Academic Appeals

Resources

What is an academic appeal?

This is where you request that the University has another look at an academic decision, such as a grade, module result, an academic misconduct decision, or progression in your degree, because you feel it does not reflect your circumstances. If you wish to read the official policy, you can do so on the University website. If you are facing Termination of Studies on academic grounds, please refer to our guide on Termination of Studies.

Which Stage should I go to?

Most cases will start, as you’d expect, at Stage 1. However, some cases may automatically go to Stage 2 including S-coding appeals, and academic misconduct appeals after successful review by AVP Dean. You should always refer to your outcome letter in the first instance to understand what your next steps are.

Stage 1

This is the first stage in the appeals process. You can contact your Head of School to informally resolve the situation, at the same time as working on and submitting your Stage 1 Appeal Form.

If your case is at Stage 1, you can only appeal if one of these reasons apply:

  1. ‘Extenuating personal circumstances materially affecting academic performance of which the University was not aware when the academic decision was taken, and which could not reasonably have been disclosed by the student (an explanation for earlier non-disclosure is always required’: This means that something was going on in your life at the time that affected your ability to perform well. This could be mental or physical health, a family crisis, an serious national/international event, anything serious that affected your ability to complete your academic work at the time as well as you would have done under normal circumstances. The University cannot have been aware of these circumstances when you submitted your assignment, and you need to explain why you did not tell them earlier. This could be because your health meant that you could not get in touch, or because you were facing other difficulties which made getting in touch impossible. And/or:
  2. ‘Improper conduct of assessment or irregular application of academic regulations, that has materially impacted on the result awarded’: This means that something went wrong with the exam or essay, or academic rules were not followed properly, and you got a lower grade because of this, such as not being given the correct materials in your exam.

You have 5 working days after receiving your academic judgement (grade, progression decision) to submit an appeal using the Stage 1 Appeal Form. If you submit your appeal late, it may not even be considered. If the 5 working day window has passed, you will need to explain why you are submitting your appeal late, and why you could not have submitted your appeal within the 5 working day timeframe.

For suggestions on how to approach filling out your Stage 1 Appeal Form, please see our Stage 1 Appeal Form guidance   and   example Stage 1 Appeal Form. You can also contact the HelpHub (helphub@) to review your appeal form before you send it to the School.

Late appeals

There may be times when you are unable to appeal within the deadline. You can still appeal after the deadline, however, the University can decide outright not to accept a late appeal.

If you wish to appeal after the deadline, you will need to clearly explain not only why you have grounds for appeal, but also why you could not have submitted your appeal on time. This might be directly because of any extenuating circumstances, but you will need to make a convincing case as to why you could not submit your appeal within the deadline set, or why you could not have asked for more time to finish your appeal form within the timeframe. The University will not accept not knowing about procedures as a reason for not appealing sooner.

If you wish to appeal at Stage 1 after the 5 working day deadline, you should email the AVP Dean of Learning and Teaching for undergraduates or the Provost for postgraduates. Explain the decision you are appealing, when the appeal deadline was, your grounds for appeal, and why you could not have appealed sooner. If you have evidence to support this, send that with your email. The AVP/Provost may to let you appeal (and then you submit your appeal form), or they may decide to reject your appeal. Their decision in this is final.

Evidence & submitting your appeal

Submit as much evidence you are comfortable with, though it’s often best to include as much as possible. This might include letters from your doctor, prescription evidence, Turnitin screenshots, a supporting letter from friends/family/flatmate/partner, whatever evidence will support your case best. If you have had contact with Student Services in connection with your problem, explain and show evidence of this if you feel able to. If you submit evidence that is not in English, you need to supply a certified translation. This can take some time, in which case you should still submit your appeal form on time, and email to notify them that you are still waiting for a translation to come through.

Your appeal form and evidence should be submitted as Word document or PDF attachments only (not as a OneDrive link).

