2016-17
Code of Procedure for Appeals to the Senate Appeals Committee
The Code of Procedure for Appeals to the Senate Appeals Committee is governed by Resolution No. 570 of the University Court which came into effect on 1 September 2006.
28.1 Senate Assessors for Appeals
28.1.1 The Senate shall appoint from its members two Senate Assessors for Student Appeals, one of whom shall be the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals and the other shall be his or her deputy. Any of the duties of the Senior Senate Assessor may be performed by the deputy Senate Assessor.
The term of office shall normally be three years.
28.1.2 The duties of the Senate Assessors for Student Appeals shall include consideration of the admissibility of late appeals, directing the student with respect to further information, consideration of appeals under the preliminary disposal procedure, convening a hearing before the Senate Appeals Committee, notifying the outcome to the student and reporting the outcome with any recommendations to Senate.
28.2 Jurisdiction of the Senate Appeals Committee
28.2.1 The Senate Appeals Committee shall consider appeals by Undergraduate Students, Taught Postgraduate Students and Research Postgraduate Students against a decision of a College Appeals Committee which falls within the scope of grounds for an appeal to Senate.
28.2.2 The Committee shall not have authority to alter the decision of a Board of Examiners. If relevant factors are raised by the appeal which should have been made known to the Board of Examiners or which the Board failed to take into account, the Committee shall instruct the Board to reconvene to reconsider the assessment.
28.2.3 The Committee shall not have authority to permit the resubmission of a thesis for a degree by research where a Committee of Examiners following due process, has recommended rejection of the thesis or resubmission for a lower degree. If the appeal reveals failure on the part of a School or a College to meet the standards set by the Code of Practice for Postgraduate Research Degrees, the student may raise a complaint under the Complaints Procedure contained in Regulation 29 of the University Calendar.
28.3 Lodging an Appeal
Time within which an appeal is to be lodged and late appeals
28.3.1 Where an appeal lies against a decision of the College Appeals Committee in terms of §28.4.1, the appeal or an intimation of intention to appeal shall be submitted in writing to the Director of the Senate Office for the attention of the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals, within 10 working days[1] of the intimation to the student of the decision against which the student is appealing. Where an intention to appeal is submitted, the full appeal shall be submitted within 20 working days of the date of the letter intimating the intention to appeal.
28.3.2 An application for an extension of time for submitting (i) an intimation to appeal beyond 10 working days, or (ii) a full appeal letter beyond 20 working days, shall be made in writing to the Director of the Senate Office for the attention of the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals and shall include sufficient information concerning the nature of the appeal, shall state the grounds on which an extension of time is sought and be accompanied by such evidence of medical or other adverse personal circumstances as are relevant to the application.
28.3.3 The timescale of 10 working days to intimate an intention to appeal combined with 20 working days to submit an appeal is designed to provide sufficient time for preparation of the appeal. Appellants are responsible for ensuring that arrangements such as; consultations with representatives, and data requests made under Data Protection or Freedom of Information legislation, are initiated at the beginning of the process. In considering any request from an appellant for an extension to the normal timescale for submission of an appeal, the timeliness of the appellant's own actions will be taken into account.
28.3.4 An application for extension of time for submitting an appeal, or an intimation to appeal, shall not be granted unless the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals or his or her deputy, is satisfied that the student was precluded from appealing within 20 working days, or intimating the appeal within 10 working days, as a result of serious illness or other circumstances which are both exceptional and relevant to the appeal.
28.3.5 A letter of appeal or other documents required for the consideration of an appeal shall be treated as having been given or sent on the day that it is received by the Director of the Senate Office; and any letter or document sent to any person including the student in connection with the appeal shall, if sent to the person's last notified address, be treated as having been given or sent on the day that it was posted.
28.4 Grounds for Appeal
28.4.1 An appeal may be made to the Senate Appeals Committee against a decision of a College Appeals Committee only on the grounds that:
i) relevant new evidence has emerged which could not reasonably have been produced to the College Appeals Committee and/or
ii) there has been defective procedure by the College in its disposal of the appeal and/or
iii) the disposal at College level was manifestly unreasonable.
28.4.2 Evidence of medical or other adverse personal circumstances must be provided in accordance with the Code of Assessment (§16.41 - §16.48).
28.4.3 In the case of a claim of unfair or defective procedure, evidence in the form of written statements or formal documents such as the Minute of the Board of Examiners must be provided. Advice on a subject data access request can be obtained from the Data Protection Office at:
www.glasgow.ac.uk/dpfoioffice/a-ztopics/subjectaccessrequestsar/
28.4.4 Where the student claims that the disposal at College level was unreasonable, the student must state in writing the respects in which he/she believes that the College Appeals Committee was mistaken in its decision.
