Academic Appeals

If you decide you meet one of the grounds to submit an Appeal, you must complete an Academic Appeals Form.

Please submit your completed appeal form and any evidence by email to complaintsappeals@mmu.ac.uk

Any Appeals submitted after the deadline may not be considered. If your Appeal is late, you must clearly explain the reasons why you have not submitted it on time. If these reasons are not considered reasonable reasons for a delay, your Appeal will not be considered. For further guidance on this, please see the Guide to submitting an Appeal.

Stage One:
Initial consideration by the Student Case Management Team

The Student Case Management Team will undertake an initial review of your Appeal. Where there appears to be a clear irregularity or error, this can be addressed straight away without the case being considered by a Panel. If a change to your assessment status is approved, you will be informed of this change and your Appeal will not proceed to a University Appeals Panel unless you request this.

If your Appeal falls outside the permitted grounds this will be explained to you. Once you receive this explanation your Appeal can still proceed but you would need to request this. The Student Case Management team may also refer all or part of an Appeal for consideration through another procedure such as the Complaints Procedure or the Evidenced Extension Procedure (formerly Assessment Mitigation).

Where your Appeal falls within permitted grounds but a resolution isn’t offered by the Student Case Management team your case will automatically proceed to a University Appeals Panel.

Stage Two:
University Appeals Panel

You will be told if your case has been referred to a University Appeals Panel. If your case is referred, it will be considered by a University Appeals Panel. University Appeals Panel will consist of the Panel Chair, two senior members of academic staff with no prior involvement in your case, and an elected officer from the Students’ Union.

You will have the opportunity to submit further evidence or an additional statement at this stage should you wish.

In exceptional cases, where the facts and evidence of a case are complex or contentious, the Panel Chair may invite students to attend a hearing in person. This is at the discretion of the Panel Chair.

Students normally receive a brief summary decision by email within 7 days of the University Appeal Panel meeting, followed by a full written report within 28 days.

Stage Three:
Review Stage

If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the University Appeals Panel, you may request an internal review. This can only be requested on the following grounds;

• That the correct procedures were not followed in the consideration of your case through the earlier stages of the Procedure;
• That the outcome of the Formal Stage of the Procedure was not reasonable;
• That there is new material evidence that for good reason was not available at the earlier stages of the Procedure.

The Reviewer will be an academic Head of Department who has had no prior involvement in your case.

If you wish to request a review, you must do so within 14 days of receiving the full written outcome report from the University Appeals Panel. You will not be able to request a Review before receiving this report. Further information about how to request a Review will be included in the report.

You will be issued with a Completion of Procedures notification alongside your final University Appeals Panel report. This will provide you with details of how to apply to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) for an external review.

For guidance on making an application to the OIA, please visit their website: www.oiahe.org.uk

Your Advice Centre, the Union - MMU can provide impartial advice on submitting an Academic Appeal.

Tel: 0161 247 6533

Mail: s.u.advice@mmu.ac.uk

Web: www.theunionmmu.org/your-advice-centre/

If you would like further information or have any questions about any stage of the Academic Appeals Procedure, you can contact the Student Case Management Team:

Mail: complaintsappeals@mmu.ac.uk

You may also find the Guide to submitting an Appeal helpful.