Who Will be Attending the Hearing?


The Panel

Panels are composed of four people, the Senior Chair or an Associate Chair, who is legally qualified, and three members of the Discipline Appeals Board. One member shall be a faculty member and two members of the panel shall be student members. Panel members are neutral and will not have sat on the Student’s case previously and will have no prior knowledge of the student’s situation when chosen to hear the appeal. Once selected, they will be given details about the Student’s case. The appeal materials filed by both parties will be provided to the panel members in advance of the hearing. The Chair is responsible for answering any questions of law and writing the final decision of the panel, which the other panel members will review and approve.

Normally the following individuals will also be at the hearing:

Representative from the Division

A representative from the Division to which the Student belongs. This may be a Dean’s Designate or other Divisional Representative.

Division’s legal counsel

The Division’s legal counsel is hired by the University to prosecute the Student’s case and represents the interests of the University at the hearing.

Secretary

The Secretary for the hearing is the Director of the Office of Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances (ADFG) or his or her designate. The Secretary is neutral and his or her role is to record the hearing and answer procedural questions. He or she does not have a speaking role at the hearing.

The Student

The Student may choose to attend the hearing or not, with or without counsel.

NOTE: A hearing may proceed in a student’s absence.

Observers

Observers sometimes attend hearings and this may include, for example: 

  • The Student’s family and/or friend(s)
  • A member of the Discipline Appeals Board who is not a panel member for that particular hearing
  • Articling Students invited by the Division's legal counsel
  • Other individuals from Downtown Legal Services (DLS)
  • A University employee connected to the case