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1. Nominees
2. Conduct of formal examinations
3. Other assessed work
4. Procedure for cases of cheating and plagiarism in undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes of study (including any taught component of a professional or other doctoral degree
5. Procedures for cases of plagiarism in a thesis submitted for a research degree
6. Students taking University of Bristol assessment, but not in attendance at the University
7. Disposal under Student Disciplinary Regulations
8. Factors taken into account when deciding whether to use the procedures for minor or serious cases for undergraduate and taught postgraduate students
9. Guidance on the procedures
10. Information for Boards of Examiners
11. Appeal against a decision of a Board of Examiners

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1 Nominees

Unless the context indicates otherwise, under these regulations a University officer or the chairman of a board of examiners may act through his or her properly appointed nominee.

2 Conduct of formal examinations

2.1 Attendance

Failure to attend an examination without reasonable cause may result in the award of no marks for that examination.  It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of the details of the examination timetable.  If a student fails to attend as the result of illness, he or she should obtain a medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner as soon as reasonably practicable, and submit it forthwith to the chairman of the board of examiners and copied to the appropriate faculty office.

2.2 Entering the examination room

Candidates may not normally enter the examination room to sit a written examination nor undertake the written examination in any other location after it has been in progress for more than thirty minutes. Late candidates will be referred to their home school for advice on the next course of action.

2.3 Leaving the examination room

No candidate may leave the examination room within thirty minutes of the beginning of the examination, save in exceptional circumstances, and with the permission of the invigilator.  In order to avoid disturbing other candidates, candidates may not leave the examination room during the last fifteen minutes of the examination, save in exceptional circumstances, and with the permission of the invigilator.  If a student leaves an examination because of illness, he or she should obtain a medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner as soon as reasonably practicable, and submit it forthwith to the chairman of the board of examiners and copied to the appropriate faculty office.

2.4 Supervised absence

No candidate may leave and return to the examination room during an examination unless supervised by an invigilator while absent.

2.5 Communication during the examination

Unless an invigilator has given permission otherwise, during the course of the examination a candidate may communicate with no other person but the invigilator.

2.6 Permitted items and texts

A candidate may take to his or her desk only those items and texts that are permitted for the examination he or she is sitting.  It is the responsibility of the student's faculty or school to provide guidance to students about items, for example calculators, they may take into examinations and the responsibility of the student to establish which items and texts are permitted. Such guidance should be provided in a format and location easily accessible to the student, including in student handbooks or on school websites and should indicate to students the circumstances in which it is likely they will be granted permission and the types of materials they may be allowed to use. All bags, mobile phones, personal organisers and similar electronic devices must not be taken to the examination desk, but must be deposited elsewhere, as instructed by the invigilator.

If the usual practice of the faculty or school is to allow students who do not have English as a first language to use a translation dictionary during written examinations, then the school should ensure than an "Authorisation for the use of dictionaries in examinations" form is completed and signed by the Head of School or nominee for each student. Where a student is studying across schools then the form should be signed by the Head of School for each of their units. This form should be returned to the student and it MUST be displayed on the examination desk when a dictionary is being used. Failure to display the authorisation will result in the confiscation of the material. All dictionaries used in examinations will be checked for annotations and markings and any dictionary deemed to contravene regulations will be removed from the student.

2.7 Distracting behaviour

Candidates may not smoke during an examination, nor behave in any way which is distracting to other candidates.  A candidate who ignores a request from an invigilator not to behave disruptively may be required to leave the examination room.  The candidate’s examination scripts will be submitted to the board of examiners as they were at the time when the candidate was required to leave.  The invigilator will annotate the scripts with the time at which the candidate left, and submit a report to the chairman of the board of examiners.

2.8 Examination scripts

It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that all his or her scripts are appropriately marked with an identifying name and number.  No candidate may remove an examination script from the examination room.  No candidate may remove any other examination materials without permission.

