The Relevant Procedures to Follow When There are Disputes Concerning Assessment in Own Area of Practice

Internal Policies and Procedures

Appeal against assessment decision procedure

A learner has the right to appeal against the decision of an assessment. At XXXX College, this is done via an open system. The procedure is as follows:

Stage 1: The learner must give reasons to the assessor for his/her disagreement with the assessment decision. The assessor then provides a clear response after re-evaluating the work, completing the Learner Appeal Form, and amending the learner’s assessment record, if applicable. If the learner agrees with the response, then the process does not need to advance to Stage 2. If not, then the appeal must proceed to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Within five days of the appeal being raised, the assessor must then forward the original assessment record, evidence of the learner’s work, and the completed Learner Appeal Form to the nominated Internal Quality Assurer (IQA). The IQA will then evaluate the learner’s work and associated record, the assessor’s reason for the decision, and the learner's opinion. The IQA must complete the IQA Response Form and provide the learner with the reconsidered assessment decision within 10 working days of receiving the appeal. If the learner agrees with the response, then the process does not need to advance to Stage 3. If not, then the appeal must proceed to Stage 3.

Stage 3: The IQA will forward the Learner Appeal Form, Assessment Record Sheets, evidence of the learner’s work and associated records, and the IQA Response Form to the Dean of Quality Improvement at, XXXX. The Dean of Quality Improvement must convene, within 10 working days of Stage 2, a panel comprising the Dean of Quality Improvement, the Internal Quality Assurer, the Learner, the Tutor/Assessor, and a friend or colleague of the Learner, if this is desired.

The appeals panel must reach a decision and inform the learner of the result in writing within 5 working days. This should be recorded using the Outcome of Appeal Panel form. There are 2 possible outcomes of the appeals panel:

1. the panel has the authority to override the assessment decision made by the assessor/tutor in the learner’s favour.

2. If the appeals panel disagrees with the learner’s reason/s for appeal and the appeal is not upheld, the appeal will progress to the next stage, Stage 4, and be reviewed by the Awarding Organisation.

Records of all appeals are to be logged and made available as appropriate to the Dean of Quality Improvement, the Head of the Department, the Examination Officer, and the Awarding Organisation.

Stage 4: Where the learner disagrees with the decision(s) made by the appeals panel, she or he can appeal to the Awarding Organisation. This should be done in writing to the Dean of Quality Improvement, who will forward the appeal within two days of receipt. If the learner decides to appeal to the Awarding Organisation, they will be contacted in line with their respective appeal procedures. Any decisions made by the Awarding Organisation are final and cannot be pursued any further.