If you submitted an appeal against your results, or a university decision, and you're not satisfied with the outcome you may be able to take your case further.
The university has one final process you can try, called a grievance. Information about grievances is on the University website and ASK can help you with the process.
You must submit a grievance on the official form within 14 calendar days of the appeal outcome and you must meet one of the grounds; these are:
- Procedural irregularity in the appeal process;
- New evidence/information, which was not known at the time of the appeal decision, which may have affected the outcome had it been known to the Committee, AND there is a valid reason for not making it known at the time.
You will need to look at the reason your appeal was rejected and think about whether the university was wrong to reject it or if there is anything you can add to your case. Look over your appeal form again to see if there's anything that might have been misunderstood or ignored by the committee.
If you decide to submit a grievance, remember to focus on why your appeal was rejected - don't just repeat your appeal or say you don't like the outcome!
What can I do if I don't have grounds for a grievance or I'm not happy with a grievance decision?
If you don't have grounds for a grievance you can request a Completion of Procedures (CoP) letter - your appeal outcome letter will give you a deadline to request this so make sure you ask in time.
If you submit a grievance, the outcome letter should also be a Completion of Procedures letter.
Once you have the CoP letter you can take your case to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). You can visit the OIA website for information about what they do and how to complain to them. Outcomes include overruling a decision, asking the university to reconsider, recommending changes to processes and regulations, and granting compensation where appropriate. You can read more about potential outcomes here.
If you want to take your case to the OIA, you must do so within 12 months of the date on your CoP letter.