Sifting and Review Stage

Before sending an appeal to a School for response, appeals will be considered by two members of University staff (the Sifting Panel) to determine whether the student has presented sufficient evidence and/or a sufficiently compelling case.  Appeals which are deemed not to be supported by sufficient evidence and/or a sufficiently compelling case will be rejected.  Any appeals that are rejected will be reviewed by two further members of University staff (the Review Panel).  Staff appointed to Sifting and Review Panels will have had no previous knowledge of, or involvement in, the student's case.

Those appeals which are rejected at sifting and review stage will not be sent to Schools for a response. However, the Appeals, Conduct and Complaints Team will notify the School of those students whose appeals were rejected.

A decision to reject an appeal through the Sifting and Review Process is final and these students will have no further right of appeal within the University. If a student considers that there has been maladministration in the processing of their appeal, they may submit a complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO).

School Response

Those appeals that are not rejected at sifting and review stage will be sent to the relevant Schools for a response to be provided on the Queen's Portal.

All School responses must be returned to the Appeals, Conduct and Complaints Team by the deadline specified by email. 

School responses should be factual and should clearly outline the Board of Examiners decision, provide a response to the grounds for appeal and address any other issues raised by the student. Evidence to support the School response is helpful in ensuring that the FSAC have all the necessary information with which to make a fair decision on each case and should be uploaded to Queen's Portal for consideration alongside the School Response.

The student's appeal documentation, School response and all supporting evidence, is then sent to the FSAC for consideration.

Students will be able to access a copy of the School response and any accompanying documents via Queen's Portal.  Therefore, in line with GDPR requirements, it is imperative that the School should redact any information which should not be disclosed to the student (e.g. the names of other students in the minutes of meetings of Boards of Examiners or emails).  Any such detail included within the School response is likely to constitute a data breach. 

In terms of responding to the student's ground(s) for appeal, please address the following: 

Documentation required

1. A copy of the letter notifying the student of the decision of the Board of Examiners.
2. Copies of the records from any Student Outcome Meetings attended by the student.
3. A copy of any relevant applications for exceptional circumstances.
4. A redacted copy of the minutes of the Board of Examiners decision if the student’s case was specifically discussed at the Board meeting.
5. Copies of correspondence to the student advising of support available to the student within the University, if relevant.
6. A copy of the Student Handbook.
7. A copy of the module/programme specification or School Handbook if it will assist the FSAC in understanding the context of the decision of the Board of Examiners.
8. Copies of emails or other information sent to students regarding the School’s ‘fit to sit’ policy, and the Exceptional Circumstances Procedure.
9. Copies of attendance records, if relevant.
10. Copies of emails/other correspondence relevant to the issues raised within the appeal. 
11. Any other relevant information.

School responses must be uploaded to the student's appeal on Queen's Portal.

In accordance with the Academic Appeals Regulations (Taught Programmes) all information submitted by the School will be shared with the members of the FSAC (and, if the student appeals the FSAC decision, members of the CSAC), the student and their representative.  It is therefore imperative that the School ensures that all other students’ names and personal information are redacted and that the information complies with the University guidance on data protection.

It should also be noted that information relating to a student could be requested at a later date as part of a Subject Access Request under Data Protection legislation, or in response to a complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO). Schools are therefore advised to provide all relevant information to the FSAC as part of their response to the appeal.

The FSAC will normally meet in January, March, July and September each year (following the main diets of examinations).  Ad hoc meetings may also be scheduled, subject to availability, if waiting for the next scheduled meeting would be detrimental to the student.

The FSAC will consider the student’s appeal and the School’s response on the documentation alone, so the School’s response must include all relevant information required by the FSAC to make its decision. 

Whilst the Appeals, Conduct and Complaints Team will advise on the procedure and attend the FSAC as a secretary, it is the Faculty's responsibility for convening the FSAC and ensuring that the Committee is quorate. The FSAC comprises the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC) (or nominee, who is a senior academic) and two colleagues, at least one of whom is an academic member of staff. 

The student will receive a copy of the School’s response and a copy of the Record of the Outcome setting out the FSAC’s decision.  

The FSAC may:

1. Dismiss the appeal, with reasons, and confirm the original decision against which the appeal was made.
2. Refer the matter back to the Chair of the Board of Examiners, with or without a recommendation*.
3. Uphold the appeal in part or in full.

*Where matters are referred back to the Chair of the Board of Examiners for consideration, a full meeting of the Board is not required.  However, the Chair should normally consult with at least two members of the Board e.g. the External Examiner and the Director of Education, when reconsidering appeals.  A record of decisions made through this process must be kept as an addendum to the minutes of the original Board of Examiners meeting. The student should be formally notified of the decision of the Board of Examiners and advised of their right of appeal to the FSAC if they remain dissatisfied with the outcome. 

In exceptional circumstances, the FSAC may refer the case to the CSAC for consideration with the student present.  There is no appeal against a referral to the CSAC.

A student who is dissatisfied with the decision of the FSAC may appeal, on grounds, to the CSAC within 5 working days of being sent the outcome of the appeal to FSAC. As with the FSAC process, if it is not clear that the student has presented sufficient evidence and / or a sufficiently compelling case, the appeal will be considered in accordance with the Sifting/Review process.

The CSAC will normally meet in February, April, August and October each year.  However, ad hoc meetings may also be scheduled, subject to availability, if waiting for the next scheduled meeting would be detrimental to the student.

The student will be invited to present their appeal at a meeting of the CSAC. Where possible, this meeting will take place in person.

The CSAC may request the Chair of the FSAC (or nominee) and/or a School Representative to attend the meeting, or to provide a written response to the student’s appeal.  If the Chair of the FSAC (or nominee) or the School representative is unable to attend, the CSAC may proceed in their absence.

The Appeals, Conduct and Complaints team will inform the student and staff member of the date and time of the appeal hearing, normally at least five working days in advance of the CSAC hearing, and will attempt to schedule appeals from each School together. However, due to a number of factors the team may not have the flexibility to move the times of appeal hearings.  Many factors must be taken into account when scheduling appeals, such as the composition of Committees and the availability of members. The co-operation and patience of all staff is hugely appreciated. 

Where the time between the first and second attempts at an examination/assessment is tight and a student’s progress may be impacted, it may be necessary to convene a CSAC at short notice (for example, between semester two examinations and the August resits).  The Appeals, Conduct and Complaints team will give as much notice of this as possible.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the process please contact a member of staff from the Appeals, Conduct and Complaints Team: appeals@qub.ac.uk 

• Exceptional Circumstances Procedure
• Assessment Support Hub
• Academic Appeal Regulations (Taught Programmes)
• Academic Appeals for Taught Programmes - Student Guide
• Procedure on Support to Participate Fully in Studies and/or University Life (on the Grounds of Health and/or Safety)
• SU Advice
• Student Wellbeing