DATE: June 8, 2017
PARTIES: University of Toronto v. S.S. (“the Student”)
Hearing Date(s): March 8, 2017
Panel Members:
Mr. William C. McDowell, Lawyer, Chair
Professor Pascal Riendeau, Faculty Panel Member
Mr. Harvey Lim, Student Panel Member
Appearances:
Ms. Tina Lie, Assistant Discipline Counsel, Paliare Roland Barristers
The Student
In Attendance:
Ms. Lucy Gaspini, Manager Academic Integrity, University of Toronto – Mississauga (“UTM”)
Ms. Tracey Gameiro, Associate Director, Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances
Mr. Sean Lourim, Technology Assistant, Office of the Governing Council
Trial Division – s. B.i.1(d) of the Code – plagiarism – copied information from unattributed sources and submitted them for course credit – Student cooperated with the discipline process – Agreed Statement of Facts – Joint Submission on Penalty – final grade of zero in the two affected courses, a suspension from the University for three years, notation on transcript and record until graduation, and a report to the Provost for publication
The Student pled guilty to two charges of plagiarism contrary to section B.i.1(d) of the Code. The charges related to assignments that were handed in for course credit in two different courses that contained materials that had been copied from unattributed sources on the internet. The Student submitted that he had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and dysthymia, however without medical documentation to support this claim the Panel was unable to consider these illnesses as mitigating factors. The Student had been very keen to enter his plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity and admitted to each offence with the Dean’s Designate, which the Panel considered to be significant mitigating factors. The Panel accepted the parties’ Joint Submission on Penalty and imposed a sanction of a final grade of zero in the two affected courses, a suspension from the University for three years, a notation on the Student’s academic record and transcript until graduation, and a report to the Provost.