Student Academic Appeals

For Taught Students: The University’s policy is to consider academic appeals after student marks and progression decisions have been ratified by an Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee (APAC). Therefore, you may only submit a formal stage appeal if you have received the formal notification of your final ratified marks and progression decision by the APAC. This will be released to you via the student record system, at which point you may choose to engage with this procedure if you feel you have grounds to do so. 

For Postgraduate Research students: You may submit a formal stage appeal if you have received formal notification of the outcome of an assessment for transfer from MPhil or MA by Research to PhD, the ratified Board of Examiners' decision following examination of a PGR thesis/dissertation or formal notification of a decision relating to your registration status, such as transfer to continuation status, change of mode of study, early submission of thesis, etc. 

For all Students, if you wish to submit an appeal you must do so within 10-working days of receiving the notification of one of these decisions.

You can appeal the following decisions made by the university; 

• a formal assessment result 

• a degree classification 

• a decision consequential to an academic failure (e.g. termination of registration) 

• postgraduate research students may also appeal against a decision relating to their registration status, such as transfer to continuation status, change of mode of study, early submission of thesis etc. 

• a decision reached which no reasonable body, properly directing itself, could have arrived at (for Mitigation Appeals) 

• a decision consequential to unsatisfactory academic progress 

The above areas may cover (but are not limited to): 

• Progression Conditions: If the university requires you to take reassessments or meet certain conditions to move to the next stage of your course or research. 

• Classification Decisions: If you disagree with the classification decision including class of honours awarded. 

• Extenuating Circumstances: If you disagree with the outcome of an extenuating circumstances claim. 

You can appeal more than one of these decisions at a time. 

You can appeal based on specific circumstances, known as ‘grounds.’ You can choose more than one ground for your appeal. Here are the accepted grounds: 

a) Material circumstances affecting your performance of which, Assessment, Progression Awarding Committee / a Board of Examiners or the Education Board/Postgraduate Research Board (or the Dean acting on its behalf) had not been aware before reaching its decision, only if  you can present reasonable grounds why such circumstances had not been presented to the relevant Board in advance of its meeting (see 5.2 of the Appeals Procedure); 

b) Procedural Irregularity occurring in parts of the assessment procedures, or in reaching another academic decision, only where this procedural irregularity, which has disadvantaged the student, was significant enough to have materially affected the decision/recommendation made, rendering it unsound;  

c) Prejudice or Bias on the part of one or more Examiners and/or markers which took place, and can be proven, or if there are reasonable grounds to support the perception of prejudice or bias.  

The appeals process is an evidence-based process. Appeals are very rarely upheld without supporting evidence. Students can upload supporting evidence with their appeal application, and/or submit evidence later. The majority of appeals submitted to the University are accompanied by evidence, and this can increase the likelihood of a successful outcome (although it does not guarantee it). To maximise your chances of your appeal being upheld (or being successful) we recommend the following: 

For a) (Material circumstances) New Evidence: If your performance was affected by circumstances that were not known and could not have been known to the exam board at the time of their decision, you must explain why these circumstances could not be reported earlier. 

To use this ground, you should present evidence that your academic performance was affected at a time relevant to the assessment. You must also provide an explanation for why you did not tell the University about the illness or other factors at the time. Stating that you were unaware of the necessary support procedures, such as mitigation, will not in itself be sufficient. Similarly stating that you thought you could work through an issue or that you didn’t realise how affected you were until you were awarded a fail-mark is unlikely to result in a successful appeal outcome. To be successful with this ground, you must be able to demonstrate why you couldn’t present the evidence previously.  

For b) ( Procedural Irregularity) The ‘burden of proof’ rests with the student. This means that it is the student’s responsibility to demonstrate that the grounds have been met. It is not the responsibility of the University to prove that a procedural error did not occur, where there is no evidence provided to indicate one. 

c) (Prejudice or Bias) can only be used if you can provide evidence of prejudice or bias, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe it occurred. You need to provide a strong argument for this; simply disagreeing with the opinions or judgements of members of the academic boards is not enough. Appeals should not simply be based on a student’s opinion or assertions. 

If you are struggling to know what evidence to provide, we recommend that you speak with the Students’ Guild or Student’s Union for advice, or for further guidance on evidence, refer to the ‘standards of evidence’ document provided below. 

Academic judgement: It is a principle of the University that appeals cannot be made against the academic judgment of either an internal or external examiner of the University, that is, a decision made by academic staff on the quality of the work itself or the criteria being applied to mark the work (rather than the administrative examining process). 

Academic judgement is a decision of an academic body about a matter, such as assessment, degree classification, research methodology, or course content/outcome, and is a judgement made about a matter where only the opinion of an academic expert will suffice. The fact that a student believes that they deserve a different outcome cannot constitute a ground for appeal. 