28.5 Content of a Letter of Appeal to the Senate Appeals Committee
28.5.1 A letter of appeal should be concise and shall state:
i) the name and address of the student and the telephone number and email address, if available;
ii) the decision appealed against;
iii) all the grounds for the appeal: additional grounds may be admitted subsequently only at the discretion of the Convener; additional grounds presented at the hearing may lead to adjournment of the hearing;
iv) the remedy or remedies which the student seeks;
v) the name and address of any person whom the student has appointed as a representative or who will accompany the student at the hearing;
vi) whether the student wishes to be present at an oral hearing or whether he/she is content for the appeal to be considered without his/her presence.
28.5.2 Where a student has failed to present to the College Appeals Committee medical or other adverse personal circumstances, the letter of appeal shall contain a statement explaining the exceptional circumstances which prevented this evidence from being presented previously.
28.6 Senate Appeals Committee - Constitution
28.6.1 The Committee shall be constituted as follows:
i) The Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals or his/her deputy shall convene the Committee.
ii) Five members of Senate nominated by each College to serve for a period of three years. The nominees will be individuals with experience of assessment, teaching and supervision at undergraduate and postgraduate (including research) levels. The nominees will not be members of any College Appeals Committee. One member shall be appointed as a Senate Assessor for Student Appeals and shall be the deputy to the Senior Assessor.
28.6.2 The membership of the Committee shall be reported to Senate annually. Members shall normally serve for three years.
28.6.3 A representative of the student body may attend the hearing in the role of observer unless the appellant has expressed the wish that no such representative shall be present.
28.6.4 Where a member of the Committee has participated directly in the decision appealed against or has an affiliation to the School(s) in which the appellant has been studying, that member shall not sit for that appeal. A member of the Committee may not sit on an appeal hearing where he or she has been party to an earlier dismissal of the appeal under preliminary disposal.
28.6.5 The quorum of the Committee shall be five. Exceptionally the Committee shall have powers to co-opt up to two members of Senate in order to obtain a quorum.
28.6.6 The Committee may have the assistance of a legal adviser.
28.6.7 The Director of the Senate Office or his or her deputy shall act as Clerk to the Committee.
28.7 Consideration of Appeals
Power to give directions
28.7.1 Upon receipt of a written appeal, the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals or his or her deputy may direct the student (or his or her representative) or any party to the proceedings, to furnish additional evidence, information or explanation as may be thought to be appropriate.
28.7.2 A direction to the student (or his or her representative) shall state the period of time by which the student shall respond in writing following which the appeal may be dismissed by the Senior Senate Assessor.
Preliminary disposal
28.7.3 The Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals or his/her deputy in consultation with two members of the Senate Appeals Committee may make a preliminary disposal in order to accelerate a decision or where the student is no longer available for a hearing.[2] The Senior Senate Assessor may:
i) dismiss the appeal because the subject-matter of the appeal does not fall within the scope of §28.4;
ii) dismiss the appeal because no competent grounds have been stated or because the appeal is frivolous or vexatious or because the appeal is out of time or because the student failed to comply with a direction made in terms of §28.7.1 and §28.7.2;
iii) dismiss the appeal because it does not establish a prima facie case that disposal at College level involved defective or unfair procedure, or a failure to take relevant medical evidence or adverse personal circumstances into account or was manifestly unreasonable;
iv) dismiss the appeal because the new evidence submitted by the student could reasonably have been presented to the College Appeals Committee;
v) dismiss the appeal because the new evidence submitted by the student is not relevant or makes no material difference to the consideration of the case;
vi) set aside the decision of the College Appeals Committee and refer the appeal to the appropriate academic body responsible for the application of the progress regulations or to the Board of Examiners with whatever guidance or direction it considers appropriate;
vii) refer the appeal to the College Appeals Committee with whatever guidance or direction it considers appropriate, which may include a direction that the appeal is heard again by a Committee which is not constituted by any member who was involved in the first decision;
viii) refer the appeal to the Senate Appeals Committee for a full hearing. Provision of a hearing does not imply that a prima facie case has been established.
28.7.4 The Senior Senate Assessor or his or her deputy may also take such other interim action by way of direction as he or she deems appropriate.
28.7.5 The Clerk to the Committee shall state in the letter to the student (or his or her representative) intimating the outcome of the preliminary disposal the reasons for the decision and shall provide the papers which were considered by the Committee.