A school may invite a candidate to transcribe or dictate an illegible script. Any transcription or dictation must be verbatim, and the student should be asked to sign the transcript to confirm that it is a true copy of the original script. The transcription or dictation will be treated as part of the formal examination process. Schools may also invite the student to undertake an oral examination.

2.9 Cheating

Cheating in an examination will be dealt with as a disciplinary offence under these regulations.  In particular it is a disciplinary offence for a candidate to:

1. Have unauthorised items or texts at his or her desk in the examination room during the examination
2. Make use of unauthorised items or texts during the examination
3. Copy from the script of another candidate during the examination
4. Dishonestly receive help from another person during the examination
5. Dishonestly give help to another person during the examination
6. Act dishonestly in any way, whether before, during or after the examination, so as to obtain an unfair advantage in the examination
7. Act dishonestly in any way, whether before, during or after the examination, so as to assist another candidate to obtain an unfair advantage in the examination.

2.10 Suspicion of cheating during the examination

Should a candidate be suspected of cheating during the examination, the invigilator will confiscate any unauthorised material, indicate on the candidate’s script that it has been confiscated due to suspected cheating, and remove the script.  The candidate will then be given further examination books and permitted to complete the examination.  The invigilator will seek an explanation from the candidate at the end of the examination, and submit an incident report to the University Examinations Officer who will notify the chairman of the school board of examiners from the student’s home school.

3 Other assessed work

3.1 Work must be that of the student

Any thesis, dissertation, essay, or other course work must be the student’s own work and must not contain plagiarised material.  Any instance of plagiarism in such coursework will be treated as an offence under these regulations.

3.2 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the unacknowledged inclusion in a student’s work of material derived from the published or unpublished work of another. This constitutes plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional. “Work” includes internet sources as well as printed material. Examples include:

• Quoting another’s work “word for word” without placing the phrase(s), sentence(s) or paragraph(s) in quotation marks and providing a reference for the source.
• Using statistics, tables, figures, formulae, data, diagrams, questionnaires, images, musical notation, computer code, etc., created by others without acknowledging and referencing the original source. This list is not intended to be exhaustive.
• Summarising, or paraphrasing the work or ideas of another without acknowledging and referencing the original source. “Paraphrasing” means re-stating another author’s ideas, meaning or information in a student’s own words.
• Copying the work of another student, with or without that student’s agreement.
• Collaborating with another student, even where the initial collaboration is legitimate, e.g., joint project work, and then presenting the resulting work as one’s own. If students are unclear about the extent of collaboration which is permitted in joint work they should consult the relevant tutor.
• Submitting, in whole or in part, work which has previously been submitted at the University of Bristol or elsewhere, without fully referencing the earlier work. This includes unacknowledged re-use of the student’s own submitted work.
• Buying or commissioning an essay or other piece of work and presenting it as a student’s own.

3.3 Avoidance of plagiarism

Schools will, where necessary, provide further discipline-specific definitions of plagiarism and guidance on how to avoid it, including advice on proper referencing practice. However, it remains the responsibility of the individual student to familiarise him- or herself with these guidelines and to avoid plagiarism.

3.4 Cases of bad academic practice

In some cases a marker may be unsure whether irregularities in a piece of work constitute minor plagiarism or simply poor academic practice. In this case he or she should consult the chairman of the school board of examiners for the student’s programme of study. The chairman will decide whether the case can be handled solely through school tutorial/student guidance processes or whether the procedure outlined in sections 3.5 and 4 should be followed. If the former, a file note should be kept in the school of the advice given to the student for future reference.

3.5 Suspicion of plagiarism

Should a candidate be suspected of plagiarism, the principal marker of the work will notify the chairman of the school board of examiners for the student’s programme of study, providing a brief written report outlining the allegation and copies of both the assessed work in question and the sources that are believed to have been plagiarised, annotated as necessary.

