The appeal process is for where you’ve received a formal University decision (e.g. degree classification, unsatisfactory academic progress decision) and you feel that they’ve not taken everything into account.  You can appeal on the grounds of undisclosed personal extenuating circumstances (PECs), procedural irregularity in how the decision was made, you feel that there was bias in how the decision was reached or that the decision reached was perverse based on the evidence available.  You can’t appeal just because you think your examiner was harsh, you thought you deserved more marks than you received, or because you’re not happy with the outcome.  You also can’t submit an appeal about lack of support or supervision as you are expected to raise this at the time in a Student Complaint.

There are three stages to the University's appeals procedure:

Level 1 – You have 14 calendar days from the date of decision to submit an academic query via email to your School. You should explain why you are challenging the decision and how your case meets the criteria for an academic appeal. You should submit supporting evidence alongside your appeal. You should receive a response within 14 days.

Level 2 – If you are dissatisfied with the Level 1 outcome, you then have 21 calendar days from the date of the school’s response to complete your level 2 academic appeal. You will need to complete the appeal form (found here) and include a copy of the School’s response, your appeal letter and any supporting evidence you have. The form should be emailed to the Student Progress Service casework@ncl.ac.uk. You should receive a decision in 60 days.

Level 3 – If you remain dissatisfied with the Level 2 response, you can ask for a review of the academic appeal.  You have 14 calendar days from the date of the academic appeal outcome to request a review.  You can only ask for a review if you believe that there has been a procedural error in how the appeal was investigated or that it was irrational based on the evidence. You cannot ask for a review simply because you’re not happy with the outcome. You should receive a decision within 30 days.

For further information, you can find the University's guidance and information on the Student Progress Service website.

If you would like advice about the Academic Appeal procedure or help submitting an academic appeal, please use the button below to book in.