The following statements may be included on your course syllabus. For assistance in drafting additional statements, please feel free to contact the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation at ctsi.teaching@utoronto.ca.
The University has created sample statements for instructors to include in course syllabi and course assignments to help shape the message to students about what AI technology is, or is not, allowed. Download the document here.
On Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in a university, and to ensuring that a degree from the University of Toronto is a strong signal of each student’s individual academic achievement. As a result, the University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously. The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters outlines the behaviours that constitute academic dishonesty and the processes for addressing academic offences. Potential offences include, but are not limited to:
- Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement.
- Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the instructor in all relevant courses
- Making up sources or facts
- Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment
- Using or possessing unauthorized aids
- Looking at someone else’s answers during an exam or test
- Misrepresenting your identity
- Falsifying institutional documents or grades
- Falsifying or altering any documentation required by the University, including (but not limited to) doctor’s notes
“All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes appropriate academic behaviour or appropriate research and citation methods, please reach out to me. Note that you are expected to seek out additional information on academic integrity from me or from other institutional resources (for example, the University of Toronto website on Academic Integrity).”
The University’s plagiarism detection tool is a tool that will assist in detecting textual similarities between compared works. University’s plagiarism detection tool is an efficient way to identify common writing issues and deter plagiarism in course assignments.
Note that the tool does not identify plagiarism; it is up to the individual instructor to determine if passages highlighted by the tool represent plagiarism. Instructors using this tool can create an Assignment in their Quercus course to which students submit their assignments electronically for analysis. With the integration of the University’s plagiarism detection tool into Quercus courses, instructors and students should not access the program through the company’s website.
Before using the University’s plagiarism detection tool instructors must adhere to U of T’s Conditions of Use. Key things to note about using this tool:
- Students must be informed at the start of the course that the instructor will be using University’s plagiarism detection tool. Ideally, a notice about use of the tool and guidance for using the tool should appear in the course syllabus.
- The course syllabus must include the following statement (as is):
“Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to the University’s plagiarism detection tool for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the tool’s reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of this tool are described on the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation web site (https://uoft.me/pdt-faq).”
For more information on the Plagiarism Detection Tool, please send a query to q.help@utoronto.ca.
On Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The University welcomes and includes students, staff, and faculty from a wide range of backgrounds, cultural traditions, and spiritual beliefs.
“The University of Toronto is committed to equity, human rights and respect for diversity. All members of the learning environment in this course should strive to create an atmosphere of mutual respect where all members of our community can express themselves, engage with each other, and respect one another’s differences. U of T does not condone discrimination or harassment against any persons or communities.”
On Notification to Students if Recording Online Course Meetings
The FIPPA Office at U of T has prepared the following two statements for instructors needing to inform students of their intention to record audio or video feeds during online course meetings. This language is intended to accomplish two objectives:
- To notify students that their participation in an online course will be recorded
- To provide options for faculty to inform students of appropriate use for course materials
Instructors are strongly encouraged to include one of the following statements, as applicable to their course, in their course syllabus and in their Quercus course shell if intending to record online course meetings.
“This course, including your participation, will be recorded on video and will be available to students in the course for viewing remotely and after each session.
Course videos and materials belong to your instructor, the University, and/or other sources depending on the specific facts of each situation and are protected by copyright. Do not download, copy, or share any course or student materials or videos without the explicit permission of the instructor.
For questions about the recording and use of videos in which you appear, please contact your instructor.”
“This course, including your participation, will be recorded on video and will be available to students in the course for viewing remotely and after each session.
Course videos and materials belong to your instructor, the University, and/or other sources depending on the specific facts of each situation and are protected by copyright. In this course, you are permitted to download session videos and materials for your own academic use, but you should not copy, share, or use them for any other purpose without the explicit permission of the instructor.
For questions about the recording and use of videos in which you appear, please contact your instructor.”
On Accommodation
Additionally, you may wish to include statements in your syllabus that reference the University’s policies and resources related to accommodations for students with different needs and religious backgrounds. Below are some sample statements for your consideration.
“The University provides academic accommodations for students with disabilities in accordance with the terms of the Ontario Human Rights Code. This occurs through a collaborative process that acknowledges a collective obligation to develop an accessible learning environment that both meets the needs of students and preserves the essential academic requirements of the University’s courses and programs.
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. If you have a disability that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or the Accessibility Services* office.”
*insert contact information for relevant campus office:
For more information, and to link to the University’s policy on accommodations for religious observances, please see the web site of the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students.
Possible statement:
“The University provides reasonable accommodation of the needs of students who observe religious holy days other than those already accommodated by ordinary scheduling and statutory holidays. Students have a responsibility to alert members of the teaching staff in a timely fashion to upcoming religious observances and anticipated absences and instructors will make every reasonable effort to avoid scheduling tests, examinations or other compulsory activities at these times.
Please reach out to me as early as possible to communicate any anticipated absences related to religious observances, and to discuss any possible related implications for course work.”
The following statement was prepared by the Family Care Office at U of T and can be adapted for use by instructors in their course syllabus to signal awareness of the demands that family care can have on students:
“The University of Toronto strives to provide a family-friendly environment. You may wish to inform me if you are a student with family responsibilities. If you are a student parent or have family responsibilities, you also may wish to visit the Family Care Office website at familycare.utoronto.ca.”