4 Procedure for cases of cheating and plagiarism in undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes of study (including any taught component of a professional or other doctoral degree)

4.1 Responsibility for handling allegations of cheating and plagiarism

Initial responsibility for handling plagiarism and examination cheating allegations in undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes of study rests with the chairman of the school board of examiners from the student’s home school. 

4.2 Initial assessment of cases of cheating and plagiarism

The chairman of the school board of examiners will decide, in consultation with the undergraduate or graduate education director of the faculty, and using the criteria listed in section 8, whether the case appears minor and can be handled at school level or more significant, requiring involvement from the faculty. The chairman, in consultation with the undergraduate or graduate education director, will also decide whether or not to investigate examination scripts or pieces of work previously submitted by the student.

4.3 Minor cases – student interview

If the alleged offence of cheating or plagiarism is considered to be minor, the chairman of the school board of examiners will notify the student in writing and interview him/her with the school examinations officer or other appropriate member of the school. The student will be informed in the letter of the pieces of work under consideration. The student may be accompanied at the interview by an adviser, friend or other representative. Notes will be taken of the interview and subsequently agreed with all parties. Where the allegation relates to an assessment from outside the student’s home school, the chairman of the home school board of examiners will involve a relevant member of staff from the other school in the interview and in making the penalty recommendation or may delegate responsibility for the interview to the chairman of the school board of examiners responsible for the unit. In the latter case, the interview panel will include a member of staff from the student’s home school.

4.3.1 Disposal by the School Board of Examiners

The decision as to penalty will normally be made by the school board of examiners. Following the interview, the chairman of the school board of examiners will make a written recommendation as to the penalty, from those listed in section 4.3.2, to the full board. This recommendation will set out the misconduct admitted, a brief summary of the evidence received, the penalty recommended, and the factors taken into account in recommending the penalty. A copy of the recommendation will be sent to the student. It will be permissible to reach agreement as to penalty with the full board of examiners by correspondence if it is some time until its next meeting. If there is disagreement as to the penalty a full meeting will be required.

If the interview panel considers that the matter should be dealt with under student disciplinary regulations, it may, in place of a report to the board of examiners, make a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor to this effect. Examination offences which disclose gross dishonesty, such as substantial and premeditated attempt to gain unfair advantage, or cases in which the candidate and the interview panel are not able to agree an account of the incident, are appropriately dealt with under student disciplinary regulations. See section 7.

4.3.2 Powers of the School Board of Examiners in minor cases

On receipt of the recommendation of the chairman of the school board of examiners, the board of examiners may:

1. Impose no penalty beyond recording the case on the student’s school file for future reference; 
2. Disregard the original mark for the examination or piece of assessed work and require submission of an equivalent piece of work. The full mark range may be used for the new piece of work;
3. Disregard the original mark for the examination or piece of assessed work and require submission of an equivalent piece of work. The mark for the new piece of work will be capped at the minimum pass mark;
4. Award the student lower marks than those which he or she would otherwise have been awarded, or award no marks, for the examination or assessed work in which the student committed the offence without the opportunity to submit another piece of work. This will be the maximum penalty for cases of minor cheating or plagiarism. The school examination board will take explicit account of the impact of this penalty on the student’s credit points and, where applicable, degree classification and whether this impact is proportionate to the offence.

The penalty will depend on the seriousness of the offence, using the criteria listed in section 8. It will normally be assumed that mitigating circumstances will have been raised by the student in advance of the examination or submission. However, any exceptional mitigating circumstances will be taken into account when determining the penalty.

If, exceptionally, the school board of examiners feels that there are circumstances about the case that were not apparent at the time of the initial assessment by the chairman of the board, and which might affect the route for consideration of the case, they may seek advice from the faculty board of examiners as to the appropriate course of action.

The student will have the usual right of appeal against a decision of the board of examiners.

