Administrative Appeals are appeals about decisions or outcomes that may affect your studies or student experience, but are not academic results. This includes decisions such as the termination of your enrolment if you have failed to pay your fees or completed the necessary enrolment tasks. It could also include decisions about a bursary or scholarship, or decisions under the Library Regulations (Library fines or Library disciplinary issues). If you have been given a ‘Notice to Quit’ your Queen Mary halls of residence, you may also be able to submit an administrative appeal.
Administrative Appeals Policy 24/25
Administrative Appeals Form
Before submitting your appeal, please read the information on this webpage carefully. The information below explains the ‘grounds for appeal’ (the reasons you can appeal against a decision) and the eligibility criteria for Administrative Appeals. If your appeal does not meet these the eligibility criteria, or is not based on either of the relevant grounds, it will not be successful. The guidance also provides information about the process that will be followed when you submit an Administrative Appeal.
Appeals must meet the eligibility criteria in order to be considered. If you submit an appeal that is not eligible for any of the reasons below, the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office will write to you to explain the reasons your appeal is not eligible, and provide you with information or advice about any alternative options.
Your appeal should be about a confirmed decision. This means that the decision is confirmed as being a final decision. For example, a notice that a student may be deregistered if they do not meet a particular deadline is not a confirmed decision until and unless the deregistration occurs. A notice that a student will be investigated for a Residence or Library disciplinary issue is not a confirmed decision until the investigation is finished and an outcome reached.
If your appeal is about fees, it’s very important to understand that the appeal process cannot waive your fees. This means that unless there is a mistake in calculating your fees (and therefore you should not have been charged the fees in the first place), you will still need to make any payments owing. Your appeal cannot be upheld unless any fees that you do owe have been paid.
Administrative appeals should be submitted within 15 working days of receiving the decision you are dissatisfied with. If your appeal is submitted after 15 working days, you will need to provide a good reason and evidence for why you were unable to submit the appeal sooner.
It is your responsibility to demonstrate that the grounds for your appeal have been met. This means that your appeal should be accompanied by independent evidence that support the claims made in your appeal. For example, if your appeal is based on a procedural error, you will need to provide evidence of the error that you believe has occurred. It is not the responsibility of the University to prove that a procedural error did not occur, where there is no evidence provided to indicate one.
The Administrative Appeals Policy applies to specific types of decisions. If your appeal is about another decision that is not covered by this policy, it will not be eligible as an Administrative Appeal. For example, appeals about your results, academic progression, or the outcome of a misconduct investigation – these types of decisions have their own appeal process. You can find more information about other types of appeals here.
There are two eligible grounds for an administrative appeal: procedural error and reasonableness. 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 the original outcome was not considered in line with this relevant policy, and the error was sufficiently significant to call into question the original decision.
Reasonableness means that the original decision cannot reasonably be sustained and that no reasonable person could reach the same decision in light of the available evidence. Dissatisfaction or disagreement with a decision is not evidence of unreasonableness. Reasonableness is about whether the decision is proportionate and consistent with regulations, policies and other comparable decisions. It is also about whether the original decision maker has provided a suitable explanation of why they reached the decision they did.
We understand that it can be confusing, and sometimes stressful, while you are waiting for the outcome of your appeal. The University’s policy is that any decision or outcome remains in place unless it is formally replaced by a new outcome.
This means that even if you have submitted an appeal against a decision, and you are hopeful that the decision might be changed in future, the original outcome still is the decision that will be applied while the appeal is investigated. You should continue to follow any instructions or advice you are given based on the original decision, even if you have submitted an appeal.
If you have been deregistered, unfortunately this means that you cannot continue your studies in the hope that you might be reinstated after the appeal. If you are an international student and you have been informed that your visa eligibility or immigration status has changed because you are no longer enrolled, you must follow the advice carefully.
After you submit your appeal, it will be reviewed by a staff member from the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office. They will first check to make sure that your appeal is eligible for consideration. If your appeal is not eligible, they will write to you to explain this.
If your appeal is eligible, they will carefully review all of the information and evidence that you have provided. They will also look at information like your student record, or make enquiries about the original decision that your appeal is about. If there is any important new information that you could not have known, the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office will normally write to you to give you the chance to comment on this information before a final decision is reached.
Appeals are normally decided in writing only; this means there are not normally any meetings you need to attend. If the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office write to you about your appeal, they will normally ask you to respond within one week. If you need more time, you should respond to say this. If you don’t respond at all, they will assume you do not wish to say anything.
One all of the necessary information is collected, the nominated staff member from the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office will decide whether either, or both, of the grounds for appeal have been met. If they are satisfied that the grounds are met, your appeal will be upheld – this normally means that the decision you have appealed about will be reconsidered, or some kind of corrective action will be taken. If your appeal does not satisfy the grounds, the outcome will be ‘not upheld’ – this means your appeal has not been successful. In either case, the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office will write to you to explain the decision, and their reasons.
The Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office will normally respond to your Administrative Appeal within 20 working days.
This timeframe is an estimate for the average appeal, but the exact timeframe your appeal will take depends on your individual circumstances. Sometimes it is possible to resolve an issue or explain a decision promptly, so you may receive your appeal faster than the times stated above. However, some cases require investigation (such as for asking information from your School/Institute or other departments) and if they are particularly complex it could take longer to make sure your concerns are addressed properly. If your appeal is likely to take longer than the timeframes listed above, the Appeals, Complaints & Conduct Office will normally write to you to provide you with an update.
If you have received the outcome of your Administrative Appeal, this is the last stage of the process internally at Queen Mary. Your appeal outcome 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.
Completion of Procedures means there are no further options 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. You can find more information about complaining to the OIA here.