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Common Awards (Theology, Ministry and Mission)
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Academic Appeals 

What is an academic appeal? 

An academic appeal is a request from a Common Awards student for the formal review of an academic decision affecting that student. You can appeal the following: 

  • a confirmed decision of your institution’s Board of Examiners or of the Overarching Durham University Common Awards Board of Examiners 
  • a decision made by your institution that affects you academically, for example, a decision that you may not progress to the next level of study within your academic programme. 

The academic appeal process looks at two factors: 

  1. Was the decision made in accordance with correct procedures within your institution and/or within the University? 
  2. Was all the necessary relevant information available to those making the decision? 

In order to submit an academic appeal you will need to provide evidence of at least one of the following points: 

  • That there might have been a serious error in the way in which the original decision was made. For example, evidence that a procedure was not properly followed or applied, or that the decision-making body acted unreasonably in the circumstances;
  • That there exists or existed, adverse circumstances affecting your academic performance and those making the decision were not aware of these adverse circumstances at the time the decision was made. There must be a good reason why these circumstances were not made known at the time (for example, because of a medical diagnosis that was received after marks had already been approved by your institution’s exam board, or because of an error meaning that information should have been presented to the board and was accidentally omitted);
  • That the decision-making body took a decision which was not reasonable in all the circumstances.

What cannot be the focus of an academic appeal? 

You cannot appeal matters of academic judgement. Durham University defines ‘academic judgement’ as the professional and scholarly knowledge and expertise that members of staff at your institution and at the University, as well as external examiners, draw upon in reaching an academic decision. 

Matters of academic judgement include (but are not limited to) decisions about the severity of impact of mitigating circumstances on academic performance, decisions about the academic standard attained by students, marks and grades to be awarded for individual pieces of work or modules, and degrees and degree classifications to be awarded, or not.

The academic appeals process 

In the first instance, you should attempt to resolve matters informally with your institution. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the informal process, you can submit a formal appeal. 

Formal academic appeals are not investigated by your institution. They are submitted directly to the University. 

The Common Awards Team will provide you with the form you need to complete to submit an academic appeal.  

You should inform your institution that you are submitting a formal appeal. 

Appeals must normally be submitted within 21 days of the date on which the decision being appealed was made. Appeals outside this time frame will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. 

There are two stages to the formal appeals process: 

Stage 1: 

A student submits a formal appeal after informal options have been exhausted. 

You need to state the grounds for the appeal and give detailed reasons and any evidence available that could support your case. 

The appeal will be considered by the Chair of the Common Awards Management Board or the Deputy Chair or another member of University staff designated by the Chair. 

The member of University staff considering the appeal will contact those who were involved in making the decision that is being appealed, for example, the Chair of your institution’s Board of Examiners, or the Chair of any relevant academic committees. Other staff at your institution may be contacted if further information about the decision-making process is required. 

Within 42 days of the appeal being made (normally considerably sooner than this), the member of University staff considering the appeal will produce a brief report setting out whether, having looked at all the information, the appeal is to be upheld or not and the reasons for this decision. 

You will then be notified of the outcome of the formal appeal. Your institution will also be notified. 

Stage 2: 

If you are dissatisfied after the completion of Stage 1, you can request that your appeal be referred to the University’s Senate Academic Appeals Committee (SAAC). 

You must request this within 14 days of receiving notification of the outcome of Stage 1 of the formal appeals process. The Common Awards Team at the University will supply you with the form you need to complete to do this. 

Your request for your appeal to be referred to SAAC must be based on at least one of the following grounds: 

  • that you have evidence that parts of the relevant documented procedure were not applied correctly during Stage 1 of the appeals process and that this procedural defect was significant enough to have materially affected the decision made at Stage 1. 

Or 

  • that there is substantial and relevant new information that was previously unknown to you, or which for a valid reason you were unable to disclose during Stage 1 of the appeals process and that the information is significant enough to have materially affected decision made at Stage 1. 

The SAAC will consider an appeal referred to them and communicate with you about the progress of your appeal within 28 days. You can find out more about this process in Durham University’s detailed guidance on academic appeals. 

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of Stage 2, once this stage is complete you may refer your case to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA). The OIA is an independent body set up to review student complaints about higher education providers in England and Wales. 

What are the possible outcomes? 

If an academic appeal is upheld it will normally be sent back for reconsideration by the body that made the original decision (for example, your institution’s Board of Examiners could be asked to look at their decision again in light of the findings of the appeal process). This does not necessarily mean that the original decision will be reversed or altered. Normally marks for work will only be changed if there was an error in recording or processing them. 

Either at the informal stage or at Stage 1, you may be advised that, rather than pursuing an appeal, the matter can be dealt with through another process, such as applying for a concession or submitting a request for Serious Adverse Circumstances to be considered at your institution’s next Board of Examiners. This will depend upon your individual circumstances. 

Appeal Forms

Further Information