4.3.3 Recording the penalty

Brief details of the allegation and penalty will be recorded in the minutes of the school board of examiners, with a copy kept on the student’s school file. Cases and penalties will be reported to the faculty board of examiners annually. Copies of the resulting minutes of the faculty board of examiners will be sent to the Academic Registrar who will keep a central record of plagiarism and examination cheating cases and report them annually to Education Committee. Cases of minor plagiarism need not be mentioned in student references.

4.4 Serious cases

If the alleged offence of cheating or plagiarism is considered by the chairman of the school board of examiners, in consultation with the undergraduate or graduate education director of the faculty, to be more serious than should be handled at school level, taking into account the criteria listed in section 8, the chairman of the school board of examiners will notify the student in writing that the case will be referred to the chairman of the faculty board of examiners. The student will also be informed, at this stage, whether any other examination scripts or pieces of work are under consideration.

4.4.1 Student interview

A panel of three members of the faculty board of examiners (which will normally include a member of the student's home school examination board), selected by the chair, will interview the student. It may be appropriate also to involve a representative from the school responsible for the unit in which the irregularity has occurred, if this is not the home school. The student may be accompanied at the interview by an adviser, friend or other representative. The faculty manager or head of academic administration will attend to provide advice on regulations. Notes will be taken of the interview, which will subsequently be agreed with all parties. Where the chairman of the faculty board of examiners is from the student’s home school an alternative member of the board shall be nominated to chair.

4.4.2 Recommendation to the School Board of Examiners

The decision as to penalty will normally be recommended by the faculty interview panel, initially, to the school board of examiners. This recommendation, taken from those listed in 4.4.3, will set out the misconduct admitted, a brief summary of the evidence received, the penalty recommended, and the factors taken into account in recommending the penalty. A copy of the recommendation will be sent to the student by the chair or secretary of the school board of examiners together with an explanation of the next steps in the process and the likely timescales. It will be permissible for the school board of examiners to consider this recommendation by correspondence if it is some time until its next meeting.

If the interview panel considers that the matter should be dealt with under student disciplinary regulations, it may, in place of a recommendation to the board of examiners, make a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor to this effect. Examination offences which disclose gross dishonesty, such as substantial and premeditated attempt to gain unfair advantage, or cases in which the candidate and the interview panel are not able to agree an account of the incident, are appropriately dealt with under student disciplinary regulations. See section 7.

4.4.3 Powers of the Faculty Board of Examiners

On receipt of the recommendation of the interview panel, the school board of examiners may advise the faculty board of examiners to:

1. Impose no penalty beyond recording the case on the student’s school file for future reference; 
2. Disregard the original mark for the examination or piece of assessed work and require submission of an equivalent piece of work. The full mark range may be used for the new piece of work;
3. Disregard the original mark for the examination or piece of assessed work and require submission of an equivalent piece of work. The mark for the new piece of work will be capped at the minimum pass mark;
4. Award the student lower marks than those which he or she would otherwise have been awarded, or award no marks, for the examination or assessed work in which the student committed the offence without the opportunity to submit another piece of work.
5. Award the student lower marks than those which he or she would otherwise have been awarded, or award no marks, for the unit of which the examination or piece of assessed work was part; 
6. Award the student lower marks than those which he or she would otherwise have been awarded, or award no marks, for the year of study;
7. Award the student a lower class of degree or other academic award than that which he or she would  otherwise have been awarded;
8. Award a lower qualification than that for which the student was registered;
9. Exclude the student from the award of a degree or other academic award, which may be either permanent or for a stated period, and may be absolute or subject to compliance with stipulated requirements; the award of a lower qualification may or may not be offered.

If the advice from the school examination board to the faculty examination board is not in line with that originally made by the faculty interview panel, the school examination board must explain the reasons for the change in their report to the faculty examination board  and must also notify the student of their decision.

The penalty will depend on the seriousness of the offence, using the criteria listed in section 8. It will normally be assumed that mitigating circumstances will have been raised by the student in advance of the examination or submission. However, any exceptional mitigating circumstances will be taken into account when determining the penalty.

