KPU has an obligation to prevent plagiarism in the classroom. If an instructor suspects you have cheated on any educational activity, they are obliged to report it to the dean of their faculty. Sometimes faculty will promise not to do so because the incident is minor or an oversight, but deans may seek out those incidents and use them as justification for a harsher response if there is a later incident. Do not rely on a promise that an instructor will refrain from reporting.
Because any plagiarism decision is so impactful on a student, you have a right to participate before it is made and to appeal it afterwards. You should receive a copy of the instructor’s written allegations and have a chance to speak to the dean before they make a decision in order to offer an explanation or to describe any mitigating circumstances. After receiving a written decision, you can appeal it by emailing appeals@kpu.ca. This first appeal should go to the academic appeals committee, which is described below.
Here is an example plagiarism appeal letter.
Here is an example grade appeal letter.
Here is an example non-academic misconduct appeal letter.
While these letters are drawn from multiple real events, they are significantly altered in the details in order to protect the identities of the students involved. They are provided as style examples and not as “true stories”.