You should email your appeal to the following address:

  • UG/PGT: you should usually email it to your Head of School. There are some exceptions to this:
    • Email academicappeals@ in cases where:
      • You are appealing module grades after receiving your degree classification
      • You are appealing final module grades as a General Degree student
  • PGR: academicappeals@

Outcomes

You’ll be contacted in 10 working days with your appeal outcome which will be one of the below:

  • Dismiss the appeal outright
  • Refer the appeal back to the Head of School (or the Dean if your Head of School was involved in your grade)
  • Mediate between you and the member of staff
  • Refer the matter to an external examiner
  • Reject the appeal
  • Uphold (agree with) the appeal totally or to an extent

Stage 2

If your Stage 1 is rejected, you can submit a Stage 2 Appeal Form, which goes to Senate Assessors, who will evaluate your appeal. This is the final step in the appeals process, and we recommend you contact helphub@ if you wish to make a Stage 2 appeal.

Some cases may automatically come to Stage 2 including S-coding appeals, and academic misconduct after successful review by the AVP Dean. In these cases, separate grounds for appeal apply, and you can only appeal for these reasons:

In cases of appealing an academic misconduct judgement only:

  1. ‘Defective or irregular procedure that has materially affected the academic decision of the relevant Board of Adjudication’: This is only relevant in cases where you are appealing the decision of the School or University Board that judged that there was academic misconduct in your piece of work or module. This means that correct procedures of the Board were not followed properly, such as you were not given sufficient evidence of the hearing, or you were not given the opportunity to speak and explain your perspective.

In cases of S-coding only:

  1. ‘Irregular application of academic regulations that had materially impacted on the decision’: This means that academic rules set out in the University’s S-Coding Policy were not followed properly, which therefore meant that you got the original S-coding decision that you are now appealing.

For all other types of cases that have been escalated to Stage 2, you can only appeal if one of these reasons apply:

  1. ‘Extenuating personal circumstances materially affecting academic performance of which the University was not aware when the academic decision was taken, and which could not reasonably have been disclosed by the student (an explanation for earlier non-disclosure is always required’: This means that something was going on in your life at the time that affected your ability to perform well. This could be mental or physical health, a family crisis, an serious national/international event, anything serious that affected your ability to complete your academic work at the time as well as you would have done under normal circumstances. The University cannot have been aware of these circumstances when you submitted your assignment, and you need to explain why you did not tell them earlier. This could be because your health meant that you could not get in touch, or because you were facing other difficulties which made getting in touch impossible. And/or:
  2. ‘Improper conduct of assessment or irregular application of academic regulations, that has materially impacted on the result awarded’: This means that something went wrong with the exam or essay, or academic rules were not followed properly, and you got a lower grade because of this, such as not being given the correct materials in your exam.

You need to send in your Stage 2 appeal within 10 working days of your Stage 1 outcome letter. You have a further 10 working days to add information and evidence to this form if you need, but only do so if absolutely necessary – it’s best to get it sorted within those first 10 working days.

For suggestions on how to approach filling out your Stage 2 Appeal Form, please see our Stage 2 Appeal Form guidance and example Stage 2 Appeal Form.

Extensions of time

If you need an extension, you should email the Executive Officer to the University Court & Senate (senate@) as soon as you can, explaining why you need this additional time, providing evidence where you can. You must explain why you cannot submit your appeal within the timeframe, and how much additional time you need to be able to complete your appeal. The Executive Officer to the University Court & Senate has the right to decline your request for added time if they feel that your reasons or evidence are insufficient.

Evidence and submitting your appeal

Evidence might include letters from your doctor, prescription evidence, email chains, a supporting letter from friends/family/flatmate/partner, whatever evidence will support your case best. If you have had contact with Student Services in connection with your problem, explain and show evidence of this if you feel able to. If you submit evidence that is not in English, you need to supply a certified translation. This can take some time, in which case you should still submit your appeal form on time, and email to notify them that you are still waiting for a translation to come through.

It is important to note that Senate Assessors will have no prior knowledge of your case or circumstances, so they will only have your appeal form and evidence to go on. Therefore, you should make sure that you say everything you feel you need to say in your form, and submit as much compelling evidence as you can.

You should email your form and evidence to [email protected]. Your appeal form and evidence should be submitted as Word document or PDF attachments only (not as a OneDrive link).

Outcomes

You’ll be contacted in 10 working days with your appeal outcome which will be one of the below:

  • Refer the case back to whoever did your Stage 1 Appeal, with a recommended action.
  • Instruct that a new School or University Board should hear your alleged academic misconduct case.
  • Allow the appeal to be heard by the Senate Appeal Hearing
  • Reject the appeal - there is no next step after that  

The decision is final - if you are dissatisfied there are no further University steps you can take. You can, if you wish, request that the process of your appeal is reviewed by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Senate Appeal Hearing

Before the hearing

If the Senate Assessors decide your appeal can go to a Senate Appeal Hearing, you'll get at least 10 working days’ notice before the hearing. Please note that your graduation may be postponed if you are in final year while your case is heard. We recommend reaching out to [email protected] to help you prepare for the hearing.

You can be accompanied by a member of the University if you would like. This is someone who is a current student or member of staff at the University of St Andrews, or a Sabbatical Officer or member of staff from the Students’ Association. You might choose a good friend, a member of staff from Student Services, or a member of staff from the HelpHub. They can help you understand proceedings, and may, with yours and the Panel’s consent, speak in your place by reading out your pre-prepared statement. Whoever accompanies you is not there to be a defence lawyer, they are there to be a friendly face in the room. They will not be questioned by the Panel, nor will they give evidence or character testimony at the meeting.

Your Stage 2 Appeal Form and evidence will form the main part of the case from your side. No later than 7 working days before your hearing, you must submit the following:

  • Any further evidence you have that you were unable to supply previously
  • Confirmation of who will accompany you or represent you on your behalf.
  • Names of 2 people to give evidence as witnesses - you need to ask them and arrange for them to come with you

Please note that you can only attend in person, or nominate your representative to appear on your behalf.

Your School will also submit evidence. You will get to see all of the written evidence before the hearing.

Members of the Senate Appeal Panel

The Appeal Panel will be made up of:

  • a Vice-Principal or other senior member of staff (Convenor),
  • a Dean from a Faculty you are not part of,
  • a Sabbatical Officer

The Panel will be unconnected with your case, and will have no knowledge of your circumstances other than from your appeal form and from the evidence provided by your School.

In some cases, an additional Dean will attend the hearing for expertise, and other specialist staff may be called for evidence if necessary (such as Disability Adviser or Equality Officer) There will also be a member of staff to take notes of the hearing.

How the hearing will work

The Convenor will begin by; explaining what the Panel can do, summarising your case so far, outlining how the Hearing will work, and checking that everyone has all the evidence in front of them to refer to. If some evidence is confidential and is therefore not being shared with everyone present, the Convenor will mention this at the beginning too.

Next, you/your representative will make a statement, outlining how you perceive your case, and add anything not included in written evidence you submitted ahead of the Hearing. Afterwards, you/your representative may be questioned by the Panel through the Convenor.

Your School will be able to make a statement on their perspective, and add anything they did not include in their written evidence. Like you, they may also be questioned by the Panel through the Convenor.

If any witnesses or specialists have been invited, they will make statements and be questioned in the same way as you and the School.

Your School and you/your representative will make closing statements to summarise or reiterate any of the key points you feel are relevant to your case. The Convenor will then close the meeting, and ask you/your representative and the School to leave the meeting so that the Panel can discuss your case and what outcomes they feel are appropriate.

Outcomes

You'll normally receive your outcome within 10 working days of the Panel's decision.

The Panel can:

  • Reject the appeal
  • Suggest the original decision should be reconsidered in light of new evidence
  • Uphold the appeal totally or to an extent with or without conditions

When it comes to PG theses, the possible outcomes are that:

  • You are allowed to revise and re-submit your thesis in a given timeframe
  • They declare the exam null and void and order new examination

The Panel's decision is final - if you are dissatisfied there are no further University steps you can take. You can, if you wish, request that the process of your appeal is reviewed by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.