University Tribunal
What happens if my case is referred to the University Tribunal?
If your case is not resolved at the Faculty/division level, and is referred instead to the University Tribunal, you will receive a letter from the Provost’s Office, setting out the charges being brought against you under the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. You will then be provided with an opportunity to attend a hearing of your academic integrity case held by the University Tribunal. It can often take a number of months before this hearing can be held, depending on the number of cases being scheduled at any given time by the Tribunal.
At the Tribunal hearing, a panel of three individuals, including a student and a faculty member, will hear the evidence from both you and from the University, and decide whether or not you have committed the offence you are charged with. You will be given the opportunity to explain what happened in detail, and explain your side of the case. The process is quite formal, and you may obtain legal representation if you wish. Many students choose to have Downtown Legal Services, whose services are free to U of T fee-paying students, represent them at the University Tribunal. However, legal representation is certainly not required, and many students attend their hearing on their own; the Tribunal is accustomed to having students attend without legal representation.
If you are found by the Tribunal panel to have committed the offence, the panel will hear further evidence and submissions about the appropriate sanction, and will then determine the sanction or penalty to be imposed on you.
The penalties that can be imposed by the Tribunal are set out in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters at section C.ii.(b). Most sanctions imposed by the Tribunal involve a suspension of at least one year, meaning that you are not permitted to attend the University for the year. Sanctions for the most serious offences can include suspension from the University for up to five years, recommendation to Governing Council for expulsion from the University (meaning that you are permanently barred from attending U of T from that point onwards), and the cancellation of degrees in the case of graduates.
For examples of recent decisions issued by the University Tribunal against U of T students, please review the following pages: