Academic
Academic appeals
Facing a disciplinary hearing
Accused of plagiarism
Nursing discontinuation
Academic appeals
Deadline for appeals
Grounds for appeal
What can I do now?
The appeal hearing
Possible outcomes of the appeal
Other factors to consider
So you’ve done all the hard slog and the results you get are not what you were expecting.
If you want to challenge your mark, whether the final award, end of year progression or individual module there are 3 things to remember:
You must appeal within seven days
You cannot challenge the academic judgement of the lecturers
You must have grounds for an appeal
Any appeal must be lodged with the Chair of the Assessment Board within seven days of the date of publication of the results. This is not the date that the letter drops onto your mat back home or is first visible on See Your Data but the date when the results are posted on the official noticeboard. This may seem unfair but you are still enrolled on the course and they believe it is your responsibility to be here for the results.
Your appeal will only proceed if you prove one of the following grounds.
- that an assessment board has given insufficient weight to external circumstances. If you have submitted these circumstances through the correct procedure but feel they have not taken enough regard to them then this is your ground.
- that your performance has been adversely affected by extenuating circumstances which you have, for good reason, been unable to make known to the assessment board. Please note the good reason. As well as showing how your performance was affected you will have to show why you failed to use the correct procedure prior to the assessment.
- that there has been a material administrative error at a stage in the examination process, or that some material irregularities have occurred e.g. incorrect calculation of marks.
- that the assessment or examination has not been conducted in accordance with the approved regulations e.g. insufficient time in the exam, or notice of assignment.
These are not the exact words used in the University regulations.
You cannot appeal simply because you disagree with the mark given. The academic judgement of the lecturer can not be questioned. Some of you may be used to A-level boards where you can pay for the assessment to be re-marked - this cannot happen at university.
If you think you have grounds for an appeal put this in writing to the chair of the assessment board (this can be found out from your department office). The appeal must be written on the official form from the University.
Evidence is very important and, if possible, you should either include it with the letter or say when you are able to provide it. Any letters of support should be on headed notepaper. Remember, if you have no evidence it is less likely that your appeal will be successful. If lodged within those seven days your department should call you in for a first stage appeal.
The formality of the first stage appeal varies from department to department however they all follow the same guidelines. Sometimes there will only be the Chair of the Assessment Board (who is usually your head of department) present but usually there will be a member of the administrative staff present to take a record of the appeal and the outcome. In some cases there may even be a panel.
Don’t feel intimidated about seeing your head of department; they are seeing you at your request to discuss your appeal. You are entitled to have someone to accompany you. This could be a friend, a member of your family or an experienced adviser from the Students' Union Advice Centre. We have accompanied many students to such meetings and heads of department are used to dealing with us. If you think that you may want our support, then please contact us to discuss your appeal and, diary permitting, we will make every effort to accompany you.
In the meeting it is important to remain calm and focused on what is being said. If a member of the Union Advice Centre team is able to accompany you we can take brief notes of what is said and ensure that procedure is followed. If there is anything that you are unclear about ask for clarification. This is especially important if you are asked to re-submit work, as you need to know when the new submission date is or if a new title is required.
Possible outcomes of the appeal
If you do not have the relevant evidence available, or the Chair needs to check out the claims that you are making, the meeting may be adjourned and rearranged for another date.
If the Chair upholds your appeal then they may take Chair’s action to amend the result or offer an alternative outcome? Alternatively the Chair may decide to refer the matter back to the Assessment Board to reconsider. In certain cases the decision can be to condone a failure, though this is not an option on certain courses or in core modules.
The Chair can decide not to uphold the appeal. If this is the case you should seek advice about a second stage appeal.
Be realistic. It will only be in exceptional cases that you will be just given a new mark. The course team will have to have enough evidence from other sources to arrive at a new mark. This makes it more likely that they will offer a resit or repeat first sit.
Do the maths! If you score an overall mark of 69 per cent you may feel that you’ve missed a first by 1 per cent. But when you consider that your final classification is an average of 11 module marks an individual exam or assignment would have to increase by a considerable amount to affect the overall result.
If you are claiming under Extenuating Circumstances, have they been resolved? If they have not, a better option may be intercalation - a period away from your studies until your life is back on an even keel.
Don’t set yourself up for a fall. If you’ve failed a number of modules over a whole year it is unlikely that you will be able to resit them all over the summer.
Facing a disciplinary hearing
If you are accused of misconduct under the University's disciplinary regulations (see your copy of 'The Student Guide to Regulations') you should be informed of the fact and that a member of university staff has been appointed to investigate the matter.
The person appointed to investigate the matter will have to decide whether the allegation has the basis for a disciplinary hearing to take place.
The investigating person will probably want to interview the accused person to obtain their version of events as well as anyone else involved. If you are facing such a situation you should contact the Union Advice Centre as soon as possible for further advice.
If the University decide to hold a disciplinary hearing The Advice Centre can provide you with advice and representation. The Advice Centre should be contacted as soon as possible to ensure that help is available on the day.
Remember even if you are suspended you are entitled to our advice and representation. You do not need an NUS Extra card, just be enrolled on a course.
