Student Resources & Support Services Appeal Procedure

Review policy F1004 Academic Integrity so you understand the rules and what the College can and can not do under the policy.

Review any letters or written decisions you received from the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. This may include earlier decisions and the reasons for them.

Reflect on your reasons for thinking the decision was incorrect. Take time to think about what reasons might be accepted for an appeal.

The only reasons (grounds) for an appeal are:

• What you did was not a violation of the Academic Integrity policy.
• You have information that wasn’t available when the original decision was made, and this would change the decisions.
• The process for making the decision didn’t follow the policy or procedures and if it had, there would have been a different decision.

If you haven’t shown that you have grounds for an appeal, your request will be denied.

You must submit your appeal within 5 business days of getting an Academic Integrity decision.

Within 5 business days of getting an Academic Integrity decision, write to the Office of the Vice President, Students and:

• Give your name, student ID number and the course name and number.
• State that you are asking for a Decision Review.
• Explain what decision you are appealing. Include a copy of the decision letter.
• Explain your reasons (grounds) for thinking the decision was not correct. You must show how your situation meets the grounds and how the decision was not correct.
• Explain what you would like from the appeal.

If you have other information or documents that you think are important to your appeal, include them with your request.

The Office of the Vice President Students will review the appeal, and within 5 business days, will tell you if your request will go ahead.

If you have given good reasons (grounds) for the appeal, your appeal will be sent to the Division Chair/Program Manager of the department where the incident occurred.

The Division Chair/Program Manager will give you an answer in writing within 15 business days.

If you haven’t shown that you have grounds for an appeal, your request will be denied.

A flowchart showing the process can be found HERE.

A student may request an extension of time to appeal by emailing avps.office [at] langara.ca (avps[dot]office[at]langara[dot]ca), giving valid reasons for the request and how many days extension are needed. Valid reasons for an extension may include medical or health factors, family emergencies, or personal hardship. Extensions will not exceed 15 business days.

If you think the Decision Review did not follow the correct procedure, you can appeal this if you can show how the Decision Review made a mistake. Simply not liking the decision is not a reason for an appeal to an Academic Integrity Appeal Panel.

Within 5 business days of getting the decision from the Decision Review, write to the Office of the Vice President, Students:

• Give your name, student ID number and the course name and number.
• State that you are asking for an Academic Integrity Appeal Panel.
• Explain what decision you are appealing.
• Explain your reasons (grounds) for thinking the correct process was not followed.
• Explain what you would like from the appeal.

Include a copy of the Decision Review letter and any other information you think will support your appeal.

The Office of the Vice President Students will review the appeal and will tell you if your request will go ahead within 5 business days.

If you can not show that the decision review made a procedural error, your appeal will be rejected.

If you can show procedural error, the Office of the Vice President Students will arrange an Academic Appeal panel composed of 3 academic professionals and a chair.

The panel will look at all the information they have. They might ask to meet with you if they need more information. The panel will send you a written decision within 15 business days.

There is no other appeal after this.

A flowchart showing the process can be found HERE.

Only the President can suspend a student from the College or deny or rescind a student’s credential for a violation of college policy.

If you have received a letter from the President saying that you will be suspended from the College or that your credential will be denied or taken away, the letter will explain the reasons for the decision. If you want to appeal this decision, read below.

Appeal to the Board of Governors

The Board will only consider appeals based on procedural grounds. Procedural grounds include:

• The student did not receive information about the case and related concerns.
• The student was not given a chance to respond to the concerns.
• The student was not given reasons for the decision.
• There is clear and documented evidence that the policy or procedures were not followed in a way that significantly affected the outcome of the decision.

The Board will not consider an appeal for any other reason. They will not consider appeals where you simply dislike the decision, want another chance, believe that what happened was not your fault, or are worried about your future or what your family will think.

You will have to show that you have tried all other appeals within the College before you can appeal to the Board.

Write to the Board

Within 5 days after getting the President’s decision, write a letter and send it to the Langara College Board of Governors.

• Give your name and student ID number.
• State that you are asking for an Appeal to the Board of Governors.
• Explain what decision you are appealing. Include a copy of the decision letter.
• Explain your reasons (grounds) for the appeal.
• Explain what happened over time (chronology), showing how and where the errors were made.
• Explain what you would like from the appeal.
• Include any documents that support your position and explain how the documents are linked to your position.

The Board will select a board member(s) to review your appeal. The Board will send you a written decision after reviewing your appeal.

There is no other appeal after this.