- Students on award-bearing courses leading to certificates, diplomas, first degrees or postgraduate instructional degrees have the right to request a review by a Faculty Review Panel of any recommendation of a Board of Examiners or Faculty Board that relates to their studies, or of a decision by Senate to terminate their programme of study, if they produce evidence of one or more of the following:
1.1 that their performance has been adversely affected by illness or by other factors which, in exceptional
circumstances, they were unable or, for valid reason, unwilling to divulge to the Board of Examiners or Faculty
Board before it reached its decision;
1.2 that there had been a material administrative error in the conduct of the examination;
1.3 that the examination had not been conducted in accordance with the appropriate regulations for that course;
1.4 that some other material irregularity had occurred;
1.5 that, in reaching its decision, the Board of Examiners or Faculty Board had erroneously concluded that they had
cheated or plagiarised or attempted to gain an unfair advantage in an element of work submitted for a degree;
1.6 that the supervision of their project or external placement was unsatisfactory to the point that their performance
was seriously affected.
Students may not question the classification of their award or the marks awarded for an individual component of a programme of study unless evidence is submitted under one of the grounds at 1.1/1.6, above. Under no circumstances may students question the academic judgement of the examiners and any request based on such grounds will be dismissed.
- Informal Discussions
Students wishing to request a review and who have evidence of either extenuating circumstances unknown to the Board of Examiners or Faculty Board when it made its recommendation, or of allegations of error or irregularity as in paragraph 1 above, should in the first instance discuss the matter with their Tutor or Head of Department/School or an appropriate person in the Faculty. It is hoped that in many cases these informal discussions will be able to resolve a student's concerns and may lead, if appropriate, to a Board of Examiners or Faculty Board agreeing to amend a recommendation without the necessity of convening a Review Panel (see para. 4, below). The student and those members of academic staff who have been consulted are strongly advised to keep written records of all such discussions and of their outcome.
- Formal Review
If discussion with the Tutor or Head of Department/School or other appropriate person in the Faculty fails to resolve the issue, students should write to the Assistant Registrar of the Faculty in which they are registered, setting out the grounds for the review and the revised decision they seek. Students should include in their letter a statement of the preceding informal discussions and of their outcome. If the review is based on extenuating circumstances written evidence (such as a medical certificate) must be produced. If the request for a review is based on evidence that the student had been previously unwilling to divulge to the Board of Examiners or Faculty Board, the letter should set out the reasons why the student was unwilling to produce such evidence at an earlier stage. A request for a review should normally reach the Faculty Assistant Registrar within 21 days of the announcement of the recommendation of the Board of Examiners or Faculty Board, or of the announcement of the decision of Senate; or within 7 days of the announcement of the results of supplementary examinations.
- As soon as the request for a review has been received, the Faculty Assistant Registrar will first check that the student has sought to resolve the difficulty through informal discussions with the appropriate staff. If satisfactory evidence has not been supplied of any informal discussions, the student will be informed that no review can be entertained until such time as these have taken place. If the appropriate informal discussions have been completed, but have not been able to resolve the issue, the Faculty Assistant Registrar will, normally within fourteen days of receiving the student's request for a review, convene a meeting of the Faculty Review Panel, and will notify the student of the following points in writing:
4.1 the date, time and place of the meeting;
4.2 the members constituting the Panel on this occasion;
4.3 that the student is entitled either to have the case heard without attending or being represented; or to attend in
person, alone or accompanied by any other member of the University willing to assist in this way; or to be
represented in his/her absence by such a person; and that it is in the student's own interests to be so accompanied
or represented;
The student will also be sent a copy of these Regulations if these have not already been supplied.
- As early as possible before the meeting of the Review Panel, the Faculty Assistant Registrar will forward to members of the Panel a copy of the student's appeal, together with a record of the student's marks, and any other documentation that is relevant to the Review including, if necessary, a statement from the student's Tutor. One copy of these documents will be sent to the student.
- The Faculty Review Panel will normally comprise the Dean, who will chair the Panel; the Deputy Dean or the Assistant Dean; and the Head(s) of Department(s)/School(s) (or their nominees, such as the Head, or other senior member, of another Department, if any of them had been involved in teaching the student, or as Chair of the relevant Board of Examiners). The Faculty Assistant Registrar will act as Secretary to the Review Panel. In the case of a review relating to a programme of study that is subject to validation by an external professional body, the Chair may co-opt onto the Panel an external representative of the relevant profession, or an additional independent member of an associated department. So far as is practicable, the Panel should include at least one member of the same gender as the student.
