UPDATE: July 30^th, 2024

Today, other publications released stories focused based on the allegations of this instructor. While those stories were more balanced than the Winnipeg Sun’s story, they nevertheless misrepresent the reality of the situation, and they often ignore the facts we offered them in reply to their questions.

In the interim, I have received a legal opinion from University Counsel which affirms our position in regards both to the press, and the instructor’s public allegations, and which offers several possibilities for moving forward. We are currently considering our legal options.

Original statement

On July 25^th, 2024, the Winnipeg Sun published accusations levied against Brandon University by a former instructor who taught one English course. The article asserted, among other unproven and at times false allegations, that “15 students were caught using artificial intelligence (AI) to fraudulently write assignments.” To be clear, we live in a culture in which everyone accused of misconduct is innocent until proven guilty, and BU adheres to this strict standard of natural justice. Thus, what the instructor presented were allegations of departures from academic integrity. Once an allegation is made, Brandon University has a robust academic integrity process to determine its validity, a process which is transparent and requires careful documentation at all stages.

First, the Dean reviews the allegations made by an instructor, and then makes a final determination; in this case, the Dean personally met with each student before rendering their decision. If either the student or the instructor disagrees with the Deans decision, they are entitled to appeal that decision, at which point the allegations are turned over to a Senate committee, consisting of ten members, who make a final determination. If the instructor appeals, as in these cases, they are provided the opportunity to submit a letter of appeal which details their arguments regarding why they feel the Dean made an incorrect decision. The Dean has the opportunity to respond to that letter, at which point the instructor has the opportunity to write another response to the Dean’s response. So, by the time the case comes before the Senate committee, that committee is presented with three sets of arguments from the instructor: their original allegation, their letter of appeal, and their response to the Dean’s response. As you can see, this is a robust process which allows the instructor more chances to make their arguments than anyone else in the process. The Senate committee then reviews all of this evidence, and comes to a conclusion. In other words, by the time these final decisions were made, 12 people including the instructor and the Dean had contributed to the process, and 10 of those people made the final decision together as a committee. Yet, despite our clear communication of that fact to the Winnipeg Sun, the article in question neglected to mention that fact. Rather, the Winnipeg Sun chose to run a story based on the allegations of one participant in that process, without interviewing or seeking to contact any of the other eleven people involved in this decision, all of whose information is freely available on our website.

As should be clear to anyone who has reviewed the policy (which is easily accessible on our website and should certainly have been read before publishing such a piece), the process is rigorous, thorough, well-documented, and transparent. Its many steps ensure fairness for everyone involved, and the committee structure ensures consistency in decision-making across the entire institution. It goes without saying that just because one member of the process disagrees with the final decision, does not in any way mean that the process is flawed.

Let me be clear that as the Provost of Brandon University, I fully support the department and the Dean in the tremendous work they all undertook to support the instructor. I support the Dean in the work they did to handle these difficult cases, and to see them through to their conclusion under difficult circumstances and in the face of spurious and defamatory personal attacks. I support the instructor in his right to appeal these decisions as allowed by policy, but not in his ad hominem attacks on our faculty members, administrators, and Brandon University generally.

Most importantly, I support our students, and their right not to have their integrity questioned publicly on the basis of unfounded allegations made without a shred of evidence to support those accusations. The Winnipeg Sun did not include a single shred of evidence in support of the allegations it has published – if it has such, I challenge them to present that evidence immediately. I support our international students’ right not to be singled out, in addition to the hardships they already face in attending university in a country far away from home, as having “committed the majority of transgressions.” Why the nationality of the students is important, and why the Winnipeg Sun felt the need to include this information in its reporting, is a matter for that publication to answer. And I support the rights of the students in our Nursing program not to have their integrity, and the fact that they earned their places in that program, baselessly questioned by someone who is unqualified to make a determination of who belongs in that program, or what it takes to get into that program. The notion that some (two, twelve, one hundred?) students are in that program because they “cheated like crazy” is one for which, again, this piece of reporting provided not a shred of evidence. Our students do not deserve to have their integrity questioned in such a vague yet potentially damaging manner, and Brandon University strongly condemns the fact that this has happened.

To the members of the Department of English, Drama, and Creative Writing, to the Dean of Arts, and to all of our hardworking faculty, students, staff, and administrators: I thank you for the hard work you do, for continuing to do that work diligently in the face of sometimes disheartening and unfair circumstances, and for standing fast in the face of such circumstances to continue supporting each other and ensuring the integrity, humanity, and academic excellence of which we are all so justifiably proud here at Brandon University.

Kofi Campbell

Provost and Vice-President (Academic)
Brandon University