Academic Appeals

There are 4 grounds of appeal
1. The University did not give enough weight to your mitigating circumstances.
2. Your studies were affected by mitigating circumstances that you could not tell the University about at the time, for good reason.
3. There was a serious administrative error or other irregularity in the process.
4. The assessment or exam was not run according to the University’s regulations.

Appeals cannot be made just because you disagree with your mark. The University cannot review a decision of “academic judgement” (under the 2004 Education Act). Appeals based only on academic judgement will normally be rejected.

There are two stages:

• Stage 1: You can submit an appeal within 10 working days of receiving your official results. If your appeal is rejected, you may request a meeting with the appeal chair to provide extra evidence or information.
• Stage 2: If you are not satisfied with the Stage 1 outcome, you can submit a Stage 2 appeal within 10 working days. At this stage, a panel will review your case, but you will not attend the meeting.

If your Stage 2 appeal is unsuccessful, you have completed the University’s process and should receive a completion of procedures letter. You may then take your case to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA).

You cannot skip stages, and missing a deadline may prevent you from continuing your appeal.

You have 10 working days from the date you receive your official results. Weekends and bank holidays do not count as working days.

“Official results” usually means the date results appear on MyUCLan. Some courses, such as Medicine, may issue results by email instead.

The University is strict about deadlines, but in rare cases it may accept a late appeal if you have a very good reason (for example, a serious illness). You may be asked for evidence, such as a doctor’s letter.

The longer the delay, the stronger your evidence will need to be.

You must still submit your appeal before the deadline, even if you don’t yet have all your evidence. In your form, explain what evidence you are waiting for. You can provide this to the appeals team once you have it, by emailing them at studentappeals@uclan.ac.uk

If your appeal has not yet been reviewed, the appeal chair may accept the extra evidence when it becomes available.

Missing the deadline can prevent you from using later stages of the process, so always submit on time.

Your evidence should:

• Come from a professional and relevant source (not friends or family).
• Be independent and reliable.
• Be dated, and show when and how long the issue affected you.
• Be in English (or officially translated).
• Be a clear copy (scan or photo).
• Be on official letterhead and signed, or otherwise authentic.

Examples include:

• Healthcare professionals e.g. GPs, Specialists, Hospitals
• Solicitors
• Police
• Counsellors
• Social workers
• Funeral directors, Death certificates or funeral service notices

If you are appealing under grounds 1 or 2, also read the University’s Mitigating circumstances guidance.

No. You can submit one appeal that covers several assessments or modules, as long as you received the official results at the same time.

If different circumstances affected different modules, explain clearly which grounds, circumstances, and evidence relate to each one.

The University aims to respond to appeals within 25 working days.

If it will take longer, the University should contact you before the deadline to explain the delay.

If you have been referred for reassessment, continue with this work unless your school tells you not to.

If you are appealing a decision that stops you progressing to the next year, you will normally not be allowed to progress while your appeal is pending. In rare cases, the Dean of School may grant progression. Contact your course team for advice.

Sometimes appeals are linked to other processes. For example:

• If your case involves mitigating circumstances, it may be sent to the Mitigating circumstances Panel.
• If it involves a complaint or an investigation, it may be referred to the Complaints Team.

This can make the appeal process longer.

If your Stage 1 appeal is rejected, you usually have 5 working days to request a meeting with the appeal chair. Your outcome letter should explain this. Do not delay in making this request.

If your appeal was rejected for being late, not meeting the grounds, or lacking evidence, the outcome letter should explain your options. If it does not, ask the University how to challenge the decision and seek advice from the Students’ Union Advice Service.

You must write your own appeal. Staff cannot write it for you, but they can review a draft and give feedback.

Top tip: Just start writing. It’s easier to get all your thoughts down and then edit, rather than try to make it perfect from the start.

If you want feedback, send your draft as early as possible- ideally at least 1 week before your deadline. Staff may not be able to give feedback on multiple drafts, especially at busy times.

Get started early

• Don’t wait until the last minute. Start drafting as soon as possible, even if it feels rough. It’s easier to refine a draft than to face a blank page.

Keep it focused

• Stick to the key points. Avoid repeating yourself- this makes it harder for the reviewer to follow your case.
• Always link your points back to the official grounds of appeal. Ask yourself: Does this show how my situation fits one of the four grounds?

Structure your appeal clearly

• Begin with a short summary of what you are appealing and which ground(s) apply.
• Then describe what happened, focusing on the assessment period first. If your situation has a long history, keep the background short and only add details that are directly relevant.
• End by summarising your evidence and the outcome you are asking for.

Use your evidence well

• Label your evidence (e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2 or Evidence A, B, C).
• Refer to these labels in your text (e.g. “I was hospitalised the day of the exam – see Appendix 2, GP letter”).
• Quote from the evidence where possible. For example, The GP confirms I “was unfit to sit exams between 14 and 18 June” is stronger than “I was unwell.”

Practical tip

• If you get stuck, try writing down everything you want to say without worrying about order or style. Then cut it down, group points together, and reorganise. This can make a daunting task much easier.

Until an appeal is upheld, the original decision still applies, and you must follow Home Office guidance.

The University usually responds within 25 working days, but it may take longer.

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