UCL academic appeal: grounds, deadline and what to do
Rule checked against University College London's own pages on .
At UCL, an appeal against a Board of Examiners decision must be submitted within 10 working days of the date of the official notification of that decision. Before deciding whether to appeal, the procedure encourages you to seek clarification of the decision from your Department or Faculty. The Stage 1 Academic Appeal Form and all the evidence you want considered go to the UCL Casework Team, and the appeal does not start until the completed form is received.
- Time limit to appeal
- An appeal must be submitted within 10 working days of the official notification of a Board of Examiners decision.[1]
- What to try first
- Before submitting a Stage 1 appeal, students are encouraged to seek clarification of the assessment or Board of Examiners decision from their Department or Faculty.[1]
- Grounds you can use
- An appeal can rest on three grounds: (i) circumstances that significantly affected performance and were not made known through the Extenuating Circumstances procedure for compelling reasons; (ii) a procedural irregularity in assessment not resolved informally or through the Material Irregularity Procedure; (iii) substantive evidence of examiner bias or prejudice. Disagreement with academic judgement cannot be considered.[1]
- Where to submit
- Submit the Stage 1 Academic Appeal Form with all evidence to the UCL Casework Team; the appeal does not start until the completed form has been received.[1]
- If that fails
- If dissatisfied with the Stage 1 outcome, the student may request a Stage 2 Appeal Review of the decision.[1]
- External review
- After internal procedures end with a Completion of Procedures letter, the student may ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) to review the complaint, no later than 12 months from that letter.[1]
The deadline is set by the date of the official notification of the Board of Examiners decision, and it is counted in working days. Below are the grounds, the form and what happens next.
Ask your department about the decision first
The procedure encourages you to seek clarification of the assessment or the Board of Examiners decision from your Department or Faculty before you decide whether to submit a Stage 1 appeal. That is where you can ask what the decision was based on.
The pages we read do not say that asking for clarification pauses the 10 working days. If you are counting on more time because you have asked a question, confirm the position with the UCL Casework Team.
A student considering an appeal may also seek advice from the Students' Union UCL Advice Service. The Casework Team can give procedural advice but cannot advise on the substance of an appeal.
Your reason has to fit one of three grounds
An appeal can be submitted on one or more of these grounds:
- there were circumstances that significantly affected your academic performance, where, for compelling reasons, the relevant Extenuating Circumstances Panel was not made aware of them through the Short-term Illness and other Extenuating Circumstances Procedure;
- there was a procedural irregularity in the assessment process that could not be resolved informally or through the Material Irregularity Procedure;
- there is substantive evidence of examiner bias or prejudice.
Disagreement with academic judgement cannot be considered. A mark you think should be higher is not, by itself, a ground, so read your reasons against the three grounds above and check that what you are describing fits one of them.
Put everything into the Stage 1 form
New aspects of an appeal cannot be introduced later in the procedure, and evidence submitted later cannot usually be considered unless you can show why you were unable to provide it earlier. The Stage 1 form is therefore where the whole appeal should sit.
- Note the date of the official notification of the decision. The form asks you to state it.
- Ask your Department or Faculty to clarify the decision.
- Decide which ground or grounds apply, and write a clear, succinct explanation of how you meet them.
- Collect true evidence that supports what you say. Do not write up new records of past events or obtain any document that is not accurate.
- Submit the Stage 1 Academic Appeal Form, with all the evidence you want considered, to the UCL Casework Team. The appeal does not start until the completed form has been received.
- Keep a copy of the form and of every document you send.
Forms that are incomplete, hard to understand, missing information or unclear may be returned for completion or clarification. That has to be done within the timeframe you are given, and if it is not, the appeal may be closed.
What happens after you submit
The pages we read do not state how long a Stage 1 decision takes. If the appeal is not upheld, the outcome letter explains how the decision was reached. If an appeal outcome leads to a revision of your certificate or transcript, you must return any originals before updated versions can be issued.
If you are dissatisfied with the Stage 1 outcome, you may request a Stage 2 Appeal Review. Stage 2 is a paper-based review of the Stage 1 decision: the issues raised are not normally considered afresh or further investigated, and no new issues can be introduced at that point. A Stage 1 outcome that has been issued stands until the Stage 2 Appeal Review concludes. The pages we read do not give the time limit for requesting a Stage 2 review, so confirm it with the UCL Casework Team or in your outcome letter.
If the internal procedure ends and you are still dissatisfied
When the internal procedures end and you receive a Completion of Procedures letter, you can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator to review the complaint. That request must be made no later than 12 months from the date of the Completion of Procedures letter, using the OIA's Scheme Application form. The pages we read do not say more about how the OIA will consider a case.
Common questions
How long do I have to appeal a UCL Board of Examiners decision?
An appeal must be submitted within 10 working days of the date of the official notification of the Board of Examiners decision. The clock runs from official notification, not from when you started looking into it.
Can I appeal because I think my mark was too low?
Disagreement with academic judgement cannot be considered. An appeal has to rest on one or more of the three grounds: circumstances not made known through the Extenuating Circumstances procedure for compelling reasons, a procedural irregularity that could not be resolved another way, or substantive evidence of examiner bias or prejudice.
Can I send more evidence after I submit the form?
Evidence submitted later cannot usually be considered unless you can show why you were unable to provide it earlier. New aspects of an appeal cannot be introduced later in the procedure at all.
What if I am unhappy with the Stage 1 outcome?
You may request a Stage 2 Appeal Review of the decision. It is a paper-based review, the issues are not normally considered afresh, and no new issues can be introduced; the pages we read do not give the time limit for requesting it, so confirm that with the UCL Casework Team or your outcome letter.
Sources
- Section 7: Academic Appeals Procedure | Study at UCL, University College London. Checked 3 November 2026.