Academic Appeals

do you want help with your academic appeal?

Downtown Legal Services (DLS) can help! DLS is a legal clinic with experience representing students in the academic appeals process. It is located on the University of Toronto campus and provides free legal services to students who qualify.

To find out whether you have met the criteria to file an appeal with the ADFG Office, please see the When Can I File an Appeal? section.

The Policy on Academic Appeals within Divisions (“Policy”) outlines that an academic appeal is an appeal by a student of the University against a University decision either as to their success or failure in meeting an academic standard or other academic requirement of the University, or as to the applicability to their case of any academic regulation of the University. However, as per the Policy, no appeal lies from any admissions decision.

The standard of review of an academic appeal is reasonableness. The purpose of a hearing before the Academic Appeals Committee is to review the Division/Faculty’s decision to determine if it was reasonable and not to retry the case. 


In accordance with the Terms of Reference, the Academic Appeals Committee’s function is:

  1. To hear and consider appeals made by students against decisions of faculty, college or school councils (or committees thereof) in the application of academic regulations and requirements and to report its decisions, which shall be final, for information to the Academic Board. The name of the appellant shall be withheld in such reports
  2. To advise the Academic Board on policy with respect to academic appeals throughout The University and on Divisional appeal procedures.
  3. To determine detailed procedures in its own operations.

The ADFG Office is responsible for managing the administration of the Academic Appeals Committee.

Please note: the contents of the web site, where possible, have been written in simplified language. Should a question/dispute arise where the language in the web site differs from the Terms of Reference, the Terms of Reference will prevail.

do you want an easy way to understand the academic appeals process?

Click below for an easy-to-understand flowchart illustrating the entire academic appeals process.