Academic Appeals

The Policy

If you are unhappy with a decision made by the Unit Assessment Board, Board of Examiners, or an Extenuating Circumstances Officer, you may be able to appeal. An appeal needs to be submitted within 10 working days of receiving a grade or decision.

You may wish to appeal an academic decision you are unhappy with. This document outlines the policy and the procedure. You can also access the University’s Guide to Appeals here.

An appeal needs to be submitted within 10 working days of receiving a grade or decision. If you are unable to appeal within this timeframe, please give details of why. Decisions relating to the following can be appealed:

What you can appeal under this policy

• Decisions made by an exam or assessment board about your progression, results, or award.
• Decisions made by a postgraduate research review panel, interim panel, or viva voce examiners.
• Decisions made by an End Point Assessment Organisation (degree apprenticeships).
• Decisions about Extenuating Circumstances applications.

What you cannot appeal under this policy

• The academic judgment of examiners (e.g., questioning marks awarded).
• Complaints about the University that are not academic decisions.
• The outcome of the Student Complaints procedure (you may, however, complain about how your case was handled).
• Appeals relating to: Academic Misconduct, Fitness to Study, Fitness to Practise. (Each of the above has its own separate appeals process – see their policies.)

There are two possible reasons why an appeal might be made. These are:

1. Procedural Error – The University (or End Point Assessment Organisation) made an administrative error or did not follow its own procedures, and you can provide evidence.
2. Personal Circumstances – You were unable to complete a process/procedure due to personal circumstances you could not disclose earlier for valid reasons.

As part of the appeals process, you will need to submit a statement outlining why you are submitting an appeal.

Your statement should include:

• Name, student number, address, email, course, year of study, date
• Grounds you are appealing under (will depend on your circumstances and the appeal stage you are on)
• Factually explain circumstances
• Preferred outcome
• Evidence

The Process

There are three stages in the appeal process.

Stage 1 - Early Resolution Opportunity:

You should have received official communication from the University outlining the decision you are unhappy with. You have 10 working days from receiving this to submit your appeal.

Once you have identified the grounds of your appeal, you will need to send a statement outlining your circumstances to your Head of School and copy in the Academic Services team (the Board of Examiners that sent you your official letter).

If they find your appeal to be valid, steps should be taken to correct any errors. If the appeal is not found to be valid, you will be advised of this in writing, and you will have a further 10 days to submit a Stage 2 appeal.

Stage 2 - Formal Appeal:

To submit a Stage 2 appeal, you must complete and submit this Appeal form to the Student Casework Team for consideration.

Your appeal may be referred to another University process. You will be informed if this happens.

• You may be asked to attend a meeting. You may bring a friend, family member, or we can support you in your meeting.
• You will receive a written outcome.
• If you disagree, you may request a review within 10 working days.

Stage 3 - Review:

If you are unhappy with a decision made, you have a further 10 working days to request a review. 

You can request a review if:

• The appeal procedure was not followed correctly.
• The investigation was not completed on time.
• You have new evidence that could not reasonably have been provided earlier.
• The decision made was not reasonable given the evidence.

In your review request, explain clearly your reasons and include any evidence. To request a review you will need to submit this through this link here.

You will receive an outcome within 15 working days from the Student Casework Team. Your appeal will either be accepted and next steps will be stated, or the review will be rejected and a Completion of Procedures letter will be issued.

If you are not happy with the final outcome, you can choose to contact The Office of Independent Adjudicators, and they will investigate whether the process has been followed correctly.

Or, you can submit a University Complaint - please see our guidance on our complaints page.