Reference Number: CORP02-a06

Review of Results and Appeals Policy & Procedure

Revision History

Version / Last revised / Next review date / Policy Owner / Notes
CORP_02
CORP_02-a01
CORP_02-a02
CORP_02-a03 / 2 July 2013 / 31 March 2014 / Matthew Baldwin
CORP_02-a04 / 1 September 2013 / 31 March 2014 / Matthew Baldwin / Updated with new QAD terminology
CORP_02-a05 / 4 December 2013 / 31 March 2014 / Matthew Baldwin / Updated to new house style
CORP_02-a06 / 25 March 2014 / 31 March 2015 / Matthew Baldwin / Document updated
  1. Introduction

The purpose of the Review of Results and Appeals policy is to provide an opportunity for candidates or Centres to ensure that NCC Education’s marking processes and procedures have been followed correctly, and to confirm that any grade awarded is fully justified.

NCC Education’s Review of Results (RoR) procedure allows candidatesand centres to request a review to check that marking and moderation processes have been correctly followed for a particular assessment, including any scaling and/or special consideration decisions, and/or Academic Misconduct penalties applied to their mark.

NCC Education offers the following Review and Appeals services (see below for more details for each):

  • Review of Results
  • Appeal
  • Cohort Moderation Review

1.1.Review of Results

Key facts:

  • An enquiry regarding a single candidate’s assessment result.
  • Requests should be made within one month of the published release date of the results in question.
  • Requests for Review of Results must be submitted using the appropriate form (included in this document as Appendix A). Completed forms should be submitted to the following dedicated email address:[1]
  • Reviews of Results are subject to a £50 administration fee per candidate, per unit. If the review is successful, the fee will be refunded.
  • The outcome of any review will be communicated to the Centre in writing within one month of receipt of the request.
  • See Section 2 for more information on how to request a Review of Results, and a detailed description of the process involved.

1.2.Appeals

Key facts:

  • An Appeal can only be lodged once a Review of Results has taken place. A panel including at least one independent member[2] will be convened to determine whether NCC Education’s marking processes and procedures have been followed correctly.
  • A request for an Appeal must be made within 14 days of notification of the outcome of an initial Review of Results.
  • Requests for Appeals must be submitted using the appropriate form (included in this document as Appendix B). Completed forms should be submitted to the following dedicated email address:
  • Appeals are subject to a £250 administration fee. If the Appeal is successful, the fee will be refunded.
  • The outcome of any Appeal will be communicated to the Centre in writing within 6 weeksof receipt of the request.
  • See Section 3 for more information on how to request an Appeal, and a detailed description of the process involved.

1.3.Cohort Moderation Reviews

Key facts:

  • To be used when a Centre wishes to request a review of the moderation of their marks for the entire cohort of candidates in a particular assessment. A cohort is defined as the group of candidates for whom work is submitted by a centre for a particular unit in a particular assessment cycle.
  • A Cohort Moderation Review follows the same process as a Review of Results, but for a sample of candidates from a cohort.
  • Requests should be made within one month of the published release date of the results in question.
  • Requests for Cohort Moderation Reviews must be submitted using the appropriate form (included in this document as Appendix C). Completed forms should be submitted to the following dedicated email address:
  • Cohort Moderation Reviews are subject to a £200 administration fee. If the review reveals that published processes have not been followed, resulting in the release of incorrect results to candidates, the fee will be refunded.
  • The outcome of any review will be communicated to the Centre in writing within one monthof receipt of the request.
  • See Section 4 for more information on how to request a Cohort Moderation Review, and a detailed description of the process involved.
  1. Review of Results

This is a review of the original marking of an assessment to ensure that NCC Education’s procedures have been followed and applied correctly. This includes:

  • Checking that all parts of the assessment have been marked;
  • Checking that all marks have been added correctly;
  • Checking that all marks have been properly recorded;
  • Checking that the agreed marking scheme has been applied correctly;
  • Reviewing the application of any scaling or other adjustments;
  • Reviewing the appropriateness of and evidence for any decisions made regarding malpractice and maladministration.
  • Reviewing the application of any pre or post-assessmentspecial consideration, where applicable.

Candidatesshould request a Review of Results through their Centre within one month of the published release date for the results in question. NCC Education aims to notify candidates of the outcome of a review withinone monthof the date of receipt of a completed Review of Results request form. A fee of £50 per candidate, per unit is payable for all Reviews of Results. Where the review does not lead to a change in the candidate’s result, the fee will be retained in order to cover the cost of the Review of Results process. If the candidate’s result changes, the fee will be refunded in full.