- This Panel will review the matter in the presence of the Chair of the relevant Board of Examiners and/or, where appropriate, the Assistant Dean; and of the student, if the latter has chosen to attend the meeting.
- The meeting of the Panel will normally follow this format:
8.1 The Chair will welcome the student, introduce those present and explain their roles and the procedure to be
adopted;
8.2 The Chair will then invite the Faculty to set out the facts and chronology of the matter, outlining the student's case,
and indicating the various options that are open to the Panel;
8.3 The Chair will then invite the student to present their case, and to make any comment upon the Faculty's
introduction;
8.4 The Chair will then invite the Chair of the Board of Examiners, who is in attendance, to add any further comment;
8.5 The Panel will then question the student;
8.6 Finally, the Chair will give the student the opportunity to raise any further points.
- All those present other than members of the Panel and the Secretary shall then withdraw and the Panel will consider its decision. The decision shall be arrived at solely on the basis of the testimony and submissions presented; if any new considerations emerge during the Panel's deliberations which the Panel consider to be relevant, those who have withdrawn shall be recalled, told what these considerations are and given an opportunity of commenting on or refuting them.
The Panel may:
9.1 uphold the student's case and request the Board of Examiners or Faculty Board to amend its recommendation(s)
after consultation with the External Examiner;
9.2 may dismiss the case but request a change in the procedures of the Department or of the Board of Examiners or
the Faculty Board.
9.3 dismiss the case if the grounds are unsubstantiated or if, in the case of alleged extenuating circumstances, these
would not have affected the recommendation of the Board of Examiners or Faculty Board, or the decision of
Senate.
- The Panel may either invite the student to come into the hearing immediately afterwards and announce its decision, to be confirmed in writing, at that time; or it may instruct the Faculty Assistant Registrar to convey its decision in writing to the student within seven days of the conclusion of the hearing. In either event, the letter to the student shall include details of the procedures of the Senate Appeals Committee (paras 11/25 below), if the Panel's decision is not to accept the student's application.
Section B: Appeals
- Students have the right of appeal to the Senate Appeals Committee against a decision of the Faculty Review Panel, but such an appeal may only be lodged on the following grounds:
11.1 that they possess fresh evidence not available at the time of the Faculty Review Panel; or that they
possess evidence that, for reasons that must be explained, they were unwilling to divulge at the time of the
Review;
11.2 that there had been a material administrative or procedural error in the conduct of the Review Panel.
An appeal may only be lodged by a student: it may not be lodged by a representative or by a parent.
- The Appeals Committee consists of:
The Vice-Chancellor or a Deputy Vice-Chancellor in the Chair
The Dean of a Faculty other than that concerned
A member of the Academic Staff who is also a member of Senate from a Panel selected annually by the President of the Students' Union
A Sabbatical officer of the Students' Union nominated by the President.
In the case of an appeal by a student on a programme of study that is subject to validation by an external professional body, the Chair may, after discussion with the Dean of that Faculty, co-opt on to the Committee an external representative of the relevant profession. So far as is practicable, the Committee should include at least one member of the same gender as the student.
The Academic Registrar or nominee shall act as Secretary to the Appeals Committee.
- A student wishing to exercise the right of appeal shall give written notice to the Academic Registrar indicating the grounds of the appeal, within 21 days of the findings of the Faculty Review Panel. If the Chair of the Committee judges that the student has provided sufficient grounds for the appeal to be entertained, the Secretary will send a copy of this statement to the appellant's Dean, Deputy Dean, and Head(s) of Department(s)/School(s), asking if it contains information not known to the Faculty Review Panel. In the light of the information in the appellant's statement the Faculty may agree to change its recommendation, in which case the appeal succeeds without a hearing. After an appeal has been lodged, the Chair of the Committee, following discussion with at least one other member of the Committee, and a review of the documentation available to the Faculty Review Panel, may rule that the appeal is groundless and should be dismissed. In this case the Secretary of the Committee will send a full written explanation to the student, normally within 21 days of the appeal having been lodged.
- If the Faculty wishes to stand by the decision of its Review Panel, the Secretary shall, normally within 21 days, convene a meeting of the Appeals Committee and shall notify the appellant of the following points in writing:
14.1 the date, time and place of the meeting;
14.2 the members constituting the Committee on this occasion;
14.3 that the appellant is entitled either to attend in person, alone or accompanied by his/her Tutor or by any other
member of the University willing to assist in this way, or a representative of the student's Trade Union or
professional organisation or a legally-qualified person; or to be represented in his/her absence by such a person;
and that it is in the appellant's own interests to be so accompanied or represented;
14.4 that the Committee reserves the right to take legal advice on its own behalf and, if the appellant elects to be
accompanied or represented by a legally qualified person, it may also invite its legal adviser to be present at the
hearing.
