Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure for Further Education 2025 - 2028

Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure for Further Education 2025 - 2028

    1. Coleg Sir Gar and Coleg Ceredigion (“the College”) is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity in the delivery of its qualifications, ensuring that all assessment decisions are valid, reliable, and unbiased. Recognising the importance of fair treatment, the College provides learners with the opportunity to appeal any assessment decision they believe to be unfair, incorrect, or influenced by procedural errors.
    2. This policy specifically applies to instances where a learner is dissatisfied with the outcome or grade of internally assessed summative work, and aims to provide a clear procedure for addressing such concerns.
    3. For queries relating to external assessment and examinations, learners will be directed to the ‘post-results service request form’ available via EBS Ontrack on results day. Please refer to section 9 of this policy - Post-Result Service Appeals.
    4. For academic appeals concerning higher education qualifications, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Academic Appeal Policy must be referred to.
    5. All personal data collected and processed as part of the Academic Appeals Process will be handled in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The College will ensure that any information provided by learners, assessors or panel members is used solely for the purpose of processing and resolving appeals. This data will be stored securely, accessed only by authorised personnel, and retained only for as long as necessary in accordance with the College’s Data Retention Policy. Learners have the right to access their personal data, request rectification, and lodge complaints with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if they believe their data is being mishandled.
       

    1. The primary purpose of this policy is to establish a fair and transparent process for addressing appeals against academic judgments related to internal assessments. By clearly outlining the steps for submitting and resolving appeals, the College seeks to ensure equity in its assessment processes and maintain trust in its academic practices.

    1. This policy is applicable only to internally assessed summative work and for outcomes pre-post-results, i.e., before results have been submitted to the awarding organisations.

    1. A learner who wishes to challenge an assessment outcome can do so on the following grounds:
      1. Outcome of assessment or decision: Disagreement with the marking, grading, or overall outcome of the assessment.
      2. Conduct of assessment: Allegations of improper or unfair conduct during the assessment process.
      3. Opportunity to demonstrate competence: Belief that insufficient opportunities were provided to demonstrate competence required for the assessment.
      4. Assessment suitability: Concerns that suitable reasonable adjustments were not put in place.
      5. Timing of assessment: Issues with the scheduling or availability of opportunities to complete the assessment or resubmission.
      6. Awarding organisation guidelines: Any other substantiated grounds specified within the individual awarding organisation’s guidance.

    1.  STAGE 1: TUTOR/ASSESSOR STAGE
      1. Before formally initiating the appeals process, learners are required to discuss their concerns directly with the tutor or assessor responsible for the assessment decision. This discussion must be requested by the learner within 2 college days of receiving the assessment outcome.
      2. The initial meeting between the learner and tutor or assessor must take place as soon as reasonably possible following the learner’s request for a discussion.
      3. The tutor will create a written summary of the main points discussed and will share this with the learner.
      4. 5.1.4 Based on the discussion, one of the following decisions will be made by the tutor or assessor:
        1. Acceptance of the original assessment decision: The original outcome is upheld based on a review of the evidence and standards.
        2. Modification of the assessment outcome decision: Adjustments are made to the assessment decision in line with the evidence presented, and within the respective awarding organisation’s assessment rules and regulations.
        3. Opportunity to re-submit the assessment:  If deemed appropriate and permitted under the awarding organisation’s assessment rules and regulations.
      5. 5.1.5 The tutor/assessor will formally confirm the outcome of Stage 1 to the learner, their parent/carer (if appropriate) and to the Head of Curriculum within 2 college days.
      6. 5.1.6 If the learner remains dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage 1 and believes valid grounds for appeal persist, they must proceed to the Stage 2 appeals procedure.
    2. STAGE 2: FORMAL PROCEDURE
      1. 5.2.1 If the matter remains unresolved at Stage 1, the learner must email quality@colegsirgar.ac.uk within 3 working days of receiving the Stage 1 outcome requesting a stage 2 formal appeal.
      2. 5.2.2 Stage 2 provides an opportunity for a more detailed review of the initial decision, ensuring that all aspects of the appeal are thoroughly examined by an independent panel. This stage is designed to uphold fairness and transparency while offering learners a final option within the College’s internal appeals process.
      3. 5.2.3 The Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) will acknowledge receipt of the learner’s email within 2 working days and provide the learner with a copy of the academic appeals policy and the internal assessment appeals form (Appendix 1).
      4. 5.2.4 The learner is required to complete the internal assessment appeals form (Appendix 1) and submit to quality@colegsirgar.ac.uk, with supporting documentation (if appropriate) within 5 college days.
      5. 5.2.5 The QAU will acknowledge receipt of the internal assessment appeals form within 2 college days.
      6. 5.2.6 The QAU will review the appeal documentation, determine if the reason for appeal meets the criteria outlined in section 4 of this policy, and formally notify the learner that there are sufficient grounds for appeal.
      7. 5.2.7 If the request for appeal does not meet the criteria for appeal outlined in section 4 of this policy, the QAU will notify the learner that there is insufficient grounds for appeal and offer the learner an opportunity to present additional evidence in support of their claim for an appeal within 5 days. The learner will be informed in writing if the additional evidence sufficiently supports their grounds for appeal or not.  If the learner disagrees with the outcome of the request for appeal, the learner will be referred to the College’s Complaints Policy.
      8. 5.2.8 If the QAU determines that the grounds for the appeal are valid, it will proceed to collect additional evidence. This may involve discussions with the learner, tutor/assessor, internal quality assurer, head of curriculum, and other relevant parties to ensure all necessary information is gathered for the appeal.
      9. 5.2.9 The QAU will summarise the findings of the review of evidence and present a report to the academic appeals panel for consideration. The panel will carefully consider all evidence presented before reaching a decision.
      10. 5.2.10 The appeals panel will reach a decision within 21 college days of notifying the learner that their grounds for appeal have been accepted.
      11. 5.2.11 The outcome of the appeal will be communicated in writing by the Chair of the appeals panel to the learner and, if applicable, the parent or guardian. The tutor, assessor, and all members of the curriculum management team will also be informed of the appeal decision.

