What is the process for making an Appeal?
You can only appeal once your marks have been agreed by an Exam Board. Once you have received your Exam Board Outcome you have 10 working days in which to appeal. If you feel that your situation fits into one or more of the grounds for appeal then you can complete an Academic Appeals Form.
If you would like any help with your appeal please email advice@ccsu.co.uk with Results and a short description of what has happened.
Appeal FAQS:
I have received my assignment back and the mark is not what I expected can I appeal?
Essentially students cannot appeal against the academic judgement of the University. If you do not think that you deserved the mark that you have been given then you need to meet with your marking tutor who can better explain the reasons behind your mark; if it is not apparent from the feedback given on your work. If you have been given a mark which is below the pass mark and the work was your first submission then the usual decision of an Exam Board would be to allow you a reassessment (if your course allows for reassessment). Reassessments are usually capped at the pass mark. If you have not been offered a reassessment on a first submission then you should speak to your course director, this may not require an academic appeal and may just need you to meet with your course director to discuss the issue. If your mark is merely lower than you would have liked, or you feel that you did meet all the marking criteria but you were still marked low, or if you feel that the marking tutor marked your work lower than other marking tutors or other students, then you need to meet with either your marking tutor, your module leader or your course director to informally discuss the issue. You should contact the relevant member of staff and ask for a tutorial or brief meeting with them, keep it informal and merely ask the questions that have been puzzling you.
There is a University policy on marking which outlines the process through which your work goes in order to be marked. The module coordinator will assign marking tutors who should all be following the same marking criteria when marking your work; these criteria should be made available to you either in your course handbook or along with the assignment brief. All work or a percentage of all work (covering a full range of awards from failed to 1st) will have been double marked by another marking tutor, or moderated, to ensure parity across the module. All work once moderated will have to be seen by the External Examiner; this is someone external from the University who ratifies all marks awarded in accordance with the marking criteria and in relation to marking across the module. No marks are finalised until the final Exam Board at the end of each semester, at which your course director presents all the marks for all assignment for all students. The External Examiners then ratify these marks and finalises grades.
I have been informed by my course that I have failed a module, can I appeal?
The first thing that you want to do is ascertain from your course director what effect failing this module will have on your overall mark profile (i.e. how you are doing on the course as a whole). Can you carry a failed module and still pass and proceed into the next year of study? Does failing this module mean that you have failed the course? It is worth contacting your course director and asking for a meeting to discuss your position on the programme. Essentially students cannot appeal against the academic judgement of the University. Students can only appeal under specific grounds and you can only appeal once your marks have been agreed by an Exam Board at which your course director presents all the marks for all assignments for all students, and External Examiners then ratify these marks and finalise grades. Once you have received your results on your MyRecord ‘My Studies / My Assessment’ you have 10 working days in which to appeal.
Essentially, you cannot appeal against your awarded academic grade, however you can appeal if you feel that;
- There is new evidence of Exceptional Circumstances (ECs), which, for good reason, was not previously available to the Board of Examiners
- Administrative or procedural irregularity/error
- Prejudice or bias (or a reasonable perception of bias) which can be proven
The form for initiating an Academic Appeal can be found here.
I have been informed by my course that I am due to be withdrawn / fail the course, can I appeal?
Essentially students cannot appeal against the academic judgement of the University. Students can only appeal under specific grounds and you can only appeal once your marks have been agreed by an Exam Board at which your course director presents all the marks for all assignments for all students, and External Examiners then ratify these marks and finalise grades. Once you have received your results on your MyRecord ‘My Studies / My Assessment’ you have 10 working days in which to appeal.
Essentially, you cannot appeal against your awarded academic grade, however you can appeal if you feel that;
- There is new evidence of Exceptional Circumstances (ECs), which, for good reason, was not previously available to the Board of Examiners
- Administrative or procedural irregularity/error
- Prejudice or bias (or a reasonable perception of bias) which can be proven
The form for initiating an Academic Appeal can be found here.
I have been informed that I am due to be withdrawn / assumed withdrawn from the course, can I appeal?
Assumed withdrawal can happen if you do not engage with your studies. Missing too many lectures, not handing in work, or not doing the required paperwork for full registration including DBS can all lead to an assumed withdrawal. You can appeal against an assumed withdrawal if you can provide evidence that you have been engaging or that you have sufficient mitigating circumstances to explain why you have not been engaging.
The form for initiating an Academic Appeal can be found here.
If you feel that your case fits into one of the grounds then you can lodge an academic appeal using the online form, simply fill in the online form stating what you wish to happen and your reasons for this, provide appropriate supporting evidence with the form.
Once you have read the relevant information above; if you feel you have grounds for appeal and you wish for assistance in completing your Appeals Form then you can contact the Students' Union Advice Centre advice@ccsu.co.uk get in touch and send your Results and a short description of what has happened and we can see if we can help.
Please note: As a Students' Union Advice Centre we offer advice in good faith, based on knowledge, experience and the best information available to us. Students who seek our help must take responsibility for their own decisions based on the advice we give.