► Appeals

On receipt of their academic decision, students who are unhappy with the decision may be entitled to submit an appeal if they have the grounds to do so. The appropriate appeal form must be completed and returned to the campus Examinations Office for consideration by the Appeals Panel.
An appeal may be made based either;

1) On new information about extenuating circumstances which were not known to the Board of Examiners when it made its original decision e.g. stress/illness (SA1 Appeal) or
2) On the basis of procedural irregularity e.g. conduct of examinations or other assessment (SA2 Appeal)

*** Students are advised to note that the academic judgment of examiners is not open to appeal, ie, you cannot appeal your marks.
The appeals form (SA1 or SA2) must be completed and submitted no later than seven working days following publication of academic decisions on the student portal. When the process has been completed the Examinations Office will notify the student of the outcome of their appeal by letter sent by Recorded Delivery.

SA1

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/academicservices/student/SA1form.pdf

About The Form

Section A points 1 to 12 of this form must be completed by the student. Point 9 on the form ‘Presentation of new evidence of illness or extenuating circumstances’ provides an opportunity for the student to explain their situation in brief, highlighting all the main points that the appeals panel needs to be aware of in order to make a decision. This information should be new information which hasn’t reached the exam board before. The student is also asked on part (b) of Q9 for an explanation as to why this information was not made available sooner.
Copies of medical certificates or other supporting material such as a doctor’s note, or a registered counselor’s letter must be attached to the completed form and placed in the sealed envelope.
Point 10 of the SA1 form relates to whether or not a student has experienced periods of illness or other extenuating circumstances during the current academic year which they have already made known to academics such as physical illness or periods of absence from class.

This section of the form gives the student a chance to document this information with specific dates and durations of such episodes.
Point 12 of the form allows the student to indicate whether or not they wish to be interviewed by the appeals panel. If the student so wishes to they may be accompanied by a person who is a member of the University e.g. a student, a sabbatical officer from the Student’s Union or an academic who the student has a good relationship with throughout their studies.
The student must confirm with the individual concerned that they are willing to accompany them. Once this has been confirmed, the completed form should be submitted to the exams office within the specified time.

SA2

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/academicservices/student/SA2form.pdf

The SA2 form unlike the SA1 Appeals form deals with procedural irregularities rather than unforeseen or extenuating circumstances which the student may have experienced at the time of their exam/coursework/project submission.

Section A points 1-8 of the form must be fully completed by the student. Point 9 of the SA2 form requires a statement to be made by the student providing details of the procedural irregularity which they feel has affected their academic performance.

Point 11 allows the student to indicate whether or not they wish to be interviewed by the Appeals Panel. If the student wishes to attend they may be accompanied by a person who is a member of the University, e.g. a student, a sabbatical officer from the Student’s Union or a member of staff. The student must confirm with the individual concerned that they are willing to accompany them.  Once this has been confirmed the completed form should be submitted to the Exams Office within the specified time.

Guidelines for appeals are available at;
http://www.ulster.ac.uk/academicservices/student/appeals.html