An Academic Appeal is a formal request to review a decision made by an Examination Board. This includes marks (grades), progress (from one year of the course to the next) and awards (degree classifications).

You can use the information contained here to make an Academic Appeal on your own. If you need advice, please find out how to speak with one of our advisors at this page. We can explain the process, provide information and review your draft Appeal. Please remember that meetings with us do not form part of your Appeals process and you should be careful not to miss the deadline.

21 days from the date the University published your ratified marks (marks confirmed by the Examination Board). If you are unsure, you can check with your School Office. If you decide to ask for a results review, your deadline to submit an Academic Appeal is 21 days of the outcome of this review.

Meet with your course leader or personal tutor. You can seek clarification of your results and discuss any concerns before you decide whether to submit a Stage 1 Formal Academic Appeal. Use the meeting to discuss any feedback you've already received or chase up assessment feedback you're missing. Before submitting a formal Appeal, you should fully understand the marks you have been given. Remember that meetings you have with your tutor or course leader do not form part of the Appeals process. Be careful not to miss the deadline for your Appeal.

A Results Review is optional and separate from the Appeals process. A Results Review allows you to discuss your concerns about your assessment(s), particularly where you feel your marks have been incorrectly recorded. If you feel there may have been an administrative error in recording your marks, it is best to have a Results Review before submitting a full Academic Appeal. To organise a Results Review, contact your School Office. You have 14 calendar days from receipt of your ratified results to do this. Your School Office will forward your email to the appropriate contact within 5 working days. Your course leader will consider your case and make a recommendation to the Chair of the Examination Board. Once the Chair of the Examination Board has confirmed the outcome, your School Office will update you. If you would like us to be copied into these emails, let your School Office know. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Results Review, you have 21 calendar days to submit a formal Stage 1 Academic Appeal. 

You can challenge the decision of an Examination Board on the grounds that: "there has been a significant administrative error or omission in the assessment process which has had a detrimental effect on the student's outcome". So there must either be an error or omission, in the assessment process or a decision of the Examination Board.

Generally, there needs to be a mistake (error or omission) relating to your assessment or the assessment process which had a detrimental effect on your mark. Examples might include:

• You were provided with the wrong exam timetable.
• You were given the wrong examination paper to answer during your assessment and the error was not corrected until later so you missed out on examination time.
• The equipment provided in the assessment was faulty.
• University systems crashed and you could not submit your work.
• You were assessed on something not mentioned in the Learning Outcomes of module specifications.

Administrative errors or omissions are those caused by the University that affected the assessment or the mark. Issues to do with tuition, supervision or support are not considered under the Appeals procedure. You may wish to make a complaint instead. You must demonstrate with evidence how you meet the grounds of appeal. This means you must provide evidence to show a problem has occurred.

You cannot appeal your grades just because you believe you should have got a better mark. This is called challenging ‘academic judgement’ and doesn’t constitute a ground for appeal. In the view to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Students in Higher Education (OIA), academic judgment is a judgment that is made about a matter where only the opinion of an academic expert will suffice. The marking, assessing, and grading of a piece of work is an academic judgment, and as such it is not possible for you to make an appeal against this judgment on the grounds that you simply disagree with it.

The appeals process cannot be used to raise these issues and you may wish to make a complaint. Find out more about the University's complaints procedure here and read our guidance here. If you experienced personal circumstances that affected your assessment you may wish to submit a request for Additional Consideration. You can read more here.

The evidence will depend on your specific case but may include:

• Any correspondence from the University (i.e. Exam Board notification showing the date it was sent to the school, communication from the school regarding a Results Review if one has taken place, etc.).
• Official summary of support needs.
• Notification of grade.
• Anything that shows you have grounds to appeal.

You will receive an acknowledgement within 2 working days. If your form contains all the required information, you will receive a decision on whether your appeal has been 'upheld' (successful), or 'not upheld' (rejected) within 5 working days. If your appeal has been ‘upheld’ the Exam Board will reconsider its decision about your results, progression or award. Sometimes, more complex Stage 1 appeals may be referred to a full Academic Appeal panel. This may increase the amount of time you have to wait for an outcome. If your appeal has been ‘not upheld’, you may wish to move to Stage 2 of the appeals process.

If your Stage 1 Appeal has not been upheld, you can submit a Stage 2 appeal. This will be explained in your Stage 1 outcome letter. Read the Appeals regulations and get our advice to see if you have grounds to request a Stage 2 ‘Review of Appeal Decision’. Download the Stage 2 Appeal Form and ensure you read the accompanying guidance. Click here for more information from the university.

You can appeal academic misconduct, fitness to practice, and disciplinary allegations, as well as additional consideration outcomes. However, you must have grounds to appeal these and you must do so within the designated timeframe. Please see the designated sections of our advice pages for more information on these.