We know that results day can be stressful for some, especially if you didn’t get the grades you wanted. Your union advice team are here to help talk you through what happens next. We can talk you through compensation, trailed credits, third attempts and academic appeals. This page talks about academic appeals, but if you want to chat with us about anything regarding results, then you can email us or book in to chat with us.
What is an academic appeal?​
You can make an academic appeal to change an academic decision made by the University, such as the decision to terminate your course or the outcome of an exam or assessment.
Other decisions that can be appealed include: penalties for academic misconduct, decisions about your progression and a rejection of a request for Extenuating Circumstances. You will need to read the Academic Appeal regulations for a full list of the decisions you can appeal.
Academic appeals need to be submitted within 10 working days (weekends do not count) of you being formally notified of the University’s decision e.g. from the date on your course termination letter or your results. Anything outside of these 10 working days makes it a lot harder to appeal. If you are concerned about meeting your 10 University working day deadline, then please submit your appeal asap with a short draft statement and make it clear you are planning on sending a final statement and evidence at a later date.
Unfortunately, you can not appeal a mark because you believe you are deserving of a better grade, as this would be considered “academic judgement” and you can not appeal on these grounds. However, if you believe your grade was wrong as a result of error or bias, you may be able to appeal. We suggest talking to your marker before appealing if you are planning on appealing on one of these two grounds.
What can the Students’ Union do?
We know that making an academic appeal can be stressful as you have to apply within short time frames. It is strongly advised that you seek advice from our Academic Advice team when making an academic appeal as they are able to look through your statement, and your evidence and let you know where they think your case can be strengthened, to give you the best chance of your appeal being upheld by the University.
Our advisors can look through your appeal to make sure it is in the best position to be upheld by the University.
Please try to email us as soon as you are thinking about about an appeal so we can have as much time as possible to work with you.
We recommend that you email us: ussu.advice@surrey.ac.uk.
Why can I appeal and on what grounds?
You can make an academic appeal if you can show evidence of one or more of these grounds:
- That the University staff or bodies have made an error in procedure, and you can evidence this
- That the staff or bodies have shown bias or prejudice
- That your performance as a student was impacted by extenuating circumstances that weren’t reported at the time for valid reasons
- That your performance as a student was impacted by extenuating circumstances that were reported at the time but now you have new evidence that wasn’t considered before
What do I need to do first?
First you need to read the University Regulations for Academic Appeals. We are happy to answer questions if there is anything you do not understand but as you are the one making an appeal it is important that you fully understand the University’s requirements and procedures.
The Regulations for Academic Appeals, along with a video showing how to upload an appeal can be found on the web-site of the Office of Student Complaints, Appeals and Regulations (OSCAR) – please see this link: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/office-student-complaints-appeals-and-regulation
If you are appealing on the grounds of procedural error or bias:
If you are appealing on one of the first two grounds, you must have evidence to prove that your claim is correct. It is on you as the student to ensure that you have the evidence to support your appeal. You might want to consider emails that you have sent to the University as evidence or, you might want to look through the relevant code of practice to see where University staff/bodies have not followed process with care.
You can find the Codes of Practice for the University here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality-enhancement-standards/codes-practice
If you are appealing on the grounds of Extenuating circumstances (ECs) that you could not report at the time:
You will need to make sure that you read the regulations for ECs to make sure that you have valid grounds for an EC first and that your evidence is considered valid. You can find more information on ECs here.
If you did not report your ECs before your assessment or deadline, you will also need to provide evidence that one or more of the following apply to your case:
- That you were awaiting a diagnosis of their illness or its confirmation and you submitted a request at the appropriate time whilst awaiting receipt of the evidence
- That the nature your illness affected the your capacity to report it
- That you did not have access at the time to their medical practitioner (including GP or clinical specialist) or registered counsellor, their minister of religion, or solicitor, to provide support and the required independent evidence
- That a significant traumatic event affected your capacity to report it
If you are appealing on the grounds of Extenuating circumstances (ECs) that you did report at the time:
You will need to provide evidence of your original Extenuating Circumstances application, and submit any additional evidence that you have gathered to support you EC.
You will need to make sure that you read the regulations for ECs to make sure that you have valid grounds for an EC first and that your evidence is considered valid. You can find more information on ECs here.
What Next?
Decide what grounds your appeal will be on.
- Write your statement – make sure you are clear about what you are appealing, on what grounds, what happened and the outcome you are seeking.
- Gather your evidence. The burden of proof is on you as the student appealing, so it is vital that you have evidence to support your case.
- Submit the online form. This can be accessed via Student Self-Serve. A video explaining the form can be found on the OSCAR website.​
