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.

The grounds on which you can appeal to FSAC are:

1. 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).
2. There has been a procedural irregularity which has had a demonstrable impact on your academic outcome.
3. 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.

The grounds on which you can appeal to CSAC are:

1. New evidence has become available which could not have been provided to the FSAC (evidence withheld from the FSAC will not normally constitute new evidence).
2. There has been a procedural irregularity in the FSAC procedure which has had a demonstrable impact on the outcome.

The following are not grounds for appeal:

1. Not being aware of the University regulations
2. Not knowing the University procedures (e.g. Exceptional Circumstances procedure).
3. Being unhappy with your module mark or thinking that you can do better.
4. Wanting to re-sit examinations or re-submit coursework in order to improve grades for modules that have been passed.
5. Being awarded a degree classification that does not satisfy your career plans.

The decision on whether to attempt an examination or submit an assessment, and the consequences of that decision, shall remain the sole responsibility of each student. By taking or attempting an examination or assessment, you have declared yourself fit to be assessed. If you now believe that you were not fit to be assessed, you will be expected to provide clear reasons for having taken or attempted the assessment, and evidence of impaired judgement regarding your fitness to undertake the assessment at the time.

Although you did not have a formal diagnosis previously, it is the symptoms / personal circumstances at the time impacting on a student’s ability to engage with their academic studies, and to complete assessments, which students are expected to disclose, even if they have not received a diagnosis of an illness or condition. Therefore, the expectation is that you would have disclosed your symptoms / difficulties to the University via the Exceptional Circumstances Procedure at the appropriate time, even without a formal diagnosis.

The FSAC Appeal Form is available at FSAC Appeal Form.  

The CSAC Appeal Form is available at CSAC Appeal 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:

1. State clearly the decision you are appealing against. For FSAC appeals, you should attach a copy of the decision you are appealing (e.g. a Board of Examiners letter).
2. What are your grounds for appeal? Make sure that you tick the appropriate box(es).
3. 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.
4. Did you encounter any exceptional circumstances? If so, what are they?
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. If you are requesting another attempt to pass an assignment/exam, what will be different next time?
8. Is there any additional information you would like the FSAC to know about
9. 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 Sifting and Review stage because of lack of evidence.

If you experienced disruption during an examination, you should have informed the examination invigilator of the issue at the time and completed an Exceptional Circumstances application before the EC deadline. The matter should therefore be resolved prior to reaching appeal stage.

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.

You should submit all evidence in support of your appeal. If you submit an appeal without clear and relevant evidence, this will likely result in your appeal being rejected by the Sifting and Review Panels.

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.
• In cases where you have taken or attempted the assessment, evidence impaired judgement regarding your fitness to undertake the assessment.

Academic Affairs will contact you if they 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.

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 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.

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 your appeal has been rejected by the Review Panel, there is no further internal right of appeal and the original decision 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. 

If your appeal has been accepted by the Sifting / Review Panels, your appeal will progress to the next stage of the process. The Appeals Team will endeavour to keep you informed of next steps.

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.

The dates for FSAC and CSAC meetings can be found here.

The FSAC can make the following decisions:

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, 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.

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.

Please note that FSAC is a paper-based stage only. You are not required to attend this meeting.

If you have lodged a CSAC appeal, you will receive an invitation to attend the CSAC hearing at least 5 working days prior to the meeting date. Whilst it is not a compulsory requirement that you attend, it is strongly recommended that you attend in order to present your appeal to the CSAC panel.

You must confirm whether or not you will attend the CSAC meeting.

If you are invited to an ‘in person’ CSAC meeting but wish to attend virtually instead, it may be possible to arrange your attendance by Microsoft Teams, Skype or teleconference.

If you do not wish to attend the CSAC meeting and would prefer your appeal to be considered on the paperwork alone, you must inform the Appeals and Complaints Team by the deadline stated in your CSAC invitation.

If you confirm your attendance at the CSAC meeting and then fail to attend without a good reason for your absence, the CSAC may consider your case in your absence. The CSAC will determine what it considers to be a good reason, but work commitments would not normally be considered a sufficient reason to postpone a meeting.

You may be accompanied by a registered student of the University (which includes a Students’ Union Sabbatical Officer), or a member of staff of the University, or University Chaplaincy. You might wish to contact SU Advice in the first instance.

If you consider that you have a disability or condition, you should advise Academic Affairs (appeals@qub.ac.uk) when submitting your appeal or as soon as possible so that the appropriate reasonable adjustments can be put in place to help you engage as fully as possible with the appeals hearing. This may entail a consultation with Disability Services.

