Reviews of Decisions of University Bodies
If you are dissatisfied with a decision you have received from one of the University bodies listed in the schedule to the Review of Decisions of University Bodies Procedure, you can request a review by completing the Request for Review form within 14 days of receiving the written decision.
The following table lists examples of the decisions that can be reviewed:
| Decision-making Body | Type of decision |
|---|---|
| Examination Access and Mitigation Committee (EAMC) | Examination allowances, intermission/ disregarding terms, extensions, Alternative Modes of Assessment (AMA) |
| Postgraduate Committee | Examination allowances, intermission, return to study, withdrawal from study of postgraduate students |
| Faculty Board of Clinical Medicine | Additional attempts at 2nd and final M.B. examinations |
| Faculty Board of Veterinary Medicine | Additional attempts at 2nd and final M.B. examinations |
| Faculty Board of Law | Additional attempts at Examination for Professional Exemption |
| Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC) | Recommendations of reasonable adjustments specified in a Student Support Document (SSD) |
| Progression Committees | Not to allow a student who has completed the B.A degree to progress to Part III of the Tripos for the M.Eng., M.Math or M.Sci. Degree |
| Study Away Risk Assessment Committee | Applications for students to work away |
| Student Discipline Officer | Not to commission an investigation |
| Study Capability Assessment Committee | To require the student to undertake supportive actions, temporary or permanent removal from studies |
| Fee Remission Panel | Applications for tuition fee remission |
The review process will not consider issues afresh or involve a further investigation. Students are only able to review the decision made by one of the bodies above, on the following grounds:
- procedural irregularities that occurred during the decision-making process, which were material or potentially material to the decision reached; and/or
- the decision is unreasonable, in that no reasonable person could have reached the same decision on the available evidence; and/or
- the availability of new evidence, which materially impacts on the outcome and which, for valid reasons, could not have been submitted at an earlier stage.
Requests will be considered in accordance with the Procedure for the Review of Decisions of University Bodies. You should not include unnecessary information about other people in your request. If you remain dissatisfied following the review, then you may be able to raise a complaint externally.
Reasonable adjustments
If you require any reasonable adjusts to be made to this process, please provide details of these adjustments on the form. If you have a Student Support Document (SSD) which recommends that you receive a certain percentage of extra time, this is automatically applied to any deadlines you are required to adhere to within the Procedure, including the deadline to submit an RDUB request. For example, if your SSD states that you receive 25% extra time for examinations and the Procedure states you must submit your form within 14 days, you automatically receive an extra 4 days to the deadline. If you consider that the extra time recommended in your SSD does not provide an adequate adjustment to the deadlines of the Procedure or if you have a disability but you do not have a SSD, you should contact us via email (studentcomplaints@admin.cam.ac.uk) to request an extension to the deadline, explaining your reasons and supported by evidence, in advance of the deadline. A request for additional extra time may be granted. If you submit your complaint late, you should include your reasons and provide evidence for lateness with your form. It will then be for the Case Handler allocated to your case to determine if your reasons for lateness are valid.
External Ombudsman Scheme
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) runs an independent scheme to review student complaints, including reviews of University decisions. We are a member of this scheme. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your review you may be able to ask the OIA to review the outcome. You can find more information about making a complaint to the OIA, what it can and can’t look at and what it can do to put things right here: www.oiahe.org.uk/students.
You normally need to have completed the Review of University Decisions Procedure before you complain to the OIA. We will send you a letter called a “Completion of Procedures Letter” when you have reached the end of our processes and there are no further steps you can take internally. You can find more information about Completion of Procedures Letters and when you should expect to receive one here: www.oiahe.org.uk/providers/completion-of-procedures-letters.
Appealing Fitness to Practise Decisions
If students are dissatisfied with the decision they have received through a Fitness to Practise Procedure, more information can be found about appealing the Fitness to Practice Decision.