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If you want to appeal against an academic decision that has been finalised then you need to submit and Academic Appeals Form. This is separate from the complaints procedure, but sometimes an appeal can contain elements of a complaint.

The appeals procedure can’t change your final degree classification, but it could give you another chance to complete your studies, e.g. by doing another exam or getting an extension.   

If you want to appeal you must submit it within 20 working days of the decision you’re appealing. The full procedure can be found here.

What you can appeal

An appeal would normally be based on one of the following grounds:

• That the exam was conducted wrong, for example if you were given the wrong materials or the exam paper had errors. 
• There’s evidence of prejudice or bias from the examiners or assessors. 
• There’s evidence of inadequate assessment by your examiner.
• That circumstances affected your performance in the exam but your examiner wasn’t aware of this or took appropriate action. This could relate to illness or other personal problems.
• That your supervision during your studies was not good enough, for example being absent for a long period of time or not giving you proper feedback on your work. But if you have problems with your supervisor during your studies, you’re expected to tell your School at the time.
• That the decision not to let you take temporary leave from your course or get an extension was unfair. 

What you can’t appeal 

You cannot appeal against the academic judgement of the examiners, so things like ‘they didn’t understand my work’ or ‘they were too harsh’ won’t usually be accepted as reasonable grounds to appeal. 

If you need any help with your appeal, just contact LUU Advice.