If you are dissatisfied with a decision of the Board of Examiners in your School, you may appeal on grounds to the Faculty Student Appeals Committee (FSAC).
Below are answers to your Frequently Asked Questions. Students are also referred to the Academic Appeal Regulations (Taught Programmes) and General Provisions Relating to Academic Appeals, Conduct, Academic Offences and Student Complaints.
-
Who can help with my FSAC appeal?
Prior to submitting your appeal, you are advised to speak to:
- Your Advisor of Studies; and/or
- Your Personal Tutor; and/or
- SU Advice
Wellbeing support is also available from the Student Wellbeing Service
- When can I appeal?
You can only appeal once your confirmed results have been published, paying particular attention to the deadline for appeals.
- Is there a deadline to submit a FSAC appeal?
The FSAC deadline can be found here
Your fully completed FSAC Appeal Form, along with all supporting evidence, must be sent to Academic Affairs (appeals@qub.ac.uk) within ten working days of the date of the University deadline for publication of results.
In some Schools, the assessment period may differ from the University assessment period, in which case the deadlines for submission of exceptional circumstances or appeals to FSAC will also differ from the University's published deadline. In these instances, the School deadline will apply. It is your responsibility to ascertain the correct deadline applied by your School.
- What if I miss the appeal deadline?
If you miss the appeal deadline, the Committee will not normally consider your appeal.
A late appeal may only be considered if you can demonstrate that you were unable to submit an appeal before the deadline due to circumstances beyond your control (e.g. hospitalisation).
You cannot submit a late appeal after you have graduated.
What is normally considered circumstances beyond my control?
Examples of reasons that would normally be accepted as sufficient cause for a late appeal include:
- Hospitalisation for an unexpected illness or accident at the time of the appeal deadline. Medical evidence is required to support this reason for a late appeal and must detail the dates of admission to and discharge from hospital.
- Severe mental health illness, which meant that, at the time of the appeal deadline, you were unfit to engage with the appeal process. Medical evidence is required to support this reason for a late appeal. This medical evidence must provide a clear medical diagnosis or opinion and must indicate how this impacted on your ability to engage with the appeal process at the time of the appeal deadline. If the condition was ongoing for some time (eg depression/anxiety), the medical evidence must set out when you first sought medical assistance and explain why you were unable to engage with the appeal process at the time of the appeal deadline, particularly if you continued to engage with your programme of study.
- Serious illness or bereavement of a family member, partner or close friend, which meant that you were unfit to engage with the appeal process at the time of the appeal deadline. Medical evidence is required to support this reason for a late appeal. This medical evidence must provide a clear medical opinion on how this impacted on your ability to engage with the process at the time of the appeal deadline.
- Being a victim of crime. A crime reference number would normally be required as evidence of this.
What is not considered circumstances beyond my control?
Examples of reasons that would not normally be accepted as sufficient cause for a late appeal include:
- Forgetting/not being aware of the deadline
- Ongoing physical or mental health issues
- Holidays/being in a different time zone
- Work commitments
- Submitting your appeal to the wrong place
- Not obtaining evidence on time
What should I do if I think I have sufficient cause and wish to submit a late appeal?
If you wish to submit a late appeal, you must also submit a written statement detailing the reasons for your late appeal together with your completed FSAC Appeal Form and supporting evidence.
Your written statement should be supported by evidence such as a GP letter, hospital admission report or psychiatric report. Any medical evidence must provide a medical opinion (e.g. diagnosis) and not simply record what you have reported to your health care professional. Any medical evidence must also provide a medical opinion on how your illness impacted on your ability to engage with the appeal process and to submit your appeal on time.
It is strongly recommended that you seek advice on preparing your appeal from SU Advice.
Late appeals, if accepted, will normally be considered during the next round of appeal hearings, i.e., if your appeal relates to the Semester 1 Assessment Period, it will normally be heard alongside appeals submitted in relation to the Semester 2 Assessment Period. FSAC deadlines can be found here.
Further information about the late appeals process can be found in section 1.7 of the Academic Appeals Regulations (Taught)
- I am graduating, can I still appeal?
Yes, submitting an appeal will not prohibit you from graduating; however, you must submit your appeal within ten working days of the formal publication of your final results.
If a change to your results is required following your appeal, your transcript will be amended.
If your degree classification changes after graduation, you will be issued with an amended parchment on return of your original parchment.
You are not able to submit an appeal after you have graduated from Queen’s University Belfast
-
What you should do before making an appeal?
