Academic Appeals Policy

Procedures for representations by students against examination results or assessment grades

• that in the assessment or marking, the stipulated assessment procedure was not followed, or
• information is or was available which could have had a bearing on the assessment or mark, but which was not taken into account by the examining board/assessors or was unreasonably rejected

Appeals Against Marks/Grades Awarded By External Bodies

• Where a student is appealing against a grade or a result of an external test/examination and is an approved entry of the college, the student must lodge the appeal through the college examination office. Students will be required to sign to say that they are seeking an appeal. Before processing, the appeal will require the signed support of the appropriate Head of Faculty. The college will register the appeal with the appropriate awarding body and will provide the student with details of the appeals procedure, indicating appropriate time-scales, by which the college and the student are bound. The college will monitor the response of the awarding body and advise the student of the outcome.
• Where an awarding body has an appeals procedure covering aspects of internal assessment, the Personal Tutor will inform the student of their rights. The appeals procedure will be explained in the course handbook.

Appeals Against An Internal Assessment or Grading

• The student must lodge notice of an appeal, in writing or via email, to his/her Personal Tutor within 3 college working days of receiving the assessment/examination results, stating the grounds for the appeal. In extenuating circumstances, such as authorised illness, holiday or absence from the country, an appeal after this time would be considered
• Within the college appeals procedure, the Personal Tutor will investigate the circumstances of the appeal and reconsider the assessment decision with reference to the assessment criteria and in consultation with the internal moderator/verifier.
• The Personal Tutor will notify the student in writing of the outcome within 5 normal college working days.
• In cases where the student remains dissatisfied with the outcome of stage 1, she/he may progress the appeal to stage 2

• The student must appeal in writing or via email, to the appropriate Faculty Programme Area Quality Manager within 5 normal college working days of receiving notification from the Personal Tutor.
• After investigating all the circumstances of the appeal, the Faculty Programme Area Quality Manager will notify the student of the outcome, in writing, within 5 normal college working days
• In cases where the student remains dissatisfied with the outcome of stage 2, she/he may progress the appeal to stage 3

• The student must appeal in writing or via email, to the Director of Studies within 5 normal college working days of receipt of the decision from stage 2.
• The Director of Studies will then convene a meeting to include the Quality Manager and the Personal Tutor, to which the student will be invited and may be accompanied by a friend. The meeting will review the evidence for the appeal and the outcomes from stages 1 and 2, together with other such reports, records and assessments which may be necessary to reach a decision.
• Following the meeting, the student will be notified of the outcome, in writing, within 5 normal college working days
• In the absence of the Director of Studies, the Director of Curriculum Support or other nominated member of the Senior Management Team will be responsible for chairing the meeting and communicating the decision
• In cases where the student remains dissatisfied with the outcome of stage 3, she/he may progress the appeal to the final stage, stage 4

• A final appeal may be made in writing to the Principal within 5 normal college working days of the outcome from stage 3, stating the grounds of the appeal.
• The Principal may ask the student, who may be accompanied by a friend, to attend in person to hear the decision.