Victoria University has confirmed another case of a student's body lying undiscovered, following an incident at Canterbury University last week, and says it has changed its processes around missing students.
Victoria University says there was a sudden death of a mature student residing at Education House in Willis Street in early January 2018.
The student was in his early thirties, living in a one-person, self-catered studio apartment, and was was found by a hall staff member.
It's the responsibility of the coroner to determine cause and time of death and the matter has yet to be considered by the coroner, a university spokesperson said this evening.
However, university records indicate around three days had passed between his death and the discovery of his death, the spokesperson said in a statement.
The university had made one change to its processes as a result of the incident, to ensure only the onsite person in charge at a hall enters the room of a missing resident.
This was done to prevent more junior staff potentially being exposed to a distressing scene.
"We continuously review what we do in this area and respond to any recommendations from the Coroners Court," the spokesperson said.
A man’s body went undiscovered for weeks at Sonoda Hall.
In Christchurch, a University of Canterbury student lay dead in his room at Sonoda Village residential hall for nearly eight weeks before being found on September 23.
A former High Court judge, Kit Toogood QC, has been appointed by the university chancellor to investigate the delay in discovering the 19-year-old's body at the hall run by Campus Living Villages.
Meanwhile, Victoria University said all university critical incident policies and procedures were followed and support was provided to staff, students and family impacted by the tragedy at Education House.
"It was a very sad time for the university and particularly upsetting for staff and students at Education House. The student’s family were in close touch with university staff and attended a memorial service held for the student by the university," the spokesperson said.
An independent investigation will take place after a student was found dead on Monday at Sonoda Village.
Education House provides self-catered accommodation for mature students.
"As one would expect with mature students, residents are not expected to sign in and out of the hall and their privacy is respected," the spokesperson said.
At the time of the death, only around one-third of the rooms at the hall were occupied.
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