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How to request a Review or Appeal

Reviews and Appeals

At ECU we encourage you to seek feedback from your lecturer to get an understanding of the marks you have been given for an assignment, examination or final unit result.  This can be done at an Informal Review meeting.

Gaining an understanding of why you received the marks you did is a helpful tool in your learning journey.

On occasion, you may wish to request a Formal Review of a decision we have made regarding your assessment, examination or final result, or even your academic progression status, or perhaps you may have exceptional circumstances which impacted your ability to study.

If this is the case, you may choose to request a Formal Review.

The below information is a guide for any student considering submitting a Informal Review, Formal Review or appeal application. It is not a substitute for, or a supplement to the Rules.

There  may also be instances where you may wish to appeal a decision or outcome to the Student Appeals Committee made under the Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) or General Misconduct Rules (Students) and the information below can also guide you on this process.

If you are considering submitting an Informal or Formal Review or appeal application, it is essential that you familiarise yourself with the provisions of the Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progression rules, in particular the requirements for eligibility as set out in Part 2 (for Reviews) and Part 3 (for Appeals).

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Step 1: Informal Review

If you are confused by your assessment, examination or final unit result, or you believe your mark does not reflect your level of achievement, you should request an Informal Review as soon as possible.

You can only proceed to a Formal Review if you have engaged or attempted to engage in the Informal Review process. Formal Reviews have deadlines. See below under the heading ‘Step 2: Formal Review’.  

An Informal Review is your opportunity to discuss your results, ask questions and resolve misunderstandings. You may ask to see your assessment task, examination script and any relevant marking guides or materials.

To request an Informal Review, complete Assessment, Exam or Unit Result Information Review application form, available on the Forms page. Outline your questions and concerns.  Be specific, and where possible link back to the marking guide. Email a copy of the completed Informal Review form to your lecturer and request a meeting to discuss.

After the Informal Review meeting (within 7 days) you will receive a summary of the Informal Review discussion including any outcomes. If, at the end of the Informal Review process s, you are still dissatisfied, you may request a Formal Review of your assessment, examination or final result (step 2) if you have grounds to do so.

Rule 13.2 of the University’s Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progression rules set out the grounds on which a Formal Review application can be made. Rule 13.3 lists the matters that are not suitable for a Formal Review application.  Please read these carefully to ensure you meet the grounds to proceed to a Formal Review.

Step 2: Formal Review

To request a Formal Review, you must complete the Assessment, Examination and Unit Result Formal Review form This online form can be found on the Student Forms webpage .  You will be asked to provide a supporting statement, explaining the grounds on which you are requesting the Formal Review. You will be required to attach evidence of having engaged in the Informal Review process (step 1) i.e., the Informal Review form and a summary of the Informal Review discussion.

Submit an application online,

Deadlines

Assessment, Examination and Unit Result Formal Review applications are subject to the following deadlines:

  • Assessment task or Exam Formal Review applications must be lodged within 21 days of the result becoming available (generally within the teaching period); or
  • Final Unit result/grade Formal Review applications must be lodged within 30 days of the final result becoming available (generally at the end of the teaching period).

See below  for information about the impact of public holidays and University closure on these deadlines, as well as information about late applications.

Results/status release date Semester 2, 2023

Unit results and associated academic progression status information for Semester 2, 2023 is due for release on Monday, 11 December 2023. Students who have deferred exams will have their results released at a later date.

Unit Result Formal Review applications must be lodged by close of business on Tuesday 24 January 2024.

Your responsibility

You are responsible for checking SIMO regularly for your academic results and your student email for any correspondence or notifications.

Your academic progression status refers to how well you are progressing through your course, academically. You may be given an academic progression status of green, amber, red or purple by your school’s Progression Panel as they apply the Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progression rules.  

Should you wish to contest the academic progression status given to you as a result of the Progression Panel’s decision, you may do so by submitting an Academic Progression Status Review application.  This online form can be found on the Student Forms webpage.

The grounds on which an academic progression status review can be made are listed in rule 14.1 of the Admission Enrolment and Academic Progression rules. It is vital that you read this first, to ensure you meet grounds to proceed with a review. Rule 14.3 sets out the matters which that are not suitable for an academic progression status Formal Review.

Your academic progression status review application must contain the completed Academic Progression Status Review application form, a supporting statement addressing the specific grounds on which the application is being made and include any available supporting evidence. If not in English, supporting documents should be supplied with a translation.

You can submit an application online.

Deadlines

Academic Progression Status Review applications must be lodged within 30 days of the status becoming available on SIMO or 30 days of the student being notified, whichever is earlier.

