You have probably been waiting in anticipation for your final results for weeks! Hopefully you will have received the grades you expected, however if these weren’t what you wished for, you do still have a couple of options. Here is our guide to all things appeals-related.
WHAT IS AN APPEAL?
An Appeal gives you the ability to request a review of an Exam Board decision. If you think there was an error in the conduct of assessing your work, or that the markers were not aware of some unforeseen circumstances impacting your work (and you have a valid reasons why you did not declare your ECs at the time of assessment) you can submit an appeal.
Please remember, you have 10 working days from the publication of results to submit an appeal. Although the process may seem complicated, the LSESU Advice Service team will be happy to help you navigate the process, or look over your form before you submit it (provided we have enough time before the deadlines).
ON WHAT GROUNDS CAN I SUBMIT AN APPEAL?
1) Procedural Error. The School describes this as an instance where “the Exam Board did not follow the correct procedure such that there is reasonable doubt that the decision would have been the same if the correct procedure had been followed.”
2) New information regarding Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) that the Exam Board were not made aware of for valid reasons that affected your performance in an assessment.
Please note that it is not possible to appeal simply because you disagree with the grade that you have received or the examiner’s decision (this is considered to be questioning academic judgment). This also includes the majority of issues around feedback.
WHAT CAN I APPEAL?
You can appeal against the following three decisions only:
· Final degree classification (only if you meet the following conditions):
(a) if your mark profile is no more than three marks below the next higher classification in a single course; and/or
(b) if your mark profile is no more than fifteen marks away from the next higher classification on aggregate for UG students or ten marks away from the next higher classification on aggregate for PG students.
· Decision not to award you a degree or to class you as a “Final Fail”
· Mark of Absent, Incomplete or Fail
Individual marks cannot be changed via appeal and the LSE does not allow students to resit passed courses.
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
LSE operates a “fit to sit” policy. By submitting an assessment or attending an exam you are declaring yourself well enough to do so. You can still submit an Appeal even after attempting the assessment, however the School Board Chair will then also consider whether it was appropriate for you to have attempted this.
WHAT DO I NEED TO SUBMIT FOR MY APPEAL?
An Appeal Submission Form and supporting evidence for the situation. For Procedural Defects you need evidence to prove what you are saying actually happened. For Exceptional Circumstances you need to follow Standards of Evidence found here. The evidence will also need to show why you were unable to LSE of your Exceptional Circumstances when they arose following the regular process.
HOW AND WHEN DO I SUBMIT MY APPEAL?
Email the completed form with your evidence to ssc.appeals@lse.ac.uk. Make sure to do it before your deadline! Remember, you have 10 working days following the release of your results to do so. For most UG and 9-month Masters students, this will be the 28th July 2022 and for 12-month Masters students this will be the 29th November 2022.
Appeals can only be made against results released in June (LLB students) July (all other UG students, and 9/10 month PG students), September (assessments in IRDAP), or November (12 month PG students).
DO I HAVE ANY OTHER OPTIONS?
You can request an Administrative Mark Check if you have failed a course or you are no more than 3 marks away from the next higher classification in a course. This costs £10 for each course. This does not re-mark the paper but rather checks that no mistakes have been made between the marking itself and your results being published, eg a mark of 62 incorrectly displaying as 26. Your deadline will be the same as for submitting an Appeal.
WHO CAN HELP ME?
The LSE Assessment Regulations Team (ART) can answer your questions. They are the school team who will look at all appeals and typically host drop-in-sessions around the appeal period, so we would suggest checking their website regularly for more details on this. They can answer questions about the process, but cannot discuss your specific case or give advice.
We at the LSESU Advice Service are also happy to help. We also recommend reading our Appeals Guidance to familiarise yourself with the process. If you still have questions or need further clarification, please contact us via email or book an appointment via Student Hub.
We hope you get the results you expect, but if not, we are here to support you! We can advise on individual cases and help you strengthen your appeal where possible.
Blog written by Laurence Mackavoy.
Laurence works as an Advice Caseworker in the LSESU Advice Team.
THE LSESU ADVICE TEAM
The LSESU Advice Team is based on the 3rd floor of the Saw Swee Hock Building and we provide free, independent and confidential advice to all LSE students on academic and housing matters. We also administer the Hardship Fund, the Childcare Fund and the Graduation Gown Support Fund (GGSF).
Our service is currently operating using a hybrid working pattern. We are still open and can be accessed by emailing su.advice@lse.ac.uk. You can also book a telephone or Zoom appointment with an adviser through Student Hub.