Result Appeal
The following advice is for students considering an appeal against a mark or grade given for an individual item of assessment or final unit result.
- Is there a time limit for when a Result Appeal must be lodged?
- How do I appeal a result?
- Grounds for formally appealing a unit result
- What information must my appeal contain?
- Where do I lodge my Result Appeal?
- The Result Appeal Process
- How long will my appeal take?
- Can I re-enrol pending the outcome of my appeal?
- What if I am not satisfied with the outcome of my Result Appeal?
Is there a time limit for when a Result Appeal must be lodged?
You must lodge your appeal within 20 business days of being given access to your results and Academic Progression Status.
Check here for the closing dates for lodging an appeal
How do I appeal a result?
There are two levels of appeal that apply to a result query and these must be followed in sequence:
- Informal Result Query
You must contact your tutor, lecturer or unit coordinator to discuss your concerns and review the assessment you are querying.
This Informal Result Query may be conducted by email, telephone or in person.
If you feel you need support in this discussion, you may have someone accompany you. Staff in the Student Guild or ECUI (international students) can provide advice.
Most queries are resolved through this informal process but if you feel dissatisfied with the outcome of the review and that the grounds for your query were not addressed, you may want to take your query to a formal appeal.
- Formal result appeal
To proceed to a formal appeal, you will need to demonstrate that you have gone through the informal query stage first. You can do this by asking the tutor/lecturer/unit coordinator sign the Informal Result Query form.
Grounds for formally appealing a unit result
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Informal Result Query, and you have
valid grounds, and you want to proceed to a formal unit appeal, you need to
complete a Result Appeal form.
Valid grounds for formally appealing a result in a unit shall include:
- The result was not determined by the assessment method specified in the relevant unit outline;
- Disadvantage through lack of feedback;
- Perceived bias affecting the assessment;
- Incorrect advice from staff teaching the unit affecting the assessment;
- Patent errors;
- Any other grounds accepted for appeal by the staff member conducting the review.
What information must a Result Appeal contain?
When completing the Result Appeal form you will need to provide the following information:
- Confirmation that an Informal Query has occurred (ie attach the signed Informal Result Query form);
- The grounds for your appeal (from those set out above);
- A clear statement for each of your ground(s) for appeal, explaining the basis for your claims;
- Any other evidence to support your case.
Please note that your appeal will not be processed if it does not include the above requirements. If any of this information is missing, your appeal papers will be returned to you within five business days of when you submitted them. You will then have five business days to submit a revised application.
Where do I lodge my Result Appeal?
Your Result Appeal must be lodged at Student Central, either in person or by
post, fax or email. If you are emailing any attachments, these need to be
accessible using Microsoft Office.
You will be given a receipt number for your appeal and you can quote this
number if you wish to check on the progress of your appeal.
The Result Appeal process
Student Central will check you have provided the required documentation and
will forward your appeal to the Dean of the Faculty (or nominee) owning the
unit.
The Dean will appoint an academic staff member, not directly responsible for
the original result, to review your assessment or exam. The review will be
conducted according to the Assessment Review Guidelines for Academic
Staff. The reviewer will make a decision and send their recommendation to
the Dean for approval.
NOTE: You should be aware that a possible outcome of a Unit Result appeal
may be that the mark is adjusted down.
How long will a result appeal take?
The Faculty will notify Assessments of the decision within 15 business days of
the date the appeal was received by the Faculty.
The outcome of your appeal and the reason for the decision will be
communicated to you in writing by Assessments within 3 business days of
receipt of the decision from the Faculty.
Can I re- enrol pending the outcome of my result Appeal?
In some instances, the mark or grade being appealed against may have
resulted in suspension or exclusion. ECU will allow you to re-enrol, while the
appeal is being considered.
If this applies to you, you must advise Student Central when you lodge your
formal unit appeal. Your status will be amended before you can proceed with
your provisional re-enrolment.
If your appeal is unsuccessful, your enrolment will be withdrawn. If, as a
result of the review process, this withdrawal occurs after the published unit
census date, you will be able to request withdrawal without financial penalty.
NOTE: ECU allows students to enrol provisionally in good faith. Therefore,
where an unsuccessful appeal results in withdrawal from provisionally
enrolled units, students cannot claim disadvantage in relation to being
subsequently withdrawn from those units eg. Academic, financial, personal.
What if I am not satisfied with the outcome of my formal Result Appeal?
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Result Appeal and you feel that you have valid grounds to take your appeal further, you may lodge an Appeal to the Student Appeals Committee.