If you're a Masters student, an SU Advisor can help you appeal your final result, degree classification or a decision code.
For advice on how to submit your appeal, read our guide below and email suadvice@bath.ac.uk with a draft of your appeal form. We are likely to ask to see a draft of your appeal form before making an appointment, to help you make the most of the meeting. Your email will be treated in confidence by an Advisor who will usually reply in 1-2 working days.
There are two stages to the academic appeal process.
In Stage 1, you submit your case and receive an outcome. You will only proceed to Stage 2 if you’re unsatisfied with the outcome of Stage 1.
Stage 1. Appeal
You have 14 days (including weekends) after your results are published on SAMIS to submit an appeal for one or more of the following decisions:
- 1. Your ability to progress on to a next stage of study
- 2. Your suitability to remain on a programme
- 3. The mark, grade, certificate, diploma or final degree classification you've been awarded.
There is no benefit to submitting your appeal as quickly as possible; take the 14 days to get feedback on your statement and to check you've included all the evidence needed. It is much easier to write a good appeal at this stage compared to submitting a second-stage appeal later on.
In our experience, appeals are successful when you know you have a case for appealing before you receive your results. For example, something significant happened in your personal life but you have not told your Department for a good reason.
You should be able to evidence one or more of the following reasons for your appeal:
- 1. The Board of Examiners were unaware of circumstances which affected your performance, and you could not disclose these to your Director of Studies earlier, for example because you were too unwell or were distracted by the circumstances.
- 2. There were irregularities in the procedure of the exams or assessments which are likely to have affected the decision of the Board of Examiners.
- 3. The examiner’s decision was influenced by prejudice, bias or inadequate assessment.
If you can’t evidence one of these situations (for example, because you’re just dissatisfied with your marks) it’s very unlikely your appeal will be considered. An SU Advisor can give you impartial advice on which circumstance/s are appropriate for your situation and the types of evidence you should provide.
Appeals are usually made by Masters Students who have a case to increase their final classification. There are limits to what an academic appeal can achieve, which an SU Advisor can explain.
Your appeal will need to be submitted on a template form. Follow this link to
download a Stage 1 Academic Appeal (AA1) Form. An Advisor is likely to ask for a draft of your academic appeal form (particularly the statement) before making an appointment with you, to help you get the most from your meeting. All emails are treated in confidence by the Advice Team who will usually reply in 1-2 working days.
Submit your Stage 1 appeal (AA1) form to the Chair of the Board of Studies by the 14 day deadline. Follow this link to
find the details of the Chair for your department (under ‘Where to submit your appeal’).
Within 35 days (including weekends), the Chair of the Board of Studies and the Head of Department (or equivalent staff) will decide:
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Decision
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Next steps
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The evidence presented does not support the grounds of appeal
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No further action will be taken. An SU Advisor can offer impartial advice on whether you may have a case to request this decision is reviewed. Go to 'Stage 2 Academic Appeal' further down this page.
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The evidence supports the grounds for appeal
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Either:
1) Executive Action will be taken without a Hearing to resolve your appeal. The Chair of the Board of Studies will write to you explaining the proposed actions to be taken. If you are invited to a meeting to discuss and decide the final outcomes, you can ask an SU Advisor to attend with you.
or
2) An Appeal Hearing will be arranged to consider your case. Go to Step 7.
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The Chair of the Appeal Sub-Committee will invite you to a hearing with around 7 days notice (including weekends). The Chair should send you any written evidence and papers relating to your case that you may wish to respond to. You can share this evidence in confidence with an SU Advisor and work together to prepare your responses.
You need to make two important decisions:
- Is there any additional information you want to provide as a written statement to the Appeal Hearing panel? If you want to provide a statement, you need to submit this to the Chair 3 days before the Appeal Hearing. An SU Advisor can help you structure your written submission and provide impartial advice on the content.
- Do you want to attend alone or be joined or represented by a friend or SU Advisor? Students typically choose to have a friend or SU Advisor join them if this helps them feel more confident. SU Advisors don’t usually speak on your behalf, but can read out your statement, help you to ask for clarification about a point made or to ask for a break during the hearing. They can also meet you immediately before and after the Hearing to offer advice and answer your questions. If you want someone to join or represent you at the Hearing, you must confirm their contact details with the Chair at least 3 days before the meeting. You need to ask an SU Advisor as soon as possible to check they are available. Once an SU Advisor has confirmed they can join you, they will usually arrange 30minute meeting to help you prepare.
The purpose of the Appeal Hearing is to decide if there is enough
prima facie evidence to support a case for an academic appeal and if so, what action can be taken.
Prima facie means ‘based on first impression’.
Appeal Hearings usually take place online, although you can request for this to be in person. The length of the meeting varies between cases and you will usually be asked to leave while the Panel confirm their decision. When students ask for an SU Advisor to join them, they usually meet the Advisor for 15minutes before and after the Panel for a debrief.
The Panel is usually made of five members of staff who all have equal voting rights and haven’t been involved in earlier stages of the investigation (with the exception of the Chair).
What happens during the Hearing?
