Verification and Appeals Procedure

Verification

1. A candidate is entitled to ask for verification of one or more of the following in respect of an initial degree or a taught postgraduate qualification:

1.1 that the assessment published by the University is free of arithmetical or other errors of fact;

1.2 that the examiners were aware of exceptional personal circumstances reported by the student prior to the meeting of the Examining Board(s) concerned and which might in the student’s opinion have had an adverse effect on his/her academic performance;

1.3 that the examiners were aware of defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations or in written instructions or in advice relating thereto, when such defects or irregularities or advice might, in the student’s opinion, have had an adverse effect on his/her performance.

In addition, a candidate for a Master’s degree by Examination and Dissertation may, in accordance with the grounds detailed under 1.1 to 1.3 above, seek verification of the decision of the Examining Board not to award the mark of Distinction in respect of either of the parts of the scheme of study (i.e. examination or dissertation or the award of merit overall).

2. A candidate who wishes to have such verification shall make written application to the Pro Vice-Chancellor, normally within fourteen days of the date of the meeting of the relevant Examining Board.  The form can be downloaded here:
Application for verification

Applications for verification submitted outside this timescale with good reason may be accepted at the discretion of the Pro Vice-Chancellor. Requests for verification must include details of any alleged defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations or in any written instructions or in any advice relating thereto, or of any exceptional personal circumstances.

3. Upon receipt of such written application, the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee, shall ask the Chair of the Examining Board, to take the necessary steps to verify the facts to which the application refers.  The Chair shall ensure that the facts are verified within three weeks of the date of the application.  At the same time, the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee shall acknowledge receipt of the application, informing the candidate of the action being taken.

4. The Chair of the Examining Board shall, when he/she has completed his/her enquiry, take the following action:

4.1 If the verification procedure indicates that:

• there has been an arithmetical or other factual error;

• exceptional personal circumstances reported by the student prior to the meeting of the Examining Board(s) concerned were not, in fact, considered at the meeting(s);

• a candidate, in the course of requesting verification, has provided additional evidence of exceptional personal circumstances which were previously notified prior to the meeting of the Examining Board;

the Chair of the Examining Board shall arrange for the Examining Board to re-consider the candidate’s examination performance. He/she shall then inform the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee in writing of the full circumstances of the case.  The Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee shall then inform the candidate of the action being taken.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, or his/her nominee, in consultation with the Chair of the Examining Board, shall subsequently arrange for the publication of such supplementary pass-list as may be necessary.

4.2 If the verification procedure indicates that:

• there has been no error;

• any exceptional personal circumstances reported by the candidate have already been considered;

• there are no defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations or in written instructions or advice relating thereto;

the Chair of the Examining Board shall inform the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee in writing of this conclusion.  The Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee shall in turn inform the candidate of this conclusion, of the candidate’s right of appeal, that an appeal may only be made on the grounds stipulated in paragraph 6 below and that such an appeal must reach the Pro Vice-Chancellor within the deadline stipulated in paragraph 5 below; a copy of the Procedure and of the Application Form for Appeal shall be enclosed with that letter.

4.3  If it transpires that:

• there were exceptional personal circumstances which could have affected the candidate’s performance adversely, of which the Examining Board was unaware because the candidate did not report them at the appropriate time;

• the candidate has provided evidence of defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations or in written instructions or advice relating thereto of which the Examining Board had been unaware;

the action stipulated in paragraph 4.2 above shall apply.

Appeal

5. Candidates in University examinations are only entitled to appeal against a decision reached following the above process of verification.  Any appeal shall be sent, in full, in writing to the Pro Vice-Chancellor and must reach him/her not later than ten days after the despatch to the candidate of the verification of his/her result.  Simple notice of appeal given in writing by a candidate within the above deadline shall not be deemed to constitute an appeal proper and shall not be accepted.  The Chair shall, at an Appeal Board meeting, have discretion to declare inadmissible any matter introduced by the appellant, or by any member of staff or student accompanying the appellant, if he/she deems it not directly related to the contents of the appeal previously lodged in writing within the stipulated deadline.

6. The University is only prepared to consider appeals which are based on one or both of the following grounds:

6.1 defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations or in written instructions or in advice relating thereto, where there is a prima facie case that such defects, irregularities or advice could have had an adverse effect on the candidate’s performance;

6.2 exceptional personal circumstances where there is a prima facie case that such circumstances could have had an adverse effect on the candidate’s performance.  (In appeals based on these grounds, the appellant must show good reason why such personal circumstances were not made known to the Examining Board before its meeting.  Where a candidate could have reported exceptional circumstances to the Examining Board prior to its meeting, those circumstances cannot subsequently be cited as grounds for appeal.)

7. Appeals which question the academic judgement of examiners shall not be admissible.

8. On receipt of an appeal the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee shall acknowledge receipt normally within three working days and, where appropriate to the circumstances of the case, consult the Head of the appellant’s Department or the Chair of the relevant Examining Board. The appellant shall be provided with a written progress report within 25 working days.

9. The Vice-Chancellor, or his/her nominee is required to disallow any appeal normally within three months of its receipt:

9.1 which is based on factors which were known to the Examining Board concerned when the candidate’s result was determined;

9.2 which introduces information which was known to, and could have been reported by, the candidate prior to the meeting of the Examining Board.

