You must discuss your concerns with the relevant staff member within 15 working days from when the academic decision was made.
Except for decisions about academic dishonesty and exclusion, this stage is compulsory for all undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students.
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Familiarise yourself with the academic decision and the reasons provided, then reach out to the person who made the decision to discuss and get a better understanding of how the decision was reached.
Informal resolution is often the quickest and easiest way to resolve a concern and may help resolve the matter without the need for a formal appeal.
The person or University unit you need to contact will depend on the type of academic decision. This may be your tutor, lecturer, unit of study coordinator, program director, administrative unit or any other staff member who made the decision.
Select the type of academic decision you want to appeal to find out about the process.
For concerns relating to academic integrity breaches, including plagiarism, contact the person who made the decision.
If you are studying in one of the following faculties, refer to additional information on how to start an informal resolution.
Discuss your concerns with the Educational Integrity Coordinator at fass.academichonesty@sydney.edu.au.
For decisions relating to academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, skip to the next stage of academic appeals and apply for review to the Faculty.
If you’ve applied for credit or reduced volume of learning and have any questions about the outcome of your application, you can submit an enquiry through the credit management form to get more context about the decision.
If you still want to dispute the outcome of your credit decision, you can submit an informal resolution request online.
This informal resolution process is only for decisions on credit for prior learning. If you want to dispute credit related to an assessment item, you need to contact the relevant teacher or unit of study coordinator responsible for the decision directly.
If you’ve requested for enrolment exception and would like a review of the decision, submit a request through the course management form.
If you’ve applied for exchange, non-exchange, cross-institutional study or to update your grades after a mobility experience, and have any questions about the outcome, submit an enquiry to get context about the decision made.
If you’d still like to dispute decisions relating to academic approvals (including equivalency outcomes) and the grades or credit points you received for overseas study, submit your appeal through the study abroad and exchange form.
In exceptional circumstances, you may be able to make a late informal resolution request. You will need to explain why your informal resolution request was not lodged by the deadline and provide supporting evidence for your reason.
If you have a concern about your marks or grade, reach out directly to the marker, your teacher or unit of study coordinator to start an informal resolution. It is recommended that you do this in writing so there is a record of it.
If you are studying in one of the following faculties/schools, you'll need to follow a specific process – refer to additional information below.
If you believe you have genuine grounds to contest an academic decision about a mark or grade, you can submit a request for informal resolution.
If your informal resolution request is related to an exam mark, we recommend you familiarise yourself with the exam script (the exam question and your answer) first.
After receiving your informal resolution outcome, if you still have genuine reasons to further contest the decision, you may:
Choosing not to request a meeting does not prevent you from making an application for review to the Faculty.
If you have any questions, email business.informalappeals@sydney.edu.au and include the unit of study code (for example BUSS1000), your name and student ID in the subject line of the email.
If you’d like to have an assessment item re-marked, contact nursing.educationsupport@sydney.edu.au with the following attached:
If we re-mark your assessment item, your mark may be changed, and could be higher or lower than your original mark.
If you’ve applied for special consideration or special arrangements, familiarise yourself with the kinds of special consideration and arrangements that can be granted under University policy first.
If you still want to dispute the outcome, find out how to request a review of the decision.
Where you have made your request online, you should receive confirmation your request has been received.
Your request will be directed to the relevant staff member for consideration. You will be given a clear explanation of the reasons for the decision, as well as confirmation whether the decision will be amended or not.
Whether you raised your informal resolution through email or a form, you should receive a response within 10 working days.
If your concerns are not resolved at this point, you can proceed to apply for review to the Faculty/School.
Procedures for informal resolution are outlined in University of Sydney (Student Academic Appeals) Rule (sections 2.1 and 2.2).
