Student casework

We are responsible for managing and processing academic appeals and complaints. We also organise academic malpractice and fitness to practise panels.

Academic appeals

Students sitting around a table in a classroom, talking to each other with pens and paper on the table

You have the right to submit an academic appeal against the outcomes of the various assessment boards, malpractice panels and fitness to practise panels.

However, you may only appeal on the following grounds:

Procedural irregularity in the assessment process
Bias or perception of bias
Exceptional mitigating circumstances, details of which were, for good reason, not previously available to the appropriate assessment board.

If you are submitting a claim on the ground of exceptional mitigating circumstances only, please complete a specific EMC form.

We cannot accept appeals based solely on disagreement with an assessment board or panel decision.

You can find more information in the student guide.

Making an appeal and deadline

You must submit your appeal after the formal publication of results or receipt of panel decision letter. Please make sure you submit your appeal by the deadline stated in your results or panel decision letter.

Remember to include a completed Academic Appeal form and any independent supporting evidence in your submission.

For further information and advice, please email the Student Casework team.

You can also contact Edge Hill Students’ Union Advice Centre, for independent advice and representation.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

When the University’s internal procedures are complete, we will send you a completion of procedures letter. This explains that if you are dissatisfied with the final outcome you can refer your matter to the OIA for review. You can find further details about the OIA Scheme on the OIA website.

Edge Hill is committed to providing accessible information. If you require any academic appeal information in a different format, please tell us your requirements and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Academic malpractice

Students sitting in a classroom, focused on one student who is looking at a laptop

We define academic malpractice as ‘an attempt to gain an advantage over other students by the use of unfair and/or unacceptable methods’. It is a serious academic offence that we record and detail on your final transcript. At worst, it could result in your withdrawal from the University.

You are responsible for understanding the different types of academic malpractice and the consequences of offending. Please read academic malpractice – a guide for students for an overview of the guidelines. Familiarity with them could prevent you from committing malpractice without realising it.

Ignorance of the University’s guidelines and procedures is not an acceptable defence for malpractice.

You can find full details of the procedures in Appendix 8 of the Academic Regulations.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

If you are dissatisfied with the final outcome you can refer your matter to the OIA for review. You can find further details about the OIA Scheme on the OIA website.

Complaints

We set ourselves high standards and do our best to ensure you have a positive and successful university experience. However, we recognise that this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, circumstances both in and out of our control may cause you to complain.

You can make a complaint if you are enrolled on a course at the University, but you must make it within three months of the matter affecting you. You can also make a complaint within one month of leaving the University.

There are three stages to the complaints process:

Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)

If your complaint remains unresolved after these three stages, you can take it to the OIA.

The OIA is an independent body whose role is to review individual complaints from students. You must complete the University’s complaints procedure before contacting the OIA.

Please go to the OIA’s website for more information on how to take your complaint further.

Further information

For more information, you can

read Making a complaint – a guide for students
read the University’s complaints procedure
contact the Students’ Union Advice Centre
contact the Student Casework team

Governor complaints

Please follow the University’s specific procedure for complaints against its governors.

Fitness to practise

Health student with a stethoscope round their neck taking the blood pressure of a patient in a clinical setting

A number of Edge Hill programmes lead to professionally recognised qualifications.

To be successful in these programmes you must achieve in both academic and non-academic elements. Non-academic elements include physical and mental health, moral and behavioural matters.

Your demonstrated behaviour must satisfy the University that you are a safe and suitable entrant to your chosen profession.

If your behaviour raises a concern, your tutor, department or faculty will talk to you in the first instance. Where possible we will give you the support you need to learn from your mistakes.

However, if concerns about your behaviour continue we may need to take further action. For example, if your behaviour is high risk or contravenes University regulations.

Your faculty may then refer your case to a fitness to practise panel. This is a serious step and the consequences could be significant.

Please see Appendix 17 of the Academic Regulations for full details of our fitness to practise procedures.

Appealing a fitness to practise decision

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of a fitness to practice panel, you can appeal. Your appeal must be under one or more of the following grounds:

Procedural irregularities in the fitness to practise process
Bias or perception of bias at any point in the process
New evidence not previously available to the panel which may undermine their decision
The decision was unreasonable in all the circumstances

Please complete the fitness to practise appeal form and submit it to the Student Casework team. You must submit your appeal within 10 days of receiving the panel’s decision.