28.7.6 An appeal which has been dismissed under preliminary disposal may be reinstated if the student (or his or her representative) makes representation stating that the Senate Appeals Committee overlooked an aspect of the original appeal. The representation and the reasons shall be made in writing to the Senate Office within 10 working days of the date of the letter intimating the outcome of preliminary disposal. The decision on whether to reinstate the appeal shall be taken by whichever of the Senior Senate Assessor or the Deputy Senate Assessor did not convene the preliminary disposal, and shall be taken in consultation with the Clerk of Senate. An appeal can only be reinstated if it is shown that the Senate Appeals Committee did not consider one or more aspects of the original appeal.
28.8 Arrangements and Procedure for a Hearing
Timing of the hearing
28.8.1 When a hearing is required, the Committee shall meet within 20 working days of receipt of the letter of appeal. Where this is not possible the appellant should be informed as soon as possible within the 20 day period and be given the reason(s) for the delay.
Preparation of papers
28.8.2 The Clerk of the Committee shall:
i) request a copy of the papers which were before the College Appeals Committee and a report of the hearing including information relating to the manner in which the decision appealed against was reached;
ii) request any other reports or information relevant to the appeal;
iii) request the Convener of the College Appeals Committee to provide a written response to the statements made in the letter of appeal and to name any person or persons the College wishes to appear to provide evidence;
iv) provide the student (or his or her representative), normally 10 working days in advance of the hearing, with a copy of all papers which will be before the Committee and the names of those persons who will be in attendance. The papers will normally be sent to the student by Recorded Delivery/University Courier or may at the student's request be collected in person;
v) notify the student (or his or her representative) no less than five working days prior to the hearing of the date, time and location of the hearing and the names of the members of the Committee who will consider the case.
28.9 Attendance at Hearing
28.9.1 Where the student is prevented from attending by ill health, the hearing shall normally be deferred on submission of medical evidence. If the student does not attend on the date appointed and no notification of the absence has been received, if the Senior Senate Assessor or his/her deputy is satisfied that the student has received due notice of the hearing, the Committee may proceed to deal with the case and to reach a decision in the student’s absence.
28.9.2 The student shall have the right to be accompanied, assisted or represented at the hearing by one of the following: a parent or guardian; a fellow student or other friend; an Adviser from the Students' Representative Council Advice Centre; a member of University staff, or any other person. Where the student seeks to have two individuals in attendance, one shall attend as an observer only.
28.9.3 The student may name any person or persons he/she wishes to be present to provide evidence on his/her behalf. The name of any person or persons called by the student to provide evidence shall be provided to the Clerk of the Committee no later than 10 working days before the date of the hearing. The student shall be responsible for arranging the attendance of such persons at the hearing with the exception of members of staff of the University who shall be notified of the date, time and location of the hearing by the Clerk to the Committee.
28.9.4 If any person or persons are unable or unwilling to attend the hearing, the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals shall be responsible for deciding if the hearing shall proceed on the date arranged or be deferred. A written statement may be presented by any person who has been invited to attend the hearing but who is not available at the date specified.
28.9.5 The hearing shall be held in private. Strict confidentiality shall be observed.
28.10 Expert Advice
Where the Committee requires the advice of an expert to deal with a question of fact or special difficulty, such an expert shall provide a written report and where appropriate shall be invited to attend the hearing to provide evidence.
28.11 Procedure for the Conduct of a Hearing
28.11.1 The Committee shall rely only on evidence presented at the hearing. Unauthorised electronic recordings of previous meetings or events will not be admissible as evidence at the hearing.
28.11.2 The hearing shall be conducted in the presence of all persons invited to attend to provide evidence.
28.11.3 Any unauthorised electronic recording of the hearing is expressly forbidden by the University.
Statements
28.11.4 At the hearing:
i) The Convener shall invite the student and his or her representative to make a statement. If the student declines the invitation to make a statement, the Committee shall reserve the right to question the student directly;
ii) The Committee shall then address any questions to the relevant parties including those appearing to advise the Committee and shall afford the student and his/her representative an opportunity to question the persons involved through the Convener;
iii) The Committee shall consider any request from any person present at the hearing to make a statement or to put questions through the Committee to anyone whom the Committee has examined;
iv) The Committee shall afford the student an opportunity to make a final statement or to have one made on his or her behalf;
v) The Convener shall seek confirmation from all parties that all necessary and relevant information has been conveyed to the Committee, that the questioning is complete and that in the opinion of the student, the hearing has been conducted in a fair manner.
