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Faculty and School Student Progress Panel appeals

How you can appeal against a decision made by a School or Faculty Student Progress Panel (SSPP/FSPP). 

Appealing a decision made by a panel

Full details of the appeals process can be found on the main academic appeals page: this page provides more detailed guidance to appealing against decisions made by a School or Faculty Progression Panel (SSPP/FSPP).

This type of appeal is for students who have been advised by a Faculty or School Student Progress Panel (FSPP/SSPP) that they must either temporarily or permanently withdraw from the University due to poor attendance or academic participation.

This is different from a decision made by an Examination Board that stops you progressing on your course or being given an award.

How to appeal a decision made by a FSPP/SSPP

You’ll be notified of an FSPP/SSPP decision by email. If you wish to appeal this decision, you can do so by either submitting an Informal Resolution request or a Formal Appeal within 10 university working days following receipt of the decision email.

Before submitting an appeal 

See what you need to do before submitting your appeal and where you can get advice and support with the process. 

Choosing whether to submit an Informal Resolution request or a Formal Appeal

Read the information below before making your decision.

Informal Resolution

There are benefits to making an Informal Resolution request instead of a Formal Appeal.

These include:

  • giving you the opportunity to explain your circumstances to the Faculty or School student progress panels and provide evidence if available
  • helping you to understand the reason for the panel's decision – for example, withdrawal might be in your best academic interests, particularly if you have missed a lot of teaching and/or assessments.

If you wish to seek Informal Resolution, then you must complete and submit the following Informal Resolution request form [20KB DOC].

  1. Complete the form ensuring that you respond to all questions
  2. Attach your completed form together with any supporting evidence that you would like to provide to a new email. You should then send it to your School using the contact information below.

Important: If you do not submit the required form to the specified email address, your request will not likely qualify for Informal Resolution under the Academic Appeals regulations.

Formal Appeal 

You may decide to proceed straight to the Formal Appeal stage rather than seeking Informal Resolution.

You can also submit a Formal Appeal if you’re not satisfied with the outcome of Informal Resolution. This must be done within 10 university working days following the issue of your School’s Informal Resolution decision.

How to submit an appeal

To submit an appeal, fill in the Faculty/School student progress panel appeal form [DOC 28KB]. 

Important: It’s essential you present your case clearly and in full as your appeal will be considered solely on the basis of the case and evidence you provide. To give yourself the best chance of having your appeal accepted, make sure you have read this guidance, the academic appeals regulations [PDF 300.46KB] and the advice on the main academic appeals page.

You should submit the form to the Appeals Office by email at appeals@sussex.ac.uk, attaching your supporting evidence.

Evidence

Appeals should be supported by evidence. Evidence is defined as ‘written information from someone who knows you in a professional capacity and can independently verify your circumstances, and from when and how they affected you’.

Evidence should be a letter or email. Evidence should be robust, explain the impact of the circumstance and the dates and duration of the circumstance.

What to do if you’re awaiting evidence

Don’t delay submitting your appeal. Late appeals are rarely accepted. You can tell us on the appeal form that you are awaiting evidence.

If you’re still awaiting evidence one calendar month after submitting your appeal, you must inform us by emailing appeals@sussex.ac.uk, quoting your candidate number. Otherwise, your appeal may be considered without evidence.

Appeals will be rejected if:

  • the evidence provided is not from someone who knows you in a professional capacity – for example, it was from a friend or relative
  • the evidence provider cannot fully confirm your circumstances – for example, the provider can only confirm what you have told them
  • the provider of the evidence cannot be verified
  • supporting evidence is not provided 
  • the grounds of the appeal are not permissible – for example, you cannot appeal against the academic judgment of the FSPP/SSPP, defined by the OIAHE as “a judgment that is made about a matter where only the opinion of an academic expert is sufficient”
  • your appeal does not meet the grounds for appeal – in this respect, it’s important that you fully answer the questions detailed on the appeal form
  • your appeal is submitted after the published deadline – late appeals are rarely accepted (please refer to Academic Appeal regulation 5.2 for examples of when a late appeal may be accepted for consideration).

If the grounds for your appeal can be upheld, the chair of the FSPP/SSPP will determine whether an outcome can be offered. This is not guaranteed. For example, if the FSPP/SSPP consider withdrawal to be in your best academic interests, then this is a matter of academic judgment that cannot be appealed.

Appeal process

Find out more about the next steps in the appeal process.

See more from Academic appeals