If you attend your CSAC meeting accompanied, please note that you will still be expected to answer questions and make your own representations. The individual accompanying you is there to support you, not to represent you.

If your meeting is held virtually, you are still permitted to be accompanied to your CSAC meeting and you will be permitted time and privacy to discuss matters with this person during the meeting if required.

The CSAC is comprised of four members of academic staff who have been nominated to hear student appeals. Each member will have experience of advising students on progress, assessment and award issues.

The CSAC panel will not contain a member of staff from your School.

If you are a student of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, your CSAC panel will also include one member of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland and one member of the Law Society of Northern Ireland nominated by the Council of Legal Education.

In addition to the CSAC panel, the following persons may be invited to attend the CSAC meeting. These persons will not be involved in deciding the outcome of your appeal. 

• FSAC Chair: The FSAC Chair may be invited to clarify the FSAC outcome or to respond to CSAC appeals citing procedural irregularity in the FSAC procedures.
• School Representative: A School Representative may be invited to answer questions about your appeal, the School's procedures and practices, the programme of study or your academic performance to date.
• Representative from other University department (e.g. Disability Services): A representative from another department may be invited to answer questions about other concerns raised in your appeal.

At least one member of Academic Affairs will be in attendance to take notes of the meeting and to ensure that the meeting is conducted in line with the Academic Appeal Regulations (Taught Programmes).  and the General Provisions Relating to Academic Appeals, Conduct, Academic Offences and Student Complaints which should be read alongside these specific Regulations.

Students and staff are not permitted to make electronic or digital audio or visual recordings of any meetings without the express consent of all participants.

Official minutes of the meeting will be taken by a member of Academic Affairs and will be available on request.

The CSAC will be provided with the following documentation:

• Your CSAC appeal and any supporting evidence
• Evidence provided to the FSAC (your appeal to FSAC and the School response)
• FSAC Record of Outcome detailing the FSAC decision
• Response from the FSAC Chair (or nominee) (if available).
• Response from other departments (e.g. Disability Services) if issues concerning other departments raised in FSAC or CSAC

If the FSAC Chair (or nominee) or another University department provides a written response to your CSAC appeal, you will be sent a copy by email in advance of the meeting.

The CSAC meeting will follow the following format:

1. Introductions will be made and the meeting format will be explained.
2. You will be invited to briefly outline the decision you are appealing against and the grounds on which you are appealing. It may help to prepare a short statement which highlights important points and/or to comment on the School response or the FSAC decision.
3. If in attendance, the FSAC Chair will be asked to explain the FSAC decision.
4. If in attendance, the representative from your School (or from any other University department involved) will be invited to answer questions by way of clarification.
5. The Committee will then ask questions to clarify some of the issues you have raised in your appeal.
6. You and the School representative (and the FSAC Chair if in attendance) will be asked for any closing remarks.

CSAC meetings normally take approximately 20 minutes.

The CSAC can make the following decisions:

1. Dismiss the appeal, with reasons, and confirm the original decision against which the appeal is made.
2. Refer the matter back to the Chair of the Board of Examiners, with or without recommendation.
3. Uphold the appeal in part or in full, and may:
   • Permit the student to re-sit or retake a failed module(s)
   • Apply, on the student’s behalf, for a concession to the Regulations
   • Take any other decision deemed by the CSAC to be fair and appropriate in the circumstances.

The CSAC cannot make academic judgements, i.e. changing marks or degree classifications.

Normally, the decision will be sent to you within 8 working days of the decision being reached.  This will normally be sent to your University email address.

On occasion, 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 decision and any other concerns or issues you may have; however, the Appeals and Complaints Team have no power to change the Committee’s decision.

Please note that the Appeals and Complaints Team are unable to respond to individual, ad-hoc requests for decisions. You will receive your outcome as soon as possible once it has been finalised.

If you are unhappy with an outcome from the Sifting Panel and Review Panel, there is no further internal appeal against this decision and you have exhausted the internal procedure.

If you are unhappy with an FSAC outcome, you may appeal on grounds to the Central Student Appeals Committee (CSAC), within 5 working days.

If you are unhappy with a CSAC outcome, there is no further internal appeal against the decision of the CSAC and you have exhausted the internal procedure.

Once you have exhausted the internal procedure, 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. Complaints to the Ombudsman must be made within 6 months of notification of the decision of the CSAC or Sifting and Review Panels.

China Queen’s College (CQC) or INTO Queen’s students who are seeking to appeal should read the China Queen’s College (CQC) and INTO Queen’s CSAC Student Guide.