What is an Academic Appeal?
Sometimes there are significant events beyond your control that may cause you to perform less well than expected so you might consider submitting an Academic Appeal (Request for Review of an Assessment Decision).
Informal Academic Appeal
You can submit an informal appeal directly to your school, there are strict deadlines so please make sure you follow the guidance in the Policies and Regulations: look for AS12, appendix 1.
Many Appeals are sucessfully resolved at the informal stage, if the matter is not able to be resolved at this stage you may choose to submit a Formal Academic Appeal.
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 Formal Academic appeal must be received within 10 working days of the publication of your results.
Late Requests: are not usually considered and consideration would be at the discretion of your School depending on the Exceptional Circumstances raised.
Permitted grounds for an Academic Appeal
There are limited permitted grounds on which a Formal Academic Appeal can be made in accordance with the University's Policies & Regulations - UPR AS12:
i. the assessment procedures were not followed properly
ii. there has been an administrative error that would affect the outcome of the assessment decision;
iii. the examinations or other assessments were not conducted in accordance with the approved programme regulations
iv. University and/or programme-specific regulations on progression and awards were not complied with
v. relevant information, including information that has already been provided by the student, was overlooked
vi. 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
vii. there is a reasonable perception of bias during the process
*The University will not admit queries which consist solely of a challenge to the academic judgment of Examiners in assessing the merits of a candidate's work or in reaching a decision or recommendation on progression, award or the class or grade of award based on the marks, grades and other information relating to the candidate's performance.
Submitting your Formal Academic Appeal
Please complete in full the University Request for Review (Appeal Form) and submit to the Student Cases Team at: appeals-support@herts.ac.uk
Ensure to provide as much evidence as possible to support your Appeal, 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. Your appeal cannot be considered without supporting evidence.
The Herts Student Union Advice & Support Centre can offer guidance and support about submitting a Formal Academic Appeal.
The outcome of your Formal Academic Appeal
Once your appeal has been investigated you will recieve a letter of decision from appeals-support@herts.ac.uk
If your appeal is not accepted (dismissed) you may be able to make an Appeal to the Vice-Chancellor.
In the event of an unsuccessful request a student may, in only limited circumstances, make representation to the Vice Chancellor and 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
Representation to the Vice Chancellor may only be made if it is considered that:
- exceptional circumstances apply
- submission should not be regarded as merely another opportunity to present the same arguments as those submitted to the Dean of School (or nominee)
- only if the student believes that the correct procedure has not been followed
- or that all the relevant circumstances have not been considered
- that there is new evidence not previously considered by the Dean of School.
Deadline: representations to the Vice-Chancellor must be received with 10 working days of the date of the Letter of Decision from the Dean of School.
Please complete in full the University Request for Review by the Vice-Chancellor (Review Form) and submit to Student Procedures via studentprocedures@herts.ac.uk
The Vice-Chancellor's Appeal Decision
If your Formal 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 Appeal you may be able to ask the OIA 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