The school and faculty examination board will take explicit consideration of the impact of the penalty on the student’s credit points and, where applicable, degree classification and whether this impact is proportionate to the offence.

The student will have the usual right of appeal against a decision of the board of examiners.

4.4.4 Recording the penalty

Brief details of the allegation and penalty will be recorded in the minutes of the school and faculty board of examiners, with a copy kept on the student’s school file. Copies of the resulting minutes of the faculty board of examiners will be sent to the Academic Registrar who will keep a central record of plagiarism and examination cheating cases and report them annually to Education Committee. Cases of cheating or serious plagiarism should normally be mentioned in student references.

5 Procedures for cases of plagiarism in a thesis submitted for a research degree

5.1 Responsibility for handling allegations of plagiarism in a thesis submitted for a research degree

If plagiarism is suspected in a submitted thesis, the supervisor or examiner will notify the head of school, providing a brief written report outlining the allegation and copies of both the relevant sections of the thesis and the sources that are believed to have been plagiarised, annotated as necessary. The head of school will notify the student in writing that the case will be referred to the graduate education director.

5.2 Student Interview

The graduate education director will interview the student with the head of school or his or her nominee. The student may be accompanied at the interview by an adviser, friend or other representative. The faculty manager or head of academic administration will attend to provide advice on regulations. Notes will be taken of the interview, which will subsequently be agreed with all parties. Where the graduate education director is from the student’s home school, a graduate education director from another faculty may be nominated to chair the interview. In particularly serious cases it may be appropriate to involve a second graduate education director and the internal and/or external examiner in the interview.

If the interview panel is satisfied that there is no evidence of dishonesty, i.e. that there was no deliberate attempt by the student to obtain an unfair advantage in the thesis, the decision as to penalty will be made by the Research Degrees Examination Board. Following the interview, the panel will make a written recommendation as to penalty to the Research Degrees Examination Board. This recommendation will set out the misconduct admitted, a brief summary of the evidence received, the penalty recommended, and the factors taken into account in recommending the penalty. A copy of the recommendation will be sent to the student. The final decision will be reached at a full meeting of the Research Degrees Examination Board. 

If the interview panel feels there is evidence of deliberate dishonesty, the matter should be dealt with under student disciplinary regulations. See section 7.

5.3 Powers of the Research Degrees Examination Board

On receipt of the recommendation of the interview panel, the Research Degrees Examination Board may:

1. Impose no penalty beyond recording the case on the student’s school file for future reference; 
2. Require resubmission of all or part of the thesis;
3. Exclude the student from the award of the degree, which may be either permanent or for a stated period, and may be absolute or subject to compliance with stipulated requirements;
4. Award a lower qualification than that for which the student was registered where regulations permit this.

The penalty will depend on the seriousness of the offence, using the criteria listed in section 8. It will normally be assumed that mitigating circumstances will have been raised by the student in advance of the submission. However, any exceptional mitigating circumstances will be taken into account when determining the penalty.

5.4 Recording the penalty

Details of the allegation and penalty will be recorded in the Research Degrees Examination Board minutes, with a copy on the student’s school file, which will be sent to the Academic Registrar who will keep a central record of such plagiarism cases and report them to Education Committee annually. Cases of plagiarism in a thesis submitted for a research degree should normally be mentioned in student references.

6 Students taking University of Bristol assessment, but not in attendance at the University

All the above regulations will apply to students not in attendance at the University, including distance learning students, students on a year abroad, or international students who have temporarily returned home. In these circumstances it may be appropriate to replace the interview with written correspondence or a conference call with the student.

7 Disposal under Student Disciplinary Regulations

If the interview panel considers that the matter should be dealt with under student disciplinary regulations, it may, in place of a report to the board of examiners, make a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor, through the University Secretary, to this effect. Examination offences which disclose gross dishonesty, such as substantial and premeditated attempt to gain unfair advantage, or cases in which the candidate and the interview panel are not able to agree an account of the incident, are appropriately dealt with under the Student Disciplinary Regulations.

