If you have been found guilty of Academic Misconduct, you will have received a decision letter from the Associate Dean Academic with the finding and the penalty.

The Academic Misconduct policy is included in Chapter VIII of the Undergraduate Calendar, and Chapter II of the Graduate Calendar. You have the right to appeal both or either the finding of guilt and/or the penalty imposed, if you can provide grounds to show that

• the decision was unfair or unreasonable in light of the evidence  presented;
• new evidence is available that was not available at the time of the original decision;
• there was procedural unfairness or bias.

All penalties are assessed according to the established Guidelines for Penalties for Academic Misconduct (undergraduate [1] ; graduate [2]) To make a case for appealing the penalty, you must be able to present a rationale for why the penalty, which is assigned according to the Guidelines, would be unfair or unreasonable in your particular case.

Lack of intention is not a defense against Academic Misconduct.  You may still be found guilty of committing Academic Misconduct even if you did not “intend” to do so.

Deadline for appealing an Academic Misconduct Decision/ Penalty

You have 10 working days to file an appeal/ petition, from the date of the Associate Dean's decision letter/ email to you. You will be required to include the Associate Dean’s decision letter/ email in the documents submitted as part of your appeal.

If, after reviewing the policy in the calendar, you wish to proceed with an appeal, contact Student Judicial Services at judicial@uoguelph.ca [3] for more information.