Marking Boycott FAQs

My transcript is missing some of my marks. When can I appeal?

Please note that if you receive an incomplete transcript and wish to submit an appeal, appeals submitted under ground one (an error of fact, explained below) will not be accepted unless you have received the mark for this. For ground 2 and ground 3 appeals, you will need to make considerations as to when you submit an appeal – for example, if you know that your assessment was affected by extenuating circumstances, or your circumstances had been rejected, you might feel it is necessary for you to submit an appeal on receipt of an incomplete transcript, owing to those circumstances, even if you have not received the mark for this. You will have the opportunity to appeal that mark when you receive a completed transcript, however, so you will need to make a decision as to when you appeal this.

My transcript is complete and I have all my marks. Can I appeal?

Yes. You can find information about timescales and our guidance on the Appeals process here.

How will I know if my transcript is incomplete/if I will be receiving an incomplete transcript?

The University has stated that, if there is any change to the publication of results or if you will receive an incomplete transcript, you will be notified by your School.

If I appeal, will I get my confirmed results quicker?

No. Submitting an academic appeal will not speed up the process of receipt of your completed transcript.

Will I graduate with an incomplete transcript?

The University has stated that the graduation events will go ahead as planned, regardless of industrial action. They state on the intranet that:

Graduation has always been a celebration event rather than a ceremony to confirm the award of degrees and will therefore go ahead as planned.

However, it may be that you do not receive your official award in time for graduation. The University has implied that you will be able to attend the ceremony regardless. If there is any delay to the award of a degree, you will be informed by your Head of School.

I’m worried I won’t get my graduate job/postgraduate course offer if I don’t get my degree on time. What can I do?

The University has explained that examining boards will decide whether you have enough evidence of meeting the learning outcomes for your course, so can be given a classified degree. If there are some assessments that are not marked, the Boards may provide a provisional degree and classification.

It is stated on the intranet that:

You will be provided with:

• a transcript (in which missing module marks will not appear, some module marks may be provisional and the mark may be revised upwards)
• an accompanying letter that states you have graduated with a provisional degree classification which may be revised updates (not downwards).

This should provide you with sufficient evidence to secure a graduate level job or progress to further study.

If you find you are unable to progress to study/employment because of the industrial action, you may wish to submit a complaint to the University. The deadline to do so is 14 August 2023. If you are considering makinga complaint, we recommend that you do so as soon as possible. There is more information about making a complaint on this webpage.

Can I get compensation if I submit an appeal?

No. The only mechanism to ask for compensation is through submitting a complaint to the University. Complaints and appeals are different procedures. The Complaints Procedure cannot produce an academic outcome, so if you are looking to challenge a grade, you will need to submit an academic appeal. The Appeals Procedure cannot produce a financial remedy, so if you are seeking compensation, you will need to submit a complaint. If you are considering makinga complaint, we recommend that you do so as soon as possible. The deadline to submit a complaint is 14 August 2023. There is more information about making a complaint on this webpage.

Is industrial action a ground for appeal?

Not on its own, no. The University’s grounds for appeal remain the same, as follows;

1. An arithmetical or other error of fact in the results issued following the decision of the Examining Board. An example of an arithmetical error would be where you are awarded 55% for a module when your assessment marks add up to 58%. The error of fact MUST be an error of fact, not opinion. An example of this would be where your written feedback states you lost marks because you did not include a results table, when in fact you did. The University does not allow you to challenge academic judgment.

1. An irregularity in the conduct of the assessment, the written instructions, or written advice relating to the assessment, where this can be shown to have had an adverse effect on the outcome and which was not known by the Examining Board at the time it considered your results, or which known to the Examining Board and where the Examining Board has made an unreasonable decision. An irregularity in the conduct may be not being allowed the amount of time you are supposed to have or, in current circumstances, a defect may be an assessment submission closing earlier than advertised. A defect in the written instructions may be where a question paper is incorrectly worded or where you have been given written advice by a dissertation supervisor but then been given feedback to say that you have lost marks for following that feedback.

1. Any extenuating circumstances which can be shown to have had an adverse effect on your academic performance, which were unknown by the Examining Board and could not have been made known to the Examining Board by you before the School deadline, or which were known to the Examining Board and where the Examining Board has made an unreasonable decision. The University’s definition of extenuating circumstances is detailed in the University’s Extenuating Circumstance Procedure, which says that the circumstances must be:
   • severe and exceptional; and
   • unforeseen or unavoidable and
   • they MUST be close in time to the Assessment you are reporting for, or you MUST explain how the circumstances continued to have an impact on their academic performance.

The rules on extenuating circumstances have changed and the University are now very clear that, if you choose to sit/submit an assessment, you are declaring yourself as fit to do so. The only exception to this is where you attempt an assessment and are subsequently impacted by circumstances that relate to a protected characteristic, such as a long-term mental health condition, or a caring responsibility.

This means, that if you are appealing on the grounds of extenuating circumstances for assessment(s) that you did sit/submit, you will need to explain and evidence how your circumstances meet the criteria above AND how they relate to a protected characteristic or caring responsibility. If your circumstances do not relate to a protected characteristic or caring responsibility, the fact that you submitted an assessment is seen as a declaration that you were fit to do so. The only way we can see the appeal being successful is if you can explain and evidence that you were not fit to sit AND that you were not aware of this at the time. If you have some other good reason why you chose to submit an assessment when you were impacted by extenuating circumstances (such as being told by your School to submit even though you had severe technical difficulties) then please let us know and we will advise accordingly.

• If you appeal on grounds relating to extenuating circumstances which were previously rejected by your School, you must specify why you disagree with the School’s decision to reject the circumstances.
• If you did not report your Extenuating Circumstances by the deadline, you must explain and evidence good reason why you could not have reported your circumstances on time.
• Importantly, if you reported to request an extension and submitted by the new deadline, the extension would be deemed your remedy.

It might be that you feel that the industrial action impacted you and can fit under one of these grounds (for example, your extenuating circumstances). You will need to explain this very clearly in any appeal.