Making an appeal

It is important that you read and understand the relevant policy document, as well as the Student Guidance for making an appeal.

You can ask for advice from SUBU Advice or AskBU Students’ Service if you need to. You will then need to complete the Appeal Form (available in the ‘Appeals’ section of the Important Information page) and submit this to your Faculty Education Service Manager within ten working days of receiving your results - see contact details below.

An academic appeal can only be considered on one or more the following grounds:

1. There has been a material irregularity or significant administrative error in the assessment process
2. The assessment was not conducted in accordance with the regulations for the programme
3. A student’s performance in assessment has been affected by illness or other factors which, for valid reason(s), they were unable to divulge before the meeting of the Assessment Board (see Exceptional Circumstances policy and procedure)
4. There has been bias or the perception of bias in the assessment process / consideration of the appeal.

You will also need to provide evidence to support your claim.

Please be aware that an appeal based on the fact that you disagree with the grade or marks that you have been given will not be considered within the grounds listed above. This would be questioning the academic judgement of the markers and/ or assessment board.

You are also reminded that, without a valid reason (and evidence to support that reason), if you did not submit Exceptional Circumstances for an extension/ postponement or Board Consideration ahead of the Assessment Board an appeal on this ground will not be upheld.

The following are the contact details for each Faculty Education Support Manager (ESM) in order to submit your appeal or for any queries:

• BU Business School (BUBS) - Emma Jackson [email protected]
• Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) - Kathryn Cheshir [email protected]
• Faculty of Media & Communication (FMC) - Sharen Everitt [email protected]
• Faculty of Science & Technology (FST) - Paula Alliston [email protected]

Your formal appeal will be considered by the Faculty Education Services Manager (or their nominee) and you will receive a response in writing, usually within 20 working days. This is called the ‘Formal Stage’. The possible outcomes are listed in the relevant policy (available in the ‘Appeals’ section of the Important Information page).

When you have received a response from the Formal Stage you may decide to request that your case is considered at the Review Stage. You will need to complete the additional sections of the form and submit this to [email protected] within ten working days of receiving the response from the Formal Stage. Appeals received after the deadline will normally be rejected.

You will usually receive a response from the Review Stage within 20 working days. Please refer to the relevant policy (available in the ‘Appeals’ section of the Important Information page) for information in relation to this.