Other Scenarios (e.g. forgery, impersonation, etc)

Scenario 1:

You have a Philosophy paper due on Friday October 14th. The course outline indicates that if you do not hand in your assignment on time you will receive a deduction of 1% per day that the paper is late, unless you have a valid reason for the delay. You are not able to finish the paper on time because you are not feeling well. You go to the local walk-in clinic on the morning of October 14th to see the doctor. You ask for a medical note. The doctor writes you a note and indicates that you are able to return to class on October 14th. You take the note, thank the doctor, and go home for the day. You complete your paper on the weekend. On Monday October 17th while getting ready for class, you read the medical note and realize that the doctor wrote that you could attend class on October 14th. You panic and change the date of the note to read that you can return to class on October 24th. You go back to your Philosophy class on Monday October 24th with your medical note and your finished paper.

The Issue:

Although you have received an official doctor's note for your absence, you are not legally permitted to make any changes to the original document regardless of whether the doctor has made an error. You are also falsely extending your period of absence from the University without any official documentation from your doctor. Altering  a medical certificate is considered to be an academic offence and you may be sanctioned by the University.

Description/Relevant Section of Code:

Section B.i.1.(a): To forge or in any other way alter or falsify any document or evidence required by 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.

Section B.i.3.(b): 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.

Range of Consequences

For offences on term work, term tests, or final exams, the sanction(s) recommended may be:

  • An assigned final grade of zero (0) for the course in which the offence was committed;
  • Suspension from attending the University for up to 12 months;
  • An annotation on your academic transcript; and/or
  • The matter may be forwarded to the Tribunal for resolution.

Smart Strategies:

  • Speak with your doctor to correct the note.
  • Notify your instructor of the error made by your doctor rather than altering your medical note and postponing your return to school. The Office of the Registrar or your instructor is likely to call your doctor's office to receive confirmation of your illness. Do not make any changes to the document in order to maintain legitimate proof of your absence. It is unreasonable to assume that your instructor will not believe you, especially if you have visited the doctor and there is official documentation to prove that.
  • You may contact your undergraduate advisor on how to approach the issue if you see an error on your doctor’s note.

Scenario 2:

You are extremely stressed out with school and are prone to suffer from anxiety attacks.  You feel overwhelmed with the amount of workload near the end of the first term. Exams are just around the corner and you are not prepared for your upcoming French exam. You are nervous and feel like you need more time to study so you decide to miss your exam. You notify your French instructor that you will be absent due to the death of a loved one. Your instructor understands your difficult situation and requests supporting documentation to keep on file. You decide to submit a falsified funeral program and/or death certificate.

The Issue:

Lying to the instructor or submitting falsified documents to support your absence from an exam will only makes things worse. Instructors often confirm a student's absence by calling the funeral home. You are committing an academic offence by forging a document and there are serious consequences for such actions.

Description/Relevant Section of the Code:

Section  B.i.1.(a): To forge or in any other way alter or falsify any document or evidence required by 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
 
Section B.i.3.(b): 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.

Range of Consequences

For offences on term work, term tests, or final exams, the sanction(s) recommended may be:

  • An assigned final grade of zero (0) for the course in which the offence was committed;
  • Suspension from attending the University for up to 12 months;
  • An annotation on your academic transcript; and/or
  • The matter may be forwarded to the Tribunal for resolution. 

 Smart Strategies:

  • You should speak to a Health Services counsellor or contact personal services in your community to help you cope under stressful situations. Please be aware that individual circumstances may be considered for those who suffer from anxiety and/or other health-related issues.
  • Be proactive and seek help to prevent yourself from committing an academic offence.

Scenario 3:

Your instructor has asked all students to write a research paper on various topics related to Criminology. Aware that you have already completed a paper on one of the approved topics listed in the course outline, you decide to use a paper that you previously submitted in another Criminology course. This not only saves you time but you also remember that you received an exceptional grade on the paper. You decide to include a few additional paragraphs to the paper you previously wrote but fail to clarify with your instructor whether you are able to recycle your old assignment. You are confident that your sources are cited appropriately and similar to your previous course, you submit your assignment through turnitin.com.

The Issue:

Students are not allowed to submit assignments for which a credit has been previously received unless approval is given by the instructor. The purpose of enrolling in a variety of courses is to learn more about a discipline through a range of perspectives. If you simply re-submit your old assignment, you are not “learning” rather taking the easy way out of engaging in your studies. It is likely that you will be approached by the instructor since your previous assignment will be detected through turnitin.com.

