What Is Academic Assessment?
Appeal Process
Policy/Application Form
Hints and Tips
Sample Letters
Who can Help
What Is Academic Assessment?
For undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework) students academic
assessment is the mark or grade that you receive for the work you do in
a unit. Many of the units you study have a number of assessed
components such as essays, presentations, final and mid year
examinations, performances, and practicums. There is also a final mark
that you receive at the end of each semester and this mark is confirmed
through the Board of Examiners.
For research students (other than candidates for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy and for the degree of Masters by research - by thesis),
there is also a final grade for your thesis/dissertation and this mark
too is confirmed through a board. A full copy of the policy can be
found here and in all University handbooks.
Candidates for the degrees of PhD or Master by research (by thesis) should follow the Appeals Procedure set out on the web.
There are three principle stages to your appeal and you can seek the
support of a Guild Education Officer in following the policy and
preparing your letter of appeal.
Appealing against academic assessment means that you believe that the
assessment of the worth of a piece of work or your final grade is not
accurate. You should appeal your results if you have reason to believe
that the mark does not fairly represent the worth of your work
submitted, relative to established standards and to the assessment of
the work of other students.
Please Note: the information provided here is a guide to the steps and
procedure in the policy. It is recommended that you take the time to
make yourself familiar with the policy and to talk about any concerns
that you have with an Education Officer or staff in the school/faculty.
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Appeal Process
There is an informal stage to the appeal process and this is very
important. After you receive the result for any component of assessable
work and have concerns, you should seek feedback from the unit
coordinator. This will allow you to improve your learning in the unit
and lead to a more positive result in the next assessable piece. If you
are not happy with the outcome you can choose to take no further steps
and will still be able to appeal this part of the unit when the final
grade is given. However, if you are not happy with the outcome of your
discussions and in particular if it is a piece of work that will
continue to be developed (for example in Dentistry where a piece of
work may continue to be worked on for a number of assessments) then it
is important to ask for reconsideration of the marking at the time that
it is undertaken. You can approach the Head of School for consideration
of this. In the event that you are not happy with the explanation given
informally by a school then you can approach either the sub-dean of the
faculty concerned (or dean or associate dean, as appropriate, for
postgraduate students) and a Guild Education Officer to discuss
pursuing this to a formal appeal at a later stage.
The formal appeal process commences after the release of results. There
are specific stages to the process and it is best to follow the stages
as set out below. There are also a number of rules governing the appeal
process and it is best to familiarise yourself with the policy. A
summary of the stages is provided here to assist.
Step One: You should approach the Unit Coordinator to discuss
your result. This will let you check on your results across any and all
components of the unit and also allows you to seek feedback on any
piece of assessment. You have the right to request to see your final
exam paper and to have feedback as to your performance in this exam.
This is a critical step in the process as many students do not pursue
appeals past this stage as they can see what went wrong. Other students
decide to pursue their appeal and now have the grounds on which to base
their appeal.
If you are having trouble accessing your coordinator, then you can see
the head of school or sub/associate dean or academic student advisor in
your faculty. You can also request an extension of a timeline and this
is covered in the policy and in the Hint/Tips section below.
Step Two: If you are unhappy with the feedback/explanation
provided by the unit coordinator then you need to proceed to the next
step. Your appeal now needs to be made with the official appeal form
and needs to be made to the head of school in which the unit is run
with a copy of your appeal form sent to the faculty. You have the
opportunity to write a statement supporting your appeal and a sample
letter is provided in this section. Your appeal needs to be lodged
within 20 university working days of the results being released (so count forward from
the day that the results were made available, leaving out any weekends, public holidays or other University closures). If you are having genuine difficulties in meeting
the timeline, then you can request an extension of the deadline and
again a sample letter is provided below.
Step Three: If you are unhappy with the outcome of your appeal
to the head of school then you can progress your appeal to the dean.
This should be the dean of your enrolled course except if you are in a
combined degree, in this case it is to the dean of the faculty
responsible for the degree course of which the unit in question is a
part. If the unit can be undertaken in either course, then the dean's
decide who is to manage the appeal - just lodge it with one and the
faculties will work it out. Again the appeal needs to be made in 12
university working days from when you were advised of the school's
decision and you need to complete another appeal form. The dean is not
considering/assessing the worth of your work, their role is to
determine if your appeal was fairly dealt with at the school level. You
are again provided with the opportunity to provide a supporting
statement and a sample letter is provided below.
