Academic Appeals.

What is an Academic Appeal?

You can submit an appeal if you want the University to review a decision they’ve made about your studies. You have 15 working days(i.e. not weekends or bank holidays) from the date on the official notification letter to appeal. You can appeal against:

A decision made by the Board of Examiners
- For undergraduate and postgraduate students this includes:
  - Progression decisions
  - Degree award / classification
  - Extenuating Circumstances outcomes
  - Termination of registration on academic grounds
- For postgraduate research students:
  - Decisions made by an upgrade panel
  - Decision of an MPhil/PhD/DPS/DClinPsy/ Masters by Research viva panel
A penalty given for exam and assessment offences
Termination of registration
A decision made by the Fitness to Practice Panel
A decision made regarding access arrangements for assessments

The University won’t investigate an appeal against an academic judgment or a request for work to be remarked. If you need more time to obtain evidence, submit your appeal by the deadline and indicate when further evidence will follow, and why you cannot yet provide it. The appeals team does not normally allow extensions for the submission of appeals.

Late appeals past the 15-day deadline are unlikely to be considered.

Regardless of which decision you are appealing against, there are set grounds for appealing. These differ depending on the type of appeal but if your appeal is not based on one of the eligible grounds it either will not be considered or another process may be more appropriate. Below you will find the different grounds based on the different decisions you can appeal.

You can read more about the appeals process and access the appeals form on the Student Intranet.

(1) Your performance in the assessment/examination/review was substantially affected by circumstances of which the examiners had not been made aware and which you could not with reasonable diligence have disclosed before the outcome had been determined
If you are appealing on this ground, you must have a clear reason why you could not have disclosed these circumstances to your department/school before the outcome had been determined.

(2) There were procedural irregularities in the conduct of the assessment/examination/review, or administrative errors, which might cause reasonable doubt as to whether the outcome would have been the same if the irregularities or errors had not occurred
Please state which procedures have not been followed correctly.

(3) There is evidence of bias on the part of one or more of the examiners/panel members such that the outcome should not be allowed to stand.
Please note that if you are appealing on this ground you must write down all comments or remarks made by the individual(s) in question, and provide evidence to substantiate these allegations.

That there is evidence of a failure to follow the procedures set out in these regulations which might cause reasonable doubt as to the fairness of the decision
That fresh evidence can be presented which you could not with reasonable diligence have disclosed before the decision was made and which might cause reasonable doubt as to the fairness of that decision
That the decision was perverse given the evidence which was available at the time

There is evidence of a failure to follow the procedures set out in the Undergraduate Regulations which might cause reasonable doubt as to the fairness of the decision to terminate the student’s registration
Fresh evidence can be presented which you could not with reasonable diligence have disclosed before the decision to terminate his/her registration was made and which might cause reasonable doubt as to the fairness of that decision

There is evidence of a failure to follow procedures which might cause reasonable doubt as to the fairness of the Fitness to Practise Panel’s decision
Fresh evidence can be presented which the student could not with reasonable diligence have disclosed before the Fitness to Practise Panel’s decision was made which might cause reasonable doubt as to the fairness of that decision
The panel's decision was perverse given the evidence which was available at the time

There is new documentary evidence to be taken into account which s/he could not with reasonable diligence have disclosed at the time of the original application
There is evidence of administrative or procedural errors, which might cause reasonable doubt as to whether the outcome would have been the same if the irregularities or errors had not occurred
The original conclusion reached by the Executive Committee for Assessment was unreasonable given the evidence with which it was presented

How to appeal

Below you can find ‘how to’ sheets for the different decisions you can appeal.

Outcome of the Board of Examiners
Fitness to Practice Panel Outcome
Access Arrangements
Academic Misconduct Panel Outcome
Termination of Registration

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Academic Appeals.

What is an Academic Appeal?

Appeal against the outcome of the Board of Examiners

Appeal against the penalties imposed under the Regulations on Academic Misconduct

Appeal against the termination of registration through the formal warnings process

Appeal against the decision made by a Fitness to Practise Panel

Appeal against a decision made following a request for access arrangements for assessment

How to appeal

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