GUIDE ONE
ACADEMIC APPEALS
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What is the appeals procedure?
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What can I appeal and when can I do it?
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Grounds for appeal
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How do I fill out the academic appeal form?
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Writing a statement of circumstances
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What happens next?
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What if I’m still not satisfied?
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Important links
The information in this guide only provides general guidance on academic support and University policy. The leaflet should not be regarded or relied upon as a complete or authoritative statement of University policy or procedures. The University of Manchester Students’ Union advice service will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of the use of information in this guide.
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What is the appeals procedure? An academic appeal is your way of asking the University to reconsider a recent decision they made which affected your studies. Your case must fit certain criteria and you must provide new or further information and evidence to support your case. This booklet explains how you might go about making an appeal and how the process works.
Before beginning this process‌ You must speak to your Personal Tutor, Supervisor, Head of Programme or other appropriate person in the School to try and resolve the matter on an informal basis in the first instance. The University of Manchester Students’ Union advice service can help to clarify what you are aggrieved about and help to prepare you for these initial meetings. If the matter is not resolved at this level, you may decide to initiate the formal appeals procedure.
manchesterstudentsunion.com/adviceservice
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What can I appeal and when can I do it? In the case of refusal to allow you permission to take an examination on the grounds of unsatisfactory work and attendance, the appeal must be submitted within 10 working days of the date stated on the notification of the decision to allow sufficient time for the appeal to be considered.
An Academic Appeal can only be submitted once you have received formal notification of results or decision. This will be available online after unit marks have gone through the board of examiners or within 5 working days of any meeting/hearing that you have had with the University. Although you may have already been told informally that you have failed or that a decision has been made about your progression that you are not happy with, you will still need to wait until the formal notification has been received – although students can still contact the advice service during this time and we can help to prepare your Appeal in advance; ensuring that you are gathering the correct information and evidence.
Can I appeal a pass mark? In theory, you cannot usually use the appeals procedure to appeal against a pass mark as the University respects the academic or professional judgement of those charged with the responsibility of assessing a student’s academic performance and/or professional competence. However if you feel that there were circumstances that affected you at a particular point during the assessment that contributed to you achieving a lower mark, then you could still choose to submit an appeal – it might be wise to contact an Advisor if you think this is something you might like to explore.
Once you have received formal documentation, you must submit your appeal to the appropriate Faculty Office within 20 working days of the date stated on the letter.
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Grounds for appeal You must have relevant “grounds” for appeal and if relevant include a sentence or two (with evidence) explaining why you did not make this information known to the Progress Committee, Graduate Committee or Board of Examiners earlier.
If you have already been offered a reassessment opportunity you may not wish to pursue an academic appeal as the outcome is potentially going to be the same. However, if you feel there has been an error or you have been disadvantaged in some way, the appeal could be used to request an alternative outcome, such as a first attempt submission rather than a reassessment. This can be useful as it means the mark won’t be capped at the pass mark or compensation mark and could mean a difference in degree classification at a later stage.
Alternatively, you may want to submit the appeal as a way of confirming whether or not those named above had all the information to hand at the time. Try to avoid making an appeal sound like a complaint as complaints cannot be resolved under this procedure. Sometimes, there is an element of complaint, especially if it relates to procedures not being carried out as they should. In these cases, you need to say why you have not been able to raise this under the relevant procedures beforehand. This usually happens to those at the end of an academic year when a complaint could not be resolved by the time an appeal has to be lodged.
There are four grounds ‘allowing’ students to make an academic appeal, each one is detailed below with a short explanation as to how your circumstances may be applied: (a) That there exists or existed circumstances affecting the student’s performance of which, for good reason, the Board of Examiners or Committee may not have been made aware when the decision was taken and which might have had a material effect on the decision.
Even if the appeal is in your favour, a fail mark cannot usually be ‘overturned’ and made into a ‘pass’. They can usually only endorse a ‘first attempt assessment’ and often can only allow a reassessment opportunity.
