Review of Course Grades & Dean's Decisions on Academic Standing or Awards

Review of Course Grades
Review of Dean's Decisions on Academic Standing or Awards
Grade Review and Academic Review Committees

Review of Course Grades

Students with concerns about course grades should resolve the matter via the procedures outlined below.
Disagreement with the academic judgement of Course Leaders is NOT a valid reason for review.
As a result of review, grades may be revised upwards, downwards or remain unchanged.

Academic Regulations on Review of Course Grades

Requests for review of course grades are governed by Section 11 of the Academic Regulations for Master's Degrees.

Informal Resolution

For review of course grades via informal resolution, the Course Leader will consider requests on grounds of administrative error in recording or calculating the mark or result, or other circumstances that impact the course grade awarded. A student should contact the Course Leader within 5 working days of the announcement of grades by the University with a view to resolving the matter informally.
The decision on the informal review will be communicated to the student by the Course Leader no later than 13 working days following the announcement of grades by the University.

Formal Procedures for Review

Disagreement with the academic judgement of Course Leaders does not constitute valid grounds for formal review. For formal review of course grades, only requests with the following grounds will be considered:

there has been a procedural irregularity in the assessment process; for example, the assessment was not conducted in accordance with the Academic Regulations for Master's Degrees or with the arrangements prescribed for the course;
there exist circumstances that impact the course grade awarded that the student was unable to bring them to the attention of the Course Leader prior to the assessment for valid reasons.

Procedures

Any request for review of course grades must be made in writing to the Dean of the College/School offering the course within 22 working days of the announcement of grades by the University.
The written application must:
- state the grounds on which the request for review is made;
- include a description of the relevant facts; and
- provide supporting evidence.
Upon receipt of the formal request for review, the Dean of the College/School will determine whether or not a prima facie case for review has been established. If, in the view of the Dean of the College/School, there is no prima facie case, then the request will be dismissed and the decision conveyed to the student no later than 32 working days following the announcement of grades by the University. The decision of the Dean of the College/School to dismiss the request is final.
If, in the view of the Dean of the College/School, there is a prima facie case, then he/she will refer the matter to the College/School Grade Review Committee for consideration. The decision on the formal review will be communicated in writing to the student by the Dean of the College/School with a brief statement of the reasons for the decision. The decision should be conveyed to the student no later than 54 working days following the announcement of grades by the University.

Appeal Procedures

Formal requests for review of course grades should normally be resolved at the College/School level.
A student may only appeal against the decision of the College/School Grade Review Committee on the basis of procedural irregularity in the review process within 10 working days following receipt of the decision on the formal review.
Students may submit an appeal in writing to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Appellants should clearly indicate the grounds for appeal, and provide evidence in support of the appeal.
The Dean of Graduate Studies will determine whether or not a prima facie case for appeal has been established. If, in the view of the Dean of Graduate Studies, there is no prima facie case, then the appeal will be dismissed and the decision conveyed to the student normally no later than 10 working days following receipt of the appeal. The decision of the Dean of Graduate Studies to dismiss an appeal is final.
If, in the view of the Dean of Graduate Studies, there is a prima facie case, he/she will refer the matter to the Academic Review Committee for consideration. The decision on the appeal will be conveyed to the student in writing normally no later than 27 working days following receipt of the appeal case by the Dean of Graduate Studies and is final.

Review of Dean's Decisions on Academic Standing or Awards

Students who have concerns about the Dean's decision on academic standing or final award should resolve the matter via the procedures outlined below.
Disagreement with the academic judgement of the Dean is NOT a valid reason for review.

Academic Regulations on Review of Dean's Decisions on Academic Standing or Awards

Requests for review of a Dean's decision on academic standing or final award are governed by Section 16 of the Academic Regulations for Master's Degrees.

Informal Resolution

For review of a Dean's decision via informal means, the University will only consider requests on grounds of administrative error in recording, transcribing, or reporting of the result.
A student should attempt to resolve the matter informally by contacting the Programme Leader within 5 working days of the publication of the academic standing or final award by the University through the University administrative information system.
The decision on the informal review will be communicated to the student by the Programme Leader no later than 8 working days following receipt of the formal request for review.

Formal Procedures for Review

For formal review of a Dean's decision, only requests with the following grounds will be considered:

there has been a procedural irregularity affecting the Dean's decision;
there exist circumstances that impact the Dean's decision that the student was unable to bring them to the attention of the Dean prior to its deliberations for valid reasons.

