DATE:
August 21, 2013
PARTIES:
University of Toronto v. V.P.
Hearing Date(s):
August 13, 2013
Panel Members:
Clifford Lax, Chair
Pascal Van Lieshout, Faculty Member
Stoney Baker, Student Member
Appearances:
Lily Harmer, Assistant Discipline Counsel for the University
Julia Wilkes, Counsel for the Student
In Attendance:
The Student
Brian Corman, Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Vice-Provost, Graduate Education
Christopher Lang, Director, Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances
Student charged with one offence under s. B.i.1(e), one offence under s. B.i.1(d), and in the alternative, one offence under s. B.i.3(b) of the Code. The charges related to an allegation that the Student resubmitted work for which she had previously received credit. The Student pleaded guilty and the matter proceeded by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts. The work that was resubmitted by the Student for credit was originally authored by a group that included the Student in a previous course. The resubmitted work did not include appropriate reference to the contributions made by the Student’s former group members. The Panel accepted the Student’s guilty plea and the University withdrew the alternative charge.
The parties presented a Joint Submission on Penalty (JSP). This was the Student’s second offence. The Student had been sanctioned for similar conduct at the Decanal level a year prior to the current hearing. The Student admitted to committing the offences early in the process and subsequently cooperated with the University. According to the Panel, the Student’s medical condition neither excused nor justified their unacceptable conduct. The sanctions agreed to by the parties adequately reflected the serious nature of the offences. The proposed penalties were reasonable in light of all of the evidence and reflect the range of sanctions imposed in other decisions relied upon by counsel for the University. The Panel accepted the joint submission and imposed a final grade of FZ in one course, a four-year suspension; a five-year notation on the Student’s transcript; and report to the Provost for publication.