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Grounds for appeal {cont} in judgement. Therefore you should explain this as fully as possible in your appeal if you are using the mitigating circumstances ground and provide evidence where you can. Examples of this may be a death in the family (this is likely to require a death certificate) or personal circumstances.
This ground relates to circumstances outside of your control which you feel affected your ability to perform in any assessment. Ideally you will have submitted ‘mitigation’ (see the mitigation chapter of this booklet for full details on this) at the time your work was affected as there will be questions as to why information was not presented earlier. The ‘Mitigating Circumstances Procedure’ gives you the opportunity to inform the school of such issues and must be submitted before the beginning of an examination period. As with an academic appeal, you should include evidence where possible and include as much detail as you feel able – even in difficult and personal circumstances. In this instance we suggest that you discuss your situation with their Personal Tutor and/or Academic Advisor. These staff may then be in a position to support you at the relevant Board, making reference to the information which the Chair may then be able to take into consideration when confirming marks and approving reassessment opportunities.
(b) That there had been a material administrative error or procedural irregularity in the assessment process or in putting into effect the regulations for the programme of study of such a nature as to cause significant doubt whether the decision might have been different if the error or irregularity had not occurred. Examples of this could be, but are not limited to: • Not being informed of an assessment deadline – although it is the student’s responsibility to find out this information if not presented. • Where the University has not followed the correct procedures within their regulations during the process of the student’s grievance which has had an adverse effect on their studies/ outcome; e.g. timescales not followed, particular process avenue not explored.
Sometimes you may not have realised that an event or incident had a negative effect on you at the time of sitting an examination or making an error
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Grounds for appeal {cont} (d) That the supervision or training of the student in respect of research for a dissertation or thesis or equivalent work was unsatisfactory to the point that his or her performance was seriously affected.
• Placement assessments not being carried out in line with regulations – e.g. absolutely no indication of cause for concern or failure of placement until very last observation / assessment. It is essential that you attach evidence to support this ground – e.g. photocopy page from University booklets/ programme booklets etc.
Supervisors and/or tutors have written guidelines as to how they should conduct the relationship with you with regards to responsibilities and expectations. A mutual arrangement should be made between you and the academic to ensure that these responsibilities and expectations are mirrored, creating a productive and effectual working relationship. If you do not feel that your Supervisor has provided the correct support and this has been very detrimental to your studies, you must be as clear and concise as possible with why you feel this; including any and all communications between both of you to highlight the situation and give a full picture of the relationship. Communications should be evidenced and we recommend that you keep all emails between you and your supervisor and records of meetings should be signed by both of you.
(c) That there is evidence of prejudice or bias or lack of proper assessment on the part of one or more of the Examiners. This is often quite difficult to put through an appeal as again, it states that there must be good reason why it has not been put through the appropriate procedures at the time. Some students are reluctant to make a complaint under these procedures as they believe that the situation will get worse. If you chose to appeal under this ground you should explain why you did not initiate a formal complaint at an earlier stage. Or if you did, detail the events.
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How do I fill out the academic appeal form? regarding the circumstances leading to and including the decision/result that they are appealing and how they are pertinent to the grounds stated. Within this letter it is useful to state the remedy that you would like to receive. The remedy is often the most difficult part – what can the you ask for?! It has to be realistic and it needs to relate to the failed piece(s)/decision.
There are four sections plus personal details, which must be filled in. 2 a) Please state the decision against which you are appealing (e.g. exclusion, requirement to re-sit year etc). Insert here the module or individual piece(s) of work you are concerned with and/or the decision against which you are appealing. You should copy details like module number and assessment title directly from results notice.
2 d) Please indicate what supporting documentation you are submitting in support of your appeal (e.g. medical certificate, correspondence etc) and attach it to a hard-copy of this form, duly signed.
2 b) Please tick the box(es) below to indicate on what grounds you are appealing. With regards to the section stating why information has not been available to the board before this time (2b: i); state this as clearly as possible and add ‘see attached letter’ to expand on any details.
