What Do I Do If…

These sheets offer advice on ‘What to do if…’ situation which might arise as a student representative. We shall build on this overtime based on questions you might ask or situations which actually come up.

Problems with PEOPLE

1)What do I do if… students come to me concerned or complaining about another student?

  • DON’T APPROACH THE STUDENT BEING DISCUSSED
  • Go to the Senior Tutor or the Academic Director or, if the list is on your Blackboard site, find out who the student’s Personal Tutor is and contact them. This should alert the staff to evaluate the situation and talk to the student in question.
  • If the matter relates to the individual’s wellbeing or mental health is possible that they may not be able to see that there is a problem and could respond badly to you approaching them directly but if their Personal Tutor says “Are you okay? We are concerned” is more likely to admit that something is not right; even if they can’t identify it precisely.

2)What do I do if… students come to me complaining or concerned about a member of staff (which might include staff behaviour which is problematic or if students feel the member of staff is not listening to their concerns)?

  • GO TO THE STAFF MEMBER WHO IS DIRECTLY ABOVE THE STAFF MEMBER IN QUESTION
  • If this is the module leader, go to the programme leader; if the programme leader go to the Academic Director; if the Academic Director go to the Head of School/Department.
  • Ensure the students you represent have given you specific examples of the problems being encountered so that you can be precise in communicating these issues upwards.
  • If there is a problem with a member of staff, talking to them directly is likely to be very awkward but, as with the mental health case, the behaviour may not be recognised by the individual in question. Referring the concern upwards in the chain of authority will enable there to be a little critical distance in any observation or discussion (or referral for help) which a staff member may require.

3) What do I do if… I keep emailing someone about an issue but I don’t get a reply? This is also generally useful advice to pass on to students if they are complaining about this (especially during the summer when you work on your final projects and dissertations).

  • What do you think is a reasonable amount of time to wait for a first response to an email?
  • Most academics spend 1-2 hours on email every day but can get caught up with days of meetings. If the matter is urgent (i.e. needs dealing with in a couple of weeks), 3 days is enough time to wait. If it is not urgent, 1 week (7 days) should be sufficient. You may not have this resolved this quickly but an update on what is happening should be reasonable.
  • If you have not heard back in response to something URGENT within 4-5 working days (i.e. after prodding someone), contact the person next in seniority or authority (e.g. Module Leader not replying? Email Programme Leader).
  • They can then prod the person in question or respond themselves with advice. In the summer, many Programme Leaders find themselves responding to general questions whilst colleagues are on holiday, for example.

Problems with SYSTEMS

Systems can cover a multitude of things but are basically administrative issues (IT, departmental admin, library etc…)

1)What do I do if…astudent on my course tells me that Blackboard is not working properly for one or more modules?

Tell Admin and the relevant Module Leader (or if across a number of areas, the Programme Leader). It should be quick to sort out. If it isn’t sorted in 5 working days, ask Admin what’s happening. There are Learning Technologists in the College (look on the College webpages) specifically looking after Blackboard (e.g. Stephen Walker). Staff are likely to contact him but there is nothing stopping you from doing so as the student representative of your course.

2)What do I do if…the tap-in system isn’t working for attendance registration in classes?

  • Advise students to email Admin in their Department or School the moment they suspect there is an issue to say “I was there in module X today…”
  • Tell any student who gets a “where were you” email not to ignore it and simply reply “I was there” if that is the case, or provide a reason for their absence.
  • Ask the lecturer if a sign-up sheet can be done as a back-up in the session.

3)What do I do if…students tell me they’re not getting information when some people are, or if the staff think they have but they haven’t?

  • Find out what specific information they are referring to (and from where it came or was supposed to come).
  • Feedback that there is an issue to Admin in your Department or School.
  • Feedback to (if relevant) the Module Leader or Programme Leader.
  • Ask for communication strategies and methods to be on the Student-Staff Committee Agenda for the upcoming meeting.

Problems with ASSESSMENT

1)What do I do if… there is a clash with a number of pieces of work due on the same date?

  • This is more common than you might think but is usually an error. Your School/Department may say “Yes, but you can plan for it”, and they are right, but most would try to avoid clashes.
  • Talk to the Programme Leader and Admin in your School - there is precedent for shifting deadlines to avoid clashes once identified. Simply having a few days between deadlines should be sufficient if the timing in the year permits it.

2)What do I do if… a group of students from one module is complaining about the marking across the module?

