Queen's University Belfast is to set up a disciplinary committee to deal with anti-social students who live off-campus.
The move follows unrest early yesterday involving up to 200 students in streets near the university which house up to 5,000 students who attend a range of colleges.
The disturbances began after a BBC Northern Ireland programme about student misbehaviour in the so-called Holy Land area near Queen's. Hundreds of students took to the streets protesting that the BBC had represented them unfairly. Missiles were thrown, cars and property were damaged and there were reports of intimidation of residents and assault. The PSNI was called but there were no arrests.
The incident, say residents, is the most serious in a long list of disturbances involving drunken students in the Holy Land where streets are named after Middle East capitals.
In response, Queen's yesterday outlined a strategy to counter the behaviour of its students which make up just under 50 per cent of the local student population.
Prof Gerry McCormac, pro-vice chancellor with responsibility for community and communications, told The Irish Times last night: "When a complaint is made or when the police raise an issue, the student will be visited and talked to. Depending on the severity of the complaint they could be fined, disciplined, suspended or they could be referred to the university's disciplinary committee which has the ultimate power of expulsion."
He said the disciplinary code would be explicitly aimed at off-campus students. The 2,100 living in student accommodation and subject to university rules and procedures did so without serious incident, he added.
Some 40 per cent of the students in the Holy Land are undergraduates at the University of Ulster. It has had measures in place to deal with anti-social behaviour for the past four years and sources indicate a belief that it has been countering the unruly behaviour problem largely alone.
Ms Ann Monaghan, a University of Ulster community relations officer, said last night that university staff were present during the trouble to monitor events. She alleged: "The police maintained a presence some distance away because there were individuals in the crowd seeking the police to come and arrest them so that the rest of the student body would engage in other activity."
Local representatives united yesterday in condemnation of the trouble. Sinn Féin's Mr Alex Maskey, who helped quell the students, joined the UUP's Mr Michael McGimpsey and SDLP deputy leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell in calls for concerted efforts to deal with the troublemakers.