The Chair of the Panel usually starts by explaining what will happen in the meeting and how you will receive the outcome. You will be invited to present a written or oral statement before the Panel members ask you questions. You can also ask questions or for a short break during the Board. If you have an SU Advisor with you, you can meet them during a break if you want to discuss something in confidence. The Board may invite witnesses to give evidence during the meeting (e.g. academic staff from your Department) and you should have the opportunity to respond to this evidence. You (and your SU Advisor) can be present throughout the hearing and give a closing statement before leaving while until the Panel meet in private to make their decision.
Using all the evidence available, the Panel will decide if the evidence supports your academic appeal.
The Chair of the Appeal Sub-Committee will usually inform you of the outcome
shortly after the Hearing and confirm this in writing within 5 days (excluding weekends). The Appeal Hearing report will summarise all the evidence used in the investigation to reach the final decision and list recommendations for further actions. You can ask an SU Advisor what the outcomes mean for your
situation and for impartial advice on what you might achieve by asking for the
decision to be reviewed in the second stage of an academic appeal (proceed to Stage 2 below).
Stage 2. Appeal
You will only proceed to this stage if you are unhappy with the outcome of a Stage 1 Appeal.
You need to follow this link to download a template of the Stage 2 Review of an Academic Appeal Outcome (AA2) form and send this to Director of Academic Registry within 14 days (including weekends) of receiving the decision of your Stage 1 appeal.
Your request must be based on the decision in Stage 1 Appeal, and can only be made on the following grounds:
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There were material procedural irregularities at Stage 1;
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There is material new evidence which you could not reasonably have been expected to provide at Stage 1;
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The outcome at Stage 1 was unreasonable in light of the evidence presented.
You must include:
- Copies of all the material submitted to the Chair of the Board of Studies in your original academic appeal
- Any additional evidence which you could not reasonably have been expected to share as part of your original appeal
- A statement and evidence explaining the grounds for your request for a review
An SU Advisor can give impartial advice on whether you may have a case for a Stage 2 review and what to include in your AA2 form.
Within 28 days (including weekends) of receiving your request, the Director of Academic Registry will decide:
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Decision
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Next steps
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The appeal should be re considered at Stage 1 Appeal
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Your case is referred back to the Board of Studies for your course for re consideration with this decision being final. You will not be able to go to a Stage 2 Review in this case.
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| You case to be referred to the SEcretary to Senate to convene a Student Acasemic Appeals Committee |
The procedures and timescales governing the Hearing by a Student Academic Appeals Committee are set out in its terms of reference |
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That there is no case for the Stage 1 Appeal outcome to be reviewed and the academic decision stands
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No further action should be taken.
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The Director of Academic Registry will write to you to inform you of the outcome.
An SU Advisor can offer independent advice on the implications of the outcomes and your options, including taking your appeal to the OIA if you are dissatisfied with the final decision.
A Hearing will usually take place within 30 days (including weekends) of the Secretary to Senate’s decision. You should be invited with at least 7 days notice (including weekends).
You need to decide:
- 1. Do you want to attend alone or be joined or represented by a friend or SU Advisor? Students typically choose to have a friend or SU Advisor join them if this helps them feel more confident. SU Advisors don’t usually speak on your behalf, but may help you to explain your grounds for appeal, to help you to ask for clarification about a point made or to ask for a break during the hearing. They can also meet you immediately before and after the hearing to offer advice and answer your questions. If you want someone to join or represent you at the hearing, you must confirm their contact details with the Chair at least 3 days before the meeting. You need to ask an SU Advisor as soon as possible to check they are available. Once an SU Advisor has confirmed they can join you, they will usually arrange 30minute meeting to help you prepare to explain your grounds for appeal.
- 2. Do you want to include witnesses to support your case? An SU Advisor can give impartial advice on who you may wish to include and what evidence they may provide in support of your case. Witnesses will usually be invited to the hearing to answer questions posed by you and by members of the Committee. If you submit medical evidence as part of your case, you may be required to undergo a medical examination by a medical practitioner.
The purpose of the Hearing is to decide whether to uphold your appeal and if so, what action can be taken. Committee hearings usually take place online, although you can request for this to be in person. The length of the hearing varies between cases but is usually concluded within one working day. When students ask for an SU Advisor to join them, they usually meet the Advisor for 15minutes before and after the hearing for a debrief.
What happens during the Hearing?
The Chair of the Committee usually starts by explaining what will happen in the meeting and how you will receive the outcome. You will be invited to start by explaining your grounds for an appeal before the Committee members ask you questions. You can also ask questions or for a short break during the hearing. If you have an SU Advisor with you, you can meet them during a break if you want to discuss something in confidence. The Chair will decide when to invite witnesses to give evidence (e.g. academic staff from your Department) and you (and your SU Advisor) may be asked to leave the hearing at certain points.
Using all the evidence available, the Committee will decide if the evidence upholds your academic appeal. If the Committee feel further evidence is needed, they may decide to postpone the hearing to allow time for further witnesses to be called. This delay should not usually be for more than 30 days.
The Chair of Committee will usually inform you of the outcome shortly after the Hearing and confirm this in writing within 14 days (excluding weekends). The Hearing report will summarise all the evidence used in the investigation to reach the final decision and list recommendations for further actions. You can ask an SU Advisor what the outcomes mean for your situation and for impartial advice on what you might achieve if you want the decision to be reviewed by an external body (the OIA).
This is a summary of the steps explained in Regulation 17; we recommend using this guide to understand the basics and following these links to Regulation 17 and the University Academic Appeals guidance for the finer details.
Last updated November 2024