational and remedial activities. In some cases discipline may be appropriate. Where permitted, learners will be advised of the steps taken to address their concerns. However, due to restrictions imposed by privacy legislation, learners may not be advised of all outcomes related to their reported concerns.

In some circumstances a learner may wish to file a complaint against a peer, staff, or faculty member. This is most common in situations where a single learner directly experiences bullying, personal harassment, disrespectful or unprofessional conduct. Formal complaints are investigated through a process in which the learner's identity must be disclosed to the person who is the subject of the complaint. Investigations of such complaints are conducted following the process and procedures set out in the UBC Guidelines for Responding to and Investigating Complaints.

Investigations are confidential processes through which complaints can be investigated in a fair and impartial way. During an investigation the person responding to the complaint has certain rights to be treated fairly and in accordance with basic principles of natural justice. Those protections include the right to know the entirety of the complaint brought against them, including the identity of the person making the complaint, the right to provide a response to the complaint and to any other information that may be relied upon in making a decision, and the right to an impartial assessment of all relevant information related to the complaint. The person responding to the complaint may have additional due process protections under the terms of a collective agreement or other contract governing their relationship with the University, including the right to representation.

Usually the learner making the complaint will be advised of the outcome of the investigation, though privacy considerations may limit the scope of the information provided.

Reporting concerns when they arise facilitates timely identification of systemic and individual issues, and allows the Faculty to intervene to maintain a supportive and respectful environment. Although the Faculty of Dentistry encourages all to report mistreatment, we recognize that learners are vulnerable members of the Faculty of Dentistry community who may fear negative consequences for bringing a concern forward. In particular, learners may fear retaliation due to power differences in their relationships with others.

The fear of retaliation can result in legitimate concerns going unaddressed and can mean that learners will continue to be subjected to unacceptable conduct disrupts and interferes with their learning. The Faculty of Dentistry will not tolerate any retaliation, directly or indirectly, against anyone who reports an alleged mistreatment, or otherwise participates in the processes to address mistreatment. Engaging in retaliation may be a basis for disciplinary action (See UBC Retaliation Policy SC18).

Learners who are apprehensive about retaliation, or other potential negative consequences arising from bringing a concern or complaint forward, should discuss their fears when they report their concerns so that appropriate steps can be taken to support the learner.

Records are confidential and retained in compliance with UBC's privacy policies and legal obligations. There is no record kept in the academic file of any learner making a report in good faith. In appropriate circumstances information about a concern and the steps taken to address the concern may form part of the employment or academic record of an individual found to have engaged in mistreatment or unprofessional conduct.

Privacy legislation imposes significant limitations on the disclosure of personal information by the University. This may affect disclosure of certain information related to the resolution of reported concerns. Information will be shared as appropriate and as permitted under the legislation. Outcomes that directly affect the learner reporting the concern will be discussed with the learner. Learners who report concerns will be advised of the steps taken by the Faculty of Dentistry to inquire into those concerns. Some outcomes related to a institutional inquiry may be shared with the learning group affected by the reported conduct.