Where an offence of plagiarism or other examination offence has been referred under these Regulations to be dealt with under the Student Disciplinary Regulations, the Board of Examiners may not impose any penalty under these Regulations in place of or in addition to the penalty or penalties that the Board is directed to implement under the Disciplinary Regulations in respect of that offence. [Section amended by Council with effect from 1 April 2011]

8 Factors to be taken into account when deciding whether to use the procedures for minor or serious cases for undergraduate and taught postgraduate students

1. The student’s year of study. First year cases will normally be considered minor. Finalist and taught masters student cases will normally be considered serious;
2. Whether this is a first or subsequent offence;
3. The extent and significance of the plagiarism in the piece of work. Plagiarism accounting for less than 30% of the piece of work and where there is evidence of independent argument and thought might reasonably be classed as minor;
4.  Whether the assessment contributes significantly to the student’s progress or degree classification;
5. Examination cheating should normally be handled under the “serious” procedures.

9 Guidance on the Procedures

Guidance and advice on the implementation of the cheating and plagiarism regulations will be available from the Academic Registrar.

10 Information for Boards of Examiners

10.1 Procedure for consideration of Extenuating Circumstances

Boards of examiners shall establish a committee (which will meet before the Board of Examiners meets) to consider any relevant matters, for example personal matters such as illness or bereavement, that may have affected a student's performance in assessment (see section 20 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).

10.2 Evidence

If a student wishes a board of examiners to take any such matters into account, he or she must complete and submit the relevant form before the meeting of the board at which the student's examination performance is to be considered (for details of the procedure and a link to the form, see section 20 of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).   A written record must be kept of such matters.  Any such matters which could have been raised before the meeting of the board, but, without good reason, were not raised, will not be considered in the event of an appeal.

The committee may require a student to submit such other evidence as it deems necessary to substantiate any matter raised by the student.

11 Appeal against a decision of a Board of Examiners

11.1 Right to appeal

A student enrolled on a taught (undergraduate or postgraduate) programme may appeal against an appealable decision made by one of the following (referred to in these Regulations as a “board of examiners”):

    a. A faculty board of examiners

    b. A faculty progress committee

    c. A school board of examiners in relation to a case of minor plagiarism.

A postgraduate research student may appeal against an appealable decision made by the following (also referred to as a “board of examiners”):

    a. The University Research Degrees Examination Board

    b. The Dean of the relevant faculty, on the recommendation of a registration review panel. 

An appealable decision is a decision in respect of:

    a. An examination or other form of assessment

    b. A student’s progress, including a decision in respect of a suspension or a requirement to withdraw from the University, or in the case of a research postgraduate student, a decision  by a Dean relating to termination or change of registration

    c. A penalty imposed for a cheating or plagiarism offence dealt with under these Regulations.

Appeals may only be made on the basis of one or more of the following permissible grounds:

3)   A penalty for cheating or plagiarism, imposed under the examination regulations by the school or faculty is wrong or disproportionate. For the avoidance of doubt, there is no right of appeal under these Regulations in respect of a penalty or penalties imposed under the Student Disciplinary Regulations and implemented by the board of examiners on the direction of the Vice-Chancellor or a Disciplinary Committee. 

11.4  The Appeal Process

The appeal process has two stages:

(i)       The Local Stage

(ii)      The University Stage.

11.5 The Appeal Form

In order to start the appeal process, the student must complete the Appeal Form and submit it to the Faculty Education Manager within 15 working days of the notification of the appealable decision to the student.  An extension of this time limit will be allowed, by the University Secretary, only in exceptional circumstances.

The Appeal Form must set out:

    a. the reason(s) for the student’s dissatisfaction with the appealable decision;

    b. the student’s grounds for appeal; and

    c. the outcome sought by the student.

