ACADEMIC APPEALS

There could be an occasion when you are unhappy with the decision of an Award Board. If this is the case, you may wish to consider submitting an academic appeal. Appeals must be submitted within ten working days from the official publication date of your results; an application received before results are confirmed will not be considered.

The University will aim to deal with your application as quickly as possible;  however, it can take a number of weeks for a decision to be made and there is no guarantee that your case will be resolved prior to any resit examinations. Therefore, until you receive official confirmation of the outcome of your appeal, the original decision of the Award Board will stand.

What are the grounds for appeal?

The grounds on which you can appeal (Academic Regulations and Procedures, section G3.2R) are limited to:

  • Instances where there has been material and significant administrative error or other material irregularity such that the assessment was not conducted in accordance with the approved regulations for the module/award.

  • Where your performance was adversely affected by illness or other factors which you were, for valid reasons, unable to divulge before the meeting of the examining board and which could have had a bearing on the board's decision. 

Disagreement with the academic judgement of an examining board regarding marks and/or grades or degree classification will not be accepted as valid grounds for appeal. Therefore, you may not request a remark of a script or scripts.

Both the deadline and the grounds will be strictly applied. It is your responsibility to ensure that the electronic application for appeal and any supporting documentary evidence is received by the Academic Registrar before midnight on the tenth working day following the date of the official publication of results. If you are posting the application it must arrive before the office closes (Monday to Thursday 17:00 and Friday 16:30) on the tenth day. If you are not sure of the date of the tenth working day please check with your School Student Adviser.

Can I use the appeal process to submit a late extenuating circumstances application?

It is not possible to use the appeal process to simply submit late extenuating circumstances. There is no process for the late submission of extenuating circumstances after the results have been published, unless you had a compelling reason why you were prevented from submitting your extenuating circumstances at the due time (before the meeting of the board).  If you did submit extenuating circumstances and the board knew of them when it took its decision, then you cannot use them as a basis for appeal.

In order to submit an appeal on the grounds of being unable to divulge extenuating circumstances at the appropriate time, you need to submit the following as part of your appeal:

  • supporting documentary evidence on the extenuating circumstances which affected your ability to complete the assessment

AND

  • clear reasons with supporting documentary evidence for why your extenuating circumstances could not be submitted in the correct way at the due time. 

Where can I get advice about appeals?

Staff in the UWESU Advice Centre are available to offer independent advice to students who are thinking about submitting an appeal.

E-mail: advice@uwe.ac.uk - Telephone 0117 3282676
Opening hours: 10:00 - 16:00 Monday-Friday

How do I submit an appeal?

You have ten working days from the official publication date of your results to apply for an appeal. You cannot submit an appeal until after the examining board has met and the results have been published. Please refer to Academic Regulations and Procedures, section G3 for further details.

To submit an appeal you are required to complete the Academic Appeals form and e-mail it to: academicappeals@uwe.ac.uk. Please remember to include supporting documentation. If you do not have access to email you can post the application to the below address in an envelope marked 'Application for appeal'.

Academic Registrar
Wallscourt House
University of the West of England
Frenchay Campus
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol  BS16 1QY

Please note that as part of our investigation, a copy of your appeal form may be sent to the Faculty Appeals Manager, under confidential cover.

Downloads

Academic Appeals form
Academic Regulations and Procedures 2009/10 - Section G3
Frequently asked questions regarding appeals
Third Party Consent Form