The University’s Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progress Rules (the “Rules”) contain provisions for students who are dissatisfied with the assessment of their academic work or academic progress to review or appeal against those assessments and decisions.
Notes are issued for the guidance of students considering requesting a review under the Rules and are not a substitute for or a supplement to these Rules:
Informal Review (Rule 8.1)
Students who have reason to believe that their grades/results for an Assessment Task, Examination or Unit do not accurately reflect their level of achievement, may ask for an Informal Review of their grade/result as soon as practicable after receiving the grade/result.
Formal Review (Rule 8.1)
Request for review against the result of an individual item of assessment or a final unit result.
Academic Progression Status Review (Rule 8.1)
Request for review against an academic progression status decision by a School Board of Examiners.
Appeal to the Student Appeals Committee (Rule 8.2)
Appeal against a decision made under either Rule 3.5, 4.8, 4.10, 5.8, 6.14 or Rule 8.1.
Annexures 1 and 2 detail the grounds on which requests for review or appeals to the Student Appeals Committee may be made and the processes and procedures that must be followed by students submitting appeals under these Rules.
If you are considering submitting a request for review or appeal, it is essential that you familiarise yourself with the provisions of the Rules.
The relevant forms which must be used in the appeals process may be found at Which form do I use for my appeal?, or under ‘Paper-based forms’ on the Student Forms Page.
1. Submission Deadlines
There is a time limit for lodgement of a request for review or appeal. Note that failure to comply with these deadlines will result in the submission of the request for review or appeal being rejected.
Information about specific deadlines for the submission of a request for review or appeal is also published at the Reviews and Appeals Deadline Page.
The deadlines for requests for reviews of grades/results for an Assessment Task, Examination or Unit are inclusive of period required for both the informal and formal review process i.e. the informal review process must be completed and the formal review submitted within the 28-day deadline.
2. Submissions
Appeals may only be made on the basis of the grounds specified in the relevant Rule. The Rules require that supporting submissions address each ground and include any relevant supporting documentation, which in the case of a request for review under Annexure 1 must include evidence that the informal review has been completed. This will normally be demonstrated by the inclusion of the email written summary from the academic staff person who did the informal review, to the student (Annexure 1; 4).
Requests for Review and Appeals must be lodged at the Student Hub.
Limits are imposed by the Rules on the length of submissions and supporting documentation (Annexure 1; 9 & 10 and Annexure 2; 33 & 34). Submissions that do not provide complete or adequate information or do not conform to the length requirements will be returned to the student, and where practicable, with written reasons for that action and an opportunity will be provided for re-submission.
Once accepted, students will receive a receipt number which can subsequently be referred to for information about the status of the review or appeal.
3. Support Persons
Students attending a meeting with the Student Appeals Committee, are entitled to be accompanied by another person, other than a legal practitioner (Annexure 2; 41). As a courtesy and to assist with meeting arrangements, students who are to be supported in this way are asked to inform the staff member conducting or arranging the relevant meeting prior to that event.
4. Decisions
Students will be provided with written confirmation of decisions and the reasons for those decisions. Notification of decisions and reasons will normally be sent to the student’s ECU email address.
Please refer to Annexure 1 for the response timeframes for Formal Review and Academic Progression Status Review and Annexure 2 for the response timeframe for appeals to the Student Appeals Committee.
Please note that requests for review or appeals submitted in December/January may experience a delay in decisions being communicated due to the Essential Student Services Period.
5. Provisional Re-enrolment
Provisional re-enrolment may be permitted pending the finalisation of a review or appeal against exclusion. An application for provisional enrolment must be made at the time of the submission of the request for review or appeal under Annexure 2; 49.
If a request for review or appeal made in these circumstances is unsuccessful the relevant enrolment will be cancelled. If this occurs after the published unit census date, students will be eligible for a refund of any charges or other money paid. Students who are permitted to enrol provisionally cannot claim disadvantage of an academic, financial or person nature if their appeal is unsuccessful and they are required to withdraw from a provisionally enrolled unit or units.
6. External Review
Students may, in writing, request the State Ombudsman to review the manner in which their appeal was handled by the University. It should be noted that the Ombudsman will not normally investigate until all internal avenues of 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 change decisions (e.g. change a unit result) made by the University but may recommend the University reconsider its decisions or actions.
International students intending to submit a review request to the State Ombudsman must provide evidence to the University to the Director, Student Administration, that they have lodged that complaint, within 20 business days of receiving notice of the decision of the Student Appeals Committee, not to uphold their appeal.
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 details for the State Ombudsman are:
Phone: +61 08 9220 7555
Email: mail@ombudsman.wa.gov.au
Website: http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au