Appealing against study-related decisions
The usual appeal sequence is the following: the person who made the decision, followed by the vice dean for academic affairs, followed by the Appeals Committee
- If you wish to appeal against a decision on the organisation of studies (except for the grade of the graduation thesis or graduation examination or a decision concerning tuition fee or a warning about academic fraud - for these, see below), you must first address the person who made the decision and appeal against the decision in writing or orally within 10 working days of the date of the decision.
- If this does not have the desired outcome, you may file an appeal with the vice dean for academic affairs within three working days of learning that the decision will not be changed. The vice dean may set up a committee to hear the appeal. You will receive a reply from the vice dean within 14 days.
- To appeal against a decision made by the vice dean, the student can file an appeal with an independent Appeals Committee within 10 working days of the announcement of the contested decision. The Appeals Committee is not obliged to process appeals that contest a positive grade. The appeal must be filed with the secretary of the Appeals Committee at Ülikooli 18-135A, Tartu 51014, or be digitally signed and sent to martin.parn@ut.ee The Appeals Committee is an academic body independent of the administration of the University. This ensures that the student’s problem is resolved as impartially as possible. The committee has eight members: four form the teaching staff and four students. At least two teaching staff members are professors. There is at least one student of each study level among the student representatives. The University's legal counsel for the organisation of studies acts as the secretary of the committee.
According to the procedur of the Appeals Committee, the committee may access any documents for the purpose of resolving a dispute, question the parties to the dispute and other persons related to the dispute and relevant employees of the University, and consult the Student Council, the Academic Affairs Committee and the student advisor. The Appeals Committee will inform the student of its decision within 21 days of filing the appeal, saying whether the appeal has been
- upheld, or
- overruled and the matter referred to the person who made the decision for further review.
When there is good reason, the committee has the right to extend the term given to hear the appeal, informing the appellant of the extension. The decision of the Appeals Committee is not subject to appeal at the University.
If you disagree with the grade received in the graduation exam or in defending your graduation thesis, you have the right to submit a written appeal to the vice dean for academic affairs within three working days of the announcement of the results. The vice dean will call a committee with a new composition to hear the appeal within seven days of receiving the appeal. The committee will resolve the appeal within seven days of being called. You can appeal against the committee's decision by filing an appeal with the Appeals Committee within seven days.
If the challenge concerns a grade, including a grade received in the final exam or the graduation defence thesis, the grade may remain unchanged, or be raised or lowered as a result of the new assessment. Please note that when hearing an appealing against a grade the Appeals Committee cannot make a new pedagogical decision, it can only check whether the correct procedure has been followed when giving the grade.
If you disagree with the decision of the doctoral studies Review Committee, you have the right to submit a written appeal to the vice dean for research within seven days of the announcement of the decision of the Review Committee. The vice dean will call a committee with a new composition to hear the appeal within seven days of receiving it. The committee will resolve the appeal within seven days after the committee was called. You can appleal against the decision of the committee by filing an appeal with the Appeals Committee within 30 days of the announcement of the decision of the new Review Committee.
If the appeal has been submitted to contest the number of credit points given for research in the course of a progress review, the committee is entitled to leave the number of credit points given for the research unchanged, or increase or reduce it. The Appeals Committee is not entitled to change the number of credit points given for research.
If you disagree with the vice dean’s decision regarding the establishment of, or exemption from, tuition fee, you have the right to file a written appeal with the vice dean within 10 working days of the communication of the decision. The vice dean will send you a reasoned decision within seven days of the appeal being filed. If the vice dean refuses to revise the decision, you may file an appeal with the vice rector for academic affairs within seven days of the communication of the refusal to revise the decision. The vice rector for academic affairs will inform you within 14 days of filing the appeal whether the decision will be upheld or overruled and will make a new decision on the matter. The decision of the vice rector for academic affairs is not subject to appeal at the University.
If the student is convinced that the warning is unfounded, s/he can appeal against the warning. In each faculty and institute of the university, permanent committees have been founded to deal with cases of suspicion of academic fraud and misconduct. Each faculty has its own procedure for dealing with academic fraud; it can be found on the faculty homepage. The student who has received a warning has the right to submit a letter of explanation within five working days and apply for processing of the case by the academic fraud committee of this structural unit to which the corresponding course belongs.
The decision of the committee cannot be challenged at the university. The decision that the lecturer or the vice dean for academic affairs have made on the basis of the committee’s work can be challenged.