Student Appeals

Appeal Means requests submitted by the student for the purpose of reviewing academic or disciplinary decisions issued against him/her.

Faculty members shall articulate and communicate course requirements and standards of performance to students at the beginning of each course and apply equal and uniform performance evaluation and grading criteria to all learners.  The University provides students an opportunity to appeal decisions affecting their academic standing. Avenues of appeal are as follows:

Grade Appeals

A student who wishes to appeal on ongoing assessment’s grade in a course should first seek a resolution of the issue informally with the Faculty members. If an informal resolution cannot be reached, the student may appeal the grade formally, beginning with the Faculty members and, if necessary, escalade, at the request of the student or of the Faculty members, through the levels of appeal (faculty members, Department head (where applicable), Dean of College, and the Vice President as a final level of the appeal). At each stage of the appeal, the student must provide a written justification for the appeal and an explanation of the desired resolution; reviewers at any stage of the appeal may request appropriate additional documentation from any party to the appeal. 

Special Admissions Appeal

Any special/conditional admissions will be according to CAA 2019 standards and regulations.

Special admission appeal deals with all appeals relating to student admission. A student may file an appeal for special consideration if unusual or extenuating circumstances prevented him/her from meeting the admission standards, meeting the application deadline and from meeting the requirements of provisional status. Students should provide any documentation of the situation. Forms should be picked up and returned to the Admission office. 

Appeal on Discipline Committee Decisions:

The student has the right to appeal the decisions of the Student Discipline Committee decisions.

Appeal on Discipline Committee Decisions:

The student has the right to appeal the decisions of the Student Discipline Committee within fifteen (15) days from the date of notification in writing (in writing or electronically) of the decision issued by the Student Disciplinary Committee.  Further details on this can be found in the Academic Misconduct Policy.

Appeals on on-going assessments:

• Faculty/Instructors must declare marks to students within 2 weeks from the due date of any assessment during a course.  Students have the right to appeal a grade of ongoing assessment(s) directly to the faculty/instructor and request a reconsideration of the assigned grade within one (1) week from declaration of any on-going assessment.  
• Cumulative marks of a course will be released to all students in the week preceding the last week of a semester (week 15 of a regular semester). In any semester, once last week starts (8 AM, 1st day of Final Exams), students are not allowed to appeal against any previous ongoing assessment(s).

Reasons for reconsideration of an ongoing grade appeal may include:

• A departure from the instructor’s previously announced rubrics.
• Miscalculation of marks.
• Miscalculation of the final assessment (Final Exam).  
• Application of an evaluation or grading system which was not included in the course syllabus.
• Assignment of a grade on some basis other than the student’s performance in the course.
• Demonstrable evidence of discrimination or prejudice in the assignment of the grade.
• Arbitrary assignment of grade (lack of consistent and equitable standards for grading).

Appeals on final assessment (Final Exam):

Grade’s appeal on a final assessment is based on one of the followings:

1. If a learner believes that the final issued grade is based on instructor or clerical error, bias, capriciousness, arbitrariness, discrimination, harassment, personal malice or is not in alignment with established grading criteria in the approved course syllabus, the student may lodge an appeal.
2. Student has to pay the final mark appeal set fees prior to appeal on his/her final assessment mark.
3. Students lodging a final grade appeal application must submit the Grade Appeal Request no later than 5 working days following the declaration of the final course grade(s) by Department of Registration.

Students wishing to appeal a final examination grade result must adhere to the following steps: 

1. Student files the appeal by filling the Appeal Form, and pays the needed fees to Finance, application is routed to the Office of Admission and Registration. 
2. The Registration Office will screen the form to verify that the intended course does not have a prohibited status (i.e. exceeded maximum allowed absenteeism from class attendance), and that the student has accumulated at least 30 out of 60 (ongoing assessments) before he/she sat for the final exam.
3. The application is then routed to the concerned college where deliberations are conducted through a committee formed by the Dean, the Department Chair (where applicable), and a faculty from the same department of the faculty. The committee has to make sure that all answers of the final exams are corrected and that the sum of the answers’ marks is correct.
4. Committee decision is Final. 
5. Decision of the committee will to be sent to the student via Department of Registration.
6. Department of Registration will reflect the decision on the student’s final exam mark and will send at that time an automated email message to the student’s official AFU email address to notify the student with the decision of the committee.