Prior to submitting your appeal, it is advised that you:
- Read the Academic Appeals Regulations (Taught), supporting General Provisions and this Guide.
- Identify your grounds for appeal.
- Attend your Student Support Meeting (if relevant).
- Speak to SU Advice
- Obtain relevant evidence in support of your appeal.
- What are grounds for appeal?
The three grounds on which you can appeal are:
- New evidence has become available which could not have been provided to the Board of Examiners (BoE) meeting (evidence that you chose to withhold from the Board of Examiners will not normally constitute new evidence at an appeal).
- There has been a procedural irregularity which has had a demonstrable impact on your academic outcome.
- For Postgraduate Taught Students Only: that there was inadequate supervision of the thesis/dissertation element of the Postgraduate programme. An appeal will not be considered on this ground, unless there is good reason to show why such issues were not raised by the student promptly at the time they first arose.
- What isn’t grounds for appeal?
The following are not grounds for appeal:
- Not being aware of the University regulations
- Not knowing the University procedures (e.g. Exceptional Circumstances procedure).
- Being unhappy with your module mark or thinking that you can do better.
- Wanting to re-sit examinations or re-submit coursework in order to improve grades for modules that have been passed.
- Being awarded a degree classification that does not satisfy your career plans.
- Where can I find the FSAC appeal form?
Please see FSAC Appeal Form
- Advice for completing the FSAC form
It is strongly recommended that you seek advice on preparing your appeal from SU Advice
Do make sure that you complete ALL parts of the appeal form.
You should address the following points on your appeal form:
- State clearly the decision you are appealing against. If possible, you should attach a copy of the letter you have received from your School notifying you of the decision of the Board of Examiners (the decision you are appealing).
- What are your grounds for appeal? Make sure that you tick the appropriate box.
- Give a summary of any issues that you believe may have impacted on your progression or academic outcome and clearly detail how you believe you meet the ground(s) of appeal.
- Did you encounter exceptional circumstances? If so, what are they?
- Did you inform the School of these circumstances? Do you have any emails/correspondence to support this? Did you submit an Exceptional Circumstances application? If not, why did you not do so? You should attach copies of any relevant documents.
- What would you like the FSAC to do? You should check the University Regulations and/or your Student Handbook to make sure that the FSAC has the power to grant what you are asking.
- If you are requesting another attempt to pass an assignment/exam, what will be different next time?
- Is there any additional information you would like the FSAC to know about?
- Ensure that you have provided all supporting evidence (e.g. medical evidence) which you consider supports your appeal. If you fail to submit the relevant evidence in support of your appeal before the appeal deadline, it may be rejected at the review stage because of lack of evidence (see Review Stage below).
FSAC appeals are considered on paperwork alone. Neither you nor the School will be invited to attend an FSAC meeting. It is, therefore, very important that you complete the FSAC Appeal form properly and submit all the necessary documentation to Academic Affairs before the stated deadline.
-
What if I consider my circumstances to be of an extremely personal and/or sensitive nature?
All information and supporting evidence provided by you through the Academic Appeals process will be treated and managed with the appropriate level of confidentiality, with information only being released to those who need to see it (e.g. for the School’s response).
The FSAC Appeal Form includes provision for you to highlight where you feel that your particular circumstances are of an extremely personal and/or sensitive nature. Please select the appropriate tick box on the Appeal Form.
- Supporting Evidence
You should submit all relevant evidence in support of your appeal.
Useful types of evidence might include (but are not limited to):
- Medical reports (including letters from your GP)
- Police reports
- Exam invigilator reports
- Emails, letters and other correspondence
- Witness statements
Meeting notes
If you are appealing on the ground of new evidence, it is important to provide documentation, which evidences both the exceptional circumstance and the impact your exceptional circumstances had on your ability to study or perform academically.
All evidence must be in English. If your evidence is in another language, it is your responsibility to obtain an English translation of this evidence. The translation must be certified as an accurate translation.
Evidence should be relevant to the missed/failed exam or assessment and must relate to the date(s) of the missed/failed exam or assessment.
Any medical evidence should:
- Relate specifically to the dates and duration of your illness.
- Contain a clear medical diagnosis or opinion and indicate how this impacted on your academic performance at the time of the assessment(s) in question.
Academic Affairs may require sight of the originals of any documentation that you submit with your appeal.
Evidence must not be tampered with or forged. The University takes this very seriously and, in line with the University's Regulations, the standard penalty for a first offence of falsification/fabrication of evidence provided to the University is expulsion from the University.
