The questions and answers below are intended to provide a brief overview of certain general questions that are regularly submitted to the Student Tribunals Officer and the answers to such questions. It goes without saying that each matter that is submitted to the Office of Student Tribunals is handled on a case by case basis and that every such matter is evaluated on its own facts/merits. Accordingly, some of the answers below are merely general guidelines and they will not apply to every situation. If you have any particular questions relating to how to become involved with Student Tribunals or with respect to a specific file, please contact the Student Tribunals Officer directly.
About the Office of Student Tribunals
About Hearings in General
About Hearings under the Academic Code of Conduct
Re-evaluation Appeals Panels
1. I am a faculty member or staff member at the University. Can I get involved in student tribunals and, if so, how?
Pursuant to the Policy on the Establishment of Tribunal Hearing Pools (BD-6)., faculty members and staff members may be appointed as members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool for a period of two (2) academic years. Faculty members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool attend first-level hearings as well as appeal hearings and, along with other members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool, hear and vote upon the outcome of cases presented to them. A total of thirty-five (35) faculty members may be appointed to the Tribunal Hearing Pool at any one time.
The University’s Senate has final approval of all faculty appointments to the Tribunal Hearing Pool.
Five (5) members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool are University administrative and support staff, nominated in accordance with the relevant policy. Currently, such members only attend some hearings under the Code of Rights and Responsibilities (BD-3). The Board of Governors has final approval of all staff appointments to the Tribunal Hearing Pool.
2. I am a student at the University. Can I get involved in student tribunals and, if so, how?
Pursuant to the Policy on the Establishment of Tribunal Hearing Pools (BD-6), a total of twenty-five (25) students, including fifteen (15) undergraduate students and ten (10) graduate students, may be appointed to the Tribunal Hearing Pool for a period of two (2) academic years. Members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool attend first-level hearings as well as appeal hearings and, along with other members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool, hear and vote upon the outcome of cases presented to them.
Undergraduate students are nominated by the Concordia Student Union and graduate students are nominated by the Graduate Students’ Association. The University’s Senate has final approval of all student appointments to the Tribunal Hearing Pool.
Once a student has been appointed, it is within the discretion of the Office of Student Tribunals to select that student to sit on a particular hearing panel (depending upon availability, appropriateness, conflict of interest, etc.) and to decide to attribute to that student up to a six (6) credit tuition waiver at the Quebec tuition rate for that academic year.
3. I am a lawyer. Can I get involved in student tribunals and, if so, how?
Pursuant to the Policy on the Establishment of Tribunal Hearing Pools (BD-6), interested and qualified lawyers may be appointed by the University’s Senate to the Tribunal Hearing Pool as non-voting Chairs for a period of two (2) academic years. Chairs are in charge of ensuring that first-level hearings as well as appeal hearings are run in a fair manner.
Interested lawyers should contact tribunal@alcor.concordia.ca.
4. What hearings do the Office of Student Tribunals administer?
The Office of Student Tribunals currently administers hearings set forth in the following Policies:
5. When do hearings occur?
Normally, hearings occur on weekdays, Monday through Thursday, after 4:00 p.m. Hearings are not usually held during the months of July or August.
6. How much time would I be expected to commit as a member of the Tribunal Hearing Pool?
If you are appointed to the Tribunal Hearing Pool, when appropriate, you will be: (i) asked for your availabilities; and (ii) scheduled accordingly. Usually, two cases are heard at each sitting of the tribunal. When appropriate, the Office of Student Tribunals will generally schedule members of the Tribunal Hearing Pool for one or two sittings per month, for a total time commitment of four (4) to eight (8) hours per month, plus the time that it takes to review the documents submitted for the panel’s consideration prior to the hearings.
7. Where can I go for help and advice before or after my hearing?
There are three (3) different advocacy centres at the University: the University’s Student Advocate Program (514-848-2424, ext 3536, open to all students); the CSU Student Advocacy Centre (514-848-7474, ext 7313, open to undergraduate students); and the GSA Advocacy Center (514-848-2424, ext 4966, open to graduate students). It is strongly recommended that you consult an advocate prior to your hearing and, if your hearing will be conducted orally (i.e. an Academic Hearing Panel under the Academic Code of Conduct, a hearing under the Code of Rights and Responsibilities or a Graduate Academic Appeals Tribunal under the Graduate Academic Appeals Procedures, etc.), that you be accompanied by an advocate at your hearing.
8. How long will I have to wait for my hearing date?
Generally speaking, delays for hearings depend upon the volume of hearings that are pending and the availability of panelists and Chairs. That said, kindly contact the Office of Student Tribunals at tribunal@alcor.concordia.ca for further information as to when you can expect your hearing to be scheduled.
9. Can I postpone my hearing date?
If your hearing is to be conducted orally, you must make your request for a postponement to the Office of Student Tribunals as soon as you become aware of a scheduling conflict. The Office of Student Tribunals only grants postponements when requests are made more than two (2) weeks prior to the hearing date and when there is a serious reason why you cannot attend on the selected date. All requests that are not made at least two (2) weeks prior to the hearing date are considered ‘short-notice requests’ and will be considered by the Chair of the hearing on the date scheduled for the hearing. Please note that if your request for a postponement is not granted, the hearing may proceed in your absence.