Complaints: If you have a concern about feedback, teaching, supervision or anything to do with the delivery of your programme, this should be raised as soon as possible so that it can be addressed through the Student Complaints procedure rather than considered as an academic appeal. 

Late or ineligible applications: Appeals are eligible where they meet the timeframes for submission, and provide evidence that further consideration of the grounds is warranted. Examples of appeals which are not eligible include (but are not limited to):  

1. Appeals based on provisional results (too early).
2. Appeals which are out of time (too late). Appeals submitted late will only be considered where there is a compelling reason and supporting evidence to demonstrate that you were prevented from making an application within the appropriate timeframes. 
3. Appeals against academic judgement (do not meet the grounds). 
4. Appeals that fall outside the scope of the Appeals Policy (typically, applications which actually fall under the Student Complaints procedure).
5. Malicious or vexatious appeals. 

Before submitting a formal appeal please read our Procedures Relating to Academic Appeals on our website and the Timeframes section below.

You can submit an appeal application, via the Student Records System (SRS) using your normal IT sign in details. You can also access this from the ‘More’ tab in the MyExeter app. More details of how to submit an appeal can be found in the student guide here: Students' Guide (Appeals)

For the duration of the investigation into your Appeal, the original decision of the Examination Board or Postgraduate Research Committee or relevant body will remain in place while the appeals process is ongoing.

If you wish to submit an appeal, you must complete and submit your application within 10 working days of your final results being notified to you (see Timeframes section below).

Please note, it is not possible to appeal against provisional marks. You can only appeal when you have your final, ratified results.  Provisional results are summative assessment results that have been communicated to you, but that have not yet been confirmed or ratified by the Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee (APAC). It is also not possible for Postgraduate Research Students to appeal an outcome which has not yet been ratified by the relevant Board.  

Typical APAC dates for Taught programmes are: 

Undergraduates:  at the end of term three, or the reassessment APAC in September. 

Postgraduate Taught: at the end of their stage of study, for standard masters programmes this takes place in October, although it may be possible for you to appeal following the reassessment board if you sat in-year referrals. 

For details as to when your programme APAC takes place, please contact your Hub or Info Point. This is especially important if you are enrolled on an online programme or a programme with non-standard start dates. 

Final results These are results which have been through the University’s quality and standards procedures and ratified by the APAC (or relevant board) and then formally notified to you. 

If you wish to submit an appeal, you must complete your application on the Student Portal within 10 working days of your final results being notified to you. 

The appeal application and supporting information must be received by 23.59 (London time) on the deadline day. For example, if you are notified of your final results on Tuesday 17 June 2025, you must submit your appeal by 23:59 on Tuesday 01 July 2025. 

Application system for Academic Appeals After submitting an appeal on the MyExeter app, you will receive an automated email confirming that it has been received. If you do not think you have received the confirmation please check your spam or junk folders, or log into the student portal to confirm that your application was submitted.  

You can normally expect to receive a decision about whether or not you have identified valid grounds to appeal (i.e. that your application is eligible) within 5 working days, although at peak times it may take the administrative team a little longer to acknowledge receipt of a legitimate appeal. In most instances, you will receive an email, or you can log onto the system to see how your application is progressing. 

It can take up to 30 calendar days to reach an outcome on your appeal. Therefore, adjustments may not be made before the Reassessment (referred/deferred Assessment) Period or for referred/deferred appeals before the start of the academic year. The team will do their best to issue a timely outcome but if this will impact your reassessments or registration on the next year of study, the team will advise you in the outcome letter. 

Review Stage Appeals If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your Formal Stage Appeal, you will find details in the outcome letter as to how you can request a Review of that decision. An application at the Review Stage should be made within 10 working days of your formal stage outcome being issued, and such an application can be made within the Student portal. Please note, it will not be possible to raise a request for a review until you have been issued an outcome at the Formal Stage. 

Raising your concerns externally The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education is the independent student complaints scheme for England and Wales. This applies to concerns raised under either of the University’s Student Complaints or Appeals procedure. You normally need to have completed the University’s internal procedures, and have a Completion of Procedures letter, before you can take a case to the OIA. https://www.oiahe.org.uk/  

Students are encouraged to submit evidence to support their case. The Regulations do not restrict this to any particular type of evidence, but the staff considering your Appeal will be able to rely on some types of evidence more than others. It is your responsibility to provide all the information and evidence you wish to be considered in support of your application. 

If your evidence was not originally produced in English, then a certified translation must also be provided with your application, the cost of which should be borne by the student. 

A detailed guide (‘Standards of evidence’) for students has been produced which explains the types of evidence you may provide to support your appeal. We recommend that you read this carefully, and if you have any questions, you may find it helpful to speak with the Students’ Guild or Student’s Union for advice.   

