Academic Appeals

Hello Everyone, I recently submitted an academic appeal as I was not able to attend my exams due to a couple of mental health conditions that relapsed a few months before the assessment and was aggravated by a highly personal event I went through ( my fiancée called off our engagement ) id submitted a pec form with a letter from an online doctor which showed I was to be put under medication and that I was unfit during the period but it wasn’t accepted by my uni as they wanted proof from my personal doctor. He was on annual leave and it was hard to get an appointment with him because he works with two hospitals but when I finally got the letter from him, the final date of pec had passed and I could only appeal the decision of the board of examiners. I submitted a level one query on the basis of evidence I didn’t have during the assessment period but I have now but it got rejected on the grounds that there was no sufficient reason I couldn’t disclose it before ( I didn’t mention on the letter about the annual leave as I thought I should focus more on my illness and improvement plans) I submitted a level 2 appeal to which I attached the Online doctor letter, the treatment certificate from my psychiatrist and also a personal statement that says he wasn’t available to give me a letter on time and supporting the effect the life event I went through had on me and a letter of support from the university well being team which I obtained after having attended therapy sessions with them. Do you think this is a well documented appeal and is there a chance of success?

Honestly reading this made me tear up a little, thank you for those kind words. It’s been really hard honestly and I don’t know what I’ll do if it gets rejected. I didn’t wanna mention that I was having suicidal tendencies during the period because it’d seem a little too personal. I’m just having panic attacks daily just thinking about it.

So, you didnt take any A level exams at all....?

I think it's as good as you could hope and I'd be quite surprised if they rejected it. With that said, I have seen what I thought of as sure-thing appeals rejected, so it is hard to give any substantive assurances.

i) Personal Extenuating Circumstances that you were unable to disclose in advance of the Board of Examiners meeting via a PEC application, or were unable to provide evidence for at that time, or of which you were previously unaware - see Note 3. Therefore, if you make this claim you MUST give strong reasons why you had not advised the Examiners of your circumstances by the published school deadline.
Examples of strong reasons for late disclosure may include:
 Traumatic and highly personal family circumstances which were exceptionally serious.
 Being in hospital for the weeks between the assessment and the Board of Examiners.
 Evidence of being in active discussion with the academic unit about the matter – although in such
circumstances it is also reasonable to advise SPS that this is pending.
Examples of weak reasons for late disclosure may include:
 Being unaware of the procedure.
 Being embarrassed.
 Being on holiday

This is the policy my university has for appeal reason. Would my case qualify?

It's the same as basically every other institution's policy. I do this every day and it's just impossible to know. Nobody can give a clearer answer, I am afraid. Or they ca';t honestly give one, in any case.

Would you know the success rate of appeals in a particular uni? ( mine is newcastle university)

No, I don't have access to that sort of data even for my own place.

In terms of documentation, was there anything more I could’ve added ?

Honestly, I don't think so. You have given yourself the best chace. I'd be minded to accept it, but like I said earlier, these committees can be really unpredictable. I hope it goes your way because clearly you deserve for it to.

Thank you, this makes me feel confident about it. Does the committee take the appeal letter into serious consideration and if so what do they look for in it?

The test in these things is almost always 'is there something now that the student has good reason for not providing earlier', and I think you do have that covered. The whole thing will usually hinge on that test given that your medical stuff is pretty cut and dried.

The test in these things is almost always 'is there something now that the student has good reason for not providing earlier', and I think you do have that covered. The whole thing will usually hinge on that test given that your medical stuff is pretty cut and dried.

I forgot to mention that I was allowed a previous deferral of the exams based on a mental health issue. I hope this won’t affect the appeal.

It shouldn't have any negative effect.