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Policy 71 letters

This document is meant to help students who are currently taking ECE 150 to understand the likely consequences of an accusation of academic misconduct. As policies do change, there may be older information, so students should either speak to their academic advisors or read the relevant policies for clarification.

For many ECE 150 students, being accused of academic misconduct under Policy 71 will be a new-and-hopefully-singular experience. Consequently, many are not aware of how to prepare a formal letter to the Associate Dean explaining the circumstances under which the accusation has occurred. Below are four templated letters that may help you prepare your formal letter to the Associate Dean.

Policy.71.copiee.docx
If you were the original author of the plagiarized code and one or more other students submitted code identical or similar to yours.
Policy.71.copier.docx
If you submitted another student's code (either with or without modifications).
Policy.71.web.docx
If you downloaded code from a web site and submitted it as your own.
Policy.71.collaborative.docx
If you and a group of your peers collaborated too closely on a project.
Policy.71.git.repl.docx
If you uploaded your source code to a repository like GitHub or performed code development on repl.it and you know or believe another student downloaded your code and submitted code identical or similar to yours.
Policy.71.innocent.docx
If you never gave your source code to any other student and you are not aware of how your source code may have arrived in the hands of another student.

Please note, all of these letters are templates only, and you are welcome to change all relevant text to make the letter more closely aligned to your particular circumstance. Do not submit text that appears in those letters if you disagree with that text.

Please note, you are welcome to add as many appendices as you wish to your letter. In your letter, you should indicate the purpose of each appendix. In general, if you are acknowledging plagiarism and accepting the penalty, you don't have to add any appendices; however, if you are either claiming innocence or claiming that the penalty is inappropriate, you should probably support your case with additional evidence. If that evidence or plea is short, you can contain it in your letter; however, if your evidence is substantial, then you should relegate this to an appendix.

As for offences:

  • If this is your first offence, the penalty is often a grade of 0 on the project or assignment in question, with -5% taken from your final grade per offence. However, the penalty can be more sever (and, very rarely, more lenient) depending on the circumstacnes surrounding the clase. For example, a student who is found guilty of intellectual property or misrepresentaiton or contravention of the Copyright Act is very likely to get additional significant penalties.
  • If this is your second offence, there will normally be additional penalties, including a one-term suspension.
  • If this is your third offence, there will normally be additional penalties, including a one-year suspension.
  • If this is your fourth offence, the normal penalty will include an expulsion.

All penalties are at the discretion of the Associate Dean.

In all cases, a sealed letter will go on your file and this is accessible only be the Associate Dean or the Associate Dean's designates (a small handful of faculty and staff). This letter will be destroyed on your graduation. No mark appears on your transcript or anywhere else.

If you have been caught on multiple offences for a single course, it may only count as multiple offences if you were aware of the previous offences prior to you committing the subsequent offences.

The relevant policies are: