Academic Advice Service

Yes, you have the right to appeal but that’s not the same as having grounds for appeal.

You have 15 working days to appeal a confirmed decision. This includes both rejected EC outcomes and your confirmed grades. This deadline comes into effect after receiving confirmed results, which is usually around July for undergraduates, September for res-sit results or November for postgrads. Please note results must be confirmed not provisional.

It’s important not to miss the deadline, otherwise, you’ll have to show “good reason” for the delay, and “good reason” is defined very narrowly by the College.

You can appeal on two grounds:

Procedural Error

For this you must demonstrate in your appeal that:

• There is evidence that Queen Mary processes were not followed correctly when the original decision was reached, and that therefore a procedural error did occur
• And that error is sufficiently significant that the original decision should be called into question, and therefore the same decision is unlikely to have been made if the error had not occurred.

Extenuating Circumstances

For this you must demonstrate in your appeal that:

• You experienced adverse circumstances of sufficient significance that your ability to complete your studies was impacted
• And that there is a good reason that these circumstances could not be made known before the original decision / that the original decision didn't consider the circumstances properly under QMUL Policies

Yes, you have a right to appeal but you’ll need very strong evidence to demonstrate why you couldn’t submit ECs at the right time. A good reason might be, for example, you were hospitalised during or just after exams so couldn’t submit an application.

Yes, you have the right to appeal, however, the chances of success are not high if you sat the exams, or submitted coursework. The University has a fit to sit policy, so by turning up to exams or submitting coursework you’re declaring there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s then very difficult to argue later that there was something wrong with you. It’s different if you fall ill during an exam, and if this happens you should get medical evidence and submit an extenuating circumstances application.

Some of the reasons cited by students in their appeals include the following, none of which are grounds for appeal:

• you, your friends, tutors, anyone other than the person(s) who marked your work thinks it deserves a better mark;
• your lecturer told you what to do to get a good mark and you feel you did what was required; or your lecturer gave you positive feedback on an early draft of your work;
• you worked really hard and attended all classes;
• you weren’t feeling well before the exams but thought you’d try to sit them anyway;
• lots of bad things happened to you during the year;
• you need a higher classification to get the job you want.

Sometimes life throws unexpected challenges your way, illness, emergencies, difficult personal situations, and this can affect your ability to complete assessments. If this happens, QMUL has an Extenuating Circumstances (EC) process to support you. Find out more here.

An appeals office caseworker and the chair of the appeals panel make a decision. It’s only very rarely that an appeal panel meets to hear a case, and it’s usually all done on paper with no face-to-face meetings.

The University will get in contact with you once they have had a chance to review your case. They aim to reply in 30 working days - but it can be shorter or longer - nothing you can do will speed this up. Nothing changes while you appeal, so you’ll still graduate with the classification you were originally awarded. You can’t progress to the next academic year unless and until your appeal is successful.

Your appeal should be very clear and to the point. Don’t repeat yourself or include irrelevant details. On the other hand, if you’re unsure it’s best to include more rather than less. You need to make it obvious why what happened to you fits into one of the grounds for appeal, i.e. there’s been a procedural error because the marks appear wrong but the department refuse to do a proper admin check. You can contact the students’ union academic advice service for help with your appeal form. It’s very important to include relevant evidence, e.g. a doctor’s letter, and anything not in English will need an official translation. Letters from friends or family usually won’t carry much weight because they won’t be viewed as objective.

Nothing changes while you appeal, so you’ll still graduate with the classification you were originally awarded or keep the same EC or progression outcome etc. We recommend working on the assumption that the appeal has not passed, so you are prepared if that is the outcome.

If the outcome is not in your favour there is another step called final review - This is a mostly a check that the appeal process was done correctly & does not normally accept new arguments or evidence - so make sure to include everything in your initial appeal. Once this stage is completed or you are given a 'Completion of Procedures Letter' all the internal procedures are at an end and, if you want, you can take your case to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA).

If your appeal is based on a procedural error the appeals office staff can ask for it to be corrected. The correction might not change things very much, e.g. progression or degree classification, but in some instances it could. If your ground for appeal was ECs, your application will be referred back to the exam board for consideration. Referral back to the exam board isn’t a 100% guarantee that your ECs will be accepted. If your ECs are accepted that still doesn’t necessarily get you what you want, if what you want is a remark of your paper or extra marks added on because of ECs. You might instead be allowed to retain your first sit status, or have a further resit.

It’s difficult to say, as it comes down to the strengths and weaknesses of the individual case. You need to realise, however, that not many appeals are successful, so don’t get your hopes up too much. For some students it’s worthwhile appealing anyway, even if they aren’t successful, because they can feel they’ve tried everything and aren’t left with regrets later. The Students' Union's academic advice service is here to help you even if the advice worker thinks you don’t have a strong case.

Before you appeal speak to your tutor first to try to get a better understanding of why you got the marks you did. To appeal you will need to create an enquiry on AskQM (Home - Queen Mary University of London), titled 'Academic Appeal'. You will need to log in to access it.

You can view the form first via a video walk-through of the form and read the full Appeals Policy on the University webpage.

Appeals guidance

Fill out our advice form to request an QMSU Advisor to support your case. It’s not always necessary to have a face-to-face meeting, as sometimes it’s easier and quicker to discuss matters over the phone, or Skype if a student is overseas. Our advisors will need to see all relevant paperwork, e.g. medical evidence, to help with your appeal.

Advice form

• Listen to your account of why you’re unhappy with your marks and to your questions about appealing;
• Explain the appeal process in detail, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your case;
• Read through and advise on the wording of your appeal form and statement, and check your supporting evidence is relevant;
• Read your casework summary, and advise on your response;
• Read through and advise on the wording of your final review request;
• Act as your representative if you chose to take your case to the OIA at the end of the University internal appeal process;
• Help you to understand your options at every stage and offer you support throughout the process.

To keep the service fair, impartial and trusted by the University, there are a few things we can’t do:

• Advise you whether or not to appeal - this has to be your decision
• Give legal advice
• Access your Student Record
• Write your appeal or statement for you; or submit your appeal on your behalf
• Make the University give you the outcome you want
• Tell you what the outcome will be or the exact date you’ll receive a decision
• Make the appeal process go any quicker. It’s important to remember that a large number of students will be appealing at the same time, all wanting a decision urgently.
• But we can guide, support, explain, review, and stand with you throughout the process.