The Residence Guide is a must read for all residents in order to understand expectations, policies, safety information, and the many supports in place for students living in residence.
Residence Advisors are on duty every night after the office closes to respond to students. When the office is closed, residents can call the RA cell phone. Please see the chart below for more information.
The Student Housing and Residence Life professional staff team is available to support you throughout your stay in residence. Please visit our page for office contact details and office hours.
The First Year Residence Agreement for Academic Year 2024-2025 can also be found
The Upper Year Residence Agreement for Academic Year 2024-2025 can also be found
What happens if a violation of residence policy occurs?
In most cases where behaviour is occurring/has occurred that contravenes residence policies, you will be approached by a member of the Residence Life Team, or a SHRL staff member. These individuals will speak with you about the behaviour, the impacts, and ask that you adjust so that your actions are no longer negatively impacting others. The RLT will need to ensure that the behaviour not only stops, but ensure that you understand how others have been impacted, and that there is an agreement from you that such behaviour will not continue in the future. In this type of situation, a Residence Life Coordinator may work with you to come up with a resolution.
Residence Life Staff are trained to document any violations of residence policies. This documentation is utilized to document objective facts about the incident that occurred including a resident's cooperation with staff, names of individuals present, behaviour occurring that contravenes residence policies, as well as the names of the staff members addressing the situation.
Upon review of the facts documented in a report, a resident may receive a policy reminder notification, an on-notice letter, or a meeting may be requested by the Residence Life Coordinator with the residents named in the report. If a meeting is requested, the Residence Life Coordinator will seek a deeper understanding of the incident and what happened, asking the resident to share their point of view. The applicable residence policies and the impact of the behaviour will be discussed, and then an outcome will be reached in collaboration with the resident, when possible
Decisions are reached in collaboration with the resident, when possible. Outcomes are determined based on a balance of probabilities/preponderance of evidence (more on this below), and a variety of other factors. Factors that are included when making a decision regarding an outcome include, but are not limited to, a resident's prior behaviour in residence, their level of involvement in both the current and prior incidents, acceptance of responsibility, etc. Based on all of this, and the residence policy that has been violated, an outcome will be determined. Most outcomes are developmental or restorative in nature, however, some may be disciplinary (i.e. fines). Some outcomes are very specific to certain residence policy violations (i.e., alcohol probation may be an outcome for an incident involving an infraction of the alcohol policies), and some are more generic/widely applicable to a wide variety of situations (i.e. reflection assignment).
Unlike in criminal matters, SHRL will use the balance of probabilities to determine accountability. This means that if, after all credible information has been heard and collected from all students involved, the SHRL adjudicator believes that the incident is more likely to have occurred than not, and there is 'reasonable proof' that the person(s) responsible can be determined, then the standard of proof has been met. As every case is different, there is no way to determine a clear system for what constitutes a preponderance of evidence, and thus, it is up to the investigating party from SHRL to determine this on a case-by-case basis.
Residents have the right to appeal any official disciplinary sanction or decision, excluding policy reminders. Simply disagreeing with an outcome is not a valid ground for appeal. It is recommended that residents first discuss concerns with the initial decision-maker before submitting an appeal. Appeals that do NOT meet at least one (1) of the following grounds will not be considered:
- There were procedural irregularities and/or reasonable apprehension of bias from the decision maker, impacting the accuracy and/or credibility of the process.
- Substantive new information was found which could not reasonably have been presented earlier to the decision-maker.
- The sanction(s) was/were not appropriate or disproportionate for the circumstances.
You must submit your appeal within three (3) days of the date found on your decision letter. To proceed, download and complete the appeal form, then email it to the designated contact listed on the form according to your situation. If you have any questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions guide or contact Dorcas Mensah at d.mensah@utoronto.ca.