Why you might appeal?

If you are unhappy with a result/grade which has been confirmed through the University, then you might be able to appeal based on the following things:
• Your performance suffered because you were ill or other reasons which you could not have informed the university about at the time of the assessment (You will need to clearly state why you could not inform the University at the time).
• That the assessment was not carried out in line with regulations
• The University made an error during the administrative process and a mistake was made
• That the assessor(s) or the Assessment Board did not consider all the previously reported circumstances which may have significantly affected your performance – this may have been reported to them via an Extenuating Circumstances Form (ECF).

YOU CANNOT APPEAL ACADEMIC JUDGEMENT!

The Process of Appealing - Informally

1. The Source would recommend that you discuss your results informally with your Programme Leader first and if you are a Joint Honours student, then we recommend you talk to your Academic Counsellor.
2. If you still feel you have enough evidence to support you appeal, then you should come to the Students’ Union and book an appointment with a Student Advisor (Please see The Source Advice Service page for how to book an appointment).

The Process of Appealling – Formally

Appeals must be submitted within 21 days of the publication of results for University of Derby awards and within 14 days for external awards.
1. Once you have booked an appointment to see a Student Advisor in The Source Independent Advice Service they will take you through the process of completing the form which can be accessed at http://www.derby.ac.uk/files/appeal_form2.doc . The Advisor will support you in collating evidence and completing the form, but will not complete the form for you.
2. The Formal Appeals Form asks you questions regarding:
a. Why you are appealing
b. Evidence to support your appeal
c. Details of your appeal
d. What outcome you would like to see as a result of your appeal

2. The form, once completed, is checked by the Student Advisor and then sent to the Assessment & Awards Manager in Derby. The whole process can take up to 4 months for the investigation to take place.

3. Keep in touch with your Student Advisor throughout the process.

Once the investigation has taken place, the University Registrar will contact you with their outcome. If you are not happy with this outcome, then you can reject it in writing within 14 days, requesting that the investigation is referred to an Appeals Panel.

Appeals Panel

You will receive at least 14 days notification of a Panel.
You should, once again, go and see a Student Advisor in your Students’ Union to discuss any further evidence which you may have to support your appeal.

You are allowed to bring any witnesses to support your appeal, but you must let the Registrar know at least 7 days before the Panel takes place.
You should prepare yourself and any witnesses for questions which the Panel may ask you or them.
The Panel will decide to either:
a) Uphold the decision of the Assessment Board or
b) Require the Assessment Board to withdraw its original decision
The decision of the Panel is final.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

If you still feel that the decision of the University is unfair, then your Student Advisor can support you in making your appeal to the OIA. Scheme Application Forms can be found at http://www.oiahe.org.uk