Appealing a decision
An appeal is your right to challenge the decision maker’s decision. It is also important to understand what an appeal is and isn’t.
Every student found responsible for a policy violation has the right to request an appeal within 10 business days of receiving their letter. To receive an appeal, you must demonstrate that you have one (or more) of the following grounds;
- A procedural error occurred that may have reasonably affected the fairness of the process or may have altered the outcome of the case;
- A reasonable demonstration that the Decision Maker(s) had an unfair bias;
- There is new information that was not reasonably available at the time of the decision and would likely have resulted in a different outcome;
- A reasonable demonstration that the resolution(s) imposed was unreasonable when considering the circumstances of the case.
Demonstrate that you have met one of the grounds above and the Student Appeal Committee Chair will convene an impartial panel of three people called a Hearing Board. When you meet with them, you’ll want to focus on sharing your reason(s) supporting the ground(s) you selected, not all the details of the incident.
This process applies to the following policies:
- The Code of Student Academic Integrity
- The Code of Student Community Standards
- The Gender-Based Violence and Misconduct Prevention and Response Policy
Appeal FAQs
You have the right to withdraw your Appeal at any time.
Include the ground(s) for requesting your appeal, your reason(s), a copy of the original decision being appealed and a description of your desired outcome. You may also provide a list of any Witnesses who could potentially participate and the name of an individual who could serve as your Support Person.
Please be sure to include a detailed account of all relevant information in your appeal request. The Chair makes their decision based on the information you provide, If you think it is relevant, please include it.
If you have been issued a significant and impactful resolution as part of the original decision, you may include a request for the temporary suspension of that resolution(s) and the reason(s).
If your Appeal Request is denied, you will receive written notice, including the reason for why your Appeal Request was denied.
The Hearing Board is selected in a specific way to ensure there are no conflicts of interest and that they are not affiliated with your area of study. You will be provided the names of the members involved in reviewing your appeal prior to the Appeal Hearing so you can declare if you have a conflict with any of the members.
- The Chair gives opening remarks, welcomes you, and reviews expectations.
- You share your information followed by questions from Hearing Board members.
- Your Witnesses, if any, share their information and are asked questions from the original Decision Maker and Hearing Board members.
- The original Decision Maker presents a statement, usually their reason(s) for having made the decision they did, followed by questions from Hearing Board members.
- The original Decision Maker’s Witnesses, if any, present information and are asked questions from you and the Hearing Board members.
- You may then ask questions of the original Decision Maker. They may ask questions of you. You both must direct your questions, respectfully, through the Hearing Board Chair.
- The original Decision Maker shares any final comments. You and the Hearing Board may ask follow up questions.
- You can then share any final comments. The original Decision Maker and Hearing Board members may ask you follow up questions.
- The Hearing Board members may ask any final clarifying questions.
- The Chair wraps up the meeting by sharing next steps. You and the original Decision Maker leave the room.
- The Hearing Board reviews your case privately and makes a decision.
Before an Appeal Hearing, the original Decision Maker will receive information regarding your Request and will be asked to submit a written response. This will be included in a Hearing Package and distributed to you five (5) days prior to the hearing.
It’s important to confirm your attendance and to attend your appeal. Don’t forget to share the date/times/location with your Witnesses and Support Person too. If you fail to attend your Appeal Hearing, the hearing may continue without you unless you can provide an exceptional circumstance.