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UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – mature student – family issue – child – no dispute of truthfulness of events – deadline – drop-date – candid and forthcoming – nature of a drop-date – nature of a deadline – allowed to take up to last day possible – extenuating circumstances – requirements of allowing late withdrawal without academic penalty – appeal allowed

UTSC – extension of time to write an examination – late withdrawal without academic penalty – medical illness – UTSC Student Medical Certificate – morning exam – afternoon exam – significant medical emergency – UTSC provisions governing special consideration, petitions, and appeals (s. B.7.) – OSAP eligibility – medical certificate accepted by UTSC – face value of the medical certificate – fair application of policies regarding late withdrawal without academic penalty – unanticipated circumstances –– impossibility of original remedy – compelling evidence of a significant medical emergency – grade vacated – retroactive withdrawal without academic penalty – appeal allowed

School of Graduate Studies – course grade appeal – program coordinator acted outside her scope of authority and recommended changing the grade from B+ to A- – course instructor re-read the paper and confirmed B+ – another faculty member re-read the paper and confirmed B+ – Student was treated incorrectly due to the procedural error – Divisional Appeal Board assigned a grade of CR – Committee could not raise the grade as the paper had been re-read twice by experts in the field and it had no authority to change a grade – CR designation was the most appropriate remedy as it helped the Student in that it would not reduce her average – appeal dismissed

UTM – late withdrawal without academic penalty – Student’s medical disability and family challenges worsened unpredictably – lack of communication between the University’s accessibility centres on different campuses – incomplete options presented to the Student prior to the drop date – cumulative impact of the factors on the Student’s academic performance warranted granting the rare remedy – appeal allowed

Scarborough Subcommittee on Academic Appeals – appeal of decision refusing late withdrawal without academic penalty – Student’s petition based on disruption to course arising from Teaching Assistant strike at the University – while Student showed poor judgment in remaining in course, Student may still have passed course but for disruption caused by strike - important guiding principle that in all but the most extraordinary cases, late withdrawals after failure has been recorded should not be granted - retroactive withdrawals from failed courses are an extraordinary remedy – effect of strike for Student may have proved insurmountable - circumstances very much a function of the Student’s unique characteristics and not meant to diminish standard by which late withdrawals for academic penalty are granted - appeal allowed

School of Graduate Studies (SGS) – Student appeal of procedures adopted at re-reading of paper - SGS motion to summarily dismiss Student’s appeal as both frivolous or vexatious and on the ground that appeal brought out of time dismissed – no credible evidence to support Student’s allegation of improper communication between School and re-reader of Student’s paper, but should hear appeal as Student only had to show his argument was a possible interpretation of what transpired – not vexatious – preferable to give students exact copy of re-reader’s written assessment save for any matter that might disclose the identity of the re-reader – appeal dismissed.

Faculty of Arts and Science (“FAS”) – Student appeals FAS Academic Appeals Board decision denying Student’s request to either withdraw without academic penalty or to recalculate Grade Point Average for three courses using the previous policy – University’s revised grading policy not adequately communicated - University can make changes to grading policies but students should not be disadvantaged retroactively or prospectively by new system - questions of ambiguity should be resolved in favour of student – student bore some responsibility - appeal allowed

Faculty of Arts and Science – Student appealed Faculty decision denying petition to substitute grade based on Faculty memorandum on special academic relief as a result of a teaching assistant (TA) strike at University – Faculty interpreted memorandum as requiring that only effect of the strike itself could be considered in deciding to award special grades to petitioning student - strict interpretation of Faculty rejected by AAC – as remedial provision, memorandum should be given expansive reading - students seeking relief from academic harm flowing from strike should not have to engage in statutory interpretation to select precise form of remedy to seek - remedies should be available when effects of strike are significant factor among others which cumulatively justify relief – effect of strike must be considered with respect to individual student, not some ‘typical’ student – Student sufficiently adversely affected by combination of strike and TA’s illness that relief should be granted - appeal allowed – grade of D- vacated and grade of CR substituted

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – Student appealed Faculty decision that missed final examination should not be counted in computing final course mark – Student petition based on medical grounds – attack on credibility always relevant in considering evidence – where University grants relief on medical grounds, it accepts that student’s ability to perform so adversely affected that results cannot be relied upon – academic delinquency irrelevant in determining this issue – University cannot deal with academic delinquency by withholding otherwise proper relief on petition based on medical or similar grounds – where character of party impugned, witness should be present to be cross-examined – Faculty committees did not publish reasons for decisions – elementary fairness requires publication of summary of reasons for decision at a minimum - appeal allowed

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – Student appealed Faculty decision determining no basis to alter assessed grade awarded to Student – Faculty erred in procedure used for assessing Student’s grade – where Faculty offers assessed grades rather than supplemental examinations cannot do so in opaque manner - no compelling argument why Faculty did not use formula outlined in its ‘Term Work Report’ – instructor’s comments valuable but should not form basis of assessment – Faculty must be held to its own test set out in ‘Term Work Report’ – appeal allowed

Faculty of Arts and Science (“FAS”) – Student appeals FAS Academic Appeals Board decision denying Student’s petition to Committee on Standing requesting late withdrawal without academic penalty from first-year Italian course – Student had diagnosed learning disability and medical conditions causing extreme migraines – Student experienced family medical emergencies and failed to withdraw from course within prescribed deadline – fact that Student entitled to special accommodation does not absolve her of responsibility to comply with University’s rules governing the dropping of courses – students entitled to special accommodation nevertheless have obligation to assess own ability within any particular course and to withdraw prior to deadline if they feel they cannot pass - special and unique family emergencies arose in this case which exacerbated learning disability - appeal allowed

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – re-instatement to program – Student was refused further registration due to an average below the Faculty’s requirements – Student argued that her heavy workload and anxiety/stress issues warranted a remedy – Committee noted the high bar set to obtain relief in order to maintain the integrity of the Faculty – Committee took into account evidence of the Student’s positive mental health progression – Committee took into account the fact that the Faculty had previously provided relief to the Student based on the same events at issue in this appeal – Faculty staff names can be redacted when the nature of the case is sensitive and the staff are directly involved – appeal allowed

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – late withdrawal without academic penalty – medical issues caused the Student’s to miss his deferred examination on all of the scheduled dates – Faculty refused to allow further deferrals or withdrawal from the Course – Committee held that this situation was not one of a Student “cherry-picking” courses to improve his transcript, but rather one of trying to find an appropriate solution for a difficult situation brought on by medical problems – evaluating the Student on the basis of the examination that the Faculty had already recognized was not a proper test of his understanding of the Course material was not a fair application of the Faculty’s policies – appeal allowed

SGS – motion to refuse to give hearing on the ground that AAC does not have jurisdiction to grant remedies requested – request for an implicit increase of grade and a re-evaluation by substituting a paper for the exam – no jurisdiction to increase grade – s.3(b) of the GAAB Terms of Reference on jurisdiction – Committee has a broad power to order re-evaluation of any grade – Committee rejected that a “re-evaluation” does not include a modification of the method of re-evaluation – hearing should be held only on the issue of substitution of a paper for the exam

Faculty of Arts and Science– request for an examination deferral – Student was more than thirty minutes late for his deferred exam – Student’s failure to contact the Registrar once he realized he was late was not unreasonable given the missing instructions in the Academic Calendar – appeal allowed

Faculty of Pharmacy – appeal from a failure in Fourth Year of program and request to write supplemental examination – anxiety problems in examination situations – oral evidence of family and peers offered lay corroboration of claims but did not justify relief – previously undiagnosed test anxiety disorder – probable that condition was present and operating during examinations in courses and if condition had been known and accommodated the Student might have proceeded in program – condition of relief that Student would not seek to proceed with a repeat of the First Term of her Forth Year at the same time as preparing for her supplemental exam due to concerns that Student would jeopardize both projects – appeal allowed – Student to be permitted to write a supplemental examination in the course to be completed by the normal final examination period of the subsequent term so that the Student had the maximum opportunity to benefit from treatment – The Student was barred from using her medical condition as a ground of appeal from the final grade awarded in the supplemental examination

Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education – grade appeal – exemption from program requirements – deference given to course instructors absent evidence of unfairness – justifications for course policies concerning late assignments – no significant evidence of unfairness – student was an exemplary member of the faculty community – faculty support for student to be able to take a different course to fulfill program requirements – adequacy of reasons – appeal allowed in part

Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design – grade appeal – timeliness – exceptional circumstances included the delay returning test and lack of response to a number of emails directly asking about the grade – department did not deal with substance of student’s appeal – appeal allowed – test remitted to the Department to consider the substance of the Student’s appeal

Faculty of Arts and Science – late withdrawal without academic penalty – appeal allowed

Faculty of Medicine – Student appeals FMAAC decision to dismiss as abandon his appeal from BoE decision dismissing him from M.D. program – standard of review is reasonableness of FMAAC decision – Student’s FIPPA request provides some explanation for failure to meet appeal deadlines – intention to pursue appeal – no prejudice to Faculty – appeal allowed