Academic Appeals

RGU and RGU:Union have a vast array of support and advisory services to ensure students are supported throughout their studies. We recognise that difficulties with academic studies and university life (i.e. not understanding assignments, having multiple tasks to complete, working to financially support your studies, personal circumstances impacting upon you etc...) is an unavoidable part of being at university; however, it is important students actively seek support from the University to ensure any impact on their learning is minimal.

If you are experiencing circumstances in your personal or academic life which are affecting and/or impacting on your academic studies, you should always aim to reach out to your course team or an appropriate welfare support department to ensure appropriate support can be put in place. If these circumstances are significant, you may be encouraged to complete a Coursework Extension Request Form, Deferral Request Form and/or Student Suspension of Studies Request Form.

An Academic Appeal is a request for a review of a decision of an academic body. As an example, a student may wish to submit an Student Appeal Form: Academic Appeal - Award and Progression Stage 1 in the instance there were extenuating circumstances impacting on the student's preparation for an assessment but which were not made known to their school via a Coursework Extension Request Form or Deferral Request Form. If you are considering appealing a decision of an Assessment Board, you should read Regulation A3-1 Academic Appeals (or Regulation A6 for research degrees).

If you are unsure whether an appeal is the correct course of action, speak with your Personal Tutor, Course Leader or Head of School to explain your situation and to clear up any doubts you may have.

Grounds for Appeal

An Academic Appeal should be based on one or more of the following grounds:

(i) that there is exceptional and compelling justification, which can be evidenced, that the student was experiencing such physical or mental incapacity as to prevent the student from:
- (a) notifying the School by submitting a Coursework Extension Request or Deferral Request; and/or
- (b) undertaking the assessment;
(ii) that there had been a material procedural, administrative or computational error;
(iii) that the assessment was not conducted in accordance with the current regulations governing the course.

The University has regulations in place to ensure the quality of assessments, therefore disagreement with an Assessment Board’s academic judgement (i.e. judgement about a student’s academic performance) is not a valid ground for appeal.

For further information on grounds for appeal, see Regulation A3.1.
Appeal Deadline

Once an assessment has been ratified by an Assessment Board and the results have been published, a student normally has no later than 10 working days to submit the Student Appeal Form: Academic Appeal - Award and Progression Stage 1.

In the event that an Academic Appeal is submitted after the 10 working day period, you should aim to prove that failure to meet the deadline was due to verifiable circumstances which were outside of your control.

If an Academic Appeal is submitted more than 12 months after the publication of results, the appeal will not be considered.

For further information on appeal deadlines, see Regulation A3.1.
Appeal Submission

An Academic Appeal needs to be submitted electronically, from your RGU email account, to your school's designated email address.

An automatic acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to you and all communications regarding your appeal will usually be sent by email.
Appeal Forms

In the first instance, you need to complete the Student Appeal Form: Academic Appeal - Award and Progression Stage 1. If an Academic Appeal is not successful at Stage 1, you may wish to complete a Student Appeal Form: Stage 2.

For research degrees, you will need a separate form which can be found here.
Writing an Appeal

When writing an Academic Appeal, have a look at the following notes to ensure you are including all of the necessary information:

• Personal Details: Complete all personal details (RGU enrolment number, RGU student email address, School, Course and Stage).
• Grounds for Appeal: Clearly indicate the grounds on which your appeal is based.
• Date of Assessment Board: Write the date of the grade/decision you are appealing, this is the date the grade/decision was ratified by the Assessment Board and on which you were notified.
• Decision of Assessment Board: Write the module name, module number and the grade/decision you are appealing.
• Coursework Extension Request or Deferral Request: Indicate whether you submitted a Coursework Extension Request or a Deferral Request for the assessment you are appealing and include your reasoning as to why/why not in the appropriate boxes. If appealing on grounds (i)(a), ensure you read RGU's Fit to Sit Policy as you may need to explain why, at the time, you believed yourself fit to undertake the assessment (and therefore why you did not notify the school of the circumstances that were affecting you through submission of a Coursework Extension Request or a Deferral Request, and why now you believe that you were not fit to undertake the assessment.
• Statement of Appeal: This is the most important part of the form as it is your opportunity to outline your case. You should include as much detail as you deem relevant and arrange your circumstances either chronologically or in order of importance. If you are submitting your appeal after the 10 working day deadline, you should outline the reasons as to why you failed to meet the 10 working day deadline.
• Documentary Evidence: Include any evidence to support your statement of appeal, with the most appropriate being third party documentation (i.e. a letter from a medical professional).
• Desired Outcome: Write what you wish to happen as a result of the appeal. For example, if you are appealing regarding a fail grade or non-submission, the most appropriate desired outcome may be for a further re-assessment opportunity to be given at the same attempt as the previous one.

Once an Academic Appeal has been fully completed it must be submitted electronically, along with all accompanying evidence, to your school's designated email address.
After Appeal Submission

Once submitted, the Student Appeal Form: Academic Appeal - Award and Progression Stage 1 will be passed to the Convener of the appropriate Assessment Board. If the Academic Appeal is deemed valid for consideration the internal members of the Board will re-convene to consider the case - this is normally within 20 working days from the date on which the School received the Academic Appeal. Following the Assessment Board’s re-consideration, you shall be notified of the Board’s decision.

If you do not accept the board's decision, you are entitled to submit a Student Appeal Form: Academic Appeal - Stage 2. This must be submitted within 5 working days of receiving notification of the outcome of Stage 1. If this is not received within 5 working days, it will be assumed the student has accepted the decision of the Board and has withdrawn the appeal.

For further information on Academic Appeals, read Regulation A3.1.
Research Degrees

Research students wishing to submit an Academic Appeal should read the Research Degrees Appeal Procedure under paragraph 10 or Regulation A6.

If you have any questions about academic appeals or need someone to check that an academic appeal form has been correctly filled in, contact RGU:Union Advice & Support. Equally, if you are appealing the outcome and/or sanction(s) of a a misconduct hearing and you require advice and/or support, contact RGU:Union Advice & Support.

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