Procedures

Students may submit a formal request in writing to the Dean of Graduate Studies within 22 working days of the publication of the Dean's decision by the University.
The application must:
- state the grounds on which the request for review is made;
- include a description of the relevant facts; and
- provide supporting evidence.
The Dean of Graduate Studies will determine whether or not a prima facie case for review has been established. If, in the view of the Dean of Graduate Studies, there is no prima facie case, then the request will be dismissed and the decision conveyed to the student no later than 10 working days following receipt of the request. The decision of the Dean of Graduate Studies to dismiss the request for review is final.
If, in the view of the Dean of Graduate Studies, there is a prima facie case, he/she will refer the matter to the Academic Review Committee for consideration. The decision on the formal review will be conveyed to the student in writing no later than 22 working days following receipt of the formal request for review.

Appeal Procedures

Formal requests for review of the Dean's decisions should normally be resolved by the Academic Review Committee.
A student may only appeal against the decision of the Committee on the basis of procedural irregularity in the review process.
Students may submit an appeal in writing to the Provost within 10 working days following receipt of the decision regarding the formal review. Appellants should clearly indicate the grounds for appeal and provide evidence in support of the appeal.
If the Provost determines that the case is substantiated, the decision will be conveyed to the Dean. The decision on the appeal will be conveyed to the student in writing within 22 working days following receipt of the appeal and is final.

Grade Review Committees and Academic Review Committees

1. College Grade Review Committee

Terms of Reference

To decide whether a student has established grounds for review of course grades, in accordance with AR11.7
To refer substantiated cases to the appropriate Assessment Panel(s)
To dismiss requests for review where cases are not substantiated
To receive reports from Assessment Panels in relation to cases referred by this committee
To identify any academic quality or wider issues raised by each case
To report annually to the Senate via the Quality Assurance Committee on review cases considered

Constitution

Chair:	Dean (or nominee)
Members:	One full-time academic staff member from the College (nominated by Department Head) 5 academic staff members are suggested to be appointed as potential members One full-time academic staff from another College/School (nominated by the Dean of other College/School) 3 academic staff members are suggested to be appointed as potential members
Secretary:	Administrative staff member of the College

The College Grade Review Committee is established by the College Board. The period of office of members is two years.

2. School Grade Review Committee

Terms of Reference

To decide whether a student has established grounds for review of course grades, in accordance with AR11.7
To refer substantiated cases to the appropriate Assessment Panel(s)
To dismiss requests for review where cases are not substantiated
To receive reports from Assessment Panels in relation to cases referred by this committee
To identify any academic quality or wider issues raised by each case
To report annually to the Senate via the Quality Assurance Committee on review cases considered

Constitution

Chair:	Dean (or nominee)
Members:	One full-time academic staff member from the School (nominated by Dean) 5 academic staff members are suggested to be appointed as potential members One full-time academic staff from another College/School (nominated by the Dean of other College/School) 3 academic staff members are suggested to be appointed as potential members
Secretary:	Administrative staff member of the School

The School Grade Review Committee is established by the School Board. The period of office of members is two years.

3. Academic Review Committee

Terms of Reference

To decide whether a student has established grounds for review of Dean's decisions, in accordance with AR16.6
To refer substantiated cases to the appropriate Dean(s)
To decide whether a student has established grounds for appeal against College/School Grade Review Committees, in accordance with AR11.13
To refer substantiated appeal cases to the appropriate Assessment Panel(s)
To dismiss requests for review/appeal where cases are not substantiated
To receive reports from Deans/Assessment Panels in relation to cases referred by this committee
To identify any academic quality or wider issues raised by each case
To report annually to the Senate via the Quality Assurance Committee on review cases considered

Constitution

Co-Chairmen:	- Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) and - Associate Provost (Academic Affairs) (or nominee)
Members:	- Two full-time academic staff appointed by the Senate A pool of 10 academic staff members will be appointed as potential members
Co-Secretaries:	- Director of School of Graduate Studies (or nominee) and - Director of Academic Regulations and Records Office (or nominee)

Notes: When a postgraduate student case is considered, the Dean of Graduate Studies will chair the meeting and the secretary will be from School of Graduate Studies. When an undergraduate student case is considered, the Associate Provost (Academic Affairs) will chair the meeting and the secretary will be from the Academic Regulations and Records Office.

The term of office of the members appointed by the Senate shall be two years with a staggered arrangement.