This page provides details of the St Mary's University Academic Appeals Procedures for students. Please ensure you have read the procedure document before completing an Appeal form.
Please remember to include copies of supporting documentary evidence with your appeal, otherwise your appeal is likely to be rejected.
If you wish to appeal against a decision of the University Examination Board you should refer to and follow the procedures outlined in the document above.
If, once your appeal has been considered, you believe that the internal appeal process has been incorrectly conducted or feel that the outcome is unreasonable in relation to the evidence, then you have the right to raise the matter with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA).
Complete and submit an Academic Appeal form with all supporting documentary evidence to academicappeals@stmarys.ac.uk within 10 working days of the dispatch of the result(s) being appealed against or establishment of a decision.
You may also post your academic appeal via recorded delivery to:
Registry Services
1st Floor, J Block
St Mary’s University
Waldegrave Road
Twickenham
TW1 4SX
The Academic Appeals Procedure is only to be used for making an appeal against decisions of the University Examination Board. Students should to speak to Students’ Union or the Registry before submitting their appeal for advice and further information.
Academic appeals submitted by a third party will not normally be accepted by the University. However, in exceptional circumstances a friend, parent, relative etc may submit an academic appeal on your behalf, providing they have your permission in writing.
Late academic appeals will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. You must provide evidence to justify the cause for the delay. The Head of Registry Services will decide whether or not to accept your late appeal based on the rationale and supporting documentation provided.
The Academic Regulations states students can appeal on one or both of the following grounds:
Regulation 2.1.1 -2.1.2 of the Academic Appeals Procedure:
2.1.1 “There is evidence that your assessment/ examination may have been adversely affected by mitigating circumstances which you were unable, or for valid reasons unwilling, to divulge to the University Examination Board before its decision was reached.”
2.1.2 “There is clear evidence of a significant administrative error on the part of the University or in the conduct of the assessment/examination and that this accounted for your performance.”
If you are appealing based on this ground you must provide all of the following:
- new information which the Board has not previously considered
- a reason and evidence to explain why your performance may have been adversely affected by factors evidenced in the information submitted
- a reason and evidence to explain why you were unable, or for valid reasons unwilling to submit this information before the Board reached its original decision.
The Chair of the Extenuating Circumstances Board refers to the ‘Guidelines for Extenuating Circumstances’ to determine whether the evidence submitted satisfies the ground(s) of the appeal.
If the evidence shows there are grounds the academic appeal is accepted and a recommendation to rescind the decision is made to the Chair of the appropriate University Examination Board.
If it is determined there are no valid extenuating circumstances the academic appeal is rejected and the original decision stands.
The error shall be reported to the University Examination Board.
If the error found affects the award or degree classification then the Chair of the University Examination Board will be notified.
The Chair has the authority to approve the award or a reclassification.
You will normally have the right to remain on your programme of study until a decision on your academic appeal has been made.
The University aims to resolve academic appeal cases within 10 working days upon receipt of your appeal submission. If there is a delay you will be advised of the expected timescale within the 10 working days.
In accordance with the Academic Regulations you are entitled to request a review of the decision made on your academic appeal based on one or more of the following grounds:
- the appellant is in possession of additional evidence to support their claim which was not available at the time of the original appeal submission
- the appellant has reason to believe that the Head of Registry Services was prejudiced or unreasonably biased in assessing the merits of the original Academic Appeal submission.
You must submit this request in writing to the Provost within five working days of receiving the outcome of your appeal.
The Provost will normally respond to your request for a review within 10 working days. If there is a delay you will be advised of the expected timescale within the 10 working days.
You will be issued with a Completions of Procedures letter stating the decision made on your second appeal with a rationale explaining how your case has been concluded. Once you have received a Completion of Procedure letter you will be able to request an external independent review of the case via the OIA .