Challenging Results

 appeals and mark-checks

All results are processed according to unique candidate numbers; the results posted on LSE for You are definitely your results and not another student's.

We are confident that our assessment process is robust.

Results are processed according to your unique candidate number, not your name. The results that are posted on LSE for You are definitely your results. 

If you submitted Exceptional Circumstances before the deadline they will have been considered and recommendations made to the School Board of Examiners accordingly. Individual marks are never changed as a result of Exceptional Circumstances. Rather, Exceptional Circumstances can only result in one of the following outcomes: 

  • Discounting (treating as a retrospective deferral) a fail or absent mark; or, 
  • Allowing an exceptional further attempt at a course where you have run out of attempts to do so; or, 
  • Lifting a late submission penalty; or, 
  • Awarding a higher overall degree classification if you have a borderline mark profile as defined by the relevant classification scheme. 

The School also has deferral, extension and exceptional circumstances processes to make it easy for students to defer or seek additional time to complete assessments. You must follow the procedures detailed here in the first instance. The appeals process is designed as a last resort only for students that can clearly demonstrate they were unable to follow School procedures at the time of assessment.

Marking / Re-marking of Papers

LSE's view is that there are three acceptable approaches to marking which provide a highly rigorous assessment procedure:

  • double-blind marking;
  • sighted double marking;
  • and moderated single marking, involving a second examiner.

The default position is double-blind marking. External examiners also review summative work from across the full range of marks for that course to enable them to ensure that the internal marking is consistent and of an appropriate standard. Marking is only carried out with reference to a student's unique candidate number for all exams and most other equivalent assessments where examiners are wholly unaware of the identity of the candidates. For some assessments, completely anonymous marking may not be possible; for example, class participation or presentations.

The School is confident that its approach to the marking of students' summative work is sufficiently robust and thus you are not able to call into question the academic judgement of the Board of Examiners. There is no provision, therefore, for summative work to be re-marked.

Accessing exam scripts

Exam scripts are exempted from the access rules covered by the UK's Data Protection Act. Access to scripts is therefore at the discretion of the School and will be determined by local practice within departments. 

For more information visit our Data Protection page.

 

Administrative Mark Checks

LSE permit students to request an administrative mark check for course results in certain circumstances.

This process verifies that the published final mark corresponds to the mark you were awarded by the relevant academic department, this is an administrative check that records are correct, it is not a remark of work.

Administrative Mark Checks and Appeals are separate processes, please see below for detailed information about the Appeals process. .

Appeal Process Overview

  • Appeals must be submitted using the Appeal Submission Form in the section below. It should be completed in full, and together with any relevant supporting information (such as a medical certificate/doctor's letter), be submitted to ssc.appeals@lse.ac.uk. Appeals that are not submitted using the standard form will not be accepted.
  • You must submit your appeal by 11.59pm (23.59, UK time) on the relevant deadline listed below. Appeals submitted after this strict deadline will not be accepted under any circumstances.
  • Please clearly and concisely set out all of the information using the appeal form. 
  • Challenging the academic judgement of individual examiners or the Examination Boards cannot form the basis of any appeal.
  • It can take up to 180 days to fully conclude an appeal. 
  • There are two appeal stages, if your appeal is rejected under Stage One you have the opportunity to request a review of this decision or to provide further information under Stage Two. The outcome you receive under Stage Two is final.
  • You cannot appeal against provisional marks - this means that it is not possible to appeal against January exam results until your final marks of the year are released.  If you have a query about any provisional marks, you should contact the relevant teaching department in the first instance. 
  • Appeals can only be made against results released in July (all undergraduate students, and 9/10 month master's students), September (students who have taken assessments in IRDAP), November (12 month master's students), or March (postgraduate students who have taken assessments in January RDAP). 
  • You can only submit an appeal once your final results have been formally released on LSE for You. You must submit your appeal within 10 working days of the release of your results. 
  • Complaints about dissertation supervision and/or dissatisfaction with the teaching of a course cannot be considered under the School’s appeals regulations. These are matters to be considered under the School’s complaints procedure.
  • It is not possible to appeal for exceptional progression or repeat teaching, these are separate procedures. You can find further information via the Repeat Teaching and Exceptional Progression pages. 