See below  for information about the impact of public holidays and University closure on these deadlines, as well as information about late applications.

Results/status release date Semester 2, 2023

Unit results and associated academic progression status information for Semester 2, 2023 is due for release on Monday, 11 December 2023. Students who have deferred exams will have their results released at a later date.

Academic Progression Status Formal Review applications must be lodged by close of business
Tuesday 24 January 2024.

Your responsibility

You are responsible for checking SIMO regularly for your academic results and your student email for any correspondence or notifications.

Lodging an appeal with the Student Appeals Committee

The Student Appeals Committee hears appeals relating to the following matters:

  • Formal Reviews of assessment, examination or Unit results;
  • Academic Progression Status Reviews; and
  • Findings of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct, and Outcomes imposed, under the Academic Misconduct Rules (Students).

The Student Appeals Committee also hears appeals relating to:

  • A decision expressed by a University Statute, Rule, policy or procedure to be appealable directly to the Student Appeals Committee;
  • A refusal or cancellation of enrolment;
  • Any decision made under Rule 3.5.5(b)-(g) (fitness to study), subject to restrictions on appeals set out in the Fitness to Study Policy;
  • A Thesis classification of “fail” under Rule 6.11.19(e), 6.12.(c) or 6.13.1; and
  • Non-admission to a degree under Rule 6.14.1 or 6.14.2.

You may only appeal against one of the above decisions if you have grounds to do so.

The grounds on which you are permitted to appeal one of the above decisions are set out in rule 17 of the Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progression Rules. Additional grounds are available for academic misconduct appeals and are set out in rule 8 of the Academic Misconduct Rules (Students).

An appeal to the Student Appeals Committee must be made using one of the following application forms. Submit hard-copy applications to the Student Hub via AskUs.

  • Student Appeals Committee – General Appeal application form (for all appeals other than Academic Misconduct appeals).
  • Student Appeals Committee – Academic Misconduct application form.

Along with the relevant form, you must include a statement addressing the specific grounds on which you are appealing, and any available supporting evidence, including copies of relevant documents (such as copies of emails referred to in your submissions, or any other documents).

Deadlines

A Student Appeals Committee appeal application must be lodged within 14 days of the relevant decision being made. Where the Student is Suspended or Excluded or Expelled as a result of a decision, this appeal period is automatically extended to 30 days.

Do not delay lodging your application because you are waiting on information from a third party; for example information about your medical circumstances, or advice from a Guild Support Officer. In such cases you should lodge your application by the deadline and state in your submissions that you are waiting on further information, which you will provide as soon as it becomes available.

See below  for information about the impact of public holidays and University closure on these deadlines, as well as information about late applications.

Student Appeals Process

Once submitted, your application is evaluated for completeness and adequacy.

If your application is deemed to be incomplete (missing key information or evidence) or inadequate (does not meet or address the available grounds for appeal), it will be returned to you with a written explanation. In this event, you will be given an opportunity to revise or improve your application and resubmit it within 7 days.  A resubmitted application will be considered on its merits; however if your resubmitted application remains incomplete or inadequate, it is open to the Chair of the Student Appeals Committee to consider whether the appeal should be dismissed without a Committee hearing on the basis that it is devoid of merit under Rule 17.7.

If your appeal application is accepted for a Student Appeals Committee hearing, a communication will be sent to you advising of the scheduled time, date and format of the appeal hearing.

You may wish to appoint a Guild Advisory Officer, friend or family member to accompany or assist you in relation to the appeal, or act as an advocate to conduct the appeal on your behalf, however legal representation is not permitted.

At the appeal hearing, your appeal is heard by a panel of Student Appeal Committee members.  You will have an opportunity to make oral representations at the hearing, as will the relevant decision-maker (or their nominee).

After the appeal hearing has been completed, you will be provided with written confirmation of the decision of the Student Appeals Committee.  This will be sent to your ECU email address within 7 days.  The notification will explain the decision and the reasons behind the decision.

Please note; applications submitted in December/January may experience a delay in decisions being communicated due to the Christmas and New Year break.

The Student Appeals Committee is the last avenue of appeal in the University.

Support Persons

You may wish to appoint a Guild Advisory Officer, friend or family member to act as an advocate to conduct the appeal on your behalf, to accompany or assist you in relation to the appeal, however legal representation is not permitted.

Please note that the availability of Guild support does not impact on the deadline to lodge an appeal. If you are unable to make an appointment with a Guild Advisory Officer before the deadline, you must still lodge your appeal. If you wish to make additional submissions after meeting with a Guild Advisory Officer, you should liaise directly with the Committee about this, who will be in contact with you after you have lodged your application.

