Faculty or other Administrative Staff (Registrar, Program Manager) with concerns regarding the academic performance and conduct of a student may make a report to the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered.
If an Academic Performance Report or Academic Conduct Report is made, the student must be informed prior to the report being submitted.
Please see the following sections for details and processes for Academic Performance Reports and Academic Conduct Reports.
ACADEMIC STANDING
Academic Standing is an indication of overall success and progress in a degree program. Academic Standing is related to:
- Satisfactory progress in a course or program
- Course attendance
- Outcome of Academic Performance Reports
- Outcome of Academic Conduct Reports
- Outcome of Academic Standing Committee decisions
Academic Standing Levels
- In good standing – No restrictions
- Probation – Conditions defined by the Academic Standing Committee
SATISFACTORY PROGRESS
A student must achieve satisfactory academic progress and fulfill the Residency requirement to maintain good Academic Standing in any program. If a student does not meet the requirements for both, they will be referred by the Registrar or a member of the faculty to the Dean of the faculty who will follow the process for an Academic Performance Report.
Degree, transitional, and graduate certificate students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 or B. Criteria for referral to the Academic Standing Committee:
- cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 or
- two or more grades below B-
- one or more grades of F or
- one or more grades of N
Maintaining satisfactory progress also requires fulfilling the Residency Requirement as specified for the relevant Program.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
Each program has its own requirement for the length of consecutive trimesters of attendance. Consult specific programs for residency requirements.
Academic Performance Report
An Academic Performance Report can be made by either a faculty member or the Registrar in a situation where a student is not or is at risk of not making satisfactory progress in an academic program.
If a faculty member or the Registrar determines that a student is not making satisfactory academic progress, or is at risk of not making satisfactory progress, they may make an Academic Performance Report to the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered.
Circumstances in which it is appropriate to submit an Academic Performance Report include but are not limited to the following.
- A student has failed a test, assignment, paper, or other assessment.
- A student has more than one final grade below a B-
- A student has not met agreed-upon timelines for class work, either with or without an agreed-upon extension
- Student tardiness or absence is jeopardizing their ability to successfully complete the academic requirements for a course or the program.
These concerns can be in a single course or across multiple courses in the program.
This report must be in writing and include the following information:
- The name of the student, faculty member, or Registrar
- The course or courses related to the report, including the dates of the course.
- Specific information about the concern or concerns
- Any steps taken by the faculty or Registrar up to this point.
The student must be informed in writing that the Academic Performance Report has been submitted by the faculty member or Registrar.
Academic Performance Reports are stored by the Registrar in the student file but are not noted on transcripts or official documentation.
Within five business days of receiving the Academic Performance Report, the Dean or Director of the program will contact the student and faculty member separately to attempt an informal resolution of the issue.
The outcome of an informal resolution process will be an Academic Action Plan. This plan must include the following:
- The conditions for successful completion of the Academic Action Plan.
- Specific, measurable steps to be taken by the student, faculty members, or administration as part of the Academic Action Plan.
- A timeline for the completion of the steps of the Academic Action Plan.
- A plan for monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the student related to the Academic Action Plan.
- Outcomes if the Academic Action Plan is not completed.
If any party does not agree to the plan, or the plan does not result in a successful outcome, the Dean or Director of the program will refer the Academic Performance Report to the Academic Standing Committee.
If an informal Academic Action Plan is not successful in resolving the Academic Performance concern, the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered will refer the Academic Performance Report to an Academic Standing Committee.
Please see the section in the Academic Calendar “Academic Standing Committee” for details.
Academic Conduct Report
If a faculty member or any other member of the academic or administrative staff has a concern or complaint related to the conduct of a student in an academic context or at the school, they may make an Academic Conduct Report to the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered.
Any student who is the subject of an Academic Conduct Report must be informed in writing that the report has been submitted.
The Academic Conduct Report is stored by the Registrar in the student file, but only outcomes which result in permanent sanctions will be noted on transcripts or official documentation.
Interim Sanctions
When a complaint, report, or referral is made, the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered may, in consultation with related Deans, faculty members, directors or the Director of Clinical Training, the Director of Human Resources, the VP Programming or legal counsel, may determine that the respondent be removed from academic, practicum, or other activities at the school, for the duration of an investigation, hearing, tribunal or appeal.
- Sanctions are generally only applicable when the Dean or Director determines there is a risk of additional harm to either a complainant, respondent, other students, or members of the public.
- Sanctions must be designed to have minimal impact while achieving the goals of the sanctions.
- Notification of sanction must be accompanied by a written justification and a description of appropriate time or other limits and sent to the respondent as soon as the determination is made.
Sanctions are not indicative of guilt or a judgment on the complaint but a measure to prevent harm to the public, the respondent, and other members of the AGPS community.
Actions Prior to an Academic Conduct Report
If the Academic Conduct concern is related to any of the following areas of a program, the steps listed here should be followed before an Academic Conduct Report is submitted.
