Academic Appeals
Grounds
- Material circumstances: circumstances materially affected performance but were not known to the relevant Board, with reasonable grounds why they could not have been raised beforehand.
- Procedural irregularity: a significant procedural error materially affected the decision and disadvantaged the student.
- Prejudice or bias: evidence of prejudice or bias by an examiner/marker, or reasonable grounds supporting its perception
Formal Appeal Stage
- Deadline: within 10 working days of notification of the academic decision.
- If no grounds are established, the appeal is dismissed with reasons. If there is a case, the Faculty investigates and may provide an appropriate remedy.
- The University should normally aim to resolve the appeal within 30 calendar days, or explain any delay.
Appeal Review Stage
- Deadline: within 10 working days of notification of the Formal Appeal decision.
- Grounds:
- further material circumstances/evidence which could not reasonably have been submitted earlier;
- procedural irregularity during the Formal Appeal;
- bias during the Formal Appeal; or
- a decision which no reasonable body properly directing itself and taking relevant factors into account could have reached.
Academic Appeal Committee
- Student receives at least 5 working days' notice.
- Documents are normally provided 5 working days beforehand.
- Student may attend, present their case and have a supporter.
- Committee may uphold, partially uphold or reject the appeal.
- Summary outcome normally within 5 working days.
Mitigating Circumstances
Evidence-free extension
- 7 calendar days, including weekends.
- Once per assignment, maximum 4 times per academic year.
- No evidence required.
- Available up to 24 hours after the deadline.
- Not available for exams or timed/short-duration assessments.
Evidence-based mitigation:
- Normally 1 or 2 weeks.
- Required where more than one week is needed or all four evidence-free extensions have been used.
- If two weeks is insufficient, the assessment may be deferred to the next assessment period.
- Exams can only be deferred, not extended.
Applying
- Applications can be made from 4 weeks before until 24 hours after the assessment deadline.
- Evidence can be submitted with the application or within 10 working days after the deadline.
- Outcome normally within 7 working days.
Late Applications
- Late/retrospective applications are exceptional and require evidence explaining why the student could not apply at the appropriate time.
- Examples include serious illness preventing engagement with the procedure, an emerging health condition, hospitalisation or an unexpected traumatic event.
- Being unaware of the procedure, or being able but unwilling to disclose circumstances, will not normally justify a late application.
Circumstances Not Normally Accepted
- minor illness;
- holidays;
- foreseeable/preventable circumstances;
- poor time management;
- poor IT practice/lack of backups;
- lack of awareness of assessment dates; and
- submission errors.
Academic Misconduct
Department Level:
- Student invited to meeting and may provide evidence, mitigation and a supporter.
- ACO determines whether an offence occurred.
- Penalty up to Tariff B.
- Outcome normally within 10 working days.
Faculty Level:
- Student receives documents at least 5 working days before the meeting.
- Student may attend, provide evidence/mitigation and have a supporter.
- Panel determines the offence and may impose up to Tariff D.
- Outcome normally within 10 working days.
University Committee of Academic Enquiry:
- Used for Severe Academic Misconduct.
- Student receives evidence at least 5 working days beforehand and may attend, provide evidence, call witnesses and have a supporter.
- Committee may impose Tariffs A–G.
- Written decision normally within 5 working days.
Examination Misconduct
- Student normally has 5 working days to provide their statement and circumstances.
- A Review Panel considers the case.
Penalties
- A: warning.
- B: zero with resubmission.
- C: zero with resubmission, capped at pass.
- D: zero, with limited/no referral depending on circumstances.
- E: zero for relevant module/year, with limited/no referral.
- F: zero for affected modules/year and possible loss of registered degree, with lesser award potentially available.
- G: expulsion with no credit.
Mitigation may affect the penalty, but does not normally excuse misconduct.
