Case #907

DATE:  June 20, 2017
PARTIES: University of Toronto v. Y. L. (“the Student”)

Hearing Date(s):  April 28, 2017

Panel Members:
Ms. Amanda Heale, Chair
Professor Michael Saini, Faculty Panel Member
Ms. Amanda Nash, Student Panel Member

Appearances:
Mr. Robert Centa, Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Ms. Emily Home, Articling Student, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Mr. Nathan Korenberg, agent for Juslaw Legal Services, paralegal for the Student

In Attendance:
Ms. Krista Osbourne, Administrative Clerk and Hearing Secretary, Office of the Appeals,
Discipline and Faculty Grievances
Mr. Sean Lourim, lT Support, Office of the Governing Council

Not in Attendance:
The Student

Trial Division – s. B.i.1(a) of the Code – forging or falsifying information in a petition for accommodation – purchase of forged medical certificates from third party – Student not present – Agreed Statement of Facts – Joint Submission on Penalty – prior offence – sanction – a final grade of zero in the affected course, a suspension from the University for three years, an order on the Student’s record and transcript for four years, and a report to the Provost for publication


Student was charged with one charge of forging or falsifying information contained in her petition for academic accommodation contrary to s. B.i.1(a) of the Code, or in the alternative, one charge of academic dishonesty under s. B.i.3(b) of the Code. In an Agreed Statement of Facts (ASF), the Student admitted to committing the offence of forging or falsifying information for her petition for academic accommodation contrary to s. B.i.1(a) of the Code. Upon the Panel’s acceptance of the Student’s guilty plea, the University withdrew the alternative charge of academic dishonesty.


The charge related to information contained in the Student’s Personal Statement and accompanying University Verification of Student Illness or lnjury Form submitted in support of the Student’s petition to have a final exam deferred. In these documents, the Student purported to have visited a clinic and received advice from “Dr. John Winston” who had signed her Verification of Student Illness or Injury Form. A later investigation turned up that Dr. Winston did not exist. The Student admitted to purchasing the forged Verification of Student Illness or lnjury Form from a third party. 


The parties submitted a Joint Submission on Penalty (JSP) of a final grade of zero in the affected course, a suspension from the University for three years, a notation on the Student’s record and transcript for four years, and a report to the Provost for publication. The Panel found the JSP to be reasonable in these circumstances, where the offence at issue was serious plus the Student had been previously sanctioned for using an unauthorized aid. The Panel also considered the mitigating factors the Student was only four credits away from graduation and that she had cooperated with the discipline process by submitting an ASF and a JSP.  The Panel accepted the JSP and ordered a final grade of zero in the affected course, a suspension from the University for three years, a notation on the Student’s record and transcript for four years, and a report to the Provost for publication.