Academic fraud is defined as “an act by a student that may result in a false academic evaluation of that student or of another student.” Academic fraud occurs if you do any of the following

• Plagiarize (copy) or cheat in any way (for more information on plagiarism and how you can avoid it, see the guides Says Who? Integrity in Writing: Avoiding Plagiarism, Beware of Plagiarism! or Academic Integrity: Student’s Guide.
• Submit work you have not completely written yourself (with the exception of quotations and references). This can include an assignment, an essay, a test, an exam, a research report or a thesis, whether you present your work in writing, orally or in another form.
• Present research data that has been falsified or made up in any way.
• Attribute a false statement of fact or reference to a made-up source.
• Submit the same work or a large part of the same work in more than one course, or a thesis or other work that has been presented elsewhere.
• Falsify an academic evaluation, misrepresent an academic evaluation, use a forged or falsified academic record or supporting document, or facilitate the use of a falsified academic record or supporting document.
• Undertake any other action for the purpose of falsifying an academic evaluation.

If you’ve committed or tried to commit academic fraud, or have assisted someone else to do so, you could be subject to one or more of the following sanctions, as detailed in Regulation 14.2—Academic Fraud:

1. a written reprimand;
2. an “F” or zero for part of the work in question;
3. an “F” or zero for all of the work in question;
4. an “F” or zero for the work in question, and the loss of additional marks for the course in question;
5. an “F” or zero for the work in question with the minimum passing grade for the course as your maximum grade;
6. an “F” or zero for the course in question;
7. loss of part or all of your credits for the academic year in question (courses for which you lose credits remain on your file and are included in your grade point average—you must repeat them or replace them with other courses, depending on what your faculty decides);
8. an additional program requirement of 3 to 30 credits (the credits added to those of your program as a sanction for fraud are added to any other program at the same level that you register for);
9. the loss of any opportunity to receive a scholarship from your faculty for one year;
10. the loss of any opportunity to receive a scholarship from your faculty until you graduate;
11. suspension from your program or faculty for between one session and three years;
12. expulsion from your faculty;
13. the loss of any opportunity to receive a scholarship from the University of Ottawa for one year;
14. the loss of any opportunity to receive a scholarship from the University of Ottawa until you graduate;
15. expulsion from the University of Ottawa for at least three years. Three years following the date of your expulsion, you can submit a request to the Senate Appeals Committee to review your case, with the possibility, if appropriate, of removing the mention of your expulsion from your transcript. If you make another application for admission, the regular admission process will apply;
16. cancellation or withdrawal of a degree, diploma or certificate previously awarded to you, due to fraud being determined after it has been awarded;
17. inclusion of the following statement on your official transcript: “Sanction pursuant to contravention of the University regulation on fraud”;

Your faculty is responsible for applying the sanctions mentioned in articles (a) to (k). The Senate Appeals Committee is responsible for applying articles (l) to (q), on the recommendation of your faculty. Decisions take effect immediately, even if you want to appeal them.

All fraud allegations must be submitted in writing by the professor, with supporting material, to the dean of the faculty in which the course is offered, except for cases involving graduate courses. For graduate courses, the dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies handles all allegations.

If the dean or the person representing him or her believes that the allegation is justified:

1. He or she writes to you to inform you of the allegations, and includes supporting documentation. If you are eligible for the accelerated process for academic fraud cases, he or she asks you whether you wish to follow the process described here or the accelerated process (See 14.3: Regulation on the Accelerated Process for Academic Fraud Cases);
2. He or she attaches a copy of the Regulation on Academic Fraud, and if applicable, a copy of the Regulation on the Accelerated Process for Academic Fraud Cases.
3. If you aren’t eligible for the accelerated process, or have chosen the process described here, he or she refers the file to a committee of inquiry made up of at least three people.

The committee of inquiry:

1. invites you to submit in writing, within a set deadline, all information or documentation relevant to the allegation, or, if appropriate, to appear before the committee;
2. requests all other information or documentation it considers necessary.

Once the committee of inquiry has received this information or documentation and has given the student a chance to make his or her case in writing or in person, it may do one of the following:

1. decide that the allegation is not well-founded and that it will take no further action;
2. decide that the allegation is well-founded and provide a short report to the dean, recommending a sanction.

The dean informs you of the committee’s conclusions and what will happen next. The dean also informs you that you have the right to submit your comments concerning the committee’s report, as long as you do so in writing within ten working days of when the committee submits its report.

