Faculty Academic Appeals 

There are three possible grounds under which you can appeal to the Faculty:

1. a) There were extenuating circumstances, for example you were adversely affected by illness, which the original decision makers were not aware of, or that you could not disclose at that time to them.

Normally you would be expected to use the Serious Adverse Circumstances (SACS) process as soon as possible (see the Learning and teaching Handbook for more information - 6.2.6: Student Absence, Illness and Adverse Circumstances) to let the University know that there are circumstances which may have affected their performance. Students are notified of deadlines relating to the retrospective submissions of SACS forms which relate to examinations and/or coursework submission. In order to use the appeal process to retrospectively declare adverse circumstances, you must not only be able to present evidence to support your claim but also demonstrate a good reason not to have notified the University at an earlier point.

1. b) There is evidence that procedures were not applied correctly, or marks were calculated incorrectly.

For an appeal on this ground, you should clearly state which procedure was not correctly applied and/or demonstrate why it is believed the marks were incorrectly calculated. Please note that the latter relates to an error in the way an overall mark or grade has been calculated from individual marks. You cannot appeal the award of individual marks for pieces of work, exams etc as this constitutes questioning academic judgement.

1. c) That the original decision was not reasonable in the given circumstances.

You must submit your appeal within 21 calendar days of the date of the notification of the decision to be appealed. For appeals against exam -related results, this means within 21 calendar days of the date that the pass list was published.

How to Appeal

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students in all Faculties should make a submission in the Faculty Student Appeals App available here

If you no longer have an active Durham University account, for example, if you have been withdrawn from the University, you will be unable to access the Faculty Student Appeals App. Please contact your Faculty Office, stating your full name and student ID number, to request an alternate submission method: 

Faculty of Arts and Humanities undergraduate appeals - artsandhumanities.appeals@durham.ac.uk

Faculty of Science undergraduate appeals - sciencefaculty.appeals@durham.ac.uk

Faculty of Social Sciences undergraduate appeals - socialsciences.appeals@durham.ac.uk 

Durham Business School undergraduate appeals - business.appeals@durham.ac.uk

Once you have started to complete the appeal submission, you will be unable to save it as a draft. Therefore, you may wish to prepare your answers in advance of completing the app submission by reading the Faculty Academic Appeal App Questions. Please ensure the evidence you wish to submit is ready to upload when completing your submission in the Faculty Appeals App. Evidence is unable to be added once an appeal investigation has begun. 

 If you experience any difficulties accessing the online submission via the app, or if you have any queries, please contact your Faculty Office (contact details above), stating your name and student ID number. 

 The submission of evidence relating to a third party (i.e. friend, relative or any other person) is not normally expected therefore please only submit if it is critical to your appeal, and if you have consent to do so.   

Your appeal may not be accepted if it is received out of time without good justification as to why it could not be submitted within the specified timeframe; if the form is not completed correctly; if it does not meet one of the three allowable grounds, or if it questions academic judgment. Note that academic judgement includes questioning the marks awarded for a particular piece of work and also the classification of SACS submissions.

Postgraduate Students

All Postgraduate students should complete the Postgraduate Faculty Academic Appeals Proforma which is then emailed, with any supporting evidence, to student.appeals@durham.ac.uk

Appeal Outcomes

Wherever possible, your Faculty appeal will be considered within 42 days of receipt, however, please note that this may take longer at particularly busy times or during vacation periods or should we need to seek further supporting information from you.

If an appeal is upheld, it is usual for it to be referred back to the original decision-making body for reconsideration, for example the Board of Examiners. Alternatively, an upheld appeal may also result in the granting of a concession. Note that marks are never changed as the result of an appeal outcome unless there has been an error in the original calculation (ie where marks from assignments are aggregated together).

Note also that an upheld appeal may not necessarily result in a change to the original decision.

Once the final decision of the Faculty Appeal has been communicated, the next stage of the process would be to place a Senate Appeal.

Senate Appeal Process