For many of you, Monday (21st September) marks the end of one of the most unusual academic years in recent memories. If you re-sat an exam in the IDRAP period, either a result of Covid-19 or not, you should have received your results by now.
Hopefully your exams/assessments went well and weren’t negatively impacted by any events outside of your control. However, if they were, and you’re dissatisfied with your results, then there are a couple of options open to you:
1) Submitting an appeal
2) Undertaking an administrative mark check
What is an Appeal?
An appeal gives you the ability to request a review of an Exam Board decision. You may want to submit one if you think there was an error in the assessing of your work, or if your work was affected by circumstances that you were unable to tell the School about during the assessment period. LSE would usually expect you to follow the normal Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) process in the latter case but understand that this isn’t always possible. They will therefore consider appeals, as long as they have a valid reason for why the EC process wasn’t used.
The deadline for appeals is 10 working days from the release of the results (in this case the deadline is Monday 5th October). All appeals must be received by 11.59pm at the latest.
There are three decisions you can appeal against:
· Final degree classification
· Decision not to award you a degree or to class you as a “Final Fail”
· Mark of Absent, Incomplete or Fail
If your situation does not fall under one of these categories, an appeal is extremely unlikely to be accepted. It is important to note that individual marks will not be changed, but you may be award a higher classification upon Appeal.
On what grounds can I submit an appeal?
1) Procedural Defect
This means that the Exam Board did not follow the correct procedure and there is reasonable doubt that the decision would have been the same if they had done so.
2) That there is 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
ECs are unforeseen circumstances that affect your ability to meet an assessment deadline or your performance in an assessment. Such circumstances can include, but are not limited to, illness, family problems and bereavement. This year, the school may consider a wider range of circumstances due to the unusual nature of Covid-19 and the effects it may have had on your studies.
Please note that you cannot 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).
Our top tip!
LSE operates a “fit to sit” policy. This means that by submitting an assessment or attending an exam you are declaring yourself well enough to attempt the assessment. It is still possible to submit an appeal even if you have attempted the assessment, however the School Board Chair will then also consider whether it was appropriate for you to have attempted this. This is often why appeals based on exceptional circumstances are rejected, so it is worth addressing this in your form.
How do I submit my appeal?
An Appeal Submission Form and supporting evidence for the situation. For Procedural Defects you might need evidence to prove what you’re saying actually happened. For ECs you can find a handy guide to the type of evidence you need here. The evidence also needs to show why you didn’t inform LSE of your ECs when they arose following the regular process.
Appeals should be submitted via this online enquiry form. If you are having problems with the form or think you will be unable to meet the deadline, you should email ssc.appeals@lse.ac.uk.
What is an Administrative Mark Check?
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. These are only available for ratified final marks and doesn’t re-mark the assessment, but just looks at if the marks have been displayed correctly. This costs £10 and the deadline is the same for an Appeal.
I need more information
The LSE Assessment Regulations Team (ART) can be contacted by completing this online enquiry form. The ART can answer questions about the process, but will not be able to discuss your specific case or give advice.
Our advisers in the LSESU Advice Service are more than happy to look over any forms before you submit them or provide you guidance on the process if there is anything you do not understand, or would like clarity on, as well as being able to discuss the specifics of your situation.
Blog written by Declan Katwala.
Declan is the Student Advisor in the LSE Students’ Union and a member of the 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).
Due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation we will not be on campus for Michaelmas Term. However, we are still open and can instead be accessed by emailing su.advice@lse.ac.uk. You can also book a telephone or Zoom appointment with an adviser through Student Hub.