2019-20
Code of Procedure for Appeals
PREAMBLE
1. The Senate of the University of Glasgow is charged by the Universities (Scotland) Act with a duty to superintend the teaching of the University. This is understood to include examining.
2. The Senate of the University of Glasgow has agreed with the Principal of SRUC that a procedure be established to dispose of appeals by students pursuing courses at SRUC which lead to an award of the University of Glasgow. The validity of this procedure has been accepted by the Senate of the University and by the Academic Board of SRUC.
3. The procedure is set out in the remainder of this document.
CONSTITUTION OF THE APPEALS COMMITTEE
4. The Academic Board of SRUC shall establish an Academic Appeals Committee (hereafter referred to as ‘the Committee’).
5. Full powers for deciding appeals are vested in the Committee.
6. The Committee shall normally consist of the Academic Director (or alternate) [Convener], members of the Academic Board (to include at least one student member), and at least one representative of the Senate of the University of Glasgow.
7. No member shall sit in judgement on a case in which they have any interest.
8. The quorum for a meeting of this Committee, including the Convener, shall be five.
9. No member of the Senate Appeals Committee or the University Court shall be entitled to serve on the Committee. Where a member of the Academic Appeals Committee has participated directly in the decision appealed against, that member shall not sit for that individual appeal.
JURISDICTION
10. The jurisdiction of the Committee shall comprise all academic decisions affecting students, but not proceedings under the Code of Discipline or the Complaints Procedure. This includes Examinations Board decisions on student progress and final Degree Examinations and Award. If a student wishes to appeal against a final degree award then they must withdraw from graduation: a student who graduates is deemed to have accepted the award.
BASIS OF APPEAL
11. No appeal may be made on matters of academic judgement: in particular, no appeal may be made by any student against the academic judgement of an Examinations Board on the examination results.
12. An appeal may be considered only in matters of procedure, namely:
a) new evidence has emerged which could not reasonably have been produced during the Stage 1[1] appeals procedure, including mitigating medical circumstances; or
b) there is evidence that the procedure for conducting the Stage 1 appeal was not correctly followed; or
c) the decision and resulting action at Stage 1 was clearly unreasonable.
LODGING OF APPEAL
13. The grounds of appeal against the decision of the Examinations Board shall be clearly set out in writing and submitted to the Committee through the Quality Manager within 10 working days following intimation or publication of the Stage 1 outcome.
14. Content of Note of Appeal. The note of an appeal must state:
a) the name, address and, if possible, telephone number of the student making the appeal.
b) the grounds on which the student considers that the decision should be revised.
c) the remedy, or remedies, which the student seeks.
d) whether the student wishes to speak at a hearing.
e) whether the student intends to be assisted or represented by any person, and if so the name and occupation of that person.
All supporting evidence, e.g. a medical certificate if a student wishes to appeal on medical grounds, should be submitted together with the note of appeal. This may require the student to seek an extension from the Quality Manager for lodging an appeal. No appeal should be considered before all the evidence is produced.
TIME OF MEETING
15. The Committee shall meet within 10 working days of receipt of the note of appeal, or as soon as practicable thereafter.
PRELIMINARY DISPOSAL
16. Upon receipt of a written appeal, the Academic Director, after consultation with two members of the Committee, may:
a) dismiss the appeal because the appeal is out of time, or provides no sufficient grounds for an appeal, or is frivolous or vexatious; or
b) refer the appeal to the Committee; or
c) refer the appeal to the Examination Board for review of the academic decision.
APPEALS PROCEDURE
17. The Committee may decide for or against an appeal on the basis of written evidence, but will be required to see the candidate in question should they wish to argue the case personally. The student should be informed in writing giving reasonable notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. The Committee will also be required to consider the evidence submitted by any person indicated by the student and to see that person if the student so requests. However, the Committee may proceed to hear an appeal in the event of any person failing to attend at the appointed time.
18. The Committee will have discretion to limit the number of persons to be heard if the evidence to be given by them is deemed to be similar in nature.
19. A student interviewed by the Committee may if they wish be accompanied by a friend or adviser, as may any member of staff interviewed by the Committee.
APPEALS FROM STUDENTS IN YEARS OTHER THAN THE FINAL YEAR
20. In cases of appeals from students in years other than the final year, the Committee shall decide on the merit of each appeal and advise the Programme Leader and the appropriate Examinations Board of the decision reached.
21. The Committee must give the relevant Examinations Board an account of the reasons which led to its decision, but excluding any information which the student making the appeal has clearly indicated to be of a confidential nature and to be heard by the Committee only. The power of the Committee shall not be used to overturn an academic decision that a student has failed, but will enable the Committee to rule that a student be granted a repeat year or similar chance to retrieve failure.
22. The Secretary of the Committee will communicate the ruling to the Examinations Board and to the student who, failing production of fresh evidence, will be required to accept this decision.
APPEALS IN THE FINAL YEAR
23. No decisions of an Examinations Board to which the External Examiners have given their approval can be modified by any authority within SRUC without the Examination Board's concurrence.
24. The Committee may require an Examinations Board to reconsider its decision on a final examination result in the circumstances detailed in §12 (a), (b) and (c).
25. In the circumstances detailed in §12 (a), the matter will be referred back to the Examinations Board, with a recommendation and a supporting statement giving the reasons for this recommendation. As with appeals in earlier years, any information will be excluded from the supporting statement which the student making the appeal has clearly indicated to be of a confidential nature to be heard by the Committee only.
26. If after reconsideration, in the circumstances detailed in §12 (b) and (c), the Examinations Board does not modify its decision, the Academic Board may annul that decision if in its opinion account has not been taken of the relevant factors as specified in §12 (b) and (c).
APPEAL AGAINST A DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE
A student who is registered for an award of the University of Glasgow, may appeal against a decision of the Academic Appeals Committee of SRUC, but only in terms of the University Code of Procedure for Appeals to Senate. A copy of the Code will be found in the Fees and General Information section of the University Regulations.
The Senate Appeals Committee will entertain an appeal against the decision of the Academic Appeals Committee of SRUC only on the grounds that:
i) new evidence has emerged which could not reasonably have been produced to the SRUC Committee;
ii) there have been defective procedures at SRUC level;
iii) the disposal by SRUC was clearly unreasonable.