Academic Progression Status Review applications must be lodged within 30 days of the status becoming available on SIMO or 30 days of the student being notified, whichever is earlier.

See below  for information about the impact of public holidays and University closure on these deadlines, as well as information about late applications.

Results/status release date Semester 2, 2023

Unit results and associated academic progression status information for Semester 2, 2023 is due for release on Monday, 11 December 2023. Students who have deferred exams will have their results released at a later date.

Academic Progression Status Formal Review applications must be lodged by close of business
Tuesday 23 January 2024.

Your responsibility

You are responsible for checking SIMO regularly for your academic results and your student email for any correspondence or notifications.

We are here to help.

The Student Hub can assist you to understand the reviews and appeals processes.  They can advise you on how to submit your application (on-line or in hard copy) and tell you what documents are required.  They are also available to answer your questions on submission deadlines and the progress of your application.

The Student Guild are available to support you with all stages of the review and appeals processes and can assist you with compiling your application.  For information on the full list of services offered by the Student Guild and how to access them please visit their website.

In calculating the deadlines for Formal Review applications, and appeal applications to the Student Appeals Committee, the following days will not be taken into account:

  • the University’s closure over the Christmas and New Year break;
  • Good Friday to Easter Monday inclusive;
  • Australia Day (on the day it is observed by the University);
  • ANZAC Day (on the day it is observed by the University); and
  • any other public holidays observed by the university.

Late applications

If you have missed the deadline for a review or appeal, but still wish to submit an application, you can do so but you must provide a statement giving sufficient reason and evidence as to why your request should be considered outside of the normal time frame. Please consider carefully what evidence you can supply to substantiate the reasons for your late application.  

The University may in its absolute discretion, in exceptional circumstances or where delay has been caused by the University, approve a late application where it is appropriate to do so.

Waiting for the outcome of your Formal Review or appeal should not prevent you from continuing with your studies.  You can request to provisionally enrol pending the outcome of your Formal Review or appeal as part of your Formal Review application.  A request to provisionally re-enrolment can be made on both the hard copy and on-line Formal Review application forms.

If your Formal Review is unsuccessful, and as a result you are not permitted to study, your provisional enrolment will be cancelled. If this occurs after the published unit census date, you will be eligible for a refund of any charges.

Please note the following:

  • Students who are permitted to enrol provisionally, cannot claim disadvantage of an academic, financial or personal nature if their application is unsuccessful, and they are required to withdraw from a provisionally enrolled unit or units.
  • A Student who has had their enrolment restricted or cancelled under the Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progress Rule 3.5.4 (Inherent Requirements) or Rule 3.5.5 (Fitness To Study), or under the General Misconduct Rules (Students), will not be entitled to provisionally enrol.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your formal review, and you have grounds to do so, you can appeal the formal review outcome to the Student Appeal Committee, outlined above.

External Review

Students may, in writing, request the State Ombudsman to review the manner in which their application was handled by the University. It should be noted that the Ombudsman will not normally investigate until all internal avenues of review or appeal have been completed.

The Ombudsman will usually only consider if the University has followed its own Rules, policies and procedures and whether the handling of an individual case has been fair and reasonable. The Ombudsman does not make a new decision (for example, change a unit result) to replace a decision by the University. However, the Ombudsman may recommend that the University reconsider its decisions or actions.

International students who lodge a review request/complaint to the State Ombudsman, must provide evidence of such action to the University’s Director, Student Administration within 20 business days from the date of notification confirming their Appeal application was not upheld.

If this evidence is not received the University must, under the provision of Section 19 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, notify the Department of Home Affairs that the student has been suspended or excluded from the University. This notification may have implications for the student’s visa status.

Contact the State Ombudsman

Phone: +61 08 9220 7555
Email: mail@ombudsman.wa.gov.au
Website: http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au

The General Misconduct Appeals Committee hears appeals relating to determinations of General Misconduct made under the General Misconduct Rules (Students) and Outcomes imposed in relation to such determinations. The grounds on which you are permitted to appeal to the General Misconduct Appeals Committee are set out in rule 8 of the General Misconduct Rules (Students).

An appeal against a General Misconduct determination or Outcome must be lodged within 30 days of being notified of the relevant decision or Outcome.

An appeal to the General Misconduct Appeals Committee must be made using the Student General Misconduct Appeals Committee Application form, available here. Submit hard-copy applications to the Student Hub via AskUs.

Need help?

ECU Student Guild offers assistance with Reviews and Appeals.

Got a question? Visit AskUs. Submit an online enquiry via AskUs or visit Student Hub.

 

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