Dean of Students
Information Sheet
APPEALS AGAINST GRADES
The following procedures enabling undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students to appeal against grades for units has been adopted by Academic Senate on its meeting of 12 October 2004.
Step 1: (Consultation)
The student should discuss problems arising from the final unit grade with the academic staff member in charge of the unit. This should be in writing on the Appeals Against Grades Form available at http://www.registrar.mq.edu.au/academic-index.htm unless otherwise advised, before the deadline specified in the Handbook for the submission of formal appeals.
In addition to addressing the specific enquiries and concerns of the student, the staff member should check and if requested report to the student in writing that the final examination paper has been marked in its entirety, and also that the various components of the unit assessment have been incorporated into the grade. Students are entitled to view their examination scripts. The academic staff member in charge of the unit is entitled to determine reasonable arrangements for viewing examination scripts.
If it is not possible to respond to the student's enquiry within 10 working days of the student's contact, an acknowledgement of the contact and an explanation for the delay should be made.
Step 2: (Formal Appeal to the Dean of the Division)
If the student is unsatisfied with the response from the staff member, and wishes to initiate the formal appeal process, then the student must:
- Put in writing the specific reasons why the grade is being questioned and include a copy of the correspondence with the academic member in charge of the unit, and
- Submit this written request for a review of the grade awarded to the Dean of Division or nominee. A candidate can only appeal against the award of a grade where:
- the unit co-ordinator did not provide a unit outline as required; or
- the assessment requirements as specified in the unit outline were varied in an unreasonable way; or
- examiners judgement was not objectively applied because of prejudice against the individual candidate; or
- a candidate is of the view that a clerical error has occurred in the computation of the grade; or
- due regard has not been paid to the evidence of illness or misadventure if submitted by the specified date
- a candidate is of the view that they have been disadvantaged in some way due to the conduct of their final examination.
At this point the Dean of Division or nominee may discuss the matter with both the student and the staff member in attendance. At the completion of these discussions, the Dean of Division or nominee will notify the outcome of the appeal to the Registrar and Vice-Principal and the student in writing.
Step 3: (Formal appeal to Grading Appeals Committee via the Registrar)
If difficulties continue and a mutually agreeable result is not reached, the student may, before the expiration of 5 working days after the meeting with the Dean of Division or nominee, lodge an appeal with the Registrar and Vice-Principal which details and makes explicit the grounds for claiming that the conclusion reached in Step 2 is unfair or unjust. Students contemplating such an appeal may wish to consult the Dean of Students before lodging an appeal with the Registrar and Vice-Principal.
The Registrar and Vice-Principal will then refer the matter together with all relevant documents to the Grading Appeals Committee, which will recommend a course of action to Academic Senate. Appeals against grades at this level are based on procedural matters only.
Appeals deadlines
The appeals procedure is subject to strict deadlines which will not be varied. Appeals not received within the timescale set out below will not be considered:
End of Year 2007
| Lodgement of formal Appeal with Dean of Division | 10 January 2008 |
| Notification of grade recommendation from Dean of Division to student and to Registrar and Vice-Principal | 24 January 2008 |
| Lodgement of Appeal with Registrar and Vice-Principal | within five working days of |
2008 Summer Course Program
| Lodgement of formal Appeal with Dean of Division | 29 February 2008 |
| Notification of grade recommendation from Dean of Division to student and to Registrar and Vice-Principal | 7 March 2008 |
| Lodgement of Appeal with Registrar and Vice-Principal | within five working days of |
Grading Appeals Committee
All student appeals to the Grading Appeals Committee must be in writing. The written submission must specify and make explicit the grounds for the appeal. The Committee will also request a written submission from the Dean of the Division. When the information is returned from the Division, the Grading Appeals Committee will meet to consider the issues raised. The Grading Appeals Committee may, as it sees fit,
- disallow the appeal
- disallow the appeal, but recommend modifications to the grading procedures of the Division;
- allow the appeal and report the changed grade to the Dean of Division and Senate; or
- allow the appeal as in (c) and recommend that the Dean of Division review the grades of all students in a similar situation to the appellant.
In exceptional cases, a Dean of Division may challenge the grade determined by the Grading Appeals Committee. In that case, the points of disagreement will be presented for determination at Academic Senate.