SU Advice can provide additional advice on the types of evidence that could be submitted with your appeal.
- What happens once I have submitted an appeal?
Once you have submitted your appeal, you will receive a notification email (to your University email address) confirming receipt of your appeal and explaining the next stage of the appeals process. Please note that the Appeals and Complaints team will endeavour to send this to you as quickly as possible.
It is important that you check your University email account regularly and read any emails sent to you carefully.
Once submitted, your appeal maybe considered by a Sifting Panel and a Review Panel. You are not required to attend these meetings.
- What does the Sifting and Review Panel do?
The Sifting Panel will consider your appeal (and supporting evidence) and will decide either to accept or reject your appeal. If accepted, your appeal will be sent to your School for a response.
The Sifting Panel will reject your appeal if sufficient evidence and/or a sufficiently compelling case is not presented, e.g.:
- Your appeal form is incomplete and/or does not contain any supporting evidence.
- Your appeal clearly does not meet the grounds of appeal.
- Your desired outcome is not within the powers of the FSAC/CSAC to grant, e.g. the outcome requested is to change marks or to re-sit or re-take modules that have already been passed.
If the Sifting Panel rejects your appeal, the Review Panel will review this decision. The Review Panel will only consider the original appeal documentation and no additional information will be accepted at this stage.
The Review Panel will decide either to confirm or overturn the decision of the Sifting Panel. If accepted, your appeal will be sent to your School for a response.
- My FSAC appeal was rejected by the Sifting and Review Panels, what happens next?
If your appeal has been rejected by the Review Panel, there is no further internal right of appeal and the original decision of the Board of Examiners will remain in place.
If you believe there has been maladministration in the processing of your appeal, you may submit a complaint to the Office of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO). Complaints to the Ombudsman must be made within 6 months of notification of the decision of the Review Panel.
-
My FSAC appeal was accepted by the Sifting and/or Review Panel, what happens next?
If your appeal has been accepted at the Sifting and Review stage, your appeal will be sent to your School for a written response.
Your appeal documentation and the School response will be presented to the FSAC for consideration.
You are not required to attend the FSAC meeting.
- Can I withdraw my appeal?
Yes, you can withdraw your appeal at any stage of the process.
If you wish to withdraw your appeal, please email appeals@qub.ac.uk.
- When is the FSAC meeting?
- What are the possible outcomes of my FSAC appeal?
The FSAC can make the following decisions:
- Dismiss the appeal, with reasons, and confirm the original decision against which the appeal was made.
- Refer the matter back to the Chair of the Board of Examiners, with or without a recommendation.
- Uphold the appeal in part or in full, and may permit the student to re-sit or re-take a failed module(s).
In exceptional cases, the FSAC may also refer the case to the Central Student Appeals Committee (CSAC).
The FSAC cannot make academic judgements, i.e. change marks or degree classifications.
- How and when will I be informed of the FSAC decision?
Normally, the FSAC decision will be sent to you within 8 working days of the decision being reached.
The FSAC decision, along with the School response and Record of the FSAC meeting, will normally be sent to your University email address.
The Committee may invite you to meet with a member of staff from the Appeals and Complaints Team to receive your decision letter in person to provide you with the opportunity to discuss the implications of the FSAC decision and any other concerns or issues you may have; however, the Appeals and Complaints Team have no power to change the FSAC decision.
Please note that the Appeals and Complaints Team are unable to respond to individual, ad-hoc requests for FSAC decisions and you will receive your decision as soon as possible once it has been finalised.
-
What if I am unhappy with the outcome of my FSAC appeal?
If you are unhappy with the FSAC decision, you may appeal on grounds to the Central Student Appeals Committee (CSAC).
See CSAC - A Student Guide for further information.
- Confidentiality and Data Protection
All appeals will be treated with the appropriate level of confidentiality, with information being released only to those who need to see it (e.g. for the School’s response).
In accordance with the Academic Appeal Regulations (Taught Programmes), all information submitted by you and by the School will be shared with the members of the Committee. You and the School will be sent copies of the information sent to the members of the Committee. You should not include in your appeal any information which you do not wish to be shared. You should also ensure that your appeal documentation does not contain any information relating to third parties unless the third party consents to the information being shared) and the information complies with the University guidance on data protection.
You may withdraw consent to sharing any information at any time (unless it has already been shared) by contacting appeals@qub.ac.uk