FILE:
Case # 1431 (2022-2023)
DATE:
June 6, 2023
PARTIES:
University of Toronto v. Z.Y.L. (“the Student”)
HEARING DATE(S):
March 6, 2023, via Zoom
PANEL MEMBERS:
Sarah Whitmore, Chair
Professor Paul Kingston, Faculty Panel Member
Nik Khakhar, Student Panel Member
APPEARANCES:
Tina Lie, Assistant Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Jonah Dutz, Representative for the Student, Downtown Legal Services
The Student
HEARING SECRETARY:
Carmelle Salomon-Labbé, Associate Director, Office of Appeals, Discipline and Faculty of Grievances
The Student was charged with knowingly obtaining and/or providing unauthorized assistance in connection with three terms tests (“Term Tests”) in ECO2201Y1 (“the Course”), contrary to s. B.i.1(b) of the Code. In the alternative, the Student was charged under s. B.i.1(d) of the Code for knowingly representing as their own an idea or expression of an idea or work of another in connection with the Term Tests. In the further alternative, the Student was charged with knowingly engaging in a form of cheating, academic dishonesty or misconduct, fraud or misrepresentation not otherwise described in the Code to obtain academic credit or advantage, contrary to s. B.i.3(b) of the Code.
The Student attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. The hearing proceeded on the basis of an Agreed Statement of Facts (“ASF”) submitted by the University and the Student along with a Joint Book of Documents (“JBD”). According to the ASF, the Student was enrolled in the Course in Fall 2020 and Winter 2021. The Course was taught online due to the pandemic. The Term Tests were administered online, and the syllabus stated that students were not permitted to collaborate with one another on the Term Tests. In March 2021, a teaching assistant notified the instructor that a phrase kept appearing in students’ answers. After detailed investigation, the teaching team found that a large number of students had collaborated on some or all of the Term Tests. The instructor found that several of the Student’s answers to Term Tests 2, 3, and 4 were highly similar to that of other students.
In February 2022, the Student sent the Academic Integrity office a letter in which he apologized for committing an academic offence in Term Test 3. At the Dean’s Designate meeting, the Student admitted to obtaining unauthorized assistance in Term Tests 2, 3, and 4 through WeChat. After considering the ASF and JBD, the Panel accepted the Student’s guilty plea and found the Student guilty of three counts of knowingly obtaining and/or providing unauthorized assistance contrary to s. B.i.1(b) of the Code. The University withdrew the alternative charges.
The University and the Student submitted a Joint Submission on Penalty (“JSP”). In determining the appropriate sanctions, the Panel considered the seriousness of the offence, the circumstances of the pandemic and the need for deterrence. The Panel also noted that there was a likelihood that the Student might commit another offence due to their two prior offences. The Panel also noted that the Student’s behaviour demonstrates a breach of trust that causes detriment to the University. The Panel also considered several mitigating factors, such as the Student’s cooperation, the ASF, and the JSP, which showed insight and remorse. The Student also voluntarily elected to attend academic workshops indicating his desire to rehabilitate his academic career and complete his degree with integrity. The Panel found the JSP reasonable and accepted it.
The Panel imposed the following sanctions: a final grade of zero in the Course; a four-year and four-month suspension from the University; a notation of the sanction on the Student’s academic record and transcript for a period of six years or until graduation, whichever comes first; and a report to the Provost for publication.