Your options after an academic appeal outcome

Who this information is for

The academic appeals procedure below is for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students only and includes students studying at partner institutions. The full process is outlined in Academic Appeals Procedure for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Students (.pdf)

Postgraduate research students follow a different procedure and should read the PGR policies, procedures and guidelines.

Procedures for students from previous years of entry can be found on the governance webpages.

If your appeal is deemed late or not valid

Your appeal will not be taken forward if it is deemed to have been submitted late without an acceptable reason, or deemed to not be a valid appeal. Invalid appeals include:

• Disagreement with your mark/grades
• Requests to have higher marks or a higher class of degree because of marginal failure
• Disagreement with how your extenuating circumstances were taken into account

If you have been told that your appeal is not valid, or has been submitted late, you can ask for this decision to be reconsidered.

You can send your request to appeals@essex.ac.uk with an explanation of why you disagree with the decision.

If your appeal is dismissed by an Appeal Officer

If your appeal is dismissed by an Appeal Officer or the Board of Examiners did not provide you with the outcome that you were hoping for, you may be entitled to request an internal review or to submit a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), the national ombudsman for student complaints.

These options are only available when the University has finished its appeal procedure. You will be advised of your options when you receive the outcome from the Student Progress Team.

Submit a request for internal review

In order to submit a request for internal review, you should first check that this offer has been made by the Student Progress Team. You may then download and complete the Request for Internal Review form (.docx) and email it to appeals@essex.ac.uk.

Once received, a request for internal review will be considered by the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) or a nominee. We aim to respond to all requests for internal review within 20 working days.

Submit a complaint to the Office of Independent Adjudicator

When you exhaust all the internal procedures and receive the Completion of Procedures letter, you may take your appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. More information about this will be provided in the written notification of the appeal outcome. If you have any questions about this, you can email appeals@essex.ac.uk or contact the Student Services Hub.