10. If it is decided by the  Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee that there is a prima facie case to be considered, it shall be referred to an Appeal Board consisting of three persons drawn from a Standing Panel as follows:

 3 lay members appointed by Council
 4 representatives of each Faculty

 The Appeal Board shall be chaired by a lay member and its academic members will be drawn from Faculties and/or departments unconnected with the appeal under consideration.

11. With the prior written agreement of the appellant and the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee, a case may be expedited by referral for executive action by the Chair of the Appeal Board. The only decisions available to the Chair shall be:

11.1 to refer the case back to the relevant Examining Board for further consideration;

 11.2 to refer the case to a full Appeal Board for decision.

 An appeal shall not be rejected by Chair’s executive action. 

12. An appellant shall be offered a personal hearing by the Appeal Board and shall accordingly be informed in advance of the time and date of the meeting.  The appellant may be accompanied by a person of his/her choice, for example, a fellow student (enrolled student) a Sabbatical Officer of the Students’ Guild or a member of the Academic Staff.  If that person is acting as a legal representative, then the University must be informed at least three working days before the date of the Committee. The appellant may not send another person to an Appeal Board in his/her stead.

13. The Department(s) concerned shall be invited to send a member of staff to attend the hearing and, at the invitation of the Chair of the Appeal Board, to contribute to the hearing. 

14. The Appeal Board shall base its decision on the evidence of the appellant’s submission and the testimony of the Chair of the Examining Board concerned, together with any further evidence which it considers relevant.

15. The decision of the Appeal Board shall be notified by the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee as soon as possible to the appellant and to the Chair of the Examining Board.

16. The Appeal Board shall be empowered to take either of the following decisions:

16.1 that the appeal be rejected and no further action be taken;

16.2 that the matter be referred back to the relevant Examining Board.

In exceptional cases only, the Appeal Board may specify the composition of the Examining Board.

Where the case is referred back to the Examining Board, the Appeal Board may, where appropriate to the circumstances of the case, require an officer of the Registry to attend the meeting of the Examining Board as an observer.

17. In the case of 16.1 above, the decision of the Appeal Board shall be final and the matter shall, therefore, be regarded as closed.  There shall be no discussion of the decision of the Appeal Board with the appellant or any other person.

18. In the case of 11.1 and 16.2 above, a full report, including recommendations or advice where appropriate to the circumstances of the case - including all supporting documentation - shall be sent by the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee to the Chair of the Examining Board and shall be considered by the Examining Board. The decision of the Examining Board, together with a copy of a relevant extract from its minutes, shall be sent by the Chair of the Examining Board to the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee within six working weeks of the date of the appeal hearing.   On receipt of this material, the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee may, in exceptional cases only, refer the case to the Chair of the Appeal Board for review of the procedures followed.  If it transpires that a serious procedural irregularity has occurred, the case may be referred back to the relevant Examining Board for reconsideration.

19. An Examining Board’s decision on whether or not to adjust marks or grades previously awarded may or may not alter the appellant’s overall examination result.  If the overall result is altered, the Chair of the Examining Board shall arrange for the Pro Vice-Chancellor to publish any supplementary pass-list which may be necessary.  The Pro Vice-Chancellor, or his/her nominee, shall inform the appellant in writing of the decision of the Examining Board, and of the reasons for the decision.

20. If, following a successful appeal, the Examining Board decides that a candidate has qualified for a degree, such a candidate shall be admitted to that degree at the next succeeding Degree Congregation.  Alternatively, the Vice-Chancellor shall have authority to deem such a candidate to have been admitted to the degree provided all other necessary conditions for his/her admission have been met.

21. The Vice-Chancellor shall also have authority to deem a candidate who has already been admitted to a degree to have been admitted to a different class of degree if, following a successful appeal, an Examining Board decides that the candidate’s degree classification shall be amended.  In such cases, the Pro Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee shall arrange for a replacement certificate upon the return by the candidate of the original certificate.

22. Where applicable, appropriate arrangements will be made in respect of candidates who, following a successful appeal, are deemed by an Examining Board to have qualified for the award of a certificate or diploma.

23. The Appeal Board may make recommendations for consideration by the Academic Affairs Committee or Senate as appropriate on any matter arising from the consideration of appeals.

24. Under the Higher Education Act 2004 the University subscribes to the independent scheme for the review of student complaints.  Once all internal procedures have been exhausted a candidate may submit a complaint to the OIA (Office of the Independent Adjudicator), providing the complaint is eligible under its rules.

Should a candidate decide to make a complaint to the OIA, his/her OIA Complaint Form must be received by the OIA within three months of the date of the Completion of Procedures letter.

The OIA’s leaflet, An Introduction to the OIA for Students can be downloaded from http://www.oiahe.org.uk/media/34396/oia_intro_leaflet.pdf
and a link to the OIA Complaint Form is available on page 8.  Alternatively, the OIA can be contacted as follows:

Telephone -0118 959 9813
E-mail – enquiries@oiahe.org.uk
Post – OIAHE, Third Floor, King’s Reach, 38-50 Kings Road, Reading, RG1 3AA.

Guidance on submitting a complaint to the OIA and the OIA Complaint Form can also be found on the OIA’s website
http://www.oiahe.org.uk/making-a-complaint-to-the-oia.aspx
You may also wish to seek advice from the Students’ Union about taking your complaint to the OIA.

The OIA will normally only review issues that have been dealt with through the University’s internal procedures.

 

2012
NRR/mes