Breakdown Academic Appeal processes

Appeals and academic decisions

If you have received:

• an exam board letter
• PEC decision
• Short Extension (SE) decision

and you believe there may be an issue, or you would like clarification support is available.

Stage 1 - informal appeal

Stage 1 is the first step if you:

• do not understand a decision
• believe something may be incorrect
• have questions about your outcome

A staff member from Ask4help may be able to explain the decision and answer your questions. You can speak to someone from Ask4help via your Student Portal or visiting Student Central at City Campus or Coach Lane. For London campus students Ask4help is located on the ground floor.

For questions about marks and feedback, please speak to the marker or module tutor.

Important deadlines

You must raise any enquiry within 10 working days of receiving your decision. This deadline includes submitting any potential Stage 2 Formal appeal. 

Stage 2 - formal appeal

If you complete Stage 1 and remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you can submit a formal appeal

You will need to:

1. Complete a Stage 2 appeals form (Please look for your specific form under drop-down box 'Student Forms and Guidance - Taught Programme). Please note this will not direct you to a new page and a word document will be downloaded to your device.
2. Provide supporting evidence
3. Submit your appeal by emailing studentappealsandcomplaints@northumbria.ac.uk 

This must be submitted within 10 working days of receiving your decision. Even if you still do not have a response from your stage 1, do not delay submitting your formal appeal.

Eligible appeal grounds

Exam board decisions

a) The university did not follow the correct procedures in the conduct of your examination or other form of assessment (including coursework), or in the conduct of the examination board itself, and this significantly affected the outcome

b) You were unable to inform the exam board about your health or other personal circumstances by submitting a PEC claim by the relevant deadline

PEC/SE decisions

a) The Student Advice and Support Team did not follow the correct procedures when considering your PEC claim or Short Extension request and this significantly affected the outcome

b) You have new information that could not have been provided earlier and this significantly affects the outcome. You must have a valid reason for why you could not provide the information before the decision on your claim or request was made.

Building your appeal

For guidance on:

• writing your appeal
• structuring your evidence
• explaining your circumstances

Please see our Guidance on Writing your appeal

You can also find further guidance through

• Handbook of Student Regulations (please look for the drop-down box for the relevant academic year
• Student guidance (please look for the drop-down box called Student Forms and Guidance)
• Student Portal

When will I receive a decision

You will normally receive an outcome within 30 working days, during busy periods appeals may take longer.

Please note:

• we can not request a faster outcome
• ask the appeal team to prioritise individual cases

If your appeal is upheld

If your appeal is successful:

• The Student Appeals and Complaints team will only confirm that your appeal grounds have been met
• Your case may then be referred back to the team who made the original decision

If your appeal is rejected

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your Stage 2 formal appeal, you may

• Submit a Stage 3 Request for Review
• or take your case to the OIA 

Need Advice or Support

The Advice Team can help you understand:

• the appeals process
• eligible grounds
• evidence requirements
• your next steps

For personalised advice, contact us via su.advice@northumbria.ac.uk