Not all decisions made at the University are subject to review or appeal by students. University decisions that may be subject to review are described in the Student Review and Appeals Policy.
Whether a particular decision constitutes a reviewable decision depends on the circumstances of the individual case. In addition, there are a range of decisions made by University staff in which they are required to exercise their academic judgement and generally these are not reviewable.
Before submitting a Review of Decision Form, determine whether a decision has been made and if so, can it be reviewed by checking the Student Review and Appeals Policy. In some instances the type of review may be limited by another University policy – for example a review of grade is limited to an error in its calculation.
To obtain an explanation of the decision you should informally contact the decision-maker. Students and staff are mutually responsible for resolving problems through discussion and/or in writing quickly at the local level, limiting the number of people involved to a minimum, for the purpose of avoiding an escalation of the problem in scope and impact.
While you may be unhappy with the outcome of the decision, if you have not gained any information from the decision-maker to the effect that the decision was unreasonable or wrongly made, submission of Review of Decision Form to a step 2 decision-maker may result in delayed resolution of the matter.
Regardless of whether the decision-maker recommends you complete a Review of Decision Form, you need to consider whether you have sufficient information for a Step 2 Review Officer to make an alternate decision. You may find it helpful to contact one or more of the Student Support and Contacts on the Student Review and Appeals website before submitting a Review of Decision Form. Officers at the Student Representative Council (SRC) and the Student Guild can also advise whether it is in your best interests to complete a Review of Decision Form.