UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty and request to defer one–year suspension – previous late withdrawal granted on condition that Student was expected to follow procedures and timelines in future – stress from financial and familial circumstances – Student knew drop dates and warning that Faculty would not accommodate requests if procedures not complied with – not reasonable to attempt to complete all courses given weak academic record – academic record did not corroborate the claim that grades were brought about by external circumstances – appeal dismissed
UTSC – request for deferral of final examinations – medical and religious grounds – prevented by illness from seeing doctor on day of exam – medical certificate and evidence established serious illness – subjective nature of whether attendance was “actually prevented” by illness – see provision S.B.2 of the Calendar – Faculty’s interpretation of medical certificate requirements too rigid – regulation does not prescribe that medical advice must be sought on day of missed examination – see provision S.D.3(a) of the Calendar – delay in seeking medical attention may affect weight and credibility of evidence but not determinative – minority opinion that onus to prove illness prevented writing exam not satisfied – exams conflicted with religious obligations – dates not deferred prior to exam due to examination preparation and belief that Faculty would arrange later dates – prevented from writing exams due to busy time proceeding exams and personal concerns – any lulling effect of Faculty comments overcome when exam dates were communicated – University duty to accommodate religious requirements but students must also plan lives with University calendar in mind – University fulfilled its duty by providing opportunity to avoid actual conflicts – appeal with respect to deferral of the final examination in one course allowed – appeal with respect to deferral of final examinations in three courses dismissed – failing grade in the course to be vacated and Student to be permitted to write a deferred examination in the Faculty’s period for deferred examinations
UTSC – late withdrawal without academic penalty and request to defer a three–year suspension – chronic illness and depression – insufficient medical evidence – consequences of failing the course known – remained in course while dropping another – not probable that depression was cause of failed exam or decision not to withdraw from course – appeal dismissed
UTSC – request to defer one–year suspension – previous suspension deferred – psychological disorder diagnosed post-facto – assistance offered but not sought until second suspension – treatment not progressed because access to services restricted as a suspended student and because of reluctance to seek help from external sources – due to timing of request granting remedy could further alienate Student – appeal dismissed
Faculty of Arts and Science – appeal of late withdrawal without academic penalty and appeal of a course grade – no notification of Faculty relief until end of the subsequent term – purported agreement that Student be allowed to proceed with subsequent term, and, barring inadequate performance, retroactive withdrawal be revoked – Professor lacked authority to make purported agreement – no detrimental reliance on purported agreement – timely notice received and decisions valid despite postal mishap – agreement to retroactively adjust course mark – course instructor lacked authority to increase grade for medical reasons – course grade never properly appealed – appeal dismissed
School of Graduates Studies – request to remain in program and repeat two courses – alternative request to apply for re–admission to program – financial circumstances – enrollment in continuing education – difficulty acclimatizing to university culture – allegation of bias – financial circumstances and decision to pursue supplemental learning could not excuse failure to meet University standards – circumstances did not allow two-failure rule to be overridden nor appropriate to make exception to rule – not unduly disadvantaged relative to other students – no evidence of procedural error, unfairness or bad faith in assessment process – minority opinion that financial hardship affected Student’s performance and to grant relief on compassionate grounds would not be dangerous precedent – appeal dismissed
UTM – late with withdrawal without academic penalty – personal and financial problems – Faculty granted deferred exams for the courses – deferred exams not written – no specific reason offered for not writing deferred exams – no new or different information presented – opportunity afforded by Divisional remedy not used – no evidence of compelling circumstances – drop dates for withdrawing from courses should have reasonably been known – Appeal dismissed
UTSC – late withdraw without academic penalty – alternative request to re-write final examination for 100% of course mark – request to re-write final examination in another course – illness during exam period – Student not unfairly advantaged over other students if allowed re-write of final examination for 100% of course mark – evidence did not establish finding that Student did "no work" – medical notes adequate despite Student not visiting doctor on date of examination – neither remedy requested so clearly indicated or excluded – minority opinion that evidence did not justify interfering with Divisional Appeals Committee decision – no evidence for negative finding that diagnosis was "inconsistent” – "actually prevent" suggests that a student acting in good faith should reasonably feel that she or he is not up to getting to the examination site and completing the examination – see Faculty’s Academic Regulations – medical notes equivocal as to degree of incapacitation – onus on student to establish reasonable grounds for failing to attend an examination – appeal allowed in part – request for late withdrawal without academic penalty from one course or alternatively, to re-write the final examination for 100% of the course mark allowed – request to re-write the final examination in another course denied – Student to elect whether to withdraw from the course without academic penalty or write a final examination for 100% of the course mark
