FILE:
Case # 1462 (2022-2023)
DATE:
April 15, 2023
PARTIES:
University of Toronto v. N.K. (“the Student”)
HEARING DATE(S):
February 1, 2023, via Zoom
PANEL MEMBERS:
Ira Parghi, Chair
Professor Glen Jones, Faculty Panel Member
Matthaeus Ware, Student Panel Member
APPEARANCES:
Tina Lie, Assistant Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Lauren Rainsford, Co-Counsel, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
HEARING SECRETARY:
Nusaiba Khan, Quasi-Judicial Administrative Assistant, Office of Appeals, Discipline and Faculty of Grievances
The Student was charged under s. B.i.1(a) of the Code. The charge pertained to allegations that the Student knowingly forged an academic record, specifically a degree certificate from the University of Toronto for an Honours Bachelor of Science and made use of the falsified record by providing it to Hire Right, a background screening company. Following the 2013 Fall term, the Student completed an academic suspension for a low GPA, after which the Student did not return to the University. At the time of submission, the Student had not graduated from the University of Toronto. The Student did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. The Student and the Provost of the University submitted a Joint Book of Documents. In the Agreed Statement of Facts, the Student acknowledged receipt of the notice of electronic hearing and admitted that she had submitted the degree certificate to Hire Right and she had not graduated from the University. The Student admitted that the degree was forged and that she knowingly made use of the falsified record. The Student did not wish to participate in the Tribunal proceeding and requested that the University continue in her absence. The Panel accepted the Student’s guilty plea to the charge under s. B.i.1(a) upon reviewing the Agreed Statement of Facts and attached documents. As part of the Joint Book of Documents, the Provost and the Student filed a Joint Submission on Penalty signed by the Student.
In determining the appropriate sanction, the Panel found that the nature of the offence was very serious and the detriment to the University occasioned by the offence was severe due to the Tribunal’s observance that forged certificates damage the University’s reputation. The Panel found that there was a strong need to deter others from committing a similar offence because the offence threatens the University’s integrity. The Panel found that there was no evidence about the character of the Student nor extenuating circumstances because she had not participated in the proceedings. The Panel found that though the Student had no prior offences, she had engaged in deliberate dishonesty by forging and using the degree certificate. Counsel for the University directed the Tribunal to multiple prior decisions in which students who had forged degree certificates were recommended for expulsion, including cases where the student had no prior academic offences.
The Panel imposed the following sanctions: immediate suspension from the University for a period of five years from the date of the Tribunal’s order or until the Governing Council makes its decision on expulsion; a corresponding notion on the transcript; a recommendation that the Student be expelled; and a report to the Provost for publication.