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Faculty of Law – appeal of a grade for course work – Interim Chair appointed, pursuant to Terms of Reference – independent review of paper – instructor’s original grade and reasons included in rereading process – bias – fairness in process and appearance of fairness in process of equal consideration – process not at arm’s length – failure to provide level of fairness consistent with claim of Faculty – appeal allowed – independent review of paper to be conducted by minimum of two reviewers, selected from outside the Faculty, and who receive only the paper, the course description and an explanation of the requirements for the paper – average of grades received from the two independent reviewers to determine the Student’s final grade for the paper.

UTSC – late withdrawal without academic penalty – alternative request for a notation placed on transcript – undiagnosed learning disability not known until after completion of course – post–facto request – aware of drop dates – no alternative options or assistance sought – remedy only sought for lowest mark of academic career – impossible to predict to what degree learning disability affected academic performance – notation allowed in similar circumstances – special consideration would have been afforded had learning disability been known – appeal allowed in part – appeal with respect to late withdrawal without academic penalty denied – appeal with respect to the request for a notation on transcript allowed – Student to have noted on or with transcript that the Student had an unidentified learning disability that could have entitled her to special accommodation for such tests and examinations, with respect to time allotted, location, and computer assistance provided

School of Graduate Studies – request that a course failure not constitute a failure for the purposes of invoking the two-failure rule – request to have an exam re–read – request to re-write a make–up exam and use an exam already written as the make–up exam – request that a grade be removed from the transcript and replaced by the mark received when the course was retaken – exemption from program requirements – illness of child and family responsibilities – permission to re-write exam rescinded – allegation of bias – reasonable apprehension of bias regarding objectivity of mark given – Faculty promise relied upon – irregularities and ambiguities in wording and application of two-failure rule – minority opinion that two-failure rule was clearly stated and Student was made aware of rule – appeal allowed – Student permitted to re-write exam and use exam mark already obtained as make–up exam – Student granted rereading of final exam in accordance with the SGS Procedural Guide for Externally Rereading an Examination Written by a Graduate Student and grade to be substituted for grade of FZ – grade of FZ in course not to be counted as a failure for purpose of invoking two-failure rule

UTSC – request to defer a one–year suspension – suspension served – request that notation of suspension be removed from transcript – personal and medical factors – most factors present prior to drop dates – parents' divorce could not have been foreseen – disadvantaged position exacerbated by news of parents’ divorce – request for deferred examination not easily granted – situation faced by the Student in short time between receipt of news and beginning of examinations militated against denying relief – Divisional Appeals Committee not able to weigh credibility – appeal allowed in part – suspension to be treated as deferred – no basis for removing notice of deferred suspension from transcript

UTSC – request to write a deferred examination – student visited dying family member abroad – had family member died then conditions for special considerations would be met and petition granted – see Faculty’s policy on deferred exams – reasonable to consider visit to dying family member to be equally appropriate “special circumstance” – no position to predict course of family member’s fatal illness – need to travel abroad a factor beyond Student’s control – Divisional Appeals Committee did not have complete information before it – Divisional Appeals Committee was under mistaken impression that the Student was failing course – error sufficient to undermine fair process – appeal allowed – Student permitted to write deferred examination in course

Faculty of Arts and Science – late withdrawal without academic penalty – bulimia – new evidence hears – stress from course exacerbated condition – reliance on advice of professor and mental health counselor – decision to choose mental health over studies only choice available – initiated attempts to get out of course within days of drop date, without final grade being assessed, and having obtained a respectable mark – assistance sought – condition considered despite not being raised in initial appeal – Divisional Appeals Board considered erroneous ground in its decision and did not consider professor’s advice – appeal allowed – grade of “F” in the course to be vacated and replaced with “WDR”

UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – attempts to drop course on ROSI denied as a result of system failure – Faculty failed to provide ROSI records in support of its case – onus on the University to provide evidence in support of its case when Student’s academic record and career are at stake – due diligence demonstrated by Student – appeal allowed – the grade of “F” in the course to be vacated and replaced with WDR

