You’ve probably been waiting in anticipation for your final results, and hopefully you will have received the grades you expected. However, if these results weren’t what you wished for, you do still have a couple of options – appeals and academic mark checks. Here is our guide to challenging your results.
WHAT IS AN APPEAL?
An appeal gives you the ability to request a review of an Exam Board decision. If you think there was an error in the conduct of assessing your work, or that markets were not aware of some exceptional circumstances impacting your work (and you have valid reasons why you did not declare your ECs at the time of assessment) you can submit an appeal.
Your appeals submission should be accompanied by evidence that supports your claims, and you have 10 working days from the publication of results to submit an appeal. Many postgraduate students will be receiving their final marks on Friday, November 17th, 2023. The appeals process can seem complicated, and the LSESU Advice Service can help you navigate the process or look over your form before you submit it.
ON WHAT GROUNDS CAN I APPEAL?
There are two grounds on which you can submit an appeal:
- Procedural Error: The School describes this as an instance where “the Exam Board did not follow the correct procedure such that there is reasonable doubt that the decision would have been the same if the correct procedure had been followed.”
- New information regarding Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) that the Exam Board were not made aware of for valid reasons that affected your performance in an assessment.
Please note that the grounds for an eligible appeal are strict. Unfortunately, you cannot appeal simply because you disagree with the grade that you have received or the examiner’s decision. It is also important to know that if you’re appealing on the grounds of New Information on ECs, you can only appeal against the following three decisions:
- Final degree classification (only if you meet the following conditions):
- if your mark profile is no more than three marks below the next higher classification in a single course; and/or
- if your mark profile is no more than fifteen marks away from the next higher classification on aggregate for UG students or ten marks away from the next higher classification on aggregate for PG students.
- Decision not to award you a degree or to class you as a “Final Fail”
- Mark of Absent, Incomplete or Fail
Individual marks cannot be changed via appeal and the LSE does not allow students to resit passed courses.
OTHER KEY APPEALS INFORMATION
LSE operates a “fit to sit” policy. By submitting an assessment or attending an exam you are declaring yourself well enough to do so. You can still submit an Appeal even after attempting the assessment, however the School Board Chair will then also consider whether it was appropriate for you to have attempted this.
HOW DO I SUBMIT AN APPEAL?
There is an Appeal Submission Form on LSE’s webpage to submit, alongside your supporting evidence that meets LSE’s Standards of Evidence, to the Appeals team at ssc.appeals@lse.ac.uk. Your form should explain your reason for appealing and, if relevant, why you were unable to defer and why you did not submit ECs at the time of assessment. Remember, the deadline you submit your appeal is 10 working days following the release of your results. For most 12-month Master’s students, this will be Friday, December 1, 2023 (if your results were released on Friday, November 17, 2023).
ADMINISTRATIVE MARK CHECK
Another option is to request an Administrative Mark Check. You can submit checks for:
- Failed courses
- Passed courses with borderline marks (within 3 marks to the next highest classification boundary)
- Passed components with borderline marks
Please note that it costs £10 to request a check for each course. This does not re-mark the paper but rather checks that no mistakes have been made between the marking itself and your results being published. Your deadline will be the same as for submitting an Appeal. Mistakes of this nature are quite rare.
WHO CAN HELP ME?
The LSE Student Regulations Team (SRT) can answer your questions. They are the school team who will look at all appeals and they can answer questions about the appeals process, but they cannot discuss your specific case of give advice.
The LSESU Advice Service are also happy to help. If you still have questions or need some advice, please contact us via email. We hope you get the results you expect, but if not, we are here to support you! We can advise on individual cases and help you strengthen your appeal where possible.
Blog written by Hannah Thomsen.
Hannah works as an Advice Assistant in the LSESU Advice Team.
THE LSESU ADVICE TEAM
The LSESU Advice Team is based on the 3rd floor of the Saw Swee Hock Building and we provide free, independent and confidential advice to all LSE students on academic and housing matters. We also administer the Hardship Fund, the Childcare Fund and the Graduation Gown Support Fund (GGSF).
Our service is currently operating using a hybrid working pattern. We are still open and can be accessed by emailing su.advice@lse.ac.uk. You can also book a Zoom or in person appointment with an adviser via email.