Welcome to 9K Policies

Rationale

A student is entitled to appeal against an assessment decision if they consider that they have been treated unfairly. Reasons could be because:
  • The assessment criteria were not made clear to you.
  • You felt that the outcome was unfair.
  • The assessment was not in line with the criteria.
In most cases, disputes regarding assessments should be handled directly by the assessor concerned and the following formal appeals procedure should only be used as a last resort. This policy refers to internal assessment decisions (including controlled assessments and coursework) and enquiries about results.  External Awarding Bodies have their own appeals procedures and further details of these can be obtained from the Head of IQA (Internal Quality Assurance).

Policy Statement

9K Secure Ltd is committed to ensuring that assessment decisions are accurate, consistent and fair.  The appeals procedure exists to allow students to seek a review of decisions that they consider to be unfair.

Entitlement

Students have the right to appeal against an internal assessment on the following grounds:

  • That in the assessment or marking, the stipulated assessment procedure was not followed or
  • Information is, or was, available which could have had a bearing on the assessment or mark, but which was not taken into account by the assessor or was unreasonably rejected.

Formal Appeals Implementation

  1. The candidate must inform the assessor of their dissatisfaction within 10 working days of receiving the decision. Either party may request the involvement of the course leader or another member of the teaching/assessor team in such a discussion.

The Assessor will:

  • Try to find a solution with the candidate taking account of all evidence.
  • Notify the Internal Quality Assurer (IQA)
  • Set a date for the appeals panel to meet.

The appeals panel will consist of:

  • The candidate
  • An independent assessor
  • IQA
  1. If the matter is not resolved through discussion, then the candidate must appeal in writing to the IQA within 5 working days of the outcome of the failure of the informal discussion. The candidate must set out the grounds for their appeal and may be assisted in doing so by a member of the assessment team.
  2. The IQA will convene an appeal meeting within 10 working days of notification of the formal appeal. The Head of Department of the relevant area or other appropriate manager who will be invited to attend the meeting, along with the member of staff who made the original assessment decision.
  3. The candidate will be invited to attend the meeting to explain their case and can be supported by a member of the assessment team.
  4. The IQA will make their decision based on the evidence provided and the candidate will be notified in writing of the decision within 5 working days.
  5. If the candidate is unhappy about the responses in writing, they can ask for a personal hearing with the Education Director or Senior Management team.
  6. The candidate will be notified in writing of the outcome within 5 working days of the meeting.
  7. The decision of the Education Director or Senior Management team is final unless external regulations allow for further steps to be taken.
  8. The outcome of the appeals panel will be forwarded in writing to the candidate within 48 hours.

The possible outcomes are:

  • The assessment decision will be overturned.
  • The candidate will have the opportunity to be re-assessed.
  • Ensuring the candidate will not be disadvantaged because of the appeal.

If the candidate feels that the panel procedure has not been carried out, then they can take up the matter with the External Quality Assurer (EQA) and/or Awarding Organisation.

This will be the final route of escalation within our company.  Therefore, if you remain unhappy after following our own internal appeals procedure then please contact the Awarding Organisation directly.  The Awarding Organisation is Highfield Qualifications and their appeals policy can be located on their website: https://www.highfieldqualifications.com

Alternatively, please speak to the Highfield Qualifications team on 01302 363277.

Should you address your appeal to Highfield Qualifications and remain unhappy with the outcome you may then raise your appeal to the relevant qualification regulator.  Either a representative of 9K Secure Limited or Highfield Qualifications will be able to offer you guidance on the appropriate qualification regulator in each instance and provide contact details.

*The following list of Qualification Regulators are provided as additional guidance:

  • SCQF qualifications – SQA Accreditation
  • RQF qualifications:
    • Delivered in Wales – Qualifications Wales
    • Delivered in Northern Ireland – CCEA Regulation
    • Delivered anywhere else – OFQUAL

Please note: SQA Accreditation cannot overturn academic judgements or assessment decisions.

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