School of Graduate Studies – grade appeal – Student’s performance re–evaluated by new examiner – external assessment of academic work – any possible flaws from previous evaluations cured by reevaluation – no basis for claim that the new examiner lacked qualifications – strength or fairness of the reevaluation not undermined by lower grade – new examiner acted properly in conducting independent reevaluation – no jurisdiction to re–evaluate course work and no reason to do so given new evaluator’s expertise and fairness of reevaluation process – appeal dismissed – observation that recording a conversation with a member of the university community without consent is contrary to the university’s atmosphere of good faith
Faculty of Arts and Sciences – late withdrawal without academic penalty – appeal twelve years after receiving failing grade – illness – grade could unfairly restrict opportunity to pursue academic career or further academic study – not possible to accumulate sufficient documentary evidence as to how illness affected academic performance – insufficient medical evidence – medical documentation not created at time of petition – familiarity with University procedures – minority opinion that circumstances of medical condition prevented Student from seeking assistance at the time and that oral evidence substantiated claim of illness – appeal dismissed
Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – request to substitute new marks for marks received in course assessments – grade appeal – extraordinary external pressures – Faculty granted retroactive withdrawal without academic penalty – remedy rejected – request that grades be raised by between 5.5 and 10 marks – remedy sought not afforded by Faculty and too speculative – awarding of grades is function of appropriate faculty – role of appeal tribunals – appeal dismissed
UTM – extension on course work – due date extended twice – failure to submit work a result of leaving insufficient time to complete it – Faculty not at fault for Student’s complaints – appeal dismissed – recommendation that Faculty specify a firm time and date on which an assignment is due when granting extensions
School of Graduate Studies – request for examination to be remarked by external examiner – Procedural Guide for Externally Rereading an Examination – capacity of examiners challenged – allegations of personal and generalized bias – no jurisdiction to assess correctness of exam marks or competence of examiners unless reasonable apprehension of bias – no evidence of personal bias – examiners did not know Student’s identity or status – no evidence of generalized bias – collective mindset against acceptance of Student’s theoretical approach improbable – minority opinion that discrepancy between prior marks and failure on exam, and potential lack of specific math expertise of faculty cause for concern – minority opinion that letter from Faculty to Chair of Graduate Department Student Appeals Committee attempted to intimidate Student – appeal dismissed
UTSC – request to write deferred examination – illness – fourteen prior medical petitions – history of complaints used to assess credibility of claim of illness – claim of illness not credible – no evidence of chronic ailment –medical certificates from different doctors – University heath facilities not visited – minor ailment – could have attended and written exam – de minimis type of illness not sufficient to be considered a disability within Ontario Human Rights Code – appeal dismissed
Woodsworth – grade appeal – flaws in the training and “feedback” processes of the practicum – the position of the Student was not significantly different from that of other students in similar placements – teacher trainers not required to submit interim reports – recommendation that teacher trainers be required to submit an interim report to the Faculty, with a copy being given to the student – weight of required instruction unclear – recommendation that the weight of the instruction must be determined and published in advance if it is to be evaluated in determining final results – not probable that the Student would have passed the practicum had the procedural matters not existed – appeal dismissed – Faculty advised that the Student could retake the practicum, while retaining credit for other courses taken – recommendation that fees be waived should Student repeat the practicum
Faculty of Pharmacy – exemption from program requirements – Divisional appeal allowed despite irregularities and failure to follow procedure – financial circumstances considered – no extenuating circumstances related to academic performance – appeal dismissed
UTM – request to graduate with a cumulative GPA of less than 1.50 – alternative request for late withdrawal without academic penalty – courses taken 15 years prior to appeal – university degree required in order to keep job – inadequate ground for granting relief especially after passage of time and number of attempts to reregister and raise cumulative GPA – cannot waive academic standards for employment needs – appeal dismissed
UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – stress from combined workload – no reference to links with academic performance in medical evidence – no evidence of circumstances where adverse factors arose, unexpectedly continued, or unexpectedly significantly worsened after the drop date – Student had performance concerns by drop date but elected to remain – appeal dismissed
UTSC – request to write deferred examination – subsequent request for late withdrawal without academic penalty – 3 examinations over two–day period – anxiety and stress – examinations were not consecutive – UTSC standard for medical documentation not met – rules regarding deferred examinations understood – no ameliorative steps to seek academic assistance or reduce course load – confusion regarding difference between UTSC policy and Faculty of Arts and Science policy did not sufficiently disadvantage Student – appeal dismissed
UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – extension on course work afforded due to illness – illness impeded ability to complete term work – work for other courses completed not as complex – no medical evidence – aware of option to seek late withdrawal without academic penalty but chose to request extensions instead – appeal dismissed
UTM – request for early return from three year suspension – failure to attain the required sessional and cumulative GPA – no mitigating factors contributing to academic performance – desired maturation had not occurred – Student did not realistically evaluate prospects – no consideration or investigation of likelihood of admission to education faculty – self–appraisal not reliable – appeal dismissed
Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – request to increase term sessional average – grade appeal – illness affected exam preparation and performance – medical and oral evidence insufficient – weakness in term work played role in poor results – appeal dismissed