Accused of plagiarism
What counts as cheating?
What counts as plagiarism?
What counts as collusion?
What happens if I’m accused of cheating, plagiarism or collusion?
What’s the punishment?
Any advice for how to avoid being accused?
What counts as cheating?
The academic equivalent of diving in the penalty area, cheating is any deliberate attempt to deceive. Use of unauthorised crib notes, books, calculators or communication devices during an exam. Direct copying from or communication with another candidate, gaining access to the papers before the exam and yes even getting someone else to do the exam for you.
What counts as plagiarism?
Simply, passing someone else’s work off as your own. Whether that person is another student or eminent author, dead or alive, published or not all quotations, ideas, opinions, program code, music and images should be acknowledged and referenced. Web content is an increasing area of concern.
You do not have to have acted deliberately or with intent, forgetting to reference properly can result in the same punishment.
What counts as collusion?
It is an offence to use someone else’s work even with their consent. It is also an offence to allow your work to be copied or imitated and the University expects you to take reasonable safeguards to stop your work from being copied.
What happens if I’m accused of cheating, plagiarism or collusion?
The University's rules state that alleged acts of cheating or plagiarism will be reported to the Head of Department of the student's course, except with combined honours students where the alleged offence will be reported to the Head of Department for the module where the alleged offence took place.
When an allegation is made the Head of Department has an obligation to investigate the matter. The student will be asked to attend a meeting where the allegation will be outlined. The student will then be given the opportunity to put their case. Representation is allowed at this stage and we recommend that you contact the Advice Centre for help if you find yourself in this situation.
If such an allegation is proven, the Head of Department can impose a penalty. This can be up to, and including, awarding a fail grade for the module. However if the Head of Department feels the case is so serious that this sanction is inadequate it can then be referred to a University disciplinary hearing which can impose sanctions up to, and including, expulsion from the University.
The student can also ask for their case to be referred to the University disciplinary hearing if they have been award a fail grade and feel that this is unfair.
A disciplinary hearing can increase or decrease any previous sanction, or decide that there is no case to answer and annul any sanctions imposed.
Should you find yourself facing any allegation of cheating or plagiarism contact the Advice Centre as soon as possible.
What’s the punishment?
For a first offence you will normally be required to resubmit your work and the module will have a maximum mark of 40 per cent.
For a second offence no re-submission and the module will have a maximum of 0 per cent. This will also be the punishment for a first offence on a repeat assignment.
Offences deemed to be more serious e.g. theft may result in disciplinary action and potentially expulsion.
Any advice for how to avoid being accused?
Familiarise yourself with your department’s referencing and exam procedures.
If in doubt reference. If unable to reference an idea or quote - cut it out.
Keep your work secure at all times.
Don’t leave discs or pen drives lying around.
Unless group work is required be careful who you share your ideas with.
Nursing discontinuation
What is all this discontinuation business?
What are the grounds for an appeal?
What sort of evidence would I need to provide at an appeal?
What happens in a discontinuation meeting?
What outcomes are possible from an appeal?
What happens if my appeal is turned down?
What can the Students’ Union Advice Centre adviser do in a discontinuation meeting?
What is all this discontinuation business?
If a nursing student fails a piece of work twice they will be asked to attend a discontinuation meeting with the Chair of the Assessment Board, where a student can put in an appeal if there are grounds.
This meeting is called a discontinuation meeting because the course and professional qualification requirement is that student nurses must pass all modules on their course in order to qualify as a registered nurse. The nursing department cannot condone any part of the nursing diploma or degree.
Until the outcome of the discontinuation meeting is known a student has the right to continue with their course (providing they are in good standing with the university) until a decision is reached.
A student can seek representation from an experienced adviser at the Union's Advice Centre who can come along with the student and give support and representation. Alternatively, a student may wish to take a friend to accompany them to a discontinuation meeting.
If a student is asked to attend a discontinuation meeting they will need to decide whether they also wish to put in an appeal in writing against their failure on the module or piece of work. Technically you have 7 days from the discontinuation meeting to appeal but in practice most students prefer to have the appeal at the same time. Remember if this is the case you will need to take written evidence to the meeting.
On occasion a student is intercalated after failing an assessment twice but before a discontinuation meeting. The Nursing department tries to avoid this situation, but when there is a lapse between the assessment and a module board this can happen. In this instance a student goes through the usual process of discontinuation despite being intercalated and if their appeal is upheld can return subject to their passing the outstanding assessment. Support from module supervisors is available to students who are intercalating in order to support their study needs.
Remember you cannot appeal against the academic judgement of a member of staff
What are the grounds for an appeal?
That an Assessment Board has given insufficient weight to extenuating circumstances. As all students had an opportunity to submit evidence of extenuating circumstances before the Assessment Board met, all such circumstances should have been considered. Therefore to appeal you would need to prove that the Assessment Board didn’t appreciate the seriousness of your extenuating circumstances.
That the student’s academic performance has been adversely affected by illness or other factors, which the student has, for good reason, been unable to make known to the Assessment Board. It will be extremely difficult to appeal under these grounds as all students had access to the extenuating circumstances envelopes. Therefore you would need a very good reason for not notifying the Assessment Board of any factors affecting your work.... e.g. a medical condition which was diagnosed after the deadline for the submission of extenuating circumstances or something similar.
