academic appeals 01865 484770 su.advice@brookes.ac.uk
a2 academic appeal This leaflet tells you what procedure to follow if you want to appeal a decision made by the Examination Committee. It is a brief summary of the full regulations which can be found at: www.brookes.ac.uk/uniregulations.
The procedure has two stages: 1. A appeal and, if the review is unsuccessful you may wish to consider 2. An application to the Appeal Committee
NB: You cannot submit an appeal or ask for a review until the mark has been put onto your PIP pages.
When can I appeal? You must have a case that falls within at least one of more of the categories 10(a), 10(b) and 10(c) set out in the University appeal procedure. You cannot request an appeal on the following grounds isagreement with the academic judgement of the Examination Committee i.e. D you wish to dispute their assessment of the merits of a piece of work or the mark/grade awarded; Poor teaching, supervision or guidance affected your performance – in such cases you can sumit a complaint under the Student Complaint Procedure, which if successful, is likely to result in an opportunity to re-submit the work following proper support rather than increase your marks. You can ask the Student Union Advice Centre for information about this. Note: If you simply want your work re-marked by someone else, you should note that this is unlikely to be granted. Your work may already have been marked by more than one person. The mark will have been checked to ensure that it is not out of line with the marks of other students.
grounds for appeal Set out below are the ONLY grounds you can appeal under. Underneath each ground we have added some guidance on what issues you need to address when requesting an appeal. 10(a) The assessments were not conducted in accordance with the regulations of the course. tate which regulation(s) you allege have S been breached – quote the course/module handbook or other relevant regulation(s). State how the above regulation(s) have been breached. State what proof you have of this breach.
10(b) The judgement of an examiner(s) was improperly affected by personal bias. tate who you believe to have been biased S and how this alleged bias affected the assessment of the piece of work. State what proof you have of this bias – do you have an independent witness? (Note: Ground 10 (b) constitutes a staff disciplinary offence – you need substantial proof to make the allegation stick).
10(c) There was a material administrative error or some other material irregularity in the conduct of the assessment, such that the assessment decision would have been different had the error or irregularity not occurred. •
Errors which were directly significant in reaching or taking the assessment decision, i.e. arithmetical error in arriving at marks, results left off mark sheets, names left
off mark sheets, errors in transcription or recording marks, loss of scripts or coursework by staff. Loss or failure to present other documentation relevant to the assessment decision. Describe the alleged error you seek to rely on. • State what proof you have of this error, if none why you have none. • State how you believe it affected the assessment
how to request an appeal Your request should be made in writing. You should attach to your letter any documentary evidence which will support your statements. It is important that you state: t hat you wish to appeal which ground you wish to appeal under why you believe this ground applies to your circumstances what evidence you have to support this or if you have no evidence, why you can not provide it what outcome you are seeking Make sure you state an address for correspondence, your student number, the relevant module(s) numbers, the name of your course and the date. Your letter must reach the Appeals Office within one calendar month of your results being published on PIP; this is the date the results came out not the date you checked your results if it was after this date. If you miss the deadline for submitting an appeal, then you can still appeal but you must provide reasons for lateness i.e. an explanation as to why you were not able to submit your request within the one month deadline. If your reasons for lateness are accepted they will go onto look at your appeal.
Your letter must be sent to: Academic Registrar Oxford Brookes University Gipsy Lane Campus Headington Oxford OX3 0BP Tel: 01865 484150 or 01865 484151 Email: exam_appeals@brookes.ac.uk If your appeal is accepted, then the Academic Registrar will send your request and relevant information to the Chair of the Examination Committee Board for reconsideration. You should receive a response or decision within 20 working days from the date of your request. If you do not hear anything within this time, you should contact the Appeals department to chase up a response by emailing exam_appeals@brookes.ac.uk If your appeal under ground 10(a), 10(b) or 10(c) is rejected or you are dissatisfied with the outcome, then you can take the matter a stage further and request that an Appeal Committee be convened to re-consider the matter.