The outcome of a Review of Results will not be issued until full payment has been received.

Please note that where a review reveals that the original result awardedto a candidate is higher than justified by their work, the grade awarded may be lowered.

This procedure should be used by candidates and Centres undertaking any NCC Education qualification other than those qualifications with university collaboration. In these cases, the procedure specified by the university partner should be followed (information can be found in the appropriate Student Handbook). Candidate’s enquiries should be made through the Centre.

Procedure

  1. Before submitting a request for a Review of Results, candidatesare strongly advised to discuss this matter with their tutor, supervisor, programme director or other appropriate person at the Centre. Any candidate studying for an NCC Educationqualificationawarded by a university partner should discuss this matter with the relevant Course Director in the first instance.
  2. If acandidate wishes to request a Review of Results, they should complete the Review of Results request form (Appendix A) in collaboration with their Centre. The centre should then submit the form to email address.Requests for Reviews of Results must be authorised by centres - candidates should not submit their form directly to NCC Education themselves.
  3. The Centre will receivean acknowledgement of receipt of the request, informing them of when they can expect a result.
  4. The Appeals Officer will proceed to complete a review of the candidate’s results.
  5. An invoice will be raised by NCC Education’s Finance department, upon which the Centre should pay the candidate’s fee in full.
  6. The outcome of the review will be communicated to the Centre via the Centre Support Executive, along with a letter from the Appeals Officerconfirming the decision. The candidate’s Centre will then communicate thisdecision to the candidate.
  7. Should the enquiry result in a change to the candidate’s grade, the enquiry fee will be refunded.

Where the outcome of areview calls into question the accuracy of the results issued to any other candidates, NCC Education will take appropriate action to confirm grades awarded are fully justified.

  1. Appeals

If a candidateis dissatisfied with the outcome of a Review of Results, they may wish to Appeal the decision. Appeals may only be submitted once a Review of Results has taken place, and must be submitted within 14 days of notification of the outcome of the original review.

NCC Education aims to resolve Appeals within 6 weeks of the date of receipt of a completed Appeals request form (Appendix B). A fee of £250 is payable for all Appeals. Where an Appeal is upheld, the fee will be refunded in full to the candidate. Where an Appeal is unsuccessful, the fee will be retained.

Please note that where an Appeal reveals that the original result awardedto a candidate is higher than justified by their work, the grade awarded may be lowered.

Procedure

  1. Before submitting a request for an Appeal, candidates are strongly advised to discuss this matter with their tutor, supervisor, programme director or other appropriate person at the Centre, to establish the grounds for the Appeal.
  2. If a candidate wishes to request anAppeal of the outcome of a Review of Results, they should complete the AppealsRequest Form (Appendix B) in collaboration with their Centre. The Centre should then submit the form to email address. Requests for anAppeal must be authorised by the Centre - candidates should not submit their form directly to NCC Education themselves.
  3. The Centre will receivean acknowledgement of receipt of the request, informing them of when they can expect a result.
  4. An invoice will then be raised by NCC Education’s Finance department, upon which the Centre should pay the candidate’s fee in full.
  5. The Appeals Officer will initiate the appropriate proceedings described below.
  6. An Appeals Panel will be convened, consisting of at least one independent member who is not and has never been employed by NCC Education in any capacity, nor has any connection to the company, nor a personal interest in the decision being Appealed.
  7. The case will be considered by the Appeals Panel. The Appeals Panel’s review will only concern NCC Education’s practices and their application, and will not concern matters of academic judgement. The Appeals Panel may instruct NCC Education to reconsider the case and may offer recommendations.
  8. The outcome of the Appeal will be communicated to the Centre via the Centre Support Executive, along with a letter from the Appeals Officer confirming the decision. The candidate’s Centre will then communicate this decision to the candidate.
  1. Cohort Moderation Review

Ifa Centrehas reason to believe there was an administrative error in NCC Education’s procedures for the moderation and/or release of its results for a particular cohort, they may requesta review of themoderation of that cohort.

Requests for Cohort Moderation Reviews must be made within one month of the publication of results. All Cohort Moderation Reviews are subject to a £200 fee, refundable in the event that the review is successful.

Please note that where a review reveals that the original results awarded to any number of candidates are higher than justified by their work, the grades awarded to these candidatesmay be lowered. In a Cohort Moderation Review, all candidates in the cohort may be considered as part of the sample reviewed, including those who have passed an individual component or unit.

