Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure
2023 - 2026

Introduction

  • All learners have the right to appeal against an assessment decision. In the event of a learner being dissatisfied with an assessment outcome or grade for internally assessed work, the regulations and the procedures below apply.

  • The College is committed to informing and providing all learners with a fair and transparent assessment process. Learners will be informed of both the academic appeals and assessment process at the outset of their programme of study and an assessment plan will be shared with the learner at the commencement of and throughout the course when appropriate.

    The purpose of this policy is to communicate the processes and procedures that underpin the appeals process.

    1. This policy has been developed at College Management level and approved by the Executive and Governors.

    2. It has been subject to an Equality Impact Assessment.

    3. It has been subject to a Welsh Language Impact Assessment.

    1. At all stages of the appeal, procedures must be clearly documented showing realistic timescales and outcomes.

    2. A learner who has received an assessment outcome for work and wishes to challenge that assessment outcome can do so if he/she believes that:

      • It has not been marked according to the pre-agreed criteria;

      • There has been some discrimination in arriving at the assessment outcome on personal grounds;

      • Work has not been set, marked and returned within the agreed timescale for the course;

      • The conduct of the assessment has not been fair;

      • The adequacy of the opportunities offered in order to demonstrate competency or achievement have been limited to the extent that an unfair outcome was arrived at.

    3. The first step should be a discussion between the learner and lecturer/tutor concerned, which should take place within 5 working days of the assessment decision being returned. The purpose of this discussion will be to achieve an early resolution to the issue/s raised by the learner if possible.

    4. If the issue has not been resolved with the assessor, the learner should discuss the issue with the named Internal Quality Assurer within a further period of 5 working days.

    5. If the learner remains dissatisfied with the outcome of this discussion then he/she should discuss the matter further with a member of the Faculty Management Team as soon as is practicably possible but within a 10-working day period of the meeting with the tutor/lecturer.

    6. If there is still no satisfactory or acceptable resolution to the issue(s) raised then the member of the Faculty Management Team concerned should inform the learner of the procedure for applying in writing to the Director of Learner Experience outlining his/her complaint. The Director of Learner Experience will arrange to meet with the learner and the member of the Faculty Management Team concerned within a mutually agreed timescale but not in excess of 10 working days of the written request. The learner may bring with them a friend, a parent or guardian, employer or representative of the Students’ Union to that meeting.

    7. If the issue(s) remains unresolved after the stages above, and the learner wishes to pursue an appeal further, then they shall inform the Vice Principal for Curriculum and Quality within 5 working days of their meeting. The Vice Principal for Curriculum and Quality will notify the Principal who will within 10 working days set up a meeting of the Appeals Panel.

  • PROCEDURES OF THE APPEALS PANEL

    5.1.1 Following the procedures outlined in section 4 of this policy, the Principal will convene a meeting of the Appeals Panel and circulate to the members’ details of the piece of assessed work under dispute. The learner will be notified not less than 5 working days in advance of the date, time and location of the meeting and must indicate to the Principal’s office his/her intention to attend.

    5.1.2 The composition of the panel will be as follows:

    • The Principal or another Senior Manager not previously involved (Chair);
    • A member of the Faculty Management Team not previously involved in the process;
    • A student representative; and
    • An Internal Quality Assurer, if appropriate.

    5.1.3 Panel procedures:

    • The panel shall first hear from the learner or his/her representative as to the nature of the appeal.
    • The panel may then hear from any other person it deems appropriate.
    • Only the chair may call any additional relevant contributors.
    • The decision of the Chair on any matter of procedure will be final.
    • The Chair may adjourn the meeting to enable steps to be taken towards clarifying a disputed point of fact material to the appeal or the original issue(s) raised and form part of the appeal.
    • The Chair may decide to elicit the views of the external verifier/quality assurer, assessor or moderator, if these have been previously involved in earlier stages of the process.
    • A decision will be reached by the panel with no other person/s present.

    5.1.4 In reaching a decision the panel shall attempt to act in the best interests of the learner concerned as well as ensuring that the academic standards of the College’s programmes of study are maintained. Decisions of the panel shall be communicated to the learner, the tutor, the Faculty Manager, and the Director of Learner Experience in writing within 24 hours of the meeting.

    5.2 APPEALS TO AWARDING ORGANISATIONS

    All students also have the right to appeal to Awarding Organisations.

    If a head of centre or private candidate is dissatisfied with examination results and has reasons to suspect they may not be accurate, the first step to take is to make an enquiry about results.

    Candidates should get in touch with their tutors, a curriculum manager and the examinations officer with responsibility for administrating the qualification examination or assessment, immediately.

    Failure to respond immediately may result in the appeal being lost due to time constraints provided by the Awarding Body.

    Full details of enquiries about post results services are given in the JCQ publication Post-Results Services - Information and guidance to centres - https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/post-results-services or available on the awarding body websites.