Step Four: Again, if you are not happy with the outcome at the
dean level, you can progress your appeal. Your appeal is next
considered by a Faculty Appeals Committee. You do not need to fill out
another form but do need to request that the Faculty Administrative
Officer forward your appeal to the appeals committee and this request
needs to be made in writing. As with the appeal at the dean's level,
the committee will consider if the appeal has been dealt with fairly.
Step Five: If disatissfied with the outcome of your appeal at
the faculty appeal committee level, you can progress your appeal to the
Vice-Chancellor. This must again be lodged within 12 university working
days of being informed of the outcome of the last appeal. You make this
appeal in writing and your appeal (a sample letter can be found below)
can only be based on procedural/administrative concerns about the
faculty appeal committee process. The Vice-Chancellor can dismiss your
appeal or can request that another faculty appeals committee be
constituted or that the matter be investigated by a university appeals
committee.
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Policy/Application Form
The policy (including the application form) can be found here and a copy of the policy is contained in all University handbooks.
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Hints and Tips
- Always seek feedback first as this provides you with the grounds of your appeal
- Follow up any conversation or discussion that you have with
university staff about your mark/grade or feedback with an email. This
provides you with a written history of your appeal process if needed
- If you have any difficulties with obtaining feedback or an
explanation, then approach others within the university such as the
head of school or sub/associate dean for help in obtaining this
- Make sure that you have grounds for appeal as you can put a lot of
work in but the appeal can be dismissed if you have not made a case
- Take some time to make sure that you are following the right
process - for example many students who are advised that they have
failed and are being excluded find out later that they did not have
grounds for appealing the academic assessment, but would have had a
strong case to request to be allowed to repeat studies the next year
and not be excluded - you need the right appeal for your situation
- Remember that when appealing a number of outcomes are possible:
- There may be no remark and your initial mark may stand
- There may be a remark and your initial mark may stand, increase or reduce
- That simply wanting a few more marks either to pass a unit or to
increase grades/grade point average is not the grounds for an appeal
- The Charter of Student Rights sets out a number of principles to
ensure that you receive a professional response to your request and
that you cannot be negatively dealt with because you have lodged an
appeal - you can view the charter on the university website
- University staff are obliged to respond to your appeals within
reasonable timeframes. The Registrar has a role to play if you believe
that the response time from your level of appeal is too long - this is
covered in the appeal policy in more detail and you should review it.
- Seek help from the Guild Education Officers with determining if you
have the grounds for an appeal and in constructing your appeal.
Sample Letters
The following sample letters are provided to you to show the format of
a letter and to give you an idea of what to include in your letter.
Remember that you need to make sure that the letter is in your own
words and reflects your personal situation. If you are not sure of the
person that you should address the letter to you can check on the
university website
and if you look on the left under "About" you will find a listing of
all the Faculties and in each faculty a listing of all the schools. The
role and contact details for all the staff in that area are listed.
Alternatively, you can contact the Guild Education Officers.
Appealing Academic Assessment - Extension Request letter available here
Appealing Academic Assessment - Letter to the Head of School letter available here
Appealing Academic Assessment - Letter to the Dean letter available here
Appealing Academic Assessment - Letter to the Faculty Administrative Officer letter available here
Appealing Academic Assessment - Letter to the Vice-Chancellor letter available here
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Who can Help
There are of course a range of staff within the university to help with
appeal matters. In addition to members of the school staff, you can
also seek help from the sub/associate dean or academic student adviser
in your faculty- in addition - there are support staff in the colleges
and the Centre for Indigenous Studies who can provide assistance.
The Guild is very keen to support students who are trying to work their
way through a very complex policy and particularly as the outcome of
appeals can carry so much impact on students. So, the Guild employs
Education Officers who can provide you with objective information about
your appeal, but who can also assist you with writing your appeal and
following up on the appeal process. The Education Officers are also
able to attend any meetings with you and to advocate on your behalf.
Click here to make contact and/or to find out more about the role of the Education Officers.
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