The appellant shall also be sent a copy of these Regulations, if these have not already been supplied.
- The Secretary shall forward copies of the appellant's letter of appeal to the members of the Committee.
- The Dean of the appellant's Faculty shall supply the Secretary with a written statement of the facts upon which the Faculty relies as justifying the recommendation to Senate. Not less than seven days before the hearing the Secretary shall send, under confidential cover, copies of the statement to the members of the Appeals Committee, the Head of Department and the appellant's tutor. Two copies shall be sent to the appellant.
- The Dean of the Faculty or a representative shall attend the hearing of the appeal. The Head of the Department/School concerned or a representative shall be entitled to attend the hearing. If the Tutor is not asked to accompany the appellant (see 14.3 above) he or she may be invited by the Secretary to attend the appeal. Otherwise the hearing shall be in private, and any other witnesses who may be called shall not be present except when testifying.
- At the hearing the Committee shall first hear any representations made and evidence called by or on behalf of the appellant, and then any further representations made and evidence called on behalf of the Faculty. The Dean, Head of Department/School or Tutor shall be entitled to question any person testifying on behalf of the appellant, and the appellant or a representative shall be entitled to question any person testifying on behalf of the Faculty.
- The Dean or Head of Department/School or their representative, followed by the appellant or a representative, shall be entitled to make short final speeches summarising their submissions.
- All those present other than members of the Committee and the Secretary shall then withdraw and the Committee will consider its decision. The decision shall be arrived at solely on the basis of the testimony and submissions presented; if any new considerations emerge during the Committee's deliberations which the Committee consider to be relevant, those who have withdrawn shall be recalled, told what these considerations are and given an opportunity of commenting on or refuting them.
- The Committee acts on behalf of Senate and may take one of the following courses of action:
21.1 the Committee may dismiss the appeal but may request that the Board of Examiners or the Faculty concerned
should consider changing its procedures.
21.2 where the appeal is against termination of course, the Committee may uphold the student's appeal and withdraw
the decision of Senate that the student's course be terminated on academic grounds. The Committee may make
recommendations concerning the repetition of a course or of part of a course, taking into account the Faculty's
regulations. The Committee may also recommend that the Faculty shall be responsible for meeting the cost of
any tuition fees for which the student may be liable.
21.3 the Committee may dismiss the appeal if the grounds are unsubstantiated or if in the case of alleged fresh
evidence it would not have affected the decision of the Board of Examiners or Faculty Review Panel.
21.4 where the appeal is against a decision or recommendation of the Faculty Review Panel, the Committee may:
21.4.1 request the Faculty Board concerned to amend its recommendation, after consultation with the External
Examiner in cases where amendment to an award is recommended, information which the Committee
shall have communicated in writing to the Board;
21.4.2 declare that the relevant assessment(s) be declared null and void and request the Faculty Board to
permit the student to undertake the relevant reassessment(s) without paying the normal resit fees;
21.4.3 dismiss the appeal but may request that the Board of Examiners or the Faculty concerned should
consider changing its procedures.
- The Committee shall announce its decision either at the hearing or in writing within seven days of the hearing. The Secretary shall notify all concerned of the result of the appeal and shall prepare a report for Senate which shall include the reasons behind the Committee's decision. The decision of the Appeals Committee is final, subject only to the provisions of Section 17.20 of the Statutes of the University.
- A copy of all the papers presented to the Committee will be held by the Secretary of the Committee for a period of twenty-four months after the date of the hearing.
- All those present shall at all times treat any evidence given at the hearing as confidential.
- These regulations describe in detail the procedures to be followed in the event of an appeal being lodged by a student registered on a taught course at the University of Southampton. Procedures in the Accredited Colleges will follow the spirit of these regulations, but may differ in their detailed application as a consequence of the different academic structures of these institutions.
- Further information about, or clarification of these procedures is available from Dr R J Green, Senior Assistant Registrar, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ; telephone: 023-80-593062; fax: 593037; e-mail <rjg1@soton.ac.uk>.
- Students considering lodging a request for a review or appeal under the terms of these regulations are strongly advised to make early contact with the "Advice and Information Centre" in the Students' Union.