This is quite straightforward – make a list of each document you are sending with this form. Some students number each document in an appendix for clarity.
2 c) Please give details of your appeal here (continue on a separate sheet if necessary) Most students do need more space than given on the form and this can be expanded within a word document, you should aim to write a detailed statement of circumstances. You should aim to put in as much detail as possible
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Writing a statement of circumstances There is no set way to present an appeal but the following should be taken into consideration:
• S tart with a note of the situation then look to see if it ‘matches’ with any of the grounds.
• It needs to be written in a formal tone
• T ry to incorporate vocabulary from the relevant grounds. For example: “I wish to make an Academic Appeal on the grounds that I believe I have mitigating circumstances which affected my ability to perform. These circumstances where….and I enclose (what) evidence. I was unable to inform the University beforehand of these circumstances because….and I include (what) evidence to confirm this.”
• W e usually advise students to write the main body of their appeal in a statement within the ‘Formal Notification of Academic Appeal’ form, available from your School/ Faculty Office, online following the link on page 12 or directly from the advice service. • E vidence must be attached wherever possible to support the reasons for appeal.
• S et out a full and factual account of the circumstances in question. Be logical and concise but include everything of relevance – if in any doubt about whether to include it or not – put it in as long as it is supportive. Ensure you include ‘what happened, when it happened and how exactly it affected your assessment.
• T he Appeal must be submitted within 20 working days of date of notification of results/decision. Although the advice service can provide advice and guidance, you need to look at the circumstances, try to make a connection between your situation and the appeal grounds and identify relevant evidence. An Advisor can prompt you on using the information above and talking through any issues you may have.
• I t helps to assume that the reader knows nothing about you or your programme of study so be as descriptive as possible. • M ake reference to and attach evidence wherever possible. Take each point in turn and think about anything that can be attached or referred to that supports it.
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What happens next? A nominee of the Faculty Office will consider the appeal and whether it does fall into the grounds specified above. If they find that the appeal does not fit into any of these categories it will be rejected and they will notify you within 10 working days of the appeal being received. *There will be no further opportunity to appeal this decision within the University. If the appeal is accepted for consideration on the specified grounds, the Faculty Officer will obtain comments from the appropriate person/s within the student’s school or Faculty. You will then be sent these comments to consider and will be asked to respond. Once this process is complete, the Dean of Faculty or their nominee and a Senior Administrative Officer within the faculty will consider all of the information provided. The Dean or their nominee may feel that there are grounds and sufficient evidence to allow the appeal to go in your favour so they will refer the matter back to the original Exam Board to reconsider their decision. This does not necessarily mean that you will receive your desired outcome but it may be considered if it is allowable in the regulations.
It is also possible that the Dean or their nominee believes that there are grounds, but there isn’t enough evidence to fully investigate and decide on an appropriate outcome. In this case, an Appeals Panel can be called and you would be invited along. You will normally be notified of this within 20 working days. The Appeals Panel can reject the appeal, refer it back or revoke the original decision. There is no further right to appeal within the University once the Panel has made a decision. You will be issued with a Completion of Procedures letter and can take the matter to the Office Of Independent Adjudicator, see ‘what if I am still not satisfied section’ following. If the Dean or their nominee does not uphold the appeal, you have one further opportunity to appeal within the University. This will be directed to the Director of Teaching and Learning Support who will review all documentation regarding the case to ensure that it has been handled correctly and the decision is reasonable in light of the available evidence. The decision of the Director of Teaching and Learning Support is final.
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What if I’m still not satisfied? The university will issue a letter stating Completion of Procedures when all avenues have been explored within the University; it is only when you receive this letter that you can process your appeal through the OIA (Office of Independent Adjudicators). Please see our OIA Guidance and speak to an Advisor if you are considering this option.
Important links Appeals flow chart http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=1910 Regulation XIX Academic Appeals http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=1872 Appeal form http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=1878 Faculty offices contact details http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-life/ formal-procedures/contacts/ Director of Teaching and Learning Support appealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk
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