That there has been a material administrative error at a stage of the examining process, or that some material irregularity has occurred. If you think that the grade awarded was incorrectly recorded; or your grade point average or average percentage mark was incorrectly calculated.... then you can appeal.
That the assessment procedure and/or examinations have not been conducted in accordance with the approved regulations.If you were assessed wrongly (i.e.: course work instead of exam) or the exams you sat were not carried out properly then you may have a case to appeal.
What sort of evidence would I need to provide at an appeal?
The supporting documentary evidence that may be acceptable for an appeal if a student has extenuating circumstances is below and is not an exhaustive list:
- Sick notes
- GP/Doctor’s letter
- Hospital letter/appointment
- Counsellor’s letter
- Letter from Social Worker
- Death Certificate or Notice in newspaper (for death of friend or relative)
- Personal Tutor supporting letter
- Placement Supervisor supporting letter
- Crime reference number
- Court hearing documents
All supporting evidence should be on headed notepaper, dated and signed.
Remember that any extenuating circumstances need to coincide with when a student had to complete a piece of work or sit an exam - they cannot have occurred after the piece of work was being done. Also, a student needs to have good reasons as to why they have not put in an extenuating circumstances envelope at the time they were undertaking the work or exam.
What happens in a discontinuation meeting?
At the start of the discontinuation meeting a student will be informed as to the reason why they have been asked to attend the meeting and will then be asked whether they want to put in an appeal and under what grounds.
If a student does not have grounds for an appeal they will be discontinued from the nursing course.
A student can prepare a letter setting out the grounds for their appeal (sample letter below) and stating the circumstances that have resulted in their failure of the module or piece of work. The Assessment Board Chair will then look at the grounds for the appeal and accompanying evidence and also the attendance and academic profile of a student, in order to make a decision as to whether to uphold or turn down an appeal. The Assessment Board Chair will also look at whether any extenuating circumstances have now been resolved, and whether a student is now in a better position to complete the piece of work.
Within the nursing department a student’s attendance on the course is very important and any absences that are not condoned are noted. A student needs to be aware of any absences that have not been reported or allowed, as nursing students are only allowed a set number of absences throughout their whole course. A good attendance record is something that the Assessment Board Chair will look at along with the academic profile as to how a student is progressing on the nursing course.
What outcomes are possible from an appeal?
Taking all these factors into account the Assessment Board Chair will then make a decision as to whether to uphold the appeal or turn it down, and the possible outcomes are:
If an appeal is upheld, a student may be offered the opportunity to re-submit the piece of work, with a maximum mark of 40% attainable. If a student is granted a third attempt they will not usually be given this opportunity again. A letter will follow stating the outcome and a student will normally be advised to go to the module tutor for a re-submission date. A student may also be advised to seek module supervision from the module tutor regarding the failed piece of work and may also be directed towards the WISER programme to improve their study skills. Intercalation or taking time out of the course may be an option for some nursing students, particularly if extenuating circumstances have not been resolved.
Intercalation is where a student takes a set amount of time out of their course with the permission of their department. It is possible that this course of action may be advised within a discontinuation meeting. Nursing students cannot usually intercalate for more than 12 months. If intercalation is decided upon, the nursing bursary is suspended, although a student will still be registered as a full time student and cannot access means-tested benefits.
The Assessment Board Chair can turn down an appeal based on the evidence presented or that there are not grounds for an appeal. This will result in a student’s discontinuation from the course, unless a second stage appeal is successful.
What happens if my appeal is turned down?
If, after consideration of your appeal and any evidence a student has submitted, the Assessment Board Chair decides to turn down an appeal, a student has the right to ask for a second stage appeal. The same grounds apply to a second stage appeal and unless a student has valid grounds the Appeals Panel will not hear an appeal. A second stage appeal must be submitted with appropriate evidence, and any extenuating circumstances not submitted at the time of the 1st stage appeal will not be considered at a second stage appeal hearing.
A student must submit their second stage appeal in writing within 14 days of the outcome of the first stage appeal to the:
Nominated Appeals Officer
Foster Building
Uclan
Preston
PR1 2HE
Late appeals will only be accepted in very exceptional circumstances. The second stage appeal is heard by an independent panel and is usually made up of the Chair of the Assessment Board, a staff member of the Academic Board and a member of the Students’ Union Student Affairs Committee. The Nominated Appeals Officer will also attend the second stage hearing, although this person will not be on the panel.
A student is advised to seek advice and representation about the second stage appeals process from the Union Advice Centre.
The academic regulations for second stage appeals are available here.
What can the Students’ Union Advice Centre adviser do in a discontinuation meeting?
Before a discontinuation meeting, an adviser can explain the discontinuation procedure to a student and possible outcomes and any action that can be taken. Although advisers are not trained in shorthand, they can take notes of the relevant details discussed in the meeting. An adviser can also check that procedure is being followed in line with the academic regulations laid down by the university. An adviser can speak on behalf of a student if they feel it is appropriate to do so.
