Fitness to practise appeals

Appeals can be made only on one or both of the following grounds:

i) procedural irregularity in the conduct of the case;
ii) evidence which could not have been presented at the time of the original hearing.

You must submit your appeal must in writing to the Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct Manager within 14 calendar days from the date of the letter sent to you informing you of the decision of the Fitness to Practise Committee. You should send any supporting evidence with your appeal.

The form for all students to submit an appeal can be downloaded here: Appeal Form Fitness to Practice Appeal - Aug 2023

Guidance on completing Fitness to Practice Appeal - Aug 2023

If you require the form or any other materials in an alternative format, please let us know. On request we can provide you with an electronic copy, enlarged print on coloured paper, audio recordings or Braille.

Following submission of the appeal, the Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct Manager will consult with the Chair of the Fitness to Practise Appeals Committee, or nominee. Together, they will assess whether the appeal criteria have been met based on the information provided in the appeal and by reviewing all the paperwork from the University Fitness to Practise Committee, including the minutes and the outcome. If they are of the view that there is no case for appeal (i.e. you have not fulfilled one or both of the grounds), you will be advised in writing, stating the reasons why. If there is a valid case for appeal they will recommend appropriate action to remedy the situation. This will usually mean the case is referred back to the University Fitness to Practise Committee for reconsideration of new evidence or to correct the identified procedural issues. If agreement cannot be reached as to whether the grounds for appeal have been met, or it is not possible to return the case to the University Fitness to Practise Committee, then a University Fitness to Practise Appeals Committee will be convened. 

You will be given no less than 14 working days’ notice of the date, time and location of the hearing.  You will normally be sent a copy of all the paperwork relevant to the appeal no less than 10 working days of the date of the hearing. 

Details about the conduct of the hearing can be found in Sections 16-19 of the Fitness to Practise Code of Practice.

Independent advice on making an appeal can be obtained from Advice & Support at Keele, Students’ Union

Tel: 01782 734800
Email: su.ask@keele.ac.uk

If you have any questions about the process, please contact the Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct Team.

The appeal should be emailed to the Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct Team . In order to assist the team in processing appeals as quickly as possible, please send your email to  appeals@keele.ac.uk. Please note that appeals will only be accepted electronically if they have been emailed from your Keele email account. 

If your Keele IT account has been closed, please send the form using the non-Keele email account you added to your student record.

If it is not possible to email the appeal, please contact the team to discuss the matter further BEFORE the appeal deadline.