Faculty of Arts and Science – late withdrawal without academic penalty – physical and psychological effects of serious medical condition – no reasonable time to adjust and recover before drop date or before evaluations completed and submitted – appeal allowed – grade in the course vacated, and Student to be permitted to withdraw without academic penalty – recommendation that a warning be issued that University staff who undertake to advise students must not divulge information received or make any comment based upon it without the student's permission – concern with Divisional Appeal Board’s decision – any advice from the Divisional Appeal Board should follow after the decision called for by the appeal, and not control the decision

UTSC – late withdrawal without academic penalty and deferral of three–year suspension – harassment – death of family member – depression – poor academic performance prior to death in family – aware of counseling services available – past harassment not a factor in poor performance – graduation requirements – exam performance affected by death in family – Faculty would have allowed remedy of rewriting final exams – re-write of final examinations granted – appeal allowed in part – request for late withdrawal without academic penalty dismissed – request for deferral of three–year suspension dismissed - Student permitted to re-write final examinations in any or all of the courses

UTSC – late withdrawal without academic penalty – alternative request for aegrotat standing – illness effecting exam performance – deficient medical evidence – oral submissions established illness – not debarred from acting on finding of fact due to deficient medical evidence – unfair negative conclusions regarding “the problem of selectivity” – not unreasonable for a student adversely affected by illness to accept favourable examination results nor inconsistent to appeal other unfavourable examination results – requirement for granting aegrotat standing met – appeal allowed – grade of “F” vacated and replaced with grade of AEG – recommendation that the University take a more proactive role in reviewing the submission of medical documentation when accepting petitions

UTSC – request to re-write final examination and defer three year suspension – difficulty adjusting to university and family problems – problems not sufficiently compelling to interfere with three–year suspension – illness – deficient medical documentation – exam performance not substantially weaker than term average – oral evidence accepted – probable that failure on examination would not have happened but for medical condition – minority opinion that illness was insufficient basis to explain failure – appeal allowed in part – Student to be permitted to re-write examination – appeal to defer three–year suspension dismissed

UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – unable to write third deferral of examination due to chronic migraine headache – disability – Faculty refused to entertain further petitions – no jurisdiction to set policy limits regarding whether Faculty could reasonably take the position that it had granted enough accommodations to a particular student – late withdrawal request reasonably believed to be only remedy available – no difference between request and similar previous requests – appeal allowed – choice of remedy offered – Student to elect whether to withdraw late without academic penalty or write the deferred examination

Faculty of Law – grade appeal – aegrotat standing, “pass” standing, or increase from grade requested – aegrotate standing – external assessment of academic work – delay, frustration, late instructions and lack of guidance – delay and frustration met definition of exceptional circumstances – more time to complete the assignment without delay and frustration – better performance with earlier instructions – grade inconsistent with other grades – appeal allowed – grade of "D" vacated and replaced with a grade of AEG – recommendation that the Faculty provide its faculty with information regarding orientation, evaluation methods, and the obligations of its teaching staff – unfairness related to the third party reader process – violation of procedure for a third party reader to receive extraneous comments

OISE/UT – request to repeat practicum session – first and second practicum sessions failed – performance affected by illness – allegation of bias – classroom skills adversely affected by illness – supervisors did not have opportunity to consider or mitigate effects of illness – Associate teacher was aware of failure of first practicum session – appropriate test of bias is “whether a reasonably informed bystander could reasonably perceive bias on the part of the adjudicator” – knowledge of previous failure might predispose adjudicator failing student again – same faculty advisor in both practicums – threshold test met for reasonable apprehension of bias – appeal allowed – minority opinion that but for the effects of illness the Student would still not have been able to overcome the defects in classroom performance and that flaws in the Student’s performance were already a matter of serious concern before the Student’s failure in the first practicum became known – appeal allowed – failure in the second practicum vacated and the Student allowed to repeat it – recommendation that the Faculty reconsider its appeal process regarding practicums

