If you are thinking of appealing a decision taken by the Division, you should first discuss the matter with your supervisor, Programme Director or Professor Julian Yates, PGT Tutor, before doing so in order to better understand the reason for the result or decision against which you wish to appeal. A formal appeal should only be submitted if you remain dissatisfied once informal avenues have been exhausted.

 

An appeal may be made only on grounds alleging:

 

  1. that there exists or existed circumstances affecting the student’s performance of which, for good reason, the board of examiners or committee may not have been made aware when the decision was taken and which might have had a material effect on the decision [Note: if students wish to appeal on such grounds, they must give adequate reasons with supporting documentation why this information was not made available prior to the decision being made.];

 

  1. that there had been a material administrative error or procedural irregularity in the assessment process or in putting into effect the regulations for the programme of study of such a nature as to cause significant doubt whether the decision might have been different if the error or irregularity had not occurred;

 

  1. that there is evidence of prejudice or bias or lack of proper assessment on the part of one or more of the examiners;

 

  1. that the supervision or training of the student in respect of research for a dissertation or thesis or equivalent work was unsatisfactory to the point that his or her performance was seriously affected.

 

 

An appeal which questions the academic or professional judgement of those charged with the responsibility for assessing a student’s academic performance or professional competence will not be permitted.

 

The University policy on Academic Appeals (Regulation XIX), along with the form on which to make a formal written appeal, can be obtained at:

http://www.tlso.manchester.ac.uk/appeals-complaints/.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

 

If you have a complaint to make, you should raise it directly with the staff concerned at the earliest opportunity, as matters that are dealt with informally at an early stage have the best chance of being resolved effectively. Only where the informal procedures have been completed and the complainant remains dissatisfied should the formal stage be instituted. It is recognised, however, that there may be occasions where an informal approach is not appropriate and you may wish to proceed directly to a later stage in the procedure, giving reasons for doing so. In such situations, the recipient of the complaint should decide at which stage in the procedure the complaint should most appropriately be considered, taking account of its particular nature and circumstances.

 

Complaints should be raised in the first instance with your Programme Director.  If you feel that this is inappropriate, then the matter should be raised with the Division’s PGT Tutor (Professor Julian Yates).  Failing that, in the most serious circumstances, the matter should be raised with the Head of the Division of Dentistry, Professor Anne-Marie Glenny.

 

Complaints should be made as soon as possible, and in any case within eight weeks of the events or actions (or lack of actions) which have prompted the complaint. The University will not normally consider complaints made after this period, unless there is good reason for the delay.

 

The University’s Student Complaints Procedure (Regulation XVIII) and associated documents, including a complaints form, can be found at:

www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/academic

 

The University has separate procedures to address complaints of bullying, harassment, discrimination and/or victimization – see

https://www.reportandsupport.manchester.ac.uk/

 

Students thinking of submitting a formal complaint should, in most instances, attempt informal resolution first (see the procedure). Formal complaints should be submitted on the relevant form to Faculty Appeals and Complaints Team, Room 3.21, Simon Building, University of Manchester, M13 9PL (e-mail: FBMHappealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk)