Faculty Appeals

Students may appeal to the Committee on Appeals decisions made by any Standing Committee of Faculty Council and approved by Faculty Council.

Structure:

The Appeals Committee of the Council of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy has been established as the formal structure within the Faculty for the hearing of appeals. Within the Faculty, final decision on an appeal rests with this Committee which reports to Faculty Council for information.
The Committee is comprised of a Chair, four academic members of Faculty Council and one student enrolled in the same program but not in the same class as the appellant. Members of the Committee will not have had any previous association with the matter which forms the substance of the appeal.
A further right of appeal is to the Academic Appeals Committee of the Governing Council. An appeal to the Academic Appeals Committee shall, expect in exceptional circumstances, be commenced by filing a notice with the Secretary of the Committee no later than ninety days after the decision from which the appeal is being taken has been communicated in writing to the appellant. Information regarding the Academic Appeals Committee’s Terms of Reference, Membership and Notice of Appeal Form are available online at https://governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/processes/academic-appeals.

Procedures:

In the event that students feel they have a cause for appeal and are considering a formal appeal, they must consult the Faculty Registrar about the preparation and submission of the appeal.
An appeal may be submitted when a student feels that relevant evidence of circumstances impacting his/her performance was not duly considered when a decision affecting the student was taken. Therefore, an appeal normally must be preceded by the submission of a petition. In the absence of a petition, permission to submit an appeal may be granted nonetheless by the Appeals Committee at the hearing of the appeal. In such a case, the reason(s) for the failure to submit a petition must be stated in the appeal.
Appeals and all material relied upon must be submitted to the Faculty Registrar within 21 calendar days of the communication of the decision that is being appealed. Permission to file any material which was not available, or could not by reasonable means be made available by this date, or which comes to light after this date and prior to the appeal hearing, must be obtained from the Faculty Registrar in consultation with the Chair of the Appeals Committee.
The appeal shall: i) be in writing; ii) state the nature and grounds of the appeal, and iii) be accompanied by any documents which will be used in support of the appeal.
Receipt of an appeal will be acknowledged by the Chair of the Appeals Committee in a letter sent by registered mail or other receipted delivery.
The Chair of the Appeals Committee, along with the Faculty Registrar, will then set a date and time for the appeal to be heard. The appellant will be notified of the date, time and place of the hearing by registered mail or other receipted delivery. The general format for the conduct of the hearing will also be communicated to the appellant.
Students have the right to appear before the Appeals Committee with or without legal counsel. If students intend to be accompanied by legal counsel, this must be communicated to the Chair of the Appeals Committee in the appeals submission.
Students also have the right to call evidence and present argument in person and/or through legal counsel.
The Appeals Committee is required to arrive at a majority decision and this decision, together with a concise but complete statement of the reasons for the decision, will be sent to the appellant by registered mail or other receipted delivery the next business day following the hearing.

Conduct of the Appeal Hearing

Prior to date of the hearing of the appeal, the Faculty Registrar will distribute, on a confidential basis, to each member of the Appeals Committee, to the Dean (or designate) of the Faculty and to the appellant, a copy of the appeal submission and supporting documents, and a copy of any other relevant materials. Members of the Committee will review but will not discuss the case prior to the hearing.
On the day of the hearing, immediately prior to the hearing being called to order, the members of the Appeals Committee will meet to review the materials pertinent to the appeal. When the submission of an appeal has not been proceeded by the submission of a petition, the Committee will determine if the appeal will be heard.
When the hearing is called to order, the parties present will be the members of the Appeals Committee, the appellant and his/her legal counsel (if desired), the Dean (or designate) of the Faculty and the Faculty Registrar.
The hearing will be conducted as follows:

the Chair will make an opening statement to provide information concerning the disposition of the case by the Committee;
the appellant or his/her legal counsel will be given the opportunity to make a statement;
the Dean (or designate) of the Faculty will be allowed to provide comment;
each member of the Committee will have the opportunity to ask questions of the appellant, the Dean (or designate) and the Faculty Registrar;
the appellant or his/her legal counsel will be allowed to make a brief statement in summation of the appeal.

All parties except the members of the Appeals Committee will then leave the room and the Committee will proceed to deliberate and come to a decision on the appeal.

Other Important Information

Students submitting an appeal are required to provide proper documentation in support of the appeal.

If illness is the reason for the appeal, the ‘University of Toronto Verification of Illness or Injury’ form should be submitted. Note that the physician’s report must establish that the student was examined and diagnosed at the time of the illness, not after the fact. As well, a statement that merely confirms a report of illness made by the student for documentation by the physician will not be sufficient. Rather, the medical report must show:

that the student was examined at the time of illness;
the degree of disability involved;
the duration of the disability;
the practitioner’s professional opinion as to whether the student should receive special consideration on medical grounds.

Statements from social workers, lawyers, clergy and other professionals may also be relevant and should:

state the nature and extent of the problem;
give his/her professional opinion as to whether the student should receive special consideration on the grounds documented in the student’s appeal.

Students are assured that all student records are confidential, including appeal submissions and supporting documentation. As stated in the University’s ‘Guidelines Concerning Access to Student Academic Records’, only those staff members who need to may “have access to relevant portions of an official academic record for the purposes related to the performance of their duties.”
Students are also assured that they will have the opportunity to raise matters of proper concern to them, throughout the appeals process, without fear of disadvantage.
University policies relevant to the appeals process include, but are not limited to the following:

All University policies can be found at: https://governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/secretariat/policies