I. POLICY PURPOSE

An academic appeal is a request for review of an administrative decision made with respect to an individual student that bears upon his/her student career, other than for matters involving student academic dishonesty or allegations of student cheating, which are governed solely by the Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy. The appeals procedure does not apply to issues that have broad application to the university or constituent groupings within the university. However, appeals can be made in matters such as admission, transfer of credit, probation, suspension, dismissal, and other similar matters. A supervisor’s decision in an appeal can itself be appealed, but there is no appeal of the President’s decisions except in cases where it is reasonably alleged that a decision against the student was based on discrimination with respect to race, sex, age, handicap, religion, or national origin. This policy provides a means to appeal in cases where administrative decisions have been made that may have a negative effect on a student’s academic career. It addresses situations not covered by the Student Academic Grievance or Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy.

II. POLICY APPLICABILITY

The policy applies to all students, faculties, and academic and non-academic staff.

III. POLICY STATEMENT

A. Definitions

1. Academic Appeal: a request for review of an administrative decision made with respect to an individual student which bears upon his/her student career.

2. Supervisor: the person supervising the decision-maker whose decision is being appealed, usually a dean of a college or his/her designee (e.g., academic affairs dean, associate or assistant dean, vice dean, etc.).

B. Process and Procedure

The procedures set forth here are intended to provide students at AUS a means for appealing administrative decisions which are alleged to have a negative impact on that student’s academic career. If the student wishes to address alleged violations of his/her rights by his/her instructor, the student should refer to the Student Academic Grievance Policy. If the student’s problem is related to a nonacademic issue, he or she should refer to the AUS's Student Code of Conduct.

1. Appeals of Administrative Decisions

1.1. A student may file an appeal whenever he or she can reasonably claim that an administrative decision affecting his or her program of study was not justified by the procedures and/or guidelines established to govern that decision. It is not necessary that the student allege discrimination or other wrongdoing on the part of the administrator.

1.2. The student should submit the appeal in writing to the immediate supervisor of the administrator responsible for the decision he or she questions. It is the student’s responsibility to gather the evidence necessary to support his or her case and to include that evidence when submitting the written appeal. In preparing the appeal, the student should keep in mind that the primary issue is whether the administrative decision was justified by the procedures and/or guidelines established to govern that decision.

1.3. The supervisor to whom the appeal is made may choose to appoint and be advised by a consultative board composed of students and/or faculty and/or administrators of the supervisor’s

own choosing, and may also choose to charge such a board with hearing oral arguments and/or with making inquiries into specified matters of fact. However, if a student has alleged discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, handicap, religion, or national origin, a consultative board must be appointed and must include at least one student and at least one faculty member who is not an administrator. In no case will the supervisor be bound by the advice of the board.

1.4. The supervisor to whom the appeal is made will render a final decision in the case within ten (10) business days, and may either:

1.4.1. uphold the original decision

1.4.2. modify the decision, or

1.4.3. overturn the decision.

1.5. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the administrative appeal, he or she may appeal the decision to the Provost.

B. Appeal to the Provost

2.1. All appeals must be in writing and submitted to the Provost (or his/her designee) within five (5) business days of receiving the decision.

2.2. The student has the right to appeal the outcome on the following grounds:

New Information: You may provide new information sufficient to alter the decision, or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because such information was not known or knowable to the person appealing during the time of the hearing;
You may allege a procedural error with the hearing process that may have substantially impacted the fairness of the process, including but not limited to whether any hearing questions were improperly excluded or whether the decision was tainted by a conflict of interest or bias by anyone involved in the hearing process; or
Inconsistent Findings: You may allege findings inconsistent with the weight of the information.
The appeal process is not intended to grant a new hearing at a higher level.

2.3. the student must gather the evidence necessary to support his or her case and include it when submitting the Provostal appeal. In preparing the appeal, the student should remember that the primary issue is whether the decision was justified by the procedures and/or guidelines established to govern that decision.

2.4. The Provost or his/her designee shall review the appeal within five (5) business days. He or she may either:

2.4.1. Uphold the decision,

2.4.2. Overturn the decision,

2.4.3. or modify the decision.

2.5. The President or his/her designee shall notify the concerned parties in writing of his/her decision within five (5) business days.

C. Appeal to the President

Students have the right to appeal the final decisions of the Provost to the President per the relevant section(s) of the Executive Policy Manual. The President's decision shall be final and binding for all purposes.

D. Appeal to the Awarding Body

Students who are dissatisfied with their University's final decision regarding their qualification have the right to appeal if their qualification is awarded by a specific awarding body.

Those enrolled in ATHE qualifications can direct their appeals to ATHE using the following contact information:

Address: Suite 4B, Rosebery Court, Central Avenue, St Andrews Business Park, Norwich, NR7 0HS, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 1603 760030
Email: support@athe.co.uk