Academic Appeals - FAQs for students

An academic appeal is a process by which you can appeal against an academic decision made by the University related to your studies. This could include decisions made by exam boards, such as the classification of a degree or a notification for you to withdraw from the course.

There are two stages to the process; all appeals are made to the Faculty in the first instance. If you are unhappy with the outcome of the Faculty Appeal you may be able to appeal the decision to the Senate Academic Appeals committee, However, it should be noted that there are limited grounds under which you can appeal in both cases, and no appeal can be made which questions academic judgement. See the section on ‘Under what circumstances can I appeal’ which outline the grounds on which you can appeal at each stage/

What is Academic Judgement?

Academic judgement can be defined as “the professional and scholarly knowledge” which academic staff draw upon to make academic decisions, and an Academic judgement is therefore a judgment that is made about a matter where the opinion of an academic expert is essential.

Academic judgement includes, but is not restricted to, decisions about the severity of impact of mitigating circumstances on academic performance, decisions about the academic standard attained by students, marks and grades to be awarded for individual pieces of work or modules, and degrees and degree classifications to be awarded, or not.

Academic judgement cannot be appealed. What this means in practice is that you could not appeal a specific mark because you disagreed with it, but you might be able to appeal an incorrect or incomplete procedure which led to that mark being awarded.

Do I have to follow a formal process?

We would always recommend attempting to resolve issues informally by approaching your department or faculty before placing a formal appeal.

What if I have a complaint?

There is a separate process if you have a complaint relating to the University and its services and details can be found at Student Complaints (University & Services) (sharepoint.com) The complaints procedure should be used for complaints about academic departments, Colleges, Societies, University services and by postgraduate students for complaints about their supervision, teaching or assessment prior to the final examination.

Can a third-party appeal on my behalf?

It would normally be expected that you submit an appeal for yourself, however exceptionally a third-party can submit an appeal on your behalf, but only with your express permission in writing.

Do I have to present my case in person?

No. Generally, at both the Faculty and Senate appeal stage your written appeal will be reviewed by relevant appeals staff, and there is no meeting you would need to attend.

In very exceptional circumstances, your Senate appeal could be referred to a full meeting of the Senate Academic Appeal Committee, where you may be invited to attend. In these circumstances, you would be allowed to be accompanied, if you wish, by another registered Durham student or a member of staff from the Durham Students’ Union or you may nominate a proxy who is a member of the University community, to present your case on your behalf.

Can anyone provide help in using the appeal procedure?

You may seek advice on a confidential basis from any of the following:

your College Student Support Office
appropriate academic staff (as set out in your Departmental handbook)
the Students' Union (advocacy as well as procedural support)

Staff in your Faculty Office or in the Academic Quality Service may also be able to advise you on the process for submitting an appeal, though they cannot advise you on the appeal itself.

Is the appeal system open to all students?

There are certain circumstances where students cannot use the Durham appeal process:

.If you are appealing against results obtained at another Institution (eg Erasmus programme) that count towards a University of Durham degree. (With the exception of appeals related to the translation of the other Institution’s marks or grades into University of Durham terms)
If you are a student wishing to appeal against the grades awarded by the other institution. In this case you will need to pursue this through the appeals procedure of that Institution.

Is information submitted in my appeal treated as confidential?

Complete confidentiality cannot be always guaranteed if effective action is to be taken on an academic appeal. You will therefore be asked to sign a disclaimer on the University’s appeal proformas authorising the staff involved in investigating the appeal to consult others and share information. Staff dealing with appeals must, however, ensure that information disclosed by the student appealing is only disclosed to third parties on a need-to-know basis. Normally no information is disclosed to anyone outside the University, including, for example, your parents, without your express permission.

If you request complete confidentiality, this might limit the extent to which an academic appeal can be investigated.

Under what circumstances can I appeal at Faculty level?

There are three possible grounds under which you can make an appeal at the Faculty appeal stage:

a) There were extenuating circumstances, for example you were adversely affected by illness, which the original decision makers were not aware of, or that you could not disclose at that time to them.

Normally you would be expected to use the Serious Adverse Circumstances (SACS) process as soon as possible (see the Learning and teaching Handbook for more information - 6.2.6: Student Absence, Illness and Adverse Circumstances) to let the University know that there are circumstances which may have affected their performance. Students are notified of deadlines relating to the retrospective submissions of SACS forms which relate to examinations and/or coursework submission. In order to use the appeal process to retrospectively declare adverse circumstances, you must not only be able to present evidence to support your claim, but also have good reason not to have notified the University at an earlier point.

b) There is evidence that procedures were not applied correctly, or marks were calculated incorrectly.

An appeal on this ground should include relevant evidence and you should clearly state which procedure was not correctly applied and/or demonstrate why it is believed the marks were incorrectly calculated. Please note that the latter relates to an error in the way an overall mark or grade has been calculated from individual marks. You cannot appeal the award of individual marks for pieces of work, exams etc as this constitutes questioning academic judgement.

c) That the original decision was not reasonable in the given circumstances.

