Different kinds of appeal : University of Sussex

Check your options so you submit the right appeal for your situation.

What you can appeal

The different appeals cover:

Important: You cannot appeal the academic judgment of a mark you have been given.

Exams and other assessments

You might be eligible to appeal the decision of an exam board in relation to one of your assessments.

This could be an exam, a presentation or other form of assessment.

This appeal is only for undergraduate and Masters students. If you’re a PhD student, see details about progession through a research degree.

Check how to appeal an exam board decision.

Partner institutions

If you are doing a course through one of our partner institutions, and you appealed the outcome of an assessment, you may be able to ask for Sussex to review the decision.

If your case is subject to review by Sussex, we will consider whether the academic appeals procedure in your partner institution has been correctly and fairly applied.

We cannot review issues relating to academic judgment, because these are not subject to appeal.

Important: You must fully exhaust your partner institution’s appeals process before you can ask Sussex for a review.

To request a review, fill in the partner institution appeal review form [DOC 25KB].

This is different from asking us to review a complaint you made to your partner institution.

Suitability for professional practice

You can appeal the decision of a suitability for professional practice panel, but only if one of the relevant grounds are met.

These are that:

there is evidence material to the decision that was not considered by the suitability for professional practice panel and which could not reasonably have been presented to the panel
there was a procedural irregularity in the suitability for professional practice process of such a nature as to cause doubt as to whether the result might have been different had there not been such an irregularity
the panel failed to comply with the guidance of the relevant professional body.

If you decide to appeal, you must do this within 21 calendar days of getting your decision.

To submit your appeal, fill in the suitability for professional practice panel appeal form [DOC 29KB].

See our suitability for professional practice policy for more information.

You can also go to the School office for Education and Social Work to access its own procedures.

Reasonable adjustment panel decisions

You can appeal the decision of a reasonable adjustment panel, but only if one of the relevant grounds are met.

These are that there:

is evidence of procedural irregularity (including administrative error) in the consideration of your case of such a nature as to cause doubt whether the result might have been different had there not been such an irregularity
existed circumstances affecting your case, material to the decision, of which the reasonable adjustment panel was not aware at the time it made its decision, and which could not reasonably have been made known to the panel in advance
exists evidence of prejudice or of bias on the part of those making the decision.

The academic basis of the panel’s decision is not itself subject to appeal since this is a matter of academic judgment.

This includes a judgment of the panel, based on advice from your School, that giving you a different mode of assessment would not deliver the same academic standards.

If you decide to appeal, you must do this within seven working days of getting your decision.

To submit an appeal, fill in the reasonable adjustment panel appeal form [DOC 28KB].

PhDs and other research degrees

You can appeal a decision:

about the outcome of your exam
if you’re withdrawn from your course following a progress review.

The grounds for appeal are that there:

exist circumstances affecting the student’s performance of which the examiners had not been made aware when their decision was taken, and which could not reasonably have been presented to the examiners
were procedural irregularities in the conduct of the examination (including administrative error) of such a nature as to cause reasonable doubt whether the examiners would have reached the same conclusion had they not occurred
is evidence of prejudice or of bias on the part of one or more of the examiners.

However, the academic basis of a decision by the examiners or a progress review is not itself subject to appeal since this is a matter of academic judgment.

In addition, you can only raise concerns about the supervision or other arrangements during your course, as a ground for an appeal, if there are exceptional reasons why you could not have told us about these before your examination.

To submit your appeal, fill in the research degree appeal form [DOC 31KB].

Find out more about the assessment and progress of your research degree.

See more detailed procedures for the consideration of research degree appeals in the regulations for your research degree [PDF 143KB].

Appealing a complaint

If someone complains about you, it is possible to appeal the outcome of this.

This is not an academic appeal. Instead you are appealing a discipline decision.

See more from Academic appeals