All the evidence on which the student seeks to rely must be submitted with the Appeal Form unless there are good reasons why this is not possible.

The student is encouraged to seek assistance from the Students’ Union Advisory Service ubu-justask@bristol.ac.uk when preparing the Appeal Form.

11.6 The Local Stage

On receipt of the completed Appeal Form and any accompanying evidence, the Faculty Undergraduate or Graduate Education Director (as appropriate) will review the appeal on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty (who may also act in person if he or she considers it appropriate) with a view to considering whether the appeal can be resolved at the Local Stage. 

In the case of an appeal by a postgraduate research student against a decision of the Research Degrees Examination Board, the Faculty Education Manager will forward the Appeal Form and any accompanying evidence to the Pro Vice Chancellor (Education & Students) who will review the appeal at the Local Stage. 

The person reviewing the appeal may invite another academic not involved in the appealable decision or in previous informal discussions to assist with his or her deliberations.  Students may request the opportunity to attend the review at which their appeal is considered.  The student may bring an adviser, friend or representative to the review and the Faculty Education Manager (or in the case of an appeal against a decision of the Research Degrees Examinations Board another appropriate person) will provide administrative support.

If the person reviewing the appeal considers that the appeal can be resolved at the Local Stage, he or she may take action to resolve the appeal, including but not limited to any or all of the following:

    a. refer the student’s extenuating circumstances to be reconsidered by a committee under section 10 of these Regulations, if the person reviewing the appeal considers that insufficient weight was given to the student’s circumstances by the committee;

    b. allow the student to submit late evidence of extenuating circumstances, if the person reviewing the appeal considers that the student had good reason for his or her failure to submit the evidence at the appropriate time;

    c. refer the appealable decision for reconsideration by the board of examiners, with or without a recommendation as to the outcome of such reconsideration.

If the person reviewing the appeal does not consider that the appeal can be resolved at the Local Stage the student may request that the appeal be progressed to the University Stage under section 11.7.

The Local Stage will normally be dealt with and the student informed, in writing, of the outcome of the review and the reasons for the decisions made, within 25 working days of the Appeal Form being submitted to the Faculty Education Manager (or, in the case of an Appeal Form which has been submitted out of time, within 25 working days from the date of notification, to the Faculty Education Manager, of the University Secretary’s decision to allow an extension of time for submission of the appeal).

11.7 Progression to the University Stage

If the student remains dissatisfied with the outcome of the Local Stage, or has not received the Local Stage decision by the prescribed time limit set out in section 11.6 above,he or she may request that the appeal is progressed to the University Stage.  The student should make the request in writing to the Student Complaints Officer student-complaints@bristol.ac.uk within five working days of the Local Stage decision or, if earlier, the expiry of the prescribed time limit.  Upon receipt of the written request to progress to the University Stage, the Student Complaints Officer will obtain the Appeal Form and supporting evidence from the Faculty Education Manager, together with all of the evidence considered at the Local Stage and a copy of any decision letter sent to the student.   

Upon receipt of the Appeal Form and other documentation from the Local Stage, the Student Complaints Officer shall refer the student’s appeal to a Review Panel for consideration.

11.8 Appeal Review Panel

The Review Panel shall normally consist of three members of the academic staff who have had no prior involvement with the appealable decision or the Local Stage.

The proceedings of the Review Panel will not involve a hearing. The Review Panel will consider the Appeal Form and other evidence and may:

    a. refer the matter back to the faculty (or in the case of postgraduate research students, to the Pro Vice Chancellor) for reconsideration at the Local Stage with, or without, a recommendation for resolution. If following reconsideration the original decision is not altered, the student may request that the matter be further reviewed by the Review Panel.  If the original decision is altered, the student will have a fresh right of appeal in respect of the new decision;

    b. dismiss the appeal, giving reasons, and issue a Completion of Procedures letter; or

    c. recommend that a committee be appointed by Council to hear the appeal.