Appeals Submission Form and Guidance Notes

You can only submit an appeal once your final results have been formally released on LSE for You.

If you believe you have valid grounds for appealing against the decision of the board of examiners, you should carefully read the Appeals Regulations.

The appeals process is a last resort for candidates who were unable to engage with the School's other procedures at the right time. If you have any issues during your studies, it is very important that you seek advice and assistance at the earliest opportunity.  If you encounter difficulties of any nature, we recommend that you contact your Academic Mentor and/or the Student Advice and Engagement Team in the first instance.  

Please also be aware of the Exceptional Circumstances procedure and its deadlines. The vast majority of appeals that we receive are unsuccessful as the student did not submit Exceptional Circumstances when they were able to do so. 

To submit your appeal please complete the following Appeals submission form and any appropriate evidence to the following e-mail address: ssc.appeals@lse.ac.uk. Please ensure you submit by the relevant deadline as listed in the ‘Appeal Deadline’ section below. If, having read the guidance you have any questions before you would like submit please see ‘Appeal Advice’ section below for sources of help.

Appeals deadlines and timeline

You must submit your appeal within 10 working days of the release of your final results. All appeals must be received by 11.59pm on the date below (at the very latest).

Cohort Deadline

PG deferred and resit assessments taken in January

5 April 2023

All results released in July

28 July 2023

All deferred and resit assessments taken in August

3 October 2023

All results released in November

28 November 2023

 

If your results are not released on the published deadline (for example, if you have a tuition fee debt), and you want to appeal, you must contact us immediately once your results are released. We will then confirm the appropriate deadline.

After submitting an appeal, you will receive an automated e-mail confirming that it has been received. Please check your spam folder for this response. If you do not think you have received the confirmation as expected please contact us.

You can normally expect to receive a decision about whether or not you have identified valid grounds to appeal within 180 days after the acknowledgment.

If you do identify valid grounds to appeal, it will take approximately an additional 15-20 working days to conclude while it is considered by the relevant Exam Boards. Therefore, adjustments may not be made before the In-Year Resit and Deferred Assessment Period or the January week zero assessment period. 

LSE will retain your appeal file for seven years from the date if the final decision. After this time it will be destroyed.

Grounds for Appeals

You can make an appeal on either or both of the following grounds (reasons):

  • (Paragraph 2.1.1 of the appeals regulations) that the examination board did not follow the correct procedure such that there is reasonable doubt that the decision would have been the same if board had followed the correct procedure
  • (Paragraph 2.1.2) that there is new information about exceptional (mitigating) circumstances that affected the examination outcome. If you are appealing against a final degree classification for this reason you must also be able to meet the following conditions: (a) that your mark profile is no more than three marks below the next higher classification in a single course; and/or (b) that your mark profile is no more than fifteen marks away from the next higher classification on aggregate for UG students or ten marks away from the next higher classification on aggregate for PG students.

(Paragraph 2.2) If appealing under paragraph 2.1.2, you must provide: (Paragraph 2.2.1) evidence of why you did not report those circumstances at the time, as set out in the procedure for submitting exceptional (mitigating) circumstances; and (Paragraph 2.2.2) evidence of the exceptional circumstances.

Appeals Advice

LSE Students' Union Advice Centre - Independent Advice

Independent advice about making an appeal and the process can be obtained from the LSE Students' Union Advice Centre

If you have a query for the Assessment Regulations Team which is not answered in the Appeals Guidance, please submit an enquiry

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator

If, following the completion of the School's internal procedures - that is, having had an unsuccessful outcome after the second, review stage of the appeals process - you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your appeal, you may be eligible to appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

This is the independent ombudsman of last resort for all universities in England

University of London International Programmes 

LSE cannot assist with enquiries from students on the University of London International Programmes.  

Any student studying on the University of London International Programmes (UoLIP) who has a question about their examination results should log an enquiry via the UoLIP Portal .  

Please follow the instructions via the "Notification of Results" link on the "Assessment" section of the "My Account" area on the Student Portal.

 

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