Again, full details must be given, with evidence to support the appeal.

Who considers my Faculty Appeal?

Appeals at Faculty level are considered by a Deputy Executive Dean of your faculty.

Under what circumstances can I appeal at Senate level?

Appeals to the Senate Academic Appeal Committee (SAAC) can only be made once the appeal at Faculty level has been fully concluded and are only allowed on one or both of the following grounds:

a) that you (the appellant) have evidence that parts of the relevant documented procedure were not applied correctly at the Faculty Appeal stage and this procedural defect was significant enough to have materially affected the decision, making it unsound

and/or

b) that there is substantial and relevant new information that was previously unknown to you, or which for a valid reason you were unable to disclose at the Faculty appeals stage and that the information is significant enough to have materially affected the Faculty Appeal decision, making it unsound.

You cannot therefore appeal to SAAC simply due to not being satisfied with the decision of the Faculty appeal panel. Where there is further new evidence, again you must demonstrate why this was not available at the time of submitting the Faculty appeal. Alternatively, you must have evidence that due process was not followed during the Faculty Appeal process. The Senate stage does not provide a second review of the original case presented to Faculty.

Who considers my Senate Appeal?

At Senate level, all appeals are considered by an Academic Appeal Review Panel consisting of a Chair of SAAC and a Deputy Executive Dean supported by a secretary from the Academic Quality Service. In very exceptional cases, the appeal might be referred to a full meeting of the SAAC, which would include, as appropriate, the Head of your College, the Head of your Department and the Chair of the relevant Board of Examiners, or, if you are a postgraduate research student, the relevant internal examiner or supervisor or adviser. To ensure that you appeal is dealt with impartially, members of staff are not allowed to investigate cases in which any potential conflict of interest may arise.

What can I use as evidence?

The most common appeals received disclose new Serious Adverse Circumstances (SACS) which were not available and/or not declared within the usual timeframes, and the majority of these relate to previously undisclosed medical issues. Where medical evidence is submitted it is expected that it is contemporaneous with the time that your studies were impacted and must be from a GP, Hospital, or other appropriate, professional source. Evidence that is not written in English language must be accompanied by a certified translation. Panels generally do not give credence to medical evidence obtained from online services where the consultation is conducted entirely by email / text message and there is no direct in-person interaction with the consultant. Additionally, evidence which proves the impact of a situation on you, the appellant, will greatly enhance your case.

Where evidence is submitted at the Faculty stage, and you go on to make an appeal to SAAC, all evidence already submitted will be provided to SAAC by the Faculty therefore you should only attach any previously unsubmitted evidence to your Senate appeal and again provide an explanation as to why it was not presented at an earlier stage.

How long do I have in which to submit an appeal?

Faculty Appeals must be submitted within 21 days of the date that you receive notification of the decision that you want to appeal.

Senate appeals must be submitted within 14 days of the date of the Faculty Appeal decision.

In both cases the date of the decision would be the date on which the formal communication was sent to you by the University. Time limits will only be extended in exceptional circumstances, for example if you did not receive timely notification of the decision for reasons outside your control.

How do I submit my appeal?

Both the Faculty and Senate Appeal forms are available to download from the Appeals page Academic Appeals and Academic Misconduct - Durham University. For undergraduate students studying in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, the Faculty Appeal is made via an online form available at the same link. These should be completed in full using the guidance on the form and then submitted as follows:

Faculty Appeal forms

If you are an undergraduate student, send your appeal by email to your faculty as follows:

Faculty of Arts and Humanities - [email protected]

Faculty of Science - [email protected]

Faculty of Business - [email protected]

Faculty of Social Sciences and Health - You should submit your appeal using the following online form - https://durhamuniversity.sharepoint.com/teams/FacultyAcademicAppeals2

Or by email to [email protected]

If you are a postgraduate student, send your appeal by email to [email protected]

Senate Appeal Forms

Thes are sent to the Academic Quality Services Team - [email protected]

How long before I hear the result of my appeal?

At Faculty stage the outcome should be communicated within 42 days of the appeal form being received.

At Senate stage the Academic Appeals Review Panel (AARP) aims to consider the appeal within 28 days of being received and, if it is decided that a full meeting of the SAAC is required this should take place within a further 28 days of the AARP decision to refer it to SAAC, after which the decision will be notified within 10 days of either the AARP or the SAAC meeting.

Whilst the University always aims to process appeals within the timescales set out above, availability of staff and other issues beyond its control may mean that this is not always achievable, however every effort is always made to process appeals as soon as possible.

Will I lose access to my Durham IT account during the process

Appeals can be accepted from a personal email account, but if you wish to continue using your Durham IT account and are in a position where either is due to close, you should include in your email submission a request for ongoing access for the duration of the appeal. This will then be organised for you by the Faculty team.