For answers to other Frequently Asked Questions please click Appeals FAQ. 

The following details primarily relate to Appeals from students on Taught programmes.

Appeals may, within limits and depending on your academic outcomes, and only in cases where sufficient evidence if found to support the resolution: 

• Allow you to make a new assessment attempt that will replace your old attempt, subject to the rules around reassessment eligibility. 

• Allow for a reassessment cap (on a referred assessment) to be lifted, allowing you a new assessment attempt for an uncapped mark, as if it were the first attempt rather than a capped referral. 

• Allow you to repeat a portion of the year (or academic stage), as if for the first time. Sometimes the disruption you experienced was so extensive the Board may decide it is reasonable and appropriate for you to retake an entire stage of your studies. This would void your previous results and you would keep only your new results. 

• Remove caps which, through the consideration of the Appeal, have been found to have been applied incorrectly to your record. In such cases your marks would be recalculated and, if applicable, your progression status reviewed and updated.  

The outcome of an Appeal cannot result in: 

• A review of or change to your academically awarded mark(s) - within our regulations we only mark based on your actual performance and would not allocate a mark based on what your performance might have been in other circumstances. 

• A change to your outcomes more than the rules for your programme of study allow - sometimes the design of your programme means that some options are not available in your academic circumstances. For example, if a failed module can be condoned then a student will be progressed without the chance of a further opportunity to achieve the pass mark. Equally, if a module is listed as non-condonable for your programme of study, you will not be permitted to progress with outstanding assessments for the module on your record. Non-condonable modules must always be passed in your current stage of study before you can progress and/or receive your award. 

• An opportunity to mark work which was not submitted in line with our assessment and submission regulations – within our regulations we allow for students to correct submission errors within a certain timeframe, but where caps are applied for late or incorrect submissions it will not be sufficient for a student to provide evidence with an appeal that they completed their intended submission on time. We may mark only that which you submitted to the relevant system by the deadline.  

As per the Academic Appeal procedure, please ensure that you are using the correct method to submit your appeal application, and for appeals relating to non-academic matters, please use the correct form for your circumstances. Using the correct form ensures that the grounds on which you may appeal can be correctly identified (the grounds for Academic Appeals do not necessarily apply to other types of appeal).  

In particular, do not use the 'Appeal against withdrawal of procedure' form unless you have had an appeal cancelled as a result of circumstances such as those described in sections 1.8 and/or 1.9 of the procedure listed above. 

Which method to use, and where to send your application:   

• For Students wishing to appeal a decision made by an Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee or Board of Examiners please log in to the MyExeter app via the Student Record System to submit an Academic Appeal Application (this applies to Undergraduate, Taught Postgraduate and Postgraduate Research students).    

• This system may also be used by Students who have received an outcome for a Formal Academic Appeal, where they wish to request a review of that decision – the Appeal Review section (relating to section 7 of the Procedures listed above) will appear in your MyExeter app only after you have received a Formal Stage outcome. 

• For INTO students seeking to appeal a decision on their INTO programme, they should submit a Formal Stage Appeal Form and evidence to into.academicsupport@exeter.ac.uk. 

• For students who have been seen under the Unsatisfactory Progress procedure wishing to appeal against a withdrawal as a result of that process, please use the form in section 9 of the Procedures listed above. 

• To appeal against a temporary Visa interruption, please use the form in section 10 of the Procedures listed above. 

• To appeal against a withdrawal from a programme on Immigration Grounds, please use the form in section 11 of the Procedures listed above. 

• Postgraduate Research students only: To appeal against a decision with regard to University-wide funded extension schemes, e.g., Palestine/Israel conflict extensions or Covid-19 funded extensions or fees scholarships, including Appeals against programme extension decisions where the programme extension application was made as part of a funded studentship extension or fees scholarship application, please refer to section 12 of the Procedures listed above. 

For queries relating to the new system of Academic Appeals (found on the MyExeter portal) you may contact the relevant address from the list below, but please be aware that we are unable to accept forms and evidence via these mailboxes: 

• For all Research students (Postgraduate Research appeals only) please use pgr-student-cases@exeter.ac.uk. 

• For UG or PGT students based at our Penryn Campus please use Penryn-facultycases@exeter.ac.uk. 

For all other taught students: 

• If your programme is homed in Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy please use ESE-facultycases@exeter.ac.uk. 

• If your programme is homed in Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences please use HASS-facultycases@exeter.ac.uk. 

• If your programme is homed in Faculty of Health and Life Sciences please use HLS-facultycases@exeter.ac.uk. 

If you are unclear which Faculty you belong to (or are unsure if you are an INTO or PGR student) please login to your student portal and check your student record.