Ethical or Code of Conduct Violations in a Practicum Placement
The concern should be reported to the Director of Clinical Training in writing.
The Director of Clinical Training will determine whether there is a danger to the public related to the concern. If so, they will remove the student from the practicum placement pending the outcome of an investigation and inform the Primary Supervisor. If there is no safety concern, the student will be allowed to continue in their practicum placement while the concern is being investigated.
The Director of Clinical Training will meet with the student and Primary Supervisor to determine if the issue can be resolved with an Action Plan.
If an Action Plan cannot be agreed upon, or if the Action Plan does not resolve the concern, the Director of Clinical Training, in consultation with the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered, can make an Academic Conduct Report.
Ethical or Code of Conduct Violations in Research
Concerns about ethical violations in research should be reported to the Director of the MRP/Thesis or Dissertation Program in writing by any member of the AGPS Community or any member of the public.
The Director may consult with the REB Chair or, in consultation with the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered, make an Academic Conduct Report.
If there is a concern related to public safety or the safety of participants involved in the research, the Director may instruct the student to cease all activities related to the research and may ask the student to consult legal counsel.
Making an Academic Conduct Report
An Academic Conduct violation includes, but is not limited to:
- A Code of Conduct violation.
- Plagiarism or other academic dishonesty.
- Disruption in an academic environment or during an academic activity after a warning has been issued.
- Serious concerns about statements or behaviours in academic settings that may violate ethical or Code of Conduct standards.
- Patterns of behaviour or statements that raise concerns about a student’s ability to successfully complete the program.
In the case of an incident at the school, the faculty, student, and any other students who might have witnessed the event are encouraged to file an Incident Report using the online form. If the faculty member chooses not to use the form, they must document the incident in writing and include that information in their submission to the Dean.
An Academic Conduct Report must be made in writing to the Dean or Director of the program in which the student is registered.
This report must be in writing and include the following information.
- The name of the student, faculty member, or Registrar
- The nature of the incident or concern, including times, dates, and any supporting documentation or notes.
- Specific information about the concern or concerns
- Any steps taken by the faculty or Registrar up to this point.
The student must be informed in writing that the Academic Conduct Report has been submitted.
As soon as possible after receiving the Academic Conduct Report, the Dean or Director will contact the CEO’s Designate for Discrimination and Harassment Complaints (CDDH), who will determine if the report contains any allegations that might be related to the AGPS Discrimination and Harassment policy, in which case the Academic Conduct Report will be referred to the CDDH who will begin the Complaint Procedure for Discrimination and Harassment process.
If, at any point, the student feels that the Academic Conduct Report constitutes Discrimination or Harassment as defined in AGPS policy, they may make a complaint to the CDDH (Human Resources), and the case will be referred to the Complaint Resolution Process. A Discrimination and Harassment complaint must always be resolved before any Academic process can continue. Students may contact the VP Programming or Student Liaison for support or advisement on the process prior to submitting an official complaint.
Once it has been determined that this report should be resolved through the Academic Conduct Report process, within five business days of receiving the Academic Conduct Report, the Dean or Director of the program will contact the student and faculty member separately to attempt an informal resolution of the issue.
Academic Conduct Plan
The outcome of an informal resolution process will be a Conduct Action Plan. This plan must include the following:
- The conditions for the successful completion of the plan
- Specific, measurable steps to be taken by the student, faculty members, or administration as part of the plan.
- A timeline for the completion of the steps of the plan.
- A plan for monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the student related to the plan.
- Outcomes if the plan is not successfully completed.
If a Conduct Action Plan is not agreed to by any party or does not result in a successful outcome, the Dean or Director of the program will refer the Academic Conduct Report to either an impartial internal investigator or an external investigator, to avoid conflict of interest.
- An investigator must meet the following criteria:
- If the Dean, Director of VP Programming cannot find a suitable internal investigator, or the case involves school administration or leadership, an external adjudicator from the CEO’s list of approved investigators will be chosen.
- Not involved in currently teaching, supervising the student in any way, or having a personal or professional relationship with the faculty member who reported the conduct. (For example, team teaching a course together, working in the same practice outside of the school, presenting or publishing work together, sitting on committees or boards together, or other relationships which might give the perception of a conflict of interest).
- Are registered members of the CPO in good standing.
- Not the Dean of Psychology, or Director of the program in which the student is registered.
- The investigation and decision will follow the same format for investigation, interviews and consequences as an Academic Standing Committee.
- The student may appeal the decision of the investigator or adjudicator once on the grounds that an error was made in the original decision. Appeals follow the student appeal process for the Academic Standing Committee and must be heard by an outside reviewer.
Sanctions During an Appeal
Any sanctions imposed related to the original complaint or grievance may be continued until the resolution of the appeal process, with the same stipulations. Please see the section on Interim Sanctions for information on the requirements for an Interim Sanction to be applied.
The Student Appeals process decision is final.