Step-by-step guide to submitting an appeal

First, decide the grounds on which you wish to make your appeal. Appeals may be made under one of the following four categories:

Evidenced extension decision

You have submitted an evidenced extension claim and received an evidenced extension decision.

• You are not happy with an evidenced extension decision.
• You have 14 days to submit this type of Appeal after receiving this decision.

See the Assessments and Results page for more information.

Material irregularity

You have received your results.

• You feel there has been an error by the University, or some other issue with the conduct of your assessment that has affected your result. (You cannot submit an appeal just because you are not happy with your results or think you deserved a higher mark)
• You have 14 days to submit this type of appeal after receiving your results.

See the material irregularity page for more information.

Academic misconduct

You are alleged to have committed academic misconduct.

• You disagree with the decision made following an allegation of academic misconduct
• You are not happy with an academic misconduct decision, for example a finding of plagiarism.
• You have 10 working days to submit this type of appeal after receiving your academic misconduct decision.

See the academic misconduct page for more information. Follow the instructions on Appeal against academic misconduct.

Appeal against withdrawal

You have been withdrawn from your course by the University.

• You disagree with the University’s decision to withdraw you from your course.
• You have seven days from the date of your withdrawal letter to submit this type of appeal.

Visit Appeals against withdrawal for more information.  

To create your appeal you must ensure you are using the correct referral form 

• Our case referral form (internal) is for students currently studying at the University.  You will need your student ID, and course title to complete the form. 

The internal form is not compatible with mobile devices.  Contact us at scm@mmu.ac.uk if you have any difficulties

• Our SCM case referral form is for students who are no longer enrolled at the University or do not have IT access for any other reason

Please note that you cannot attach any evidence with this form.  If you have evidence you wish to provide you will need to email scm@mmu.ac.uk after submitting your form quoting your generated case number and student ID.

You may find it useful to speak to an advisor at the Student Union Advice Centre before making an appeal. They can provide helpful guidance and input on your appeal and what you might need to include. You can contact them at:

Tel: 0161 247 6533
Mail: s.u.advice@mmu.ac.uk
Web: www.theunionmmu.org/your-advice-centre/

If you decide that you have grounds to make an appeal you will need to complete the relevant form

Existing students will need to use the case request form (internal)

The internal form is not compatible with mobile devices.  Contact us at scm@mmu.ac.uk if you have any difficulties

Former students will need to use the SCM case request form 

You cannot attach evidence to the SCM form. You will need to email scm@mmu.ac.uk  after submitting the form if you have any evidence to provide. Remember to include your case number and student ID so we know what your evidence relates to.

To create your appeal you will need to select appeal as the “case type” and input your details.

You will then need to:

• confirm if you have a disability, specific learning difficulty or long-term health condition that you believe is relevant to your appeal and provide details of these
• select your grounds for appeal from the “appeal type” drop-down
• attach any evidence you wish to submit in support of your appeal and confirm that you have done this. To add multiple files, first save and name them in the same location on your device, then use Ctrl + left mouse click to select multiple documents 
• confirm that you have read and understood our student misconduct privacy notice or appeals and complaints privacy notice

Please be advised that if you have additional evidence to support an appeal against an evidenced extensions decision, you should submit a new evidenced extension claim.

When you select the grounds for your appeal, you will be prompted to provide some additional information, including: 

• listing any assessments that you are appealing, including; module name and code
• writing a clear and detailed statement to explain what has happened in the “personal statement” box
• clearly stating what remedy you are seeking in the “expected outcome” box, for example a further uncapped assessment attempt. It may be helpful to consult the Guidance on Appeals page in regards to the possible remedies available.

Remember, it is your responsibility to prove why your appeal should be upheld.

If you are happy that you have included all relevant information, you can submit your form by clicking “create case”.

You will receive an email notification with a new case number for your appeal.

Please ensure you include your student ID number when contacting Student Case Management to avoid any delays in responding to your queries.

Once your academic appeal has been received, it will be considered by the Student Case Management Team.

There are three potential outcomes:

• There is sufficient evidence to uphold your appeal: this can be addressed informally and without the case being considered by a panel. You will be informed of this and your appeal will not proceed to a university appeal panel unless you request this.
• There is insufficient evidence to uphold your appeal: Your appeal will automatically be referred to a university appeals panel for further consideration. You will be informed of this and will be asked if you would like to provide any further evidence.
• Your appeal is not upheld: In some cases, it is not possible for an appeal to be upheld because of the University’s regulations. You will be informed of this and your appeal will not proceed to a university appeal panel unless you request this.

If your case is referred to a university appeals panel, for consideration the information on your appeals form including the supporting evidence, and any decision that you may have already received from the Student Case Management Team, will be taken into account.

Your appeal may also be pended and further evidence may be requested as part of this process.

Your appeal will either be upheld, part upheld or not upheld by the university appeals panel. You will receive an initial short summary email decision informing you within seven days of the panel’s decision. 

You will receive a full draft outcome report within 28 days giving further details including the reasons explaining the panel’s decision. This will be sent to you by email and post. 

If you are not happy with this outcome, you may be able to request a review. Reviews can be requested on the following three grounds:

• That the correct procedures were not followed in the consideration of your case through the earlier stages of the appeal procedure
• That the outcome of the formal stage of the academic appeals procedure was not reasonable
• That there is new material evidence that for good reason was not available at the earlier stages of the procedure

If you decide to request a review, it may be useful to consult the Student Union Advice Centre:

• Tel: 0161 247 6533
• Mail: s.u.advice@mmu.ac.uk
• Web: www.theunionmmu.org/your-advice-centre/

To request a Review of your Appeal you need to complete the Review Request Form within 14 days of the date of your draft outcome report

Please email scm@mmu.ac.uk if you have any questions or difficulties.

Your case will be considered by a reviewing officer. The reviewer will be an academic head of department who has had no prior involvement in your case. 

The outcome of the review will normally be communicated to you within 28 days of the Student Case Management team receiving your request for a review.

You will also receive a completion of procedures notification with the outcome, which allows you to take your appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator should you wish.

This is the end of the University’s appeals procedure.