Description/Relevant Section of the Code:

B.i.1.(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;

Range of Consequences:

For offences on term work, term tests or final exams, the sanction recommended is;

  • A reduction of not less than twice the value of the exam, work or test;  and/or
  • An annotation on your academic transcript

Smart Strategies

  • Always ask your instructor for more clarification on whether you are able to use your previous assignment and to find out what is acceptable.
  • If you are truly interested in the topic selected, write the paper through a different perspective and approach the topic with new research questions to learn more about the subject matter.
  • Remember that work previously submitted through turnitin.com will continue to remain in the database.
* Video courtesy of Innis College, University of Toronto

Scenario 4

Your Math instructor has handed you back your test and you have done very poorly. You begin to panic because you need a higher grade in order to pass the course. You decide to erase some of your answers to the multiple choice questions and circle what you now know to be the correct answer. You then approach your instructor and tell him that there was an error when your test was graded and request that it be re-marked.

The Issue:

You cannot alter any of your answers on a test after it has been submitted for grading and returned to you. Altering your responses will be an attempt on your part to gain an unfair advantage over your fellow classmates. In falsifying the answers on your test, you are committing a serious academic offence which will lead to penalties imposed under The Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.

Description/Relevant Section of the Code:

Section B.i.1.(a): To forge or in any other way alter or falsify any document or evidence required by the University.

Section B.i.3.(b): To engage in any form of cheating, academic dishonestly or misconduct, fraud or misrepresentation in order to obtain academic credit of other academic advantage of any kind.

Range of Consequences:  For offences on term work, term tests, or final exams, the sanction(s) recommended may be:

  • An assigned final grade of zero (0) for the course in which the offence was committed;
  • Suspension from attending the University for up to 12 months;
  • An annotation on your academic transcript; and/or
  • The matter may be forwarded to the Tribunal for resolution. 

 Smart Strategies:

  • The Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre and the Library offer valuable resources and study tips to help students prepare for upcoming tests and manage their workload.
  • Talk to your professor/instructor or your department’s undergraduate advisor if you are struggling with your academic work.
  • The Health and Counselling Centre and/or other organizations in your community are there to help when you’re feeling anxious/overwhelmed with your studies.

Scenario 5:

Roman and Max are students who are good friends.  Roman is struggling in school and has an upcoming Biology test that he is panicking about.  If he doesn’t do well on this test, he will surely fail the course. Roman begs Max to write the Biology test for him. After much coaxing, Max finally agrees to help his friend and writes the test in Roman’s place. At the test, as the TA is checking student ID’s, the TA realizes that the student writing the test as Roman is not the same student that has been attending classes all semester. The TA takes steps to confirm his suspicions and confirms that someone other than Roman is writing the test.

The Issue:

Having someone impersonate you, either in person or electronically, is a serious academic offence. Both the individual impersonated and the impersonator are subject to sanctions under The Code.  

Description/Relevant Section of the Code:

Section B.I.1.(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.

Section B.I.3.(b): To engage in any form of cheating, academic dishonesty or misconduct, fraud or misrepresentation in order to obtain academic credit or other academic advantage of any kind.

Range of Consequences:  According to Appendix “C” in The Code, for personating, or having an individual personate on a test or examination, the recommended sanction shall be expulsion from the university.

Smart Strategies:

Scenario 6:

As you are writing your Chemistry final, you begin to get nervous because you are running out of time. You have circled your answers to the multiple choice questions in your exam booklet and still have to transfer them onto the Scantron sheet. As you are doing this, the instructor announces that time is up and all students must stop writing immediately. You panic and continue to fill in the remaining answers on your Scantron. The TA approaches you, again tells you to stop writing, takes your test paper, and informs you that you have just committed an academic offence.

The Issue: Every student is responsible for monitoring time during their exams. When it is announced that time is up, all students must stop writing immediately.  In continuing to write after time is up on your final exam, you are deliberately trying to gain advantage over other students in the class who have already stopped writing their responses.

Description/Relevant Section of the Code:

Section B.I.3.(b): To engage in any form of cheating, academic dishonesty or misconduct, fraud or misrepresentation in order to obtain academic credit or other academic advantage of any kind.

Range of Consequences

For offences on term work, term tests, or final exams, the sanction(s) recommended may be:

  • A reduction in your grade for the test;
  • A reduction of not less than twice the value of the exam, work, or test; and/or
  • An annotation on your academic transcript.

Smart Strategies: