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Before I Submit My Appeal

Writing your Appeal

In putting your appeal together, it is important that you:

  • Understand the Student Misconduct and Academic Appeals Policy and its procedures
    • These documents describe the appeal process, what must be included in an appeal, and important deadlines.
    • These documents can be hard to read! If you have questions or do not understand any part of these documents, please contact the University Student Appeals Office or the Student Ombuds.
    • We want to make sure you have the information you need regarding the appeal process so you are best able to make your case.
  • Determine your ground or grounds of appeal and what you are going to use to support these grounds. In other words, what is your evidence, and how does your evidence support your grounds of appeal? Examples of evidence may include: your transcript; medical documentation; excerpts from documentation, such as the Academic Calendar or your course outline; copies of email correspondence between you and other individuals.
  • Determine the outcome you are requesting, and include reference to any university documentation that supports that outcome (for example, specific sections of a course outline, a faculty or University policy, or the Academic Calendar).This will help the panel in determining whether the outcome you are requesting is possible.
  • Consider having the advisor who will assist you during your appeal (e.g., the Student Ombuds) or a trusted friend review your appeal before it is submitted.
  • Organize your appeal and supporting documents in a clear and logical way that is easy to follow, for example, in chronological order.
  • Number each paragraph of your letter as this allows the decision-makers to easily refer to specific paragraphs in your letter.
  • Number your attachments so that you can easily refer to them in your letter. For example, “I received a letter from my doctor on August 16, 2024 (attachment number 4).”
  • Be factual in your writing, and provide as many specific details as you can. For example, instead of writing “I spoke to the faculty about this on three separate occasions”, provide specific information about when and who you spoke with, and what their responses were. Everything that is submitted in your appeal is confidential.

Checklist: Before I submit my appeal

Have I:

☐ obtained needed support?e.g., Student Ombuds

☐ read the Student Misconduct and Academic Appeals Policy and determined which appeal body I am submitting my appeal to?

☐ read the procedure for the appeal body to which I am submitting my appeal? (University Appeals Committee Procedure or University Appeals Tribunal Procedure)

☐ gathered all required information, supporting documentation, and evidence? The required information that must be provided is listed in Section 4.4 of the University Appeals Committee Procedure or the University Appeals Tribunal Procedure.

Submit your appeal and attach all supporting documentation through the Appeal Submission Form. Appeals must be submitted within ten (10) business days of the decision by 11:59 pm.

If you need more time to prepare your appeal, you can request an extension to your deadline by emailing appeals@ucalgary.ca. Extensions must be requested prior to your deadline.