what is evidence? Evidence is a statement from someone else giving information about you, e.g. arking sheets (get these from your Module M leader) copy of the relevant module or course A handbook regulation he receipt you obtained when you handed T in your coursework copy of any relevant email from tutor or A module leader
If you cannot get the evidence immediately, put in the Appeal, but state clearly what evidence you will be submitting; and don’t forget to send it once you have collected the evidence. If you are using Ground 10(b) then you need to think carefully about how you will prove that a staff member was ‘biased’ against you and how you will provide proof that this bias affected the way they marked your work. This is a very serious allegation. You will need to have substantial proof and therefore this ground is difficult to substantiate.
appeal commitee stage If you want to take the matter further then you need to write again to the Academic Registrar and ask that an Appeal Committee be convened. If they consider that your appeal is not frivolous or vexatious (does not have sufficient grounds or is done only to annoy), and that there is sufficient evidence, then they will convene an Appeal Committee. The Regulations state that you must write your letter within 2 weeks of the outcome of the first appeal (or, if there has been unreasonable delay, within 3 months of the date of your original request for the review). I f the original decision did not properly address all the issues, then say so and explain what you think has been overlooked.
ou should re-state your arguments and Y explain why you think the decision is wrong. ou should include any relevant evidence, if Y you have it, and include previous evidence to clarify your statements. The Committee will consist of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) or their nominee as Chair, a Head of School and member of academic staff who is not a Head of School, and two students (nominated by the President of the Students Union). The Academic Registrar will act as Secretary to the Committee. Check the full Regulations www.brookes. ac.uk/regulations/acadc213 for details of how the committee will be conducted and possible outcomes.
students on collaborative programmes Oxford Brookes University runs a number of courses in collaboration with other Institutions. This means you may be studying at Brookes or elsewhere, but you will be studying for a Brookes award. There are two types of students in this situation. How you make an academic appeal depends on which type of student you are. Type 1:
Students enrolled with Brookes
If you are a fully enrolled Brookes student, you can use these procedures in the same way as other students, no matter where you study. Type 2:
Students NOT enrolled with Brookes
If you are enrolled with another institution and not at Brookes (even though your studies lead to a Brookes award) you need to ask for a review/appeal under the procedures of the institution with which you are enrolled.
If this applies to you, you do have a final opportunity to raise your case with Oxford Brookes University, after you have exhausted your own institutions’ procedures. This, however can only be on the basis of irregular procedures or an unreasonable decision, and cannot result in your case being heard through the Brookes procedure. If you are unsure which category you fall into, or if you need advice on making your final appeal, you should contact the Academic Registrar or the Students’ Union Advice Centre.
further action If you are dissatisfied with the final decision of the University and have completed the University’s internal procedures, you are entitled to ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) to review the University’s decision and procedures. Once a student has finished the university’s internal complaints or appeals procedures, the University must promptly send a Completion of Procedures Letter to the student. This letter should set out clearly what issues have been considered and the University’s final decision. The OIA review will focus on this final decision. The OIA must receive a student’s Scheme Application Form (which is their form you have to use to make a complaint) within three months of the date of the Completion of Procedures Letter. For example, if the Completion of Procedures Letter is dated 7 January, they should receive your Scheme Application Form by 7 March.
What the OIA can take a complaint about: They can review a wide range of complaints by students about acts and omissions of universities. Complaints might be about: programme of study or research A A service provided by a university to a student A final decision of a university’s disciplinary or appeal body The Scheme does not cover complaints about: dmissions A Academic judgement Student employment Matters already considered by a court or tribunal (unless formally stayed) More information about the OIA can be found at: www.oiahe.org.uk
Useful Contacts: Academic Registrar/Appeals, Complaints and Conduct Office Oxford Brookes University Gipsy Lane Campus Headington Oxford OX3 0BP Tel: 01865 484150 or 01865 484151 Email: exam_appeals@brookes.ac.uk www.brookes.ac.uk/uniregulations. www.oiahe.org.uk
Brookes Union Advice
01865 484770
su.advice@brookes.ac.uk
NB: During the 2013/14 academic year, the Academic Management Office, the International Student Advisory Service, the Financial Aid Office, the Graduate Office and the Appeals Complaints & Conduct Office will become part of Student Central which will be based in the John Henry Brookes Building. Information about this will be circulated nearer the time of the move, along with new contact details where appropriate