  • Marking is moderated or second marked by another member of staff and sometimes a third party looks at specific marks if there is something contested. This should mean that the marking has been robust.
  • However, although rare, there are cases where the marker and moderator have looked at the work and the marks are significantly out of profile for the averages amongst the cohort. Of course, some modules may be more difficult or easier but it is worthwhile asking “Why?”
  • Try and identify some evidence from the students to support the concern (e.g. “we were told to do this or to write about that but this wasn’t in the exam” or “there is inconsistency in how this essay has been marked in comparison to the feedback students have had elsewhere”.
  • Go to the Programme Leader and Academic Director in your School/Department. If all this takes place before the exam or progress board, the Academic Director can ask for the marks to be reviewed and the Programme Leader can do that if they are not involved in the module. In extremis, the External Examiner can be asked for advice but it is not within their remit to change marks (only to confirm they are at the appropriate level).
  • On rare ocassions, entire modules shifted upwards or downwards, or marks within a particular range (e.g. all the Passes are 4% too low and need raising but the top and bottom of the marking is appropriate) shifted, in response to concerns about the marking from the moderator or the External Examiner.

3)What do to if… a student asks you if they can appeal against their mark(s) before an exam board?

  • It will not benefit a student who has had mitigating circumstances but has passed their work to appeal for a higher mark because the University mitigating circumstances regulations do not permit passed work to be resit. However, a student who has failed work but had mitigating circumstances (and had not let the Department or School know in advance) should appeal, present their evidence and, if that is supported, is likely to be offered the chance to resit or sit (as if the original work had not be submitted in the first place) the assignment or exam in question.
  • Some Schools (e.g. Law) follow a very formal understanding of ‘fit for sit’: if you sit the exam or submit the work you are saying “I have no mitigating circumstances of consequence” and appeals are likely to be rejected by the Department or School. However, many think this rigid reading fails to recognised that people with mental health issues (e.g. anxiety, depression) are unlikely to be able to judge their ability to sit anyway. Until the exam board all marks are provisional, so there is some time to play with and argue.
  • If a student comes to you and says “I really shouldn’t have tried to do the exam because I was not well” (for whatever reason), advise them to get in contact with ED unit (Students’ Union), or the tutor in their Department (or Admin in the first instance) to deal with it quickly. If they are not well and something was recording in the notes during the exam there will be a record to support retrospective Mitigating Circumstances.

4)What do I do if… a student comes to me about appealing after the exam board?

  • The appeals system is robust at Leicester and permits appeals on the following grounds:
  • Procedural irregularity – something was handled badly or wrongly
  • Evidence of prejudice – the student feels that there is evidence that they have been prejudiced against
  • New mitigating circumstances – note the new (the nature of this is often debated – if a student has a lifetime issue some Schools will argue this is not “new” but the student should argue that the “new” thing is a “new event” which they could not prepare for or anticipate – e.g. hospitalisation for kidney disease).
  • Appeals should be entered quickly and evidenced well (and not just via statements):
  • Doctor’s notes and hospital information help for sickness/health issues
  • Death certificates for grief impacts
  • Statement of impact from a witness (if a victim of a crime say)
  • Police report (crime report document – victims should be given a crime number, for example)
  • Social media downloads and screen captures (e.g. proving bullying online)
  • Email conversations evidence, especially for procedural irregularity (such as wrong advice) or prejudice evidence

I have seen a number of cases over the years in Appeal and it is better to supply too much evidence rather than not enough.

Things Appeal Panels are not impressed by:

  • People saying they failed things because of eating British food (if the medical case can be unpacked, that’s more precise, e.g. onset of diabetes)
  • People saying they had to attend a wedding (although a cultural mainstay in practically every country, this is not mitigating circumstances)
  • A failing profile (i.e. did the student really fail because they were weak rather than because of a specific issue?)
  • Begging
  • Begging by parents
  • Parents being character witnesses (it’s a bit different if the parent is presenting an account of a student’s lifetime illness, however)

If an appeal is upheld the following resolutions are possible (but varying according to the specific cases):

  • Resits/Resubmissions
  • Sitting the work as if noresit or resubmission had taken place
  • These may be with or without residence. This depends on the degree programme regulations and the specific circumstances (e.g. if a student had mitigating circumstances for the whole of Semester 2 but had attended, they would likely be given ‘sit without residence’ as a resolution.

The University cannot work outside of its regulations (so direct the student to these on the University website). If the student’s appeal is unsuccessful and they wish to appeal further, they can go to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) who can only pay the appellant a financial sum if they support the appeal (i.e. they can’t tell the University to take a student back).

As such, all Appeal Panels (which are four people who have little or nothing to do with the student’s School or Department and therefore have greater objectivity) are taken very seriously and we try to make the best judgements we can within the limitations we have.