DATE: January 22, 2019
PARTIES: University of Toronto v. A.N.
Hearing Date: December 12, 2018
Panel Members:
Mr. Bernard Fishbein, Chair
Prof. Margaret MacNeill, Faculty Member
Ms. Julie Farmer, Student Member
Appearances:
Ms. Tina Lie, Assistant Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Mr. Abu Sadat Mohammad Nurunnabi, the Student
Mr. Hatim Kheir, Representative for the Student, Downtown legal Services
In Attendance:
Ms. Krista Osbourne, Administrative Clerk & Hearing Secretary, Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances
Trial Division – s. B.I.1(d) of Code – plagiarism – Student submitted a final paper in each of two courses containing the work of others represented as his own – Agreed Statement of Facts – guilty plea – Joint Submission on Penalty accepted – prior academic offence - grade assignment of zero for both courses; temporary suspension; temporary notation on academic record; publication of notice of decision and sanction, with Student’s name withheld.
The University Tribunal convened on December 12, 2018 to hear charges of academic misconduct laid by the Provost against the Student under the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters, 1995 (the “Code”). The Student was charged with two offences under s. B.I.1(d) of the Code for knowingly representing the work of another as his own in two final papers submitted in two bioethics courses, respectively. The Student was charged in the alternative with two academic offences under s. B.I.1(b) of theCode (unauthorized assistance) and, in the further alternative, with two academic offences under s. B.I.3(b) of the Code(cheating for academic advantage). The Student attended the hearing with a legal representative.
The Student pleaded guilty to the charges and the parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts (“ASF”) to the Panel. In view of the ASF and the Student’s admissions, the Panel found the Student had violated s. B.I.1(d) of the Code with respect to both courses. The University withdrew the alternative charges.
The parties also submitted a Joint Statement on Penalty (“JSP”) setting out the particulars of one prior academic offence of plagiarism. The Panel accepted the JSP, noting that it struck an appropriate balance between the seriousness of the offence, and the prior misconduct of the Student (albeit not as serious as the latest charges) and the fact that the Student now appeared to recognize this and be remorseful by both agreeing to the facts of the misconduct and the degree of penalty to be imposed. The Panel imposed the following sanctions: a final grade assignment of zero for both courses; a suspension from the University until August 31, 2021; a notation of the sanction on the Student’s academic record and transcript until one year after the Student’s graduation, withdrawal or program termination; and publication by the Provost of a notice of the decision and sanction imposed, with the name of the Student withheld.