Revised university policies offer more clarity, fairness and support for students

To help students, faculty, contract lecturers and staff prepare for the upcoming academic year, Ryerson University Senate has revised some policies on grading and program standing, eligibility to graduate and non-academic student conduct.

Senate holds academic authority and is responsible for maintaining, communicating and implementing institutional policies that pertain to a variety of academic issues, such as the content and quality of programs and courses of study. The university community will be informed about significant policy changes through university wide-announcements and website updates.

Revised policies effective fall 2021
The majority of Senate policies undergo a three to five year revision plan depending on the context of the policy. Sometimes these revisions reflect the feedback from the community and the changing reality of higher education. 

 (PDF file) Policy 46: Undergraduate Course Grading, Academic Program Standing, and Eligibility to Graduate

This policy outlines standards for determining acceptable overall academic performance and a student’s eligibility to graduate. It also provides students with a measure of academic standing that’s based on uniform definitions and categories. Changes have been made to support students’ academic success, ensure equity and fairness, simplify and clarify language  throughout the policy and add definitions and procedures to policy. Changes include:

• Under extenuating circumstances, students may petition their dean or designate of the relevant faculty or the program director for a timespan extension. When doing so, students must submit an explanation for the reason for their request, a detailed academic plan of study and timeline for completion, and supporting documentation to demonstrate their extenuating circumstances. 
• Timespan Extension appeal process: If a student wishes to appeal a denial of a timespan extension, they are now able to submit an appeal to the Senate Appeals Committee.
• Incorporated different admission timelines to support students by extending the clause specifying students will not be Required to Withdraw after their first term of attendance as a Ryerson undergraduate student to apply to both the fall and winter terms.

 (PDF file) Policy 61: Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct

Policy 61 outlines procedures for addressing challenging non-academic student behaviour. The goal of this policy is to educate students about their rights and responsibilities, and to enable fair processes that address said behaviour while balancing support, accountability and education. 

• Policy 61 was rewritten using accessible, student-friendly language. It was also written through an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lens and outlines clearly major concepts in the policy while promoting transparency and understanding. 
• Supportive process and framework: The updated policy establishes a supportive process and framework to ensure that all community members are treated with empathy, dignity and care, as well as have access to resources.
• Community standards: The rights, responsibilities and university’s expectations of students were rewritten to reflect the community’s values, especially from an EDI perspective. The updated community standards also define more transparently how all non-academic conduct policies work together to promote community safety and address challenging student behaviour. 
• Procedural fairness: Complainants now have the agency to express their interests independent of the university’s position and perspective through an updated right to appeal process. There are also now appeal rights to reflect the high level academic impact of suspensions, withdrawals and expulsion. 
• Interim measures: The policy update clarifies procedures for when interim measures need to be put in place when an incident occurs that includes immediate concern for personal and/or community safety. Students can also appeal any interim suspension applied. 
• The policy update also clarifies the scope and application of the student code of non-academic conduct to address incidents related to the university that occur online or on social media. 

For more information about the Ryerson University Senate and these policies, visit ryerson.ca/senate.