    1. The QAU will convene a meeting of the appeals panel and circulate the details of the appeal and the evidence gathered for consideration prior to the appeal meeting.
    2. The appeals panel will be composed of the following members:
      1. A Curriculum Director (who has not previously been involved in the appeal process) and will serve as the Chair;
      2. The Director/Assistant Director Learning Experience (if appropriate);
      3. An Assistant Director of Curriculum (who has not been involved in the appeal process).
    3. The Director of Quality will present to the appeals panel the details of the appeal and the evidence gathered/presented in the report.
    4. The Chair of the panel may choose to adjourn the meeting if further clarification is needed on any disputed points of fact that are material to the appeal or the original issues raised. In such cases, the Chair may decide to seek the views of the awarding organisation’s external verifier/quality assurer, assessor, or moderator who may have been involved at earlier stages of the process.
    5. When reaching a decision, the appeals panel will aim to act in the best interests of the learner, ensuring that the outcome is fair, unbiased, and based on the evidence presented. At the same time, the panel will ensure that the decision upholds the academic standards of the College’s qualifications and aligns with the assessment rules and regulations of the respective awarding organisation and qualification regulator.

    1. If a learner believes that the College has not conducted their academic appeal fairly or feels that they have been subject to discrimination, they may request an escalation of the appeal. This request must be submitted in writing to the Vice Principal for Curriculum and Quality within 5 college days of receiving the appeal panel’s decision. The Vice Principal will then forward the appeal to the respective awarding organisation for review.

    1. The QAU will maintain a central record of academic appeals and outcomes and will report these annually to the Quality Board.

    1. Any academic appeals at this stage will be handled in accordance with each awarding organisation’s appeals process.

    • Examinations Policy
    • Assessment Policy for FE/WBL/School Link
    • Conflict of Interest Policy
    • Joint Council for Qualifications (relating to City & Guilds, NCFE, OCR, Pearson and WJEC qualifications)

  • Policy title Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure for Further Education
    Policy presentation This will be made available in writing (Arial font size 10) in Welsh and English. Alternative formats may be requested. Such requests should be made to vanessa.cashmore@colegsirgar.ac.uk
    Policy communication

    College Website

    Staff & Student Gateway

    Main purpose of the policy

    (brief summary)

    		 The main purpose of this policy is to identify how learners can appeal against an assessment decision.

    Main author

    (who can provide advice and guidance on contents)

    		 Sian Treharne - Head of Quality
    Date of Governing Board approval 08/05/2025
    Date effective from 08/05/2025
    Date for renewal 08/05/2028
    Date of equality impact assessment 07/05/2025
    Date of Welsh language Impact Assessment 02/05/2025
    Date of privacy impact assessment 02/05/2025

    Risks associated with policy

    (if policy is not implemented)

    		 Learners could possibly be disadvantaged and treated unfairly due to the absence of an appeal process for assessment decisions.