Grade Review Policy

DRAFT POLICY - REVIEW OF GRADES

Students are advised that, although students have a right to appeal about an academic decision that affects them, there is no automatic entitlement to a review of any grade.

Academic staff work hard to ensure that marking is consistent and fair, and that the criteria used for grading assignments are transparent. Students are given information about these criteria in their Guide for Students, in tutorials and lectures, and in some cases, on grading sheets which are attached to marked assignments.

You are always welcome to approach lecturers, tutors or unit of study co-ordinators to discuss the comments on your assignments, to get an explanation of your grade and to get advice on improving your grades in the future.

The circumstances in which a review of grade may be considered are the following:

• If you can show that your grade did not take into account an extension or period of Special Consideration which you had been granted prior to the assignment being marked.
• If you can establish that bias or a conflict of interest affected the judgement of the marker
• If you can establish that there has been some failure of administrative or academic process in assessing your assignment which has affected your grade.

In such cases, you should first discuss the issue with the relevant teacher or unit of study co-ordinator. If you cannot resolve your concerns by this means you should write to the Chair of Department and outline your case for a review of grades. If a review of grade is granted then the assignment will be read by a different assessor. This marker’s decision will be final and students should be aware that their mark for an individual piece of assessment could go down rather than up.

Every effort will be made to deal with such cases efficiently but students should be aware that any review of a grade involves a lengthy process of consultation and remarking. Students should anticipate that any review of grade will take an average of four weeks.

For a full description of the Academic Board Policy on complaints about an academic decision refer to the page on the Policy site.