The committee of inquiry’s report and your written submission are sent to your faculty’s executive committee (or its equivalent), which makes a decision or recommendation, depending on whether the faculty or the Senate Appeals Committee is responsible for applying the recommended sanction.

If your faculty is responsible for applying the sanction, the decision made by the faculty executive committee (or its equivalent) takes effect immediately, even if you decide to appeal it.

The dean informs you in writing of the decision or recommendation of the executive committee (or its equivalent) and the procedures you must follow to appeal it.

If you decide to appeal a decision of the faculty’s executive committee (or its equivalent), you may address an appeal to the Senate Appeals Committee within ten working days of your faculty sending its decision or recommendation.

The procedure for submitting an appeal to the Senate Appeals Committee is available online.

Briefly, you will be able to:

• submit an appeal of the faculty’s decision within 10 working days of receipt of the Faculty’s decision
• receive a copy of the faculty’s comments to the Senate Appeals Committee on your case
• provide a written response to the faculty’s comments
• appear before the Senate Appeals Committee to make further oral submissions and answer questions, if you wish

Please note that the decision of the Senate Appeals Committee is binding and final.

If the fraud allegation involves students from different faculties, the case goes to the faculty that offers the course, following the procedures explained here. For graduate studies, the dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies handles the allegation.

If you’re suspended from a program, you don’t receive any credit for courses that are part of your program or that could meet the requirements of your program that you might take at the University of Ottawa or elsewhere during the time you’re suspended. If you take a course at the University of Ottawa you will receive a grade of “F” (zero) retroactively and you will not receive a refund of your tuition fees.

When your suspension is finished, you can continue your program by reregistering, according to the conditions in effect at that time.

Every student who is alleged to have committed academic fraud is eligible for the accelerated process, except in the following two cases:

1. this is not your first offence
2. your offence is serious enough that it could lead to sanctions ranging from sanction (i) of the Regulation on Academic Fraud (loss of any opportunity to receive a scholarship from your faculty for one year) to sanction (q) (inclusion of a mention on your official transcript)

As outlined in articles 4 and 5 of the Regulation on Academic Fraud, if the allegation against you is well-founded and you’re eligible for the accelerated process, an e-mail will be sent to you explaining the academic fraud case, and asking that you choose between the regular and the accelerated processes. You have five working days to respond.

By accepting the accelerated process, you acknowledge that you have failed to respect the academic regulations, whether intentionally or not, and that there will be a sanction.

If you choose the accelerated process, a meeting is organized between you and the person responsible for the process. The goal of the meeting is to discuss the situation and arrive at an agreement in which you acknowledge that you have failed to respect the academic regulations, whether intentionally or not, and you accept the sanction imposed. You have two working days after the meeting to sign and return the agreement to the person responsible for the accelerated process.

For this meeting, you can be accompanied by a person of your choice. Likewise, the person responsible for the accelerated process may also be accompanied. If this is the case, then you and the person responsible for the accelerated process must provide each other with the name of the person accompanying you in advance.

Normally, sanctions range from (a) (a reprimand) to (h) (a requirement to take an additional 3 to 30 credits for your program).

The person responsible for the accelerated process forwards the results of the process, along with the sanction imposed, to the professor who made the allegation of fraud and to the director of your academic unit. A copy signed by you is placed in your file.

The accelerated process normally takes 15 working days, from the filing of the allegation to the agreement (if one is reached).

You can end the process at any time before you sign an agreement. The regular process is then started.

The person responsible for the accelerated process can also end the process if he or she feels that no agreement is possible, such as if you:

• don’t answer e-mails or return phone calls, or if you drag out the process
• refuse to acknowledge that you haven’t respected the academic regulations
• reject the proposed sanction
• don’t attend the meeting

If the regular process is started:

• Any information you’ve shared during the accelerated process is considered confidential and will not be revealed to members of the committee of inquiry established as part of the regular process.
• The fact that the accelerated process was started or that you considered using the process will not be revealed to the members of the committee of inquiry.
• No one who took part in the accelerated process (except for you) can be a member of the committee of inquiry, unless you agree to it.

If you decide to file an appeal after you’ve signed an agreement under the accelerated process, you must submit your file to the Senate Appeals Committee within ten working days of signing the agreement.

For more information on the accelerated process, please see:

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) for students on the accelerated process

Regulation 14.3