STUDENT APPEALS

POLICY AND PROCEDURE

1. Policy Statement

1.1 The College has a duty to ensure that assessment and decisions about
assessment are conducted fairly and in accordance with its equal
opportunities policy.

1.2 A student is entitled to make an appeal against the decision of the

Examination Board if s/he believes that the result of her/his assessment
has been adversely affected by a health or personal difficulty which
for good reason s/he was unable to disclose on time, or by an
administrative or procedural error on the part of the College.

1.3 An appeal will not be considered where it is made against academic

judgement.

2. Grounds for an Appeal

2.1 A student may make an appeal if:

[a] the student can establish that their performance in assessment
was adversely affected by illness or other mitigating
circumstances which they were unable, or for valid reasons
unwilling, to divulge prior to the Examination board reaching a
decision. The student’s request for reconsideration must be
supported by documentary evidence as to why it could not
have been presented at the correct time.

[b] satisfactory evidence can be produced that there has been a

material administrative error, or that assessment was not
conducted in accordance with the College’s regulations or the
current regulations for the course, or that some other procedural
defect has occurred.

2.3 A student who requests an appeal is bound by the original grade

awarded (and any conditions associated with the resubmission of an
assessment or retake of an examination) until the result of the appeal
process is known. However in certain circumstances, to be determined
by the Chair of the Appeals Panel, a student may be permitted to
progress to the next level, pending the Panel’s decision, so as not to
disadvantage the student academically. This will not prejudice the
outcome of the appeal and if the appeal is rejected the student will
not be permitted to continue at the next Level and the decision of the
Examination Board will stand.

2.4 Appeals will not be considered where they are made against
academic judgement.
2.5 The appeals procedure may not be used to pursue any complaint
against services provided by the College, including delivery of
teaching, or a complaint about misconduct by a member of staff or
another student. A student who wishes to make such a complaint
must follow the College’s Complaints Procedure [See the Student
Contract Handbook].
2.6 The College reserves the right to terminate the appeals procedure at
any time if it is judged that the appeal is vexatious or frivolous. This
decision will be made by the Director of the College and will be
communicated in writing to the appellant.
3. Procedure for Appeal against a Result declared by the Examination
Board

3.1 Errors in published marks or grades

3.1.1 If a student believes that a mistake has been made in the grade
for an individual assessment or overall result, the matter should
be raised with the Registry as soon as possible after the
publication of the results

3.1.2 If an error has occurred, the Registry must notify the Chair of the
Examination Board immediately so that s/he can take chair’s
action in consultation with the external examiners to rectify the
error as soon as possible.

3.1.3 Written confirmation of the action taken will be provided to the

student, and the matter will be reported to the Examination
Board at its next meeting.

3.1.4 If an error did not occur, the student must be notified in writing
normally within two weeks of the claim.

3.2 Other administrative or procedural errors or mitigating circumstances

3.2.1 The student should appeal to the Head of Quality normally

within three weeks of publication of the results, in writing, stating
clearly the grounds for appeal (i.e. under 2.1 [a] or 2.1. [b]) and
attaching any relevant documentation.

3.2.2 The Head of Quality will acknowledge receipt of the appeal

normally within five days, that either:
[a] the appellant has a case, and confirming the
arrangements for an Appeal Panel;

or

[b] the case does not fall within the grounds for appeal, and
inviting the appellant to a meeting to discuss the case.
 3.2.3 An appeal is unlikely to succeed if a student cannot explain
satisfactorily why they were unable to provide the examiners in
advance of the examination board with information about any
personal circumstances that may have affected their
performance in assessment.

3.2.4 If the appellant has a case, the Head of Quality will obtain
written evidence and opinion from all parties concerned, and
convene an Appeals Panel.

4. The Appeals Panel

4.1 The Appeals Panel will normally consist of:

[a] the Head of the Faculty or other senior member of staff

unconnected with the course;
[b] one or more tutors who are not directly involved with the course
on which the student is registered;
[c] a student of the College, nominated by the Students’ Union, not
connected with the student or the course;
[d] a member of Quality staff (Secretary).

4.2 The student will be invited to attend to present his/her case to the
Panel, accompanied by a friend or other representative if desired. The
student will be notified in writing of the composition of the Appeals
Panel and has the right to challenge where [s]he feels there is a
conflict of interest.

5. Decision of the Appeals Panel

5.1 After due consideration, the Panel may decide:

either: to reject the appeal;

or: to allow the student to re­enter the examination/ re­submit the
assignment;
or: to overturn the original decision of the Examination Board and
substitute a different decision.

5.2 The Chair of the Appeals Panel will confirm the decision in writing to the
student normally within five working days of the meeting of the
Appeals Panel.

5.3 The decision will be reported to the next meeting of the Examination
Board and to the College’s Academic Board.

5.4 If the appeal is not upheld the student has the right to appeal to the
Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex who will ascertain whether
 the correct procedures were followed. The decision of the University is
final and indicates the completion of the appeals procedure.

6. Final Redress

6.1 Where the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the procedure,
s/he may request a review by the Office of the Independent
Adjudicator (OIA). The OIA provides an independent scheme to
enable the review of unresolved student complaints, including
appeals.

6.2 The student must submit an appeal to the OIA within three months of
receiving the notification of the decision of the University’s of Sussex.

6.3 An appeal to the OIA is made by completing a Scheme application

form. Copies of this form are available from:

· The Student Welfare Office;

· The Student Union Office;
· The Learning Resource Centre;
· The Quality Office.

Alternatively the form can be downloaded from the OIA website or

requested by telephone or letter:

www.oiahe.org.uk

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

5th Floor, Thames Tower
Station Road
Reading, RG1 1LX
Tel 01189 599813 e­mail – enquiries@oiahe.org.uk