Academic appeals about your marks, degree classifications or progression.
Academic appeals are often about the results you receive for an assessment task or a module result. You may also use the academic appeals process if you think there is an error with your degree or award, including that you think the classification is wrong, or if you have been issued an exit award, or about decisions related to your progression from one academic year to the next.
There are two eligible grounds for an academic appeal: procedural error and exceptional circumstances. If your appeal must meet one of these grounds to be eligible, if it doesn’t meet the grounds your appeal will not be accepted.
Procedural error means that Queen Mary processes were not followed correctly when the original decision was reached, and the error was sufficiently significant to call into question the original decision.
Exceptional circumstances are where the student has experienced significant adverse circumstances that negatively impact their ability to complete their studies, and where there is a good reason that these circumstances could not have been made known before the original decision was reached.
Academic appeals should be submitted within 21 days of receiving the results or decision. If your appeal is submitted after 21 days you will need to provide a good reason and evidence for why you were unable to submit the appeal sooner.
If you think you meet the grounds for an academic appeal, you can use this form to submit your appeal.
What if I am not happy with the outcome of my Academic Appeal?
If you have received an outcome to an eligible Formal Appeal under the Academic Appeals Policy, but you are still dissatisfied, the next stage in the process is called a Final Review.
You can only submit a request for Final Review if you have received an outcome letter at the end of the Formal Appeal stage – if you’re not sure, the outcome letter should say that the next stage is a Final Review.
If you received a letter saying that your Formal Appeal was not eligible, and therefore your appeal cannot be considered, you won’t be able to request a Final Review. A Final Review is only available if your appeal was accepted. Scroll down to the section below “What Next?” to find out the other options available to you.
Final Review
There are specific grounds for a Final Review to be submitted. You need to satisfy one of these grounds, and explain why, otherwise your request will not be successful. The two grounds for Final Review are:
Procedural error. This means that your Formal Appeal was not considered in line with the University’s Policy, and the error was sufficiently significant to call into question the original decision.
Reasonableness. This means that the outcome of the Formal Appeal cannot be sustained and that no reasonable person could reach the same decision in light of the available evidence.
You can access the Final Review form here. The form should be submitted via email to appeals@qmul.ac.uk
What next?
If you have received a letter saying that your appeal is not eligible, this means that the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office decided that your appeal did not meet the grounds for appeal. You should carefully read the letter, and our detailed article about academic appeals, to understand the reasons for this.
If your appeal has been deemed not eligible, or you have received a Final Review outcome, your letter from the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office should say that you have completed all available internal procedures at Queen Mary – we call this a “Completion of Procedures” letter and the letter should say that at the top. This means that there are no further options available to appeal the decision at Queen Mary. However, Queen Mary does subscribe to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s (OIA) independent complaints scheme. Students who have completed Queen Mary’s internal appeal procedures may request that the OIA review the handling of your appeal.