What is an academic appeal?
An ‘Academic Appeal’ is defined as a request for a review of a Progression and Award decision or Mitigating Circumstances Board decision.
- If you think a mark is missing or incorrectly recorded on your student record, please contact the Student Centre in the first instance.
- If you have read your assessment feedback and would like additional feedback, we advise you to contact your Module Leader.
- If personal circumstances have impacted your studies, you should submit a mitigating circumstances claim.
- If you have submitted a mitigating circumstance claim and your claim has been rejected twice by the Mitigating Circumstances Board, an academic appeal can be submitted.
- If you wish to raise matters relating to course provision or delivery, please follow our complaints guidelines.
More information on appeals can be found in Section 16 of our academic regulations. You may also find it helpful to review the following case studies:
Who can appeal?
The Academic Appeal procedure is for use by any person pursuing a taught undergraduate or postgraduate course, module or programme of study offered by the University, which leads to an award of or the award of credit by the University.
Doctoral researchers should refer to the Academic Appeals procedures for Research Degrees.
If you have any questions regarding these procedures, please contact the Academic Standards Team via email at [email protected].
You can also contact the Student Union Advice Service, which can provide free, confidential advice and is completely independent of the University. This means they are not involved in any part of the decision-making process. The Advice Team can assist in discussing your case and the procedures applied. To book an appointment, visit the Student Union Advice Service.
Before you appeal
Before you decide whether or not to submit an academic appeal, it's a good idea to talk to your personal tutor or a relevant academic. It may be that you have a question which could be answered that way, or another process needs to be followed. You may also find it helpful to seek advice from the Student Union Advice Service, which can provide you with friendly, independent advice and support.
The University does not allow academic appeals against provisional marks. Before submitting an academic appeal, please ensure your results have been confirmed by the Assessment Board. Confirmed results are published on results day.
In common with other Higher Education Institutions in the UK, the University does not allow appeals against academic judgement.
An academic appeal may only be made where one or both of the following grounds have been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the body considering the appeal:
- That there has been a demonstrable material irregularity in the conduct of the assessment process or there has been procedural unfairness in the assessment process.
- That there has been a material irregularity in the conduct of the Mitigating Circumstances process.
The academic appeal process cannot be used to increase your marks if your performance was affected by circumstances. This is because we cannot quantify the number of marks you would have received if the circumstances had not occurred.
The University operates a ‘fit to sit’ policy, which means that if you take an assessment, you're declaring yourself fit to do so. If you didn't know that you were unfit when you completed an assessment, you can submit an evidenced claim. You'll need to demonstrate, with evidence, that you were unfit to take the assessment and that you were unfit to know it at the time. Information about how to submit an ‘unfit to sit’ claim can be found on our Mitigating circumstances claims page.
If you decide to submit an academic appeal, you'll need to complete and submit the Stage 1 Academic Appeals via e:Vision to the Academic Standards team within 15 working days of the publication of the decision which is being appealed.
Late appeals will not be considered unless you can demonstrate good reason and provide evidence as to why the academic appeal has been submitted late.
You can find the area to submit an academic appeal by logging into your SRS web profile on e:Vision and going into the My Self-Service menu. Any documentary evidence to support your appeal request must be submitted at the time of submission via e:Vision.
Instructions for how to use the academic appeal task can be found in the following user guide:
Where evidence is not presented in English, it is your responsibility to have this independently translated into English before submission.
A summary of the appeal process can be viewed on the following Flowchart:
The University undertakes to treat all appeals with confidentiality. As part of the investigation information may be shared with the following people:
- The Academic Standards Team within the Academic Registrar’s Department
- Any staff member of the University who may be able to contribute to the investigation of your case
- The Chair of Progress and Award Board
- The Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Board
Once your academic appeal has been submitted, you will receive a letter acknowledging receipt normally within five working days.
Academic Standards will review your academic appeal and determine whether or not there is evidence of the permissible grounds. You will be notified of the decision within 20 working days via your academic appeal task in e:Vision.
Where it is determined that the academic appeal does present evidence of the permissible grounds, it will be sent to either the Chair of the Progression and Award Board or the Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Board for further investigation under Stage 2. The Chair shall decide one of the following:
- Uphold the appeal on the basis that a material irregularity has occurred and modify the Board’s original decision as appropriate
- Reject the appeal on the basis that a material irregularity has not occurred and the Board’s original decision will stand
Written confirmation of the Stage 2 decision, along with full reasons for that decision, will be provided to you within 20 University working days via your academic appeal task in e:Vision.
Ground a) “that there has been a material irregularity in the assessment process;”
If your academic appeal is upheld, the Progression and Award will decide what remedy to apply, this may be different to the remedy you have requested, but generally if there has been an error in the recording or calculation of your marks, this will normally be remedied through the correction of the error, and, if necessary, the progression or classification of award decision will be reconsidered.
Depending on the circumstances, more than one remedy may be made. Remedies are there to put things right, that is, to return the student to the position they were in before the circumstances of the academic appeal occurred.
Ground b) “that there has been a material irregularity in the conduct of the Mitigating Circumstances process”
Where an academic appeal is accepted for mitigating circumstances, the Assessment Board may consider one of the following:
- A retrospective deferral of the assessment affected, providing a further attempt.
- To retrospectively accept and allow a late claim and provide the student with their original mark.
- To allow the student to defer the module to the next academic year without penalty.
Remedies for academic appeals are made in accordance with the provisions of the academic regulations, eg financial compensation would not be offered via an academic appeal.
Whilst your appeal is being investigated, the Progression and Award Board decision stands. This means you are expected to abide by the original decision regarding your results, award, or progression.
You should therefore meet any requirements for a referral, resubmission of coursework or resitting an examination and re-enrolment.
You are responsible for the consequences of not complying with the original decision of the Progression and Award Board.
Where it is determined that your appeal request does not provide evidence of permissible grounds, you may request that the Deputy Registrar (Quality and Standards) review this decision.
This request must be submitted using the Request for Review of Stage 1 Academic Appeal, which can be accessed via your academic appeal e:Vision task and within five working days of receiving the Stage 1 decision.
If the Deputy Registrar (Quality and Standards) determines that the grounds for your appeal have not been met, then you will be issued with a Completion of Procedures letter from the University.
If you are dissatisfied with the University’s final decision, you may wish to contact the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA).
Should you decide to make a complaint to the OIA, your OIA Complaint Form must be received by the OIA within twelve months of the date of the Completion of Procedures letter from the University.
Guidance on submitting a complaint to the OIA can be found on the OIA’s website - Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education - OIAHE