Monday 25-06-2018 - 00:00

Most students will soon be receiving their results. A few days after your faculty exam board has met, you’ll be sent a faculty decision letter. This tells you your degree classification if you’re an undergraduate in your final year, or your year marks. Taught postgraduate students will also receive faculty decision letters with the results of their taught component.

We hope that you’re pleased with your results. But if you’re not, you may be able to appeal against the faculty decision.

Bristol SU’s Just Ask advice service provides independent advice on the appeals process. Contact us by filling in one of our enquiry forms.

---

On what grounds can I appeal?

Be aware that appeals can only be made if they fall under one of three specific grounds. These are:

Material irregularity

The University hasn’t followed procedures properly resulting in an unfair outcome for you. This could include inappropriate or insufficient adjustments being made to compensate for the impact of the strikes.

Late declaration of extenuating circumstances (ECs)

You had ECs that you didn’t tell your school about previously. You'll need to explain why you couldn’t disclose them on time. The deadline for submitting your EC form would have been a few days after the end of the assessment period.

You will also need to explain what your ECs were and how they affected your performance. If you did fill in an EC form but the University didn’t make appropriate adjustments for them, you might be able to appeal under the ground of material irregularity but you should seek further advice about this from Just Ask.

Wrong or disproportionate penalty

This ground could apply if you’ve had a penalty for cheating or plagiarism that you feel is wrong or disproportionate. You’ll need to fully explain why you think that the penalty is unfair.

How do I appeal and what difference could it make?

Depending on your exact situation you could ask for various outcomes from your appeal.

It might be that you could ask for certain marks to be disregarded for the purposes of degree classification, or you could ask for any second attempts (resits) to be uncapped.

You have 15 working days (weekends don’t count) to submit your appeal form from the date on your faculty letter.

After you’ve submitted your form, you should receive the Local Stage decision within five weeks. There’s also a second stage to the appeals process which can take another month or two.

This year, for the first time, it’s possible to graduate in July whilst still pursuing an appeal against your degree classification. If your appeal is then successful your certificate will be changed later on.

What next?

Every situation is different, so if you have any questions get in touch with Just Ask. We can explain the appeal process, any University regulations you might be unsure about and give you feedback on your appeal form before you submit it. Although we can get very busy at this time of year, we do prioritise according to students’ appeal deadlines. You can help us by giving us as much time as possible, so get in touch sooner rather than later!

The university are also providing a helpdesk from 10am- 6 pm, Monday to Friday in the Stacy Room, Richmond Building from 25 June - 27 July. Here you'll be able to get advice on the appeals process and how to submit your appeal. If you're looking for feedback on your appeal form then you will need to contact Just Ask.

If you have any questions about any of this stuff – get in touch with Just Ask!