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On November 9, 1989, a student wrote to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (the "institution") to request "copies of the four letters of recommendation that were written on my behalf when I applied for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship".
The institution decided to grant access to these records which were titled "Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program 1987-88" and which were prepared by some of the student's professors. One of the professors appealed the head's decision to grant access to the record which he had prepared. Notice of the appeal was sent to the appellant, the institution and the student.
By letter, the appellant, the institution, and the student were notified that an inquiry was being conducted to review the decision of the head. During the course of the appeal, the Council of Ontario Universities requested permission to make representations pursuant to section 52(13) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 1987 (the "Act") as the Council had an interest in the outcome of the appeal.
Representations were received from the institution and from the Council of Ontario Universities. The student did not make any representations.
Although the appellant did not make formal representations in response to the Notice of Inquiry, I have considered the very useful information which he provided to this office at various times during the course of the appeal.
An Appeals Officer assigned to the case obtained and examined the record at issue in this appeal, which is a single page printed form designed by the institution. The form, which is titled "Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program 1987-88", includes a checklist for the professor to rank the student and to provide comments. The form is described as a "Confidential report from the professor most familiar with the candidate's work" (emphasis added). The report in this case is dated September 26, 1986.
The report is referred to by the student and the appellant as a letter of recommendation while the institution and the Council of Ontario Universities have more correctly referred to it both as an assessment and as a report. Much of the confusion concerning the correct name for the record may have arisen because, in previous years, the report was subtitled "Confidential Letter of Recommendation".
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