5.8 Can I appeal a decision regarding Academic Misconduct?
It depends. If you signed an Agreement on a Lesser Academic Offence, then you have agreed that you committed the offence and that you accept the sanction. If you did not sign the Agreement on a Lesser Academic Offence or if you received a sanction for a Major Academic Offence, then you have the right to appeal any decision. However, you are only allowed to appeal under certain circumstances. You may appeal a decision
within 10 working days of the original faculty-level decision. Appeals can only be made based on:
- New evidence (i.e., evidence relevant to the decision made at the faculty level, but, through no fault of the student, not presented at that level. Generally speaking, events or academic performance that happened after the faculty-level decision are not considered new evidence; or
- Evidence of procedural irregularity in the original consideration of the case (i.e., a mistake may have been made).
Your appeal must contain:
- The specific decision which is being appealed;
- The form of redress requested (i.e., how could the incorrect decision be remedied);
- The specific grounds on which the appeal is made (i.e., is there new evidence or was there a procedural error);
- A summary of the evidence in support of these grounds (i.e., what is the new evidence or what was the procedural error);
- The complete text of the decision being appealed (i.e., the paragraph or wording from the decision letter); and
- The text of the relevant procedural regulations (if any) allegedly violated or otherwise deemed applicable to the case.
