DATE: May 7, 2025
PARTIES:
University of Toronto v. W.L. ("the Student")
HEARING DATE: April 7, 2025, via Zoom
PANEL MEMBERS:
Alexandra Clark, Chair
Professor Ted Kesik, Faculty Panel Member
Ozanay Bozkaya, Student Panel Member
APPEARANCES:
William Webb, Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Daniel Walker, Counsel for the Student, Bobila Walker Law
IN ATTENDANCE:
The Student
HEARING SECRETARY:
Christina Amodio, Special Projects Officer, Office of Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances
The Student was charged with one count of using and/or possessing an unauthorized aid during the final exam in ECO349 (the “Course”) contrary to section B.I.1(b) of the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters, 2019 (the “Code”).
The hearing proceeded on the basis of an Agreed Statement of Facts (“ASF”) and Joint Submission on Penalty (“JSP”). The ASF detailed that the Student was required to write a final exam in the Course. During the exam, the professor suspected the Student was using spy technology because he was holding his exam booklet in an unusual way and wrote little to nothing for the first 30 to 45 minutes of the exam. On confronting the Student, they found a smartphone, a transmitter device, wired controllers connected to the transmitter, and a microphone, all hidden in various ways. The Student admitted that they paid a third party for unauthorized aid during the exam. Based on the ASF and the admissions within, the Panel found the Student guilty of unauthorized aid, contrary to section B.I.1(b) of the Code
In determining the appropriate sanction, the Panel considered the JSP submitted by the parties, case law, and the submissions of the parties. The Panel noted that this is some of the most egregious form of cheating, as it involved premeditation and coordinated. The Panel noted that the presence of an ASF and JSP were significant mitigating factors and also considered the Student’s early admission of guilt. While the Panel indicated a preference for a notation that is fixed in time, the Panel concluded that the sanctions proposed in the JSP would not be contrary to the public interest nor would they bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
The Panel imposed the following sanction: a final grade of zero in the Course; a five-year suspension; and a notation on the Student’s academic record and transcript until graduation.