For detailed guidance please see the Appeals Procedure Guidance.
What is an Academic Appeal?
Sometimes there are significant events beyond your control that may cause you to perform not as well as you expected so you might consider submitting an Academic Appeal (previously known as Request for Review of an Assessment Decision).
Please note that the process has changed for the start of the new academic year (2024-2025). See the new process below.
Stage 1 – Early Resolution
If you wish to Appeal the decision made by the Board of Examiners, you can complete an Early Resolution Request Form within ten (10) working days of the publication date of your results.
Herts Student Union Advice & Support Centre & Herts Academic Skills Team can offer guidance and support about submitting a Stage 1 – Early Resolution Form.
You should receive a response within five (5) working days of the receipt of the Early Resolution Form.
You will receive a notification of completion of Stage 1 – Early Resolution within fifteen (15) working days.
Many appeals are likely to be resolved at the Stage 1 - Early Resolution. If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction at this stage, you may choose to submit a Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal.
To be able to submit a Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal you must have completed the Stage 1 – Early Resolution Process and received a notification of completion (with a reference number) from the Early Resolution Team.
Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal
A Formal Academic Appeal is a request to the Dean of School to review an assessment decision made by the Board of Examiners about the following:
- Mark or grade for an individual item of coursework.
- Result of an original module.
- Progression on to the next stage of your Programme of Study.
- Entitlement to an Award.
- Class or grade of an Award.
Deadline: Requests for a Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal must be received within ten (10) working days of receiving the notification of completion of Stage 1 - Early Resolution.
Late Requests: are not usually considered and consideration would be at the discretion of your School depending on the Exceptional Circumstances raised. You will be required to provide a reason on why the Formal Academic Appeal is late with suitable evidence.
Permitted grounds for a Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal.
There are limited grounds on which a Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal can be made in accordance with the University's Policies & Regulations - UPR AS12:
Click to view examples regarding grounds below
- The assessment procedures were not followed properly.
- There has been an administrative error that would affect the outcome of the assessment decision.
- The examinations or other assessments were not conducted in accordance with the approved programme regulations.
- University and/or programme-specific regulations on progression and awards were not complied with.
- Relevant information, including information that has already been provided by the student, was overlooked.
- There is new evidence that would affect the outcome of the decision that the student was unable, for good reason, to provide earlier in the process.In the case of evidence to support a request to apply a ‘fit to sit’ exemption, the request must be made to the Student Cases Team via the Student Portal.
- There is a reasonable perception of bias during the process.
The University will not consider any Academic Appeals which consist solely of challenging the academic judgement of Examiners in assessing merits of student’s work.
Submitting your Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal.
Please read the guidance carefully and complete in full the Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal Form.
Click to download the Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal Form
To submit your Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal, please provide the following to Student Cases Team at: appeals-support@herts.ac.uk
- Notification of Completion of Stage 1 Early Resolution;
- Completed Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal Form;
- Suitable evidence. This must be relative to the date of the examination/assessment submission. E.g., medical evidence/hospital/GP letters, proof of any communication with your tutor regarding the issue, letter from our Student Wellbeing Services, etc.
If you fail to provide any of the above information, your request cannot be processed. Delays in providing the completed form will cause delays in receiving the outcome.
You can seek advice and guidance on completing the Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal Form from Herts Student Union Advice & Support Centre and the Early Resolution Team.
The outcome of your Stage 2 - Formal Academic Appeal
After your appeal has been reviewed, you will get a Letter of Decision from appeals-support@herts.ac.uk within twenty (20) working days of submitting your completed Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal Form.
During busy times there may be a delay in receiving the outcome of your Appeal, if so, this will be communicated to you.
If your appeal is successful, the Chair of the Board will review the recommendation. Once reviewed, the Hub will send you a confirmation letter with the final result normally within 4 weeks from the date of the first Letter of Decision you received from appeals-support@herts.ac.uk.
If there are any delays and you wish to speak to your Hub, please contact ask@herts.ac.uk
If your Appeal is not accepted (dismissed) you may wish to make an Appeal to the Vice-Chancellor.
Stage 3 - Vice-Chancellor Appeal
In the event of an unsuccessful Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal you may, in only limited circumstances, wish to submit an Appeal to the Vice Chancellor only on limited grounds (detailed in section 5.7.1 of UPR AS12 Appendix I).
Permitted grounds for a Vice-Chancellor Appeal
Before making any decision, you are strongly advised to seek guidance from your Dean of School or Herts SU Advice and Support Centre.
An Appeal to the Vice Chancellor may only be made if it is considered that:
- Exceptional Circumstances apply.
- Submission should notbe regarded as merely another opportunity to present the same arguments as those submitted to the Dean of School (or nominee).
- Onlyif the student believes that the correct procedure has not been followed.
- Or that all the relevant circumstances have not been considered.
- That there is newevidence not previously considered by the Dean of School.
Please complete in full the Vice-Chancellor Appeal Form and submit to Student Procedures via studentprocedures@herts.ac.uk .
Deadline: Appeals to the Vice-Chancellor must be received with ten (10) working days of the date of the Letter of Decision from the Stage 2 – Formal Academic Appeal Process.
The Vice-Chancellor's Appeal Decision
If your Stage 3 - Vice-Chancellor Appeal is unsuccessful and not upheld, you will be sent the Letter of Decision of the Vice-Chancellor and automatically also a 'Completion of Procedures Letter'.
If your Appeal is 'partially upheld' or 'upheld' you would need to request a 'Completion of Procedures Letter'.
Information about Completion of Procedures Letters.
Complaints
The University subscribes to the OIA - The Office of the Independent Adjudicator, an independent complaints scheme for England and Wales. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your Stage 3 - Vice-Chancellor Appeal, you may be able to ask the OIA (Office of the Independent Adjudicator) to review this. You can find more information about making a complaint to the OIA, and if it something they would consider here: www.oiahe.org.uk/students