Procedure

A Cohort Moderation Review follows the same process as a Review of Results (see Section 2 above), but for a sample of candidates from a cohort. The sample is randomly selected, and is a square root sample of the total number of candidates in the cohort, or 6 candidates, depending which is higher. For cohorts with less than 6 candidates, all candidates will be included in the sample.

Any centre wishing to make a Cohort Moderation Review should complete the form found in Appendix C, and submit the completed form to the email address.

Should a Centre be dissatisfied with the outcome of a Cohort Moderation Review, they may then wish to requestindividual Reviews of Results for any number of candidates in the cohort.

Appendix A:

Review of Results request form

Candidates wishing to request a Review of Results should complete this form in collaboration with their Centre.

This form should be used by candidates registered on any NCC Education qualification other than those qualifications with university collaboration. In these cases, the procedure specified by the university partner should be followed (information can be found in the appropriate Student Handbook).

The completed form should be submitted to ithin one month of the relevant published Results release date. Any supporting evidence must be submitted with this form. If your request is submitted later than the time limit specified in NCC Education’s published Activity Schedules, your request may be rejected.

Note that where a review finds that the original grade awarded to a candidate is higher than justified, the candidate’s grade may be lowered and the request for review may not be withdrawn.

A £50 fee per candidate, per unit is payable for all Reviews of Results, refundable in the event that the review is successful.

Centre name:
Contact person at Centre:
Address of Centre (including contact email address):
Full name of candidate:
Candidate Number:
Qualification:
Unit:
Component (e.g. local exam):
Assessment Cycle:
Please tick this box to indicate that the candidate has read and accepted the NCC Education Review of Results and Appeals Procedure and understands that their request for a review relates to NCC Education’s procedures and their application and not matters of academic judgement.

Please provide details of your request in the space provided below (continue on additional sheets if necessary). Attach any evidence in support of the request.

Signature of candidate: / Date:
Signature of contact person at the Centre: / Date:

Appendix B:

Appeals request form

Appendix B:

Appeals request form

Candidates wishing to appeal the decision of a Review of Results should complete this formin collaboration with their Centre.

An Appeal can only be lodged once an initial Review of Results has taken place.

This form should be used by candidates registered on any NCC Education qualification other than those qualifications with university collaboration. In these cases, the procedure specified by the university partner should be followed (information can be found in the appropriate Student Handbook).

The completed form must be submitted to within14 days of official notification of the outcome of a Review of Results by NCC Education to the Centre. Any supporting evidence must be submitted with this form. If an Appeal is submitted later than the time limits specified, your request may be rejected.

A £250 fee per candidate, per unit is payable for anAppeal, refundable in the event that the Appeal is successful.

Centre name:
Contact person at Centre:
Address of Centre (including contact email address):
Full name of candidate:
Candidate Number:
Qualification:
Unit:
Component (e.g. local exam)
Date initial request for Review of Results submitted to NCC Education:
Please tick this box to indicate that the candidate has read and accepted the NCC Education Review of Results and Appeals Procedure and understands that their Appeal relates to NCC Education’s procedures and their application and not matters of academic judgement.

Please provide details of the grounds for Appeal in the space provided below (continue on additional sheets if necessary). Attach any evidence in support of the Appeal.

Signature of candidate: / Date:
Signature of contact person at the Centre: / Date:

Appendix C:

Cohort Moderation Review form

Centres wishing to request a Cohort Moderation Review should complete this form and submit the completed form to ithin one month of the relevant published Results release date.. Any supporting evidence must be submitted with this form. If a request is submitted later than the time limits specified in NCC Education’s published Activity Schedules, your request may be rejected.

This form should be used by candidates registered on any NCC Education qualification other than those qualifications with university collaboration. In these cases, the procedure specified by the university partner should be followed (information can be found in the appropriate Student Handbook).

A £200 fee is payable for a Cohort Moderation Review, refundable in the event that the review is successful.

Centre name:
Contact person at Centre:
Address of Centre (including contact email address):
Qualification:
Unit:
Component (e.g. local exam)
Assessment Cycle:
Number of candidates in cohort:

Please provide details of the grounds for enquiry in the space provided on the next page (continue on additional sheets if necessary). Attach any evidence in support of the enquiry.

Signature of contact person at the Centre: / Date:

[1]Do not send completed forms to your Academic Support Manager or Centre Support Executive, as they are unable to accept the request and will direct you to resubmit via the correct route outlined above.

[2] An ‘independent member’ is defined as a decision maker who is not an NCC Education employee, examiner or moderator.