Appeals, Appeals, Appeals

Appeals, Appeals, Appeals 

As a student, facing challenges throughout your academic journey is inevitable. Sometimes, circumstances beyond your control can significantly impact your studies and assessments. When these situations arise, it's crucial to understand your rights and options, especially when considering an academic appeal. 

What are appeals? The basics… 

What Has Happened That You Want to Appeal Against? 

If you need to initiate an academic appeal, the first step is identifying the incident or circumstances that have affected your studies. It's crucial to provide detailed information about what happened and how it affected your academic performance. Whether it was a health issue, personal crisis, or any other unforeseen event, it's important to be clear and specific when explaining the situation. Clarity and specificity will help you make a strong case for your appeal. 

Questions to Consider: 

• What were the circumstances that led to your appeal? 
• How did these circumstances affect your studies or assessments? 
• Have you included sufficient detail to help the decision-maker understand your situation? 

Keeping Note of Which Assessments Were Impacted 

When submitting an appeal, it's important to provide a list of all impacted assessments. Ensure to include relevant details such as the assessment title, module code, submission dates, and whether it was your first attempt or a resit. This information will help the decision-maker to clearly understand the scope of your appeal. 

Detail Your Mitigating Circumstances 

It is important to explain any mitigating circumstances that may have affected your ability to complete assessments or examinations to the best of your ability. Make sure to document the events chronologically, including specific dates, and provide details about any interactions you may have had with relevant parties, such as your department or healthcare professionals. 

Please provide details about instances when your health condition worsened, such as during an exam or when submitting an assessment.  Also, mention who you spoke to about your condition, including whether you contacted your department or health professionals such as your GP or Student Support Team. Additionally, please provide specific examples of how your health condition impacted your studies, such as changes in your attendance and concentration and your ability to manage and prioritise workload. This information will help the decision-maker understand the link between your circumstances and your studies. 

Evidence! What You Need to Support Your Claim 

Ideally, any evidence presented should be from around the time when the assessments were taking place. It would be best if the evidence were in the form of a letter from a professional, such as a GP, hospital doctor, Student Support adviser, or counsellor. In some cases, if the appeal is related to a University error concerning an assessment, a member of academic staff, like your academic supervisor, can provide evidence.  

In order to provide strong evidence that supports your case, it is important that any professional statement you submit includes the following information: dates of contact with the professional, a summary of your circumstances, including any diagnosis or treatment, and the professional's assessment of how your circumstances impacted your ability to study at the time of the affected assessments. If your situation is related to mental health, the most appropriate evidence would be a statement from a medical professional that explains how your ability to think clearly, make sound judgments, make decisions, and act in your own best interests was impacted by your health issues. 

If you don't have enough evidence to support your claims, it's important to explain why you were unable to seek professional help during the assessment period. It's crucial to be transparent about any obstacles that prevent you from accessing support. If you've received professional help after the assessment, make sure that the professional clearly understands how your circumstances would have impacted you during the assessment period. 

The academic appeal process is intended to ensure fairness and assist students facing challenging circumstances. By approaching it systematically and having the necessary documentation, you can increase your chances of a successful outcome. Stay strong and reach out for support when needed. Your academic journey is important, and advocating for your rights is an essential part of it.