How can I appeal the decision made on my application for Personalised Assessment Arrangements (PAA)?

If you are concerned about the decision made on your application for Personalised Assessment Arrangements (PAA), you should contact the Examinations Office within 7 days of receiving a decision on your application.

Often matters can be resolved without the need for escalation to a formal appeal.  However, if you remain dissatisfied with the decision, you can submit a formal appeal. Information on this, and the requisite form, will be provided by the Examinations Office.

In accordance with the Regulations, an appeal may be reviewed if one or more of the following grounds are met:

1. There is new evidence that could not have been, or for good reason was not, made available at the time of the original decision on PAAs and sufficient evidence remains that the decision warrants further consideration.
2. There is clear evidence that the original decision on PAAs may have been adversely affected by a significant administrative error on the part of the College.

3. Giving due consideration to the evidence and representations previously provided, the original decision on PAAs was unreasonable.

What happens once I've submitted an appeal? 

1. The Examinations Office will send your appeal to the Personalised Assessment Arrangements Panel on your behalf.
2. The Associate Directors of Academic Services and Disability & Inclusion (or nominees) will review your appeal and determine whether grounds for an appeal have been met. The Associate Directors may wish to liaise with your faculty/department to discuss the proposed arrangements further.
3. If they deem that your appeal has sufficient grounds, and your appeal is successful,  the appeals panel will look at what the appropriate PAA provision is for you. The PAA provisions approved by the appeals process will be implemented for the next assessment period unless there are valid reasons as to why this cannot be done. 

Important to know:

• You will receive a decision on your appeal request within 21 days of submitting your appeal.  
• If the Associate Directors of Academic Services and Disability conclude that none of the grounds above have been met, your appeal will be rejected. The appeal decision is final.

Why may an appeal be rejected?
An appeal may be rejected if:

• The submission does not meet one or more of the grounds for appeal 
• The appeal was incomplete or not on the correct form
• The submission was late
• There was no supporting evidence

I am a staff member at King's. How can I support a student making an appeal? 
If you are supporting a student who has recently made an appeal against their application for PAA, (for example, a student asking for adjustments to an OSCE that are not feasible) it may be necessary to refer this to the Fitness to Practise Committee, in order to consider whether the student would be able to complete the course, with appropriate adjustments, whilst balancing its professional requirements.

For further support, contact the Examinations Office in the first instance. 

When getting in touch with the Examinations Office, please consider whether this is a recommendation or a requirement; the latter would require monitoring and a proposed course of action.

Important to know: Disability Support & Inclusion can also advise students when applying for Personalised Assessment Arrangements, should they wish to apply for PAA. Our article An overview of the provisions and support you can access for your disability at King’s gives you an overview of the various ways Disability Support & Inclusion can support students at King’s.