Plagiarism involves fraud and misrepresentation. If the instructor chooses a lesser penalty than a zero on the essay, the instructor may recommend against a formal letter being sent to the student and the Faculty. The Chair, Undergraduate Studies, is charged with ensuring that penalties, though they will differ in individual cases, are fair and consistent. Intermediate penalties may also be possible, and may involve the re-weighting of components of the student's grade. The student's name will also appear on the department record of academic offences.
Plagiarism is an academic offence.
It carries an automatic right of appeal, first to the department, then to the Faculty, and finally to the Senate Review Board Academic. Student appeals are more likely to be upheld at all levels if there is evidence of procedural irregularity, miscommunication or a lack of clarity about the problem and its ramifications, or personal animosity. For all concerned, therefore, the very natural sense of outrage that plagiarism engenders must be set aside, and the case treated very clearly and very carefully. Instructors and students should strive for both discretion and calmness. The Senate regulations governing plagiarism are in the Academic Calendar.