What happens if my appeal is upheld?

As part of both processes, you are asked to state your desired outcome. However, both the Faculty and Senate appeal panels have limited powers and in the majority of cases the outcome, if your appeal is upheld, would be to ask the original decision-making body, for example the Board of Examiners, to reconsider the case. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that the original decision will be reversed or altered and additionally normally marks for work will only be changed if there was an error in recording or processing them.

In the case of appeals upheld at Senate level, where the appeal was on the grounds of due process not being followed at Faculty appeal stage, then the case will usually go back to the Faculty where it will be reconsidered ensuring that due process is followed.

What if I am unsatisfied with the outcome of the Senate Appeal Process?

If at the end of the Senate Appeal process, you are unsatisfied with the outcome, you may be able to appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). The OIA will normally only look at cases where the University’s own procedures have been completed and you have been issues a ‘Completion of Proceedings’ (COP) letter (which will happen at the end of the Senate appeal process)/ Like the University, the OIA will not consider appeals that are considered to be questioning academic judgement. For full details see the OIA website Can you complain to us? - OIAHE

Tips for completing the appeal forms

Be clear about the decision that you are appealing, for example ‘the award of an ordinary degree’; ‘the requirement to withdraw from the University’; or ‘the capping of the mark for [ID of module]’
If you are appealing on more than one ground, ensure that you clearly articulate the reasoning for each ground you are appealing. Note that a decision will be given individually for each ground and therefore it is possible for one ground to be upheld whilst the other is dismissed.
Be sure to give clear timelines when describing events and relate these to the events you are appealing, for example, dates of exams, periods of illness etc.
Be clear about the outcome you are expecting - note that it is outwith the remit of both the Faculty and Senate appeal processes to overrule the decision of an exam board or other decision-making body. If your appeal is upheld, then the most likely outcome would be for your case to be referred back to the original body for reconsideration.
Be sure to list and attach your evidence. Please do not submit any evidence already provided at Faculty stage with a Senate appeal. (The Senate appeal panel will have sight of your full Faculty file and need to be able to clearly distinguish any items of evidence that was not available at the Faculty stage.)
Ensure all sections of the form are completed before submission
Ensure that you select the correct email address to send your form to - note that only Senate Appeals are sent to the [email protected] email account.
If you are submitting the form from, and expecting a response to, a non-Durham email account, please ensure that you check your junk mail.

Common Reasons why appeals are not upheld

The majority of appeals are not upheld either at Faculty or Senate stage. The most common reasons for this are as follows:

The appeal questions academic judgement

Sometimes students appeal because they do not agree with the mark they have been given, or they have submitted a Serious Adverse Consequences form and do not feel it has been given due consideration, or their final marks have fallen within the zone of discretion for consideration for a higher degree classification but they have not been awarded the higher classification. All of these examples question academic judgement and would not be upheld unless there are other grounds to support the appeal.

The appeal is out of time

Only where there is a very good reason will an appeal be considered if it is submitted outside of the timeframes outlined in the regulations. If submitting an appeal out of time, not only should the reason for the lateness be made explicit, but evidence to support the lateness, as well as evidence to support the appeal itself must be submitted.

The evidence presented could have been disclosed at an earlier time

Many Faculty appeals are made on the basis of evidence which was known to the student at the time that it impacted their studies / exam performance, etc but was not disclosed at the appropriate time, for example by using the SACS process. Similarly, appeals made to Senate also often present new evidence which had been available at the time of submitting the Faculty appeal but was not disclosed. Generally, an appeal would only be upheld where there is a very good reason why the circumstances were not disclosed at the appropriate time. Many students cite non-disclosure for privacy reasons, however this is not considered an adequate reason and normally appeals made on this basis are not upheld.

The evidence is not acceptable

This means they must translated and fully certified by a professional translator or translation company. Translations must include all the following:

confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the document
the date of translation
the full name and signature of the translator or an official from the translation company
the translator or translation company’s contact details

Medical evidence must be from a reputable source, for example a hospital, GP or other recognised professional service - there has also been an increasing use of online services where a suggested diagnosis is produced simply by answering online questions and these are unlikely to be accepted as evidence.

Previously presented evidence is submitted as ‘new’

Many cases submitted at the Senate stage on the grounds of new evidence either repeat verbatim the Faculty case or are simply more detailed versions of evidence already considered at the Faculty stage. The panellists considering cases at Senate level have full access to the files produced at the Faculty appeal stage hence the guidance that only genuinely new evidence should be submitted at the Senate stage. Unless the new evidence is substantially different to that already considered at Faculty stage the appeal is unlikely to be upheld.

The evidence is not contemporaneous with the event(s) being appealed

Evidence is presented and the dates it covers do not relate to the dates of the issues being appealed. NB There are some circumstances where evidence dated after the event is admissible, for example a retrospective medical diagnosis which clearly relates to the time of the events being appealed.

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