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The Governing Council of the University of Toronto has approved a Code of
Behaviour, which sets out
clearly the standard of conduct in academic matters expected of members of the
University community. The
Code is enforced by the Provost and the Disciplinary Tribunal. Below are
extracts from the Code, covering
offences, sanctions and procedures as they apply to students. The full text is
available from the Office of the
Dean, and the Offices of College Registrars.
The University and its members have a responsibility to ensure that a climate
that might encourage, or con-
ditions that might enable, cheating, misrepresentation or unfairness not be
tolerated. To this end all must acknowledge that seeking credit or other
advantages by fraud or misrepresentation, or seeking to disadvantage
others by disruptive behaviour is unacceptable, as is any dishonesty or
unfairness in dealing with the work
or record of a student.
Wherever in the Code an offence is described as depending on "knowing", the
offence shall likewise be
deemed to have committed if the person ought reasonably to have known.
1. It shall be an offence for a student knowingly:
(a) to forge or in any other way alter or falsify any document
or evidence required for admission to the
University, or to utter, circulate or make use of any such forged, altered or
falsified document,
whether the record be in print or electronic form;
(b) to use or possess an unauthorized aid or aids or obtain
unauthorized assistance in any academic
examination or term test or in connection with any other form of academic work;
(c) to personate another person, or to have another person
personate, at any academic examination or
term test or in connection with any other form of academic work;
(d) to represent as one's own any idea or expression of an idea or
work of another in any academic
examination or term test or in connection with any other form of academic work,
i.e. to commit
plagiarism;
(e) to submit, without the knowledge and approval of the instructor
to whom it is submitted, any
academic work for which credit has previously been obtained or is being sought
in another course
or program of study in the University or elsewhere;
(f) to submit for credit any academic work containing a purported
statement of fact or reference to a
source which has been concocted.
2. It shall be an offence for a faculty member knowingly:
(a) to approve any of the previously described offences;
(b) to evaluate an application for admission or transfer to a
course or program of study by other than
duly established and published criteria;
(c) to evaluate academic work by a student by reference to any
criterion that does not relate to its merit,
to the time within which it is to be submitted or to the manner in which it is
to be performed.
3. It shall be an offence for a faculty member and student alike
knowingly:
to forge or in any other way alter or falsify any academic record, or
to utter, circulate or make use
of any such forged, altered or falsified record, whether the record be in print
or electronic form.
to engage in any form of cheating, academic dishonesty or misconduct,
fraud or misrepresentation
not herein otherwise described, in order to obtain academic credit or other
academic advantage of
any kind.
4. A graduate of the University may be charged with any of the
above offences committed
intentionally while he or she was an active student, when, in the opinion of
the Provost, the offence,
if detected, would have resulted in a sanction sufficiently severe that the
degree would not have
1.(a) Every member is a party to an offence under this Code who
knowingly:
(i) actually commits it;
(ii) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding or
assisting another member to commit the
offence;
(iii) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding or
assisting any other person who, if that
person were a member, would have committed the offence;
(iv) abets, counsels, procures or conspires with another member to
commit or be a party to an offence; or
(v) abets, counsels, procures or conspires with any other person
who, if that person were a member,
would have committed or have been a part to the offence.
(b) Every party to an offence under this Code is liable upon
admission of the commission thereof, or
upon conviction, as the case may be, to the sanctions applicable to that
offence.
2. Every member who, having an intent to commit an offence under
this Code, does or omits to do
anything for the purpose of carrying out that intention (other than mere
preparation to commit the
offence) is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence and liable upon
conviction to the same
sanctions as if he or she had committed the offence.
3. When a group is found guilty of an offence under this Code,
every officer, director or agent of the
group, being a member of the University, who directed, authorized or
participated in the
commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable
upon conviction to the
sanctions provided for the offence.
NOTE: Where a student commits an offence, the faculty in which the student is registered has responsibility
over the student in the matter. In the case of Scarborough and Erindale colleges, the college is deemed to be
the faculty.
1. No hearing within the meaning of Section 2 of the Statutory Powers
of Procedures Act is required
for the purposes of, or in connection with, any of the discussions, meetings
and determinations
referred to in Section C.I.(a), and such discussions, meetings and
determinations are not
proceedings of the Tribunal.
2. Where an instructor has reasonable grounds to believe that an
academic offence has been committed
by a student, the instructor shall so inform the student immediately after
learning of the act or
conduct complained of, giving reasons, and invite the student to discuss the
matter. Nothing the
student says in such a discussion may be used or receivable in evidence against
the student.
3. If after such discussion, the instructor is satisfied that no
academic offence has been committed, he
or she shall so inform the student and no further action shall be taken in the
matter by the instructor,
unless fresh evidence comes to the attention of the instructor, in which case
he or she may again
proceed in accordance with subsection 2.
4. If after such discussion, the instructor believes that an
academic offence has been committed by the
student, or if the student fails or neglects to respond to the invitation for
discussion, the instructor
shall make a report of the matter to the department chair or through the
department chair to the dean.
(See also Section C.I.(b)1.)
5. When the dean or the department chair, as the case may be, has
been so informed, he or she shall
notify the student in writing accordingly, provide him or her with a copy of
the Code, and
subsequently afford the student an opportunity for discussion of the matter. In
the case of the dean
being informed, the chair of the department and the instructor shall be invited
by the dean to be
present at the meeting with the student. The dean shall conduct the interview.