Deliberation of the Committee
28.11.5 Thereafter all persons except the Committee, its Clerk and any legal adviser appointed to advise the Committee shall retire while the Committee considers its decision. The Committee shall reach its decision or defer the decision pending further investigations.
Rules of evidence
28.11.6 In reaching its decision, the Senate Appeals Committee shall not be bound by the rules of evidence. The Committee shall attempt to ascertain all relevant facts with a view to coming to a reasonable disposal.
Adjournment
28.11.7 At any stage the Convener may adjourn the hearing if he/she considers this to be necessary.
28.12 Disposal
28.12.1 The Committee shall decide the matter at the conclusion of its consideration of the appeal or as soon as possible thereafter.
28.12.2 The Committee may decide by a majority.
28.12.3 The Committee may:
i) dismiss the appeal because the subject matter of the appeal does not fall within the scope of §26.3;
ii) dismiss the appeal because the disposal at College level did not involve defective or unfair procedure, or a failure to take relevant medical or adverse personal circumstances into account or was not manifestly unreasonable;
iii) dismiss the appeal because the new evidence submitted by the student could reasonably have been produced to the College Appeals Committee;
iv) dismiss the appeal because the new evidence submitted by the student is not relevant or makes no material difference to the consideration of the case;
v) dismiss the appeal because the appeal is frivolous or vexatious; or if it is considered that the student suffered no material prejudice;
vi) refer the appeal to the appropriate College Committee or to a Board of Examiners with whatever guidance or direction it considers appropriate;
vii) uphold the appeal and grant whatever remedy it considers fair in the circumstances which does not involve overturning an academic judgement.
28.12.4 The decision and the reasons for the decision, with reference to any findings of fact, will be provided in writing to the student and his or her representative by Recorded Delivery normally within 10 working days of the decision being determined. If it is not possible to provide the decision and the reasons for the decision within this timescale, the student will be informed of the reason for the delay and a new timescale will be provided.
28.12.5 Where an appeal is upheld, the University shall defray reasonable and proportionate incidental expenses necessarily incurred by the student in the process of pursuing an appeal.
28.12.6 Incidental expenses are those which arose out of the pursuit of an appeal. They might include travelling expenses or photocopying expenses. Expenses should be reasonable and proportionate. The claim should be supported by evidence in the form of receipts. Where the claim relates to travel expenses, these should be at the lowest rate that could be obtained taking account of the circumstances of the claim.
28.12.7 A claim for expenses should be made on a Complaints Expenses form and submitted to the Director of the Senate Office within 20 working days of the date of the letter of outcome of the appeal.
28.13 Reference Back to a College
28.13.1 The Senate Appeals Committee may decide to refer the matter to the College Appeals Committee where it considers:
i) that evidence made available to the Senate Appeals Committee had not been presented to the College Appeals Committee, or
ii) that there had been defective procedure at the College level, or
iii) that the decision of the College Appeals Committee had been manifestly unreasonable.
28.13.2 In the first case, the Senate Appeals Committee may decide to refer the matter to the College Appeals Committee as originally constituted to hear the appeal in order to permit that Committee to hear the case ab initio.
28.13.3 In the second and third cases, the matter shall be considered by a newly constituted College Appeals Committee.
28.13.4 Where an appeal is made to the Senate against the decision of the College Appeals Committee following a reference back, it shall be competent for the Senior Senate Assessor for Student Appeals or his/her deputy, in consultation with at least two other members of the original Appeals Committee, either to dismiss the appeal or to recall the Senate Appeals Committee to hear the case.
28.14 Annual Review
28.14.1 The Senate Appeals Committee shall review its proceedings annually including a review of actions taken in respect of recommendations to Senate.
28.14.2 This shall conclude the internal processes of the University.
28.15 Independent External Review
If the appellant is dissatisfied with the outcome of an appeal to Senate, he/she shall have the right to a review by an external adjudicator,[3] details of which shall be available from the Senate Office.
[1] For the purposes of this Code, Monday to Friday are counted as working days except when the University is closed for a public or other Holiday (as listed at www.gla.ac.uk/services/humanresources/all/worklife/publicholidays/public/). Saturdays and Sundays are not counted as working days.
[2] The timing for the consideration and notification of the appeal outcome should not exceed that set for cases considered by a full hearing as specified in §28.8.1 and §28.12.4 of this Code. Therefore the decision should be issued within 30 working days of receipt of the letter of appeal. Where this is not possible the appellant should be informed as soon as possible of the reason for the delay.
[3] External adjudication will be provided by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (www.spso.org.uk/).