11.9 Council Committee

If the Review Panel recommends that a committee be appointed to hear the appeal, Council will appoint a committee which shall normally consist of three members, including at least one academic member of Council or member of Senate, and which may include among its members University staff who are not members of Council.  At the request of the student, Council may appoint a student sabbatical officer as an additional member. In the event of the Committee being divided in its view, the chair will have the casting vote.  The Committee will normally be chaired by a lay member of Council.  Wherever possible the Committee should include at least one member of the same gender as the student.

11.10  Clerk

The University Secretary will appoint a clerk to the Appeal Review Panel and to the Council Committee. The role of the clerk is to assist the Panel or Committee by collating the evidence, preparing the documentation, making arrangements for the hearing, taking a note of the proceedings and advising the Panel or Committee on the relevant regulations and procedures. The clerk may, on behalf of the Panel or Committee, ask for written witness statements or documents such as medical certificates to be produced. The student, the school and the faculty will be entitled to see all statements and documents seen by the Panel or Committee.

11.11 Nature of hearing

The Committee will decide its own procedure. The student may present his or her appeal in person or in writing as he or she chooses. Witnesses may be asked to give evidence.

11.12 Representation

The student may be accompanied at the appeal hearing by an adviser, friend or representative for support or representation. The Students’ Union employs student advisers who may be asked to act in this capacity. In the event that the student fails to attend, without good reason, the hearing may be held in the student’s absence. If the student has a good reason for not attending, the hearing will be rescheduled.

11.13 Time limits

The University will normally comply with the following time limits:

    a. The Local Stage will be completed within 25 working days of receipt of the student’s Appeal Form.  Where the Local Stage has involved a meeting with the student, the Local Stage decision will be issued to the student within five working days of the meeting (these five days being included within the 25 day limit set out above);

    b. The Appeal Review Panel will meet within 20 working days of the student’s request for progression to the University Stage;

    c. The Council Committee hearing will be arranged as soon as is practicable after the Review Panel’s recommendation that a Committee be appointed.  The Committee’s report will normally be issued within 10 working days of the hearing.

If the University is unable to meet these time limits it will inform the student of the reasons for the delay.

11.14 Nominees

Unless the context indicates otherwise, under these Regulations an Officer of the University or other designated member of staff may act through his or her properly appointed nominee.

11.15 Report to Senate and Council

The Council Committee will report to Council, setting out, in summary, the grounds of the appeal, the evidence received, the Committee’s findings and any recommendations or instructions to be made by Council to the board of examiners. A copy of the report will be sent to the student and to the Faculty (via the Faculty Education Manager) or to the Chair of the Research Degrees Examination Board, as appropriate. The Student Complaints Officer will present an annual report on appeals under these regulations to both Senate and Council and will inform the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education & Students) of any general recommendations made by Council Committees during the year.

11.16 Powers of Council

On receipt of the report of the Committee, Council may refer the matter back to the faculty (or the Research Degrees Examination Board, as appropriate) with a recommendation or instruction to the relevant board to amend its original decision.

11.17 Right to have degree conferred

A student may not have a degree or other academic qualification conferred until all his or her outstanding examination or assessment appeals have been resolved. If the degree or other qualification has already been conferred, either in person or in absentia, no appeal will be considered.

11.18 Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA)

The OIA provides an independent scheme for the review of student complaints. The OIA will only consider cases when the University’s internal procedures have been exhausted. It will not intervene in matters which turn purely on academic judgment.

At the end of the appeal process the student will be issued with a Completion of Procedures letter which will confirm the outcome of the appeal.

Following receipt of the Completion of Procedures letter the student is entitled to make an application to the OIA.

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¹ “School” should be taken to mean “School or Department”, whichever is more appropriate, throughout the Examination Regulations.

Revised version approved by Council 5 July 2002. Last amended August 2012.