12.1 Informal Queries and Academic Appeals: A Guide for Students:
Please note: This guide applies to students undertaking a module or programme validated by
The Open University. Students undertaking a module or programme validated by The
University of Hertfordshire (UH) should follow the guidance on the UH website
(www.herts.ac.uk)
This guide is intended to explain the Academic Appeals process. The Academic Appeals process includes
both informal queries and appeals.
Before making an informal query or appeal you are encouraged to contact the student support service
at Education for Health (email: [email protected] or Tel: 01926 838969) to make
sure that you fully understand the process.
The Academic Appeals process is a procedure which allows you, in certain circumstances, to ask for a
review of a decision relating to your academic progress or award. Decisions about your academic
progress are made by the Programme Examination Board, which consider results for students
undertaking stand-alone modules as well as programmes of study.
If you have a complaint about teaching or supervision or circumstances which relate to the delivery of
your module or programme these should be raised as a complaint with Education for Health at the
earliest opportunity and, if necessary, a formal complaint submitted following the complaints procedure
which can be found on our website:
(https://www.educationforhealth.org/education/student-support/regulations-policies/)
1. Grounds for raising an informal query or academic appeal:
You are not entitles to raise an informal query or academic appeal if your results are not as good as you
had hoped for or are worse than you or a 3rd party believe you deserve. Informal queries or academic
appeals which simply challenge the academic judgement of internal or External Examiners or
Programme Examination Board are not permitted. For advice on how you might improve your
assignment on resubmission please contact student support.
The grounds for informal query or appeal are summarised below:
Significant
mitigating
circumstances:
there are circumstances which materially affected your performance, for which
supporting evidence exists, which were not known to the Board of Examiners or
other academic body at the time its decision was taken and which it was not
reasonably practicable for you to make known beforehand;
Procedural
irregularities:
there were procedural irregularities in the conduct of examination or assessment
procedures of such a nature as to create a reasonable possibility that the result
may have been different if it had not occurred;
It is important to note that the regulations on mitigating circumstances (see Appendix 7 of the Academic
Regulations) require students to notify us of any matters which may be relevant to their academic
performance, for example, personal or medical circumstances, at the time they occur and to supply
supporting documentary evidence, such as medical certificates. Unless there were very good reasons
why you were unable to notify us or supply evidence at the time it is likely that an appeal will be
disallowed.
2. Should I raise an informal query or submit an academic appeal?
Once your work has been marked and moderated you will be issued with a provisional result. This mark
is issued subject to change by the Programme Examination Board which is responsible for ratification
(confirmation) of results. Following receipt of your provisional result you may (if you believe you have
grounds as outlined in section 1), raise an informal query.
An academic appeal can ONLY be made against the decision of the Programme Examination Board
following ratification (confirmation) of your results.
3. How to submit an informal query or appeal:
Informal query:
If, after receiving your provisional result you decide that you have eligible grounds for an informal query
you should complete and submit an appeals process form (indicating where appropriate that you are
raising an informal query) and provide relevant supporting documentary evidence.
Please ensure that you complete the form as required rather than submitting a statement or letter.
Requests for informal queries without an appeals form will not be accepted.
You should ensure that your informal query is raised within 10 working days of your provisional result
being issued as a failure to do so will normally result in your query being rejected.
Academic appeal:
If, after receiving notification of your ratified (confirmed) result you decide that you have eligible
grounds for appeal you should complete and submit an appeals process form (indicating where
appropriate that you are making an appeal and provide relevant supporting documentary evidence.
Please ensure that you complete the form as required rather than submitting a statement or letter.
Appeals without an appeals form will not be accepted.
You should ensure that your appeal is raised within 10 working days of notification of ratification of
your result as a failure to do so will normally result in your appeal being rejected.
You must raise an informal query or appeal on your own behalf and it is your responsibility to obtain the
required evidence. Education for Health will not contact a 3rd party on your behalf.
It is important that you submit evidence to support your informal query or appeal. Where medical
evidence is submitted this must be from a qualified medical practitioner. You must ensure that any
evidence is submitted in English. If it was not written in English you must supply a certified translation.
Education for Health undertakes checks to ensure that evidence submitted is genuine.
What happens after I submit my informal query or appeal?
The attached flowchart outlines the process that will take place on receipt of your informal query or
appeal.
Informal queries and appeals are initially considered by the Academic Review Panel, appeals are
considered by the Appeals Committee.
All informal queries or appeals will be acknowledged within 2 working days of receipt. Once your appeal
has been received an investigation of the issues you raised will take place, with a report being made to
the relevant panel or committee for review alongside any additional documentation that you submitted.
The Academic Review Panel or Appeals Committee will meet with 10 working days of your informal
query or appeal being received. When your submission is acknowledged you will be advised of the date
of the meeting.
If your informal query or appeal has been accepted the evidence will be presented to the Programme
Examination Board, with a recommendation as to the action to be taken. You will be advised of the date
of the Programme Examination Board.
If your informal query or appeal has been rejected you will be informed of the reasons for this. If your
informal query or appeal is rejected you will be sent a completion of procedures letter.
The outcome of the Academic Review Panel or Appeals Committee will be notified to you in writing
within 10 working days of the meeting
When an informal query or appeal is accepted a recommendation will be made to the Programme
Examination Board outlining the action to be taken in relation to the outcome of your module or
programme. You will be informed of the decision of the Programme Examination Board within 10
working days of the Board meeting and issued with a completion of procedures letter.
What happens if I disagree with the decision of the Programme Examination Board?
If you raised an informal query and are dissatisfied with the decision of the Programme Examination
Board you have the right to appeal.
You can only appeal if you have evidence that the process has not been followed correctly, or if you
have mitigating circumstances which you were unable to present prior to the Programme Examination
Board meeting.
You cannot appeal simply because you are unhappy with the decision made by the Programme
Examination Board.
If you have submitted an appeal and remain dissatisfied you have the right to appeal to the Open
University.
Appeal to The Open University
If you believe that Education for Health’s appeal process has been conducted incorrectly or you feel that
the outcome is unreasonable in relation to the evidence then you have the right to raise the matter for
external and independent review by the Open University.
If you make a submission to the Open University you will need to send a copy of your ‘Completion of
Procedures Letter’.
You must submit a formal appeal in writing and your letter must include the following information:
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your contact address and telephone number
the name of the institution at which you are studying
the name of the programme on which you are studying
the specific decision you are appealing against
documentary evidence that you have exhausted your institution’s own internal procedures
including copies of written correspondence between yourself and your institution concerning
the decision you are appealing against, and a copy of the letter from your institution notifying
you of the final outcome of its internal appeals procedure
a clear statement explaining why you are appealing
documentary evidence to support the grounds on which you are appealing.
If you fail to provide all of the above, your appeal will be delayed and may eventually be dismissed.
Important: please read carefully
The Open University will make every attempt to respect your privacy and confidentiality when dealing
with your appeal. However, unless you specifically state otherwise, the University will assume that
you have given permission to disclose as necessary any of the information you provide. If you wish
any matter to remain private or confidential, you must state so clearly in your letter. If you do not
wish the University to disclose information, it may not be possible to consider your appeal
appropriately.
When can I submit an appeal to the Open University?
It is important that the Open University receives your appeal as soon as possible, and within three
months of the outcome of your institution’s internal procedures. Furthermore, the University and your
institution may be unable to investigate fully formal appeals received after a significant time lag.
Where should I submit the appeal?
Appeals must be sent to:
The Director, Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships,
The Open University,
Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes,
MK7 6AA,
United Kingdom
Where to get further help and guidance
If you have exhausted the Education for Health appeals process and wish to take your appeal to the
Open University you can contact the Open University Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships
(CICP) for advice and guidance on the procedures.
Please contact the Director of CICP in one of the following ways:
Contact CICP by email: [email protected]
Contact CICP by phone: 01908 332840
Address:
The Director,
Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
United Kingdom
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education
Once you have completed all the internal procedures and you are still dissatisfied with the outcome, you
may be able to apply for a review of the matter to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher
Education (OIA).
The OIA was set up under the Higher Education Act 2004 to provide ‘an independent student complaints
scheme’. All HEIs in England and Wales are required to comply with the scheme, which is free to
students.
The OIA will require a copy of your completion of procedures letter before they will agree to investigate
your case. More information about the scheme is available at the OIA website.
ACADEMIC APPEALS PROCESS FORM
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Use this form if you believe you have grounds for raising an informal query or appeal against a
decision made by a Board of Examiners, or other academic body responsible for decisions on
student progression, assessment or award.
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The deadline of submission for an informal query is 10 working days after your provisional
results have been issued.
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The deadline of submission for an appeal is 10 working days after notification of ratification of
your results has been issued.
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Informal queries or appeals submitted after the deadline will be deemed to be out of time and
will not be considered unless you submit clear documentary evidence to demonstrate that you
were prevented from submitting the appeal by the deadline;
Section 1: Student Details
Student Number
Date of Birth
Title
First name(s)
Family name / Surname
Module or Programme name
Start date
Contact e-mail address (please note
most correspondence relating to your
appeal will be via e-mail)
Contact postal address
Contact telephone number
Section 2: Grounds for Informal Query or Appeal
You may only raise an informal query or appeal on the following ground (please tick the relevant box):
A: That there were circumstances materially affecting your performance, for which new
supporting evidence is available, which were not known at the time the decision was made,
and which it was not reasonably practicable for you to make known beforehand.
If you select this box complete all of section 3A
B: That there appears to you to be evidence that procedural irregularities in the conduct of
the examination or assessment procedures of such a nature as to create a reasonable
possibility that the result may have been different if this had not occurred
If you select this box complete all of section 3B
Section 3: Informal Query or Appeal Details
Submission for:
Informal Query (against provisional results): Yes / No
Appeal (against ratified (confirmed) result): Yes / No
Use the relevant box(es) below to explain in full the grounds on which your informal query or appeal is
based:
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Describe in detail the circumstances you wish to raise
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Identify the specific examinations/assessments affected and explain how they were affected
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Be specific about the dates of the circumstances upon which your claim is based
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Include documentary evidence to support your claim, where appropriate
Failure to do so may result in your informal query or appeal not being considered
3A: Evidence of significant Mitigating Circumstances
Detailed description of your claim:
Relevant third party evidence to support your submission:
List the documents that you are submitting. These should be scanned and submitted electronically or
the original documents submitted in the post. These will be returned to you when we inform you of the
outcome, however we would advise you to keep a photocopy of these documents for your records.
II.
List of documents included:
If applicable you should provide an explanation of why it was not possible to inform Education for
Health about these circumstances before the decision was made. If there is no clear evidence for this
your appeal may be rejected.
III.
Explanation:
Section 3B: Evidence of procedural irregularity
A ‘procedural irregularity’ means that the examining and assessment process was not conducted
according to the education for Health’s approved procedures. Examples might include errors in an
examination question paper, or with the administration of an examination, or a failure to calculate the
marks correctly, or to consider any mitigating circumstances submitted by you before the due date.
I.
Detailed description of your claim
Section 4: Checklist
All informal queries or appeals: Please tick box to indicate your agreement with the following
statements:
I have read and understand Appeals: A Guide for Students
I have provided on/with this form ALL the information I wish the Academic Committee
to consider
Additionally for an informal query or appeal on the grounds of mitigating circumstances please tick
box to indicate your agreement with the following statements
I have explained and provided evidence, where appropriate, of why it was not possible
to inform my department earlier about the circumstances I have described (i.e. why I
missed its deadline for the submission of mitigating circumstances claims).
I have enclosed appropriate third party documentary evidence to substantiate my
claim of mitigating circumstances.
Section 5: Declaration
By submitting this form: I declare that the above information is accurate and true; I confirm that the
details of this appeal are complete and can be passed on to the relevant staff considering my appeal; I
confirm have included relevant third party documentary evidence to support my case (where applicable).
Signed:
Print Name:
Date:
Section 6: Submission of your appeal process form
Your appeal form and any supporting evidence should be submitted to:
Julia Neal (Director of Education and Training): [email protected]
Address for postal submissions:
Julia Neal, Director of Education and Training
Education for Health
10 Church Street
Warwick
CV34 4AB
We would strongly recommend that you submit postal documentation using recorded delivery.
Submissions should arrive with Education for Health by the deadline stated so ensure you allow
sufficient time for this when sending in your paperwork.
Informal Query Process
Assessment Committee
moderates work and
agrees provisional mark
Provisional result issued
to student
Student raises informal
query
Investigation and review
by Academic Committee
Yes
Informal
query
upheld?
No
Student informed of decision and
recommended action
Student informed of decision &
completion of procedures letter
issued
Recommendation to Programme
Examination Board revised
No change to recommendation to
Programme Examination Board
Recommendations
reviewed by Programme
Examination Board
Yes
Outcome ratified and result issued
to student.
Recommendation
accepted?
No
Programme Examination Board
agree outcome and ratified result
issued to student.
Appeal Process
Result ratified by Programme
Examination Board and issued to
student
Student submits appeal
Academic Committee investigates
and reviews appeal submission
Recommendation made to
Programme Examination Board
Yes
Recommendation
accepted?
No
No change to original outcome.
Student informed
Revised outcome ratified by
Programme Examination Board and
issued to student
Completion of Procedures letter
issued to student