Appeal Guidelines and FAQs

What format is an appeal?

Appeals need to be put into an appeal form, which can be found here: Appeal Form 2024

Can I appeal because I am unhappy with my marks, my supervision, or 

miscommunication from the faculty ?

Regrettably, you cannot appeal against academic judgment. However you can request accuracy of published marks.

Appeals based on personal feelings of lack of support, supervision, dissatisfaction with marks or miscommunication from the faculty are not eligible, as they are classed as matters of complaint. This is a separate process from appeals, so it is important that your appeal does not contain matters of complaint. Please see the attached link for more information on Complaints. We can help advise you on this and read over your complaint for you to suggest any amendments and relevant evidence to submit alongside it.

I want to appeal on the grounds of extenuating circumstances that affected me.

It is important to note that when a student’s academics are affected by personal circumstances, the university usually expect students to submit an extenuating circumstances application at the relevant time and inform the university. Appeals on the

grounds of extenuating circumstances need to prove why you were unable to do so at the time to have a chance at being successful. The appeals team are going to be looking for a reason, with evidence to back it up, as to why you were unable to apply for an extension or deferral at the relevant time as a result of your circumstances. Please note, not knowing

about the EC process or about deferrals is not an accepted reason. Just explaining your circumstances is not enough, it is essential that you address why you were too affected by your circumstances to determine your fitness to undertake the assessment (apply for EC or deferral) or notify the faculty.

Please ensure your mitigation is relevant to the failed assessment/exam and your supporting evidence is also relevant to the date of the failed assessment/exam

Where do I put my explanation?

Your reason for making the appeal, along with the explanation for why your assignment/module/term was affected should go into section C. This section should contain plenty of detail about the relevant timeline leading up to the affected assignments/exam, explaining what happened and how it affected you (physically/mentally/emotionally), and how it affected your ability to apply for an extension/deferral. It is important to include anything that would help the university understand what you went through, and do not assume that anything is implied. This means include details on any symptoms and in what way your circumstances impacted you, even if it may seem obvious. Any circumstances mentioned that you are basing your appeal off will need evidence to back them up.

What do I put in section E?

Section E should be a list of what evidence you will be attaching. You should then attach this separately, along with the appeal form, in an email that you sent to the student cases team. This makes it easier to pull up the evidence whilst

reviewing the appeal form and prevents any formatting issues. Do not put your explanation is this section, it should go in section C as explained.

How specific does my evidence have to be?

What the appeal team will be looking for is evidence that will prove why the specific exam or assessment you are appealing was affected. This is why the evidence needs to be very specific to the time leading up to the failed assignment or exam. If your evidence is too vague, they may question why other modules at the relevant time were passed successfully.

The more specific your evidence is, the better. Depending on the severity of the circumstances, the appeals team will consider evidence and how likely it is that it affected your academic performance at the time of the failed assessments/modules. In most instances, things that occurred within a month of your submission or deadline will be considered. Examples of more severe circumstances and the timelines they will consider can be found here in section 2.6:

Your evidence should specifically mention the relevant time period leading up to the assessment or exam. If you spoke to anyone at the university about your struggles, a support letter from them can also be helpful for an appeal. A friend or family can also write a support letter, but these are not usually enough by themselves and should be supplement to more official evidence such as a GP or therapist letter.

Where do I submit the appeal?

Your completed appeal should be attached in an email, along with any supporting evidence, and be sent to [email protected].

How long do I have to submit my appeal?

The usual deadline for appeals is 3 months after the exam board decision has been released. For most courses at undergraduate level, this is usually the end of term module mark releases in January and July. However, exclusions apply for

many FMHLS courses and others. If you are unsure of when the relevant exam board is for your appeal, please contact your faculty’s student support team.