6. Before proceeding with the meeting, the dean shall inform the
student that he or she is entitled to
seek advice, or to be accompanied by counsel at the meeting, before making, and
is not obliged to
make, any statement or admission, but shall warn that if he or she makes any
statement or admission
in the meeting, it may be used or receivable in evidence against the student in
the hearing of any
charge with respect to the offence or alleged offence in question. The dean
shall also advise the
student, without further comment or discussion, of the sanctions that may be
imposed under Section
C.I.(b), and that the dean is not obliged to impose a sanction but may instead
request that the Provost
lay a charge against the student. Where such advice and warning have been
given, the statements
and admissions, if any, made in such a meeting may be used or received in
evidence against the
student in any such hearing.
7. If the dean, on the advice of the department chair and the
instructor, or if the department chair, on
the advice of the instructor, subsequently decides that no academic offence has
been committed and
that no further action in the matter is required, the student shall be so
informed in writing and the
student's work shall be accepted for normal evaluation or, if the student was
prevented from
withdrawing from the course by the withdrawal date, he or she shall be allowed
to do so. Thereafter,
the matter shall not be introduced into evidence at a Tribunal hearing for
another offence.
8. If the student admits the alleged offence, the dean or the
department chair may either impose the
sanction that he or she considers appropriate under Section C.I.(B) or refer
the matter to the dean or
Provost, as the case may be, and in either event shall inform the student in
writing accordingly. No
further action in the matter shall be taken by the instructor, the department
chair or the dean if the
dean imposes a sanction.
9. If the student is dissatisfied with a sanction imposed by the
department chair or the dean, as the case
may be, the student may refer the matter to the dean or Provost, as the case
may be, for
consideration.
10. If the student does not admit the alleged offence, the dean may, after
consultation with the instructor
and the department chair, requires that the Provost lay a charge against the
student. If the Provost
agrees to lay a charge, the case shall then proceed to the Trial Division of
the Tribunal.
11. Normally, decanal procedures will not be examined in a
hearing before the Tribunal. A failure to
carry out the procedures referred to in this Section, or any defect or
irregularity in such procedures,
shall not invalidate any subsequent proceedings of or before the Tribunal,
unless the chair of the
hearing considers that such failure, defect or irregularity resulted in a
substantial wrong, detriment
or prejudice to the accused. The chair will determine at the opening of the
hearing whether there is
going to be any objection to defect, failure or irregularity.
1 2. No degree, diploma or certificate of the University shall
be conferred or awarded, nor shall a student
be allowed to withdraw from a course from the time of the alleged offence until
the final disposition
of the accusation. However, a student shall be permitted to use University
facilities while a decision
is pending, unless there are valid reasons for the dean to bar him or her from
a facility. When or at
any time after an accusation has been reported to the dean, he or she may cause
a notation to be
recorded on the student's academic record and transcript in a course and/or the
student's academic
status is under review. A student upon whom a sanction has been imposed by the
dean or the
department chair under Section C.I.(b) or who has been convicted by the
Tribunal shall not be
allowed to withdraw from a course so as to avoid the sanction imposed.
13. A record of cases disposed of under Section C.I.(a) and of the
sanctions imposed shall be kept in the
academic unit concerned and may be referred to by the dean in connection with a
decision to
prosecute, or by the prosecution in making representations as to the sanction
or sanctions to be
imposed by the Tribunal, for any subsequent offence committed by the student.
Information on such
cases shall be available to other academic units upon request and such cases
shall be reported by the
dean to the Secretary of the Tribunal for use in the Provost's annual report to
the Academic Board.
The dean may contact the Secretary of the Tribunal for advice or for
information on cases disposed
of under Section C.II. hereof.
14. Where a proctor or invigilator, who is not a faculty member,
has reason to believe that an academic
offence has been committed by a student at an examination or test, the proctor
or invigilator shall
so inform the student's dean or department chair, as the case may be, who shall
proceed as if he or
she were an instructor, by analogy to the other provisions of this section.
15. In the case of alleged offences not covered by the above and not
involving the submission of
academic work, such as those concerning forgery or uttering, library or
computer material or library
or computer resources, and in cases involving cancellation, recall or
suspension of a degree,
diploma or certificate, the procedure shall be regulated by analogy to the
other procedures of this
section.
1. In an assignment worth 10 percent or less of the final grade,
the department chair may handle the
matter if:
(i) the student admits guilt; and
(ii) the assignment of a penalty is limited to at most a mark of
zero for the piece of work.
If the student does not admit guilt, or if the department chair
chooses, the matter shall be brought
before the dean.
2. One or more of the following sanctions may be imposed by the
dean where a student admits to the
commission of an offence:
(a) an oral and/or written reprimand;
(b) an oral and/or written reprimand and, with the permission of the
instructor, the resubmission of the
piece of academic work, in respect of which the offence was committed, for
evaluation. Such a
sanction shall be imposed only for minor offences and where the student has
committed no previous
offence;
(c) assignment of a grade of zero or a failure for the piece of
academic work in respect of which the
offence was committed;
(d) assignment of a penalty in the form of a reduction of the final
grade in the course in respect of which
the offence was committed;
(e) denial of privileges to use any facility of the University,
including library and computer facilities;
(f) a monetary fine to cover the costs of replacing damaged
property or misused supplies in respect of
which the offence was committed;
(g) assignment of a grade of zero or a failure for the course in
respect of which the offence was
committed;
(h) suspension from attendance in a course or courses, a program,
an academic division or unit, or the
University for a period of not more than twelve months. Where a student has not
completed a course
or courses in respect of which an offence has not been committed, withdrawal
from the course or
courses without academic penalty shall be allowed.
3. The dean shall have the power to record any sanction imposed on
the student's academic record and
transcript for such length of time as he or she considers appropriate. However,
the sanctions of
suspension or a notation specifying academic misconduct as the reason for a
grade of zero for a
course shall normally be recorded for a period of five years.
4. The Provost shall, from time to time, indicate appropriate
sanctions for certain offences. These
guidelines shall be sent for information to the Academic Board and attached to
the Code as
Appendix "C".
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