Faculty of Arts and Science – request to write deferred examination and extension on course work – treatment for psychiatric illness – teaching style and course expectations unreasonable – abusive instructor – instructor’s demands not excessive – instructor’s counter–reactions did not exceed permissible bounds – Faculty recommended late withdrawal without academic penalty – deferred standing not appropriate – request to complete course in a manner not consistent with original course – stigma from notation of “withdrawal without academic penalty” not as bad as notation of “fail” – appeal allowed – if the Student accepted late withdrawal without academic penalty within thirty days of release of the decision then the grade of “F” would be vacated, and a notation of WDR substituted – if the Student did not accept the relief then the appeal would be dismissed

UTSC – extension on course work – subsequent request of late withdrawal without academic penalty – illness and back injury – medical evidence incomplete – credible testimony – significant accommodation provided – situation not sufficiently serious by drop date to withdraw from courses – late withdrawal without academic penalty not appropriate – appeal allowed in part – Student permitted to submit late work – completed assignment to be submitted within twenty business days – not completed work to be submitted within twenty business days of receiving assignment

UTSC – late withdrawal without academic penalty – mental and physical difficulties following accident – divisional remedy to re-write examination unreasonable as condition worsened – Committee opinion that monetary relief should not be provided – appeal allowed – late withdrawal without academic penalty granted

Faculty of Arts & Science – late withdrawal without academic penalty from four courses – combination of adverse circumstances – petition filed 4 years after completing courses – Faculty did not rely on delay in filing petition – unusual circumstances prevented making a rational decision – compassionate grounds – appeal allowed in part – late withdrawal from one course allowed – late withdrawal from three courses dismissed

Faculty of Medicine – motion to quash appeal – undue delay and want of prosecution – termination from residency programme in plastic surgery – belief that there was no urgency in filing the material referred to in the Notice of Appeal – depression and personality disorder – Acting Secretary’s response clearly indicated no hearing date would be fixed until complete submission were received – surrounding circumstances did not remove prima facie unreasonableness for delay – medical reports did not explain delay in proceeding – intention to proceed with appeal abandoned – Faculty and Governing Council under no duty to press matter – excessive delay prejudiced Faculty response – Faculty evidence vulnerable to challenge due to delay – Motion granted – Appeal quashed for excessive delay in prosecution – Divisional Appeals Committee decision stands as final decision of University

UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty and leave to file late appeal – ongoing anxiety and depression – no evidence that medical condition prevented or hindered withdrawing from courses in timely fashion – impact on a Student’s GPA not a reason for granting late withdrawal – unduly technical to deny leave to file a late appeal in the circumstances – medical evidence directly connected the student’s medical state with missing the drop deadline for two courses – Appeal allowed in part – withdrawal without academic penalty from two courses allowed – withdrawal without academic penalty from two other courses dismissed

UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – unexpected personal circumstances – Faculty custom to grant late withdrawal, once only per student, when requested before final examination – circumstances lasted longer than could reasonably be expected – cultural reasons led Student to give greater weight to advice of teaching assistant – grade must be evaluated against class average – minority opinion that circumstances at the drop date required a decision to either lighten load or take a chance on being unable to overcome difficulties – appeal allowed – grade of F vacated, retroactive withdraw without academic penalty allowed

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – late withdraw without academic penalty – health reasons – conflicting submissions regarding withdrawal of earlier petition – Faculty granted remedy of assessed grade – continuance of hearing would create undue hardship to Student – permitting withdrawal from course would not compromise Faculty’s standards – repetition of session coupled with undergoing unusually long period of enforced absence from studies would be unduly harsh consequence – appeal allowed – grade in course vacated and replaced with non–grade report WDR

UTSC – request to write deferred examination – alternative remedies proposed by Student – best efforts to acquire medical evidence in support of illness – no basis for insisting that a student has greater responsibility to provide “solid documents to justify the event” for a missed examination worth 100% of the final grade than a student who misses an examination worth less than 100% – appeal allowed – Student permitted to write deferred examination