10. Can I cancel my request for a hearing?
You may cancel your request for a hearing only if you were the one who requested it in the first place (not if your hearing was requested by your Faculty’s Dean or Code Administrator). In this former case, you must communicate your request in writing as soon as possible to the Office of Student Tribunals at tribunal@alcor.concordia.ca. If the hearing is cancelled pursuant to this request and the charge against you was under the Academic Code of Conduct, whatever sanction was imposed by your Faculty Code Administrator will be the sanction imposed upon you.
11. How can I best prepare my case?
Hearings are your opportunity to explain your version of the case to a panel composed of individuals including a Chair, professors, students and/or staff. It is at the hearing panel’s discretion, based upon the evidence and arguments presented before it, to rule in your favour or against you.
It is strongly recommended that you consult an advocate well in advance of any hearing so that you may properly prepare your presentation and prepare for questions that you may be asked during the hearing.
12. Must I always attend my hearing?
Some hearings are held without the student present (i.e., Re-evaluation Appeals Panel, Academic Appeals Panel, etc.). In the case of those hearings, you may only submit arguments and evidence in writing.
All hearing panels may proceed in your absence. If you do not attend your hearing and the hearing proceeds in your absence, any decision made by a hearing panel in your absence is binding upon you. If both you and your advocate fail to attend your oral hearing, the sole admissible ground for an appeal is the consideration of the reasonableness of your reason for not appearing.
13. Why is there a ‘PEND’ notation on my Academic Record?
Pursuant to Article 73 of the Academic Code of Conduct, from the time that a charge of academic misconduct is laid until the final determination regarding the charge, a notation of “PEND” appears on a student’s academic record in order to note that both the grade in the course and the sanction are pending.
14. Will the fact that an offence was upheld against me under the Academic Code of Conduct appear on my transcript?
Not necessarily. It is important to differentiate between your “academic record” and your “transcript”. Your academic record, which is what appears on your MyConcordia portal, is for the University’s internal use only. However, your transcript is the document sent, at your request, to individuals and entities external to the University.
When a charge of academic misconduct has been upheld against you, the sanction imposed upon you is reflected on your academic record with the additional notation of “for academic and disciplinary reasons”. However, this notation does not appear on your transcript.
If a sanction of suspension is imposed, the following notation appears on your academic record and transcript: “Required to withdraw for academic and disciplinary reasons. May not resume studies until [date]”. This notation will be removed from your transcript on the date of resumption of studies but will remain upon your academic record.
If a sanction of expulsion is imposed, the following will appear on your academic record and transcript: ”Required to withdraw for academic and disciplinary reasons. May not apply for re-admission.“
15. Will the fact that an offence was upheld against me under the Academic Code of Conduct affect my GPA?
If an offence was upheld against you and the sanction affected your final grade in a course, that sanction will affect your GPA, whether or not the course has been discontinued or repeated.
16. What are the possible results of my Academic Hearing Panel?
The Academic Hearing Panel may uphold or dismiss an offence and, if the Academic Hearing Panel upholds the offence against you in the case of a first offence, it must impose a sanction. The choice of which sanction(s) to impose is at the hearing panel’s discretion. The panel may choose to impose a different sanction than the one that was imposed upon you by your Faculty Code Administrator.
17. Can I appeal the decision of the Academic Hearing Panel?
Pursuant to the Academic Code of Conduct, an appeal may be authorized if: (1) new evidence is discovered following the rendering of the decision of the Academic Hearing Panel; or (2) serious and prejudicial procedural defects of the Academic Hearing Panel are present. There is a ‘3rd ground’ which however only applies if the student did not attend his/her Academic Hearing Panel. In those cases, an appeal will only be authorized if the Appeals Panel accepts the student’s reason for not appearing.
In order to appeal a decision of the Academic Hearing Panel, you must submit a written request for authorization to appeal to the Office of Student Tribunals (at tribunal@alcor.concordia.ca) within ten (10) days from the rendering of the decision of the Academic Hearing Panel. This written request must state the precise grounds for appeal. An Appeals Panel will then meet to consider whether or not to authorize your request to appeal, based solely upon the documents previously provided to the Academic Hearing Panel, the decision of the Academic Hearing Panel and your written arguments. If your request for an appeal is authorized, there will be an additional, separate hearing on the merits of the appeal. The decision of the Appeals Panel is final.
18. How do I request a Re-evaluation Appeals Panel?
You may only request a Re-evaluation Appeals Panel if you have submitted an ‘Academic Re-evaluation Request’ to the Birks Student Service Centre within the delays outlined at Article 9 of the Academic Re-evaluation Procedures and received a final decision in this regard from your Department Chair.
You must send your request for a Re-evaluation Appeal Panel to tribunal@alcor.concordia.ca and must clearly state in writing the grounds for your request. Please note that the only grounds pursuant to which a Re-evaluation Appeals Panel may grant a student’s request are:
Additionally, if you want a re-evaluation appeal, you must submit all supporting documents to the Office of Student Tribunals, including the document that you wish to be re-evaluated and the decisions of the Department Chair and the re-evaluator, where applicable.
19. Can I attend my Re-evaluation Appeals Panel?
No. Re-evaluation Appeals Panels make their decision based solely upon the written record submitted. It is therefore important that you submit all of your written arguments and supporting documents in writing.
20. Can I appeal the decision of the Re-evaluation Appeals Panel?
No. The decision of the Re-evaluation Appeals Panel is final.
Page Title: Office of Student Tribunals FAQ - Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Page URL:http://www.concordia.ca/vpirsg/office-of-the-general-counsel/office-of-stud...index.php
Date Printed: Thu April 11, 2013
