Filing an appeal

Source: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/studeren/support/complaints-service-point-h%25C3%25A9t-loket-voor-studenten-voor-bezwaar-beroep-klacht Parent: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/

You can file an appeal with the Board of Appeal for Examinations (College van Beroep voor de Examens/CBE) if you disagree with a written decision taken by, for example, the Board of Examiners or an examiner from your faculty. You can only file an appeal if you are directly impacted by the decision. You can also file an appeal if a body of the UM refuses to take a decision.

Please note that filing an appeal with the Board of Appeal for Examinations is an official legal procedure. As a consequence, you need to do the following, amongst other things:

You need to respond to requests from the Board of Appeal for additional information within the given timeframe. You need to take into account that failing to do so may lead to inadmissibility of the appeal;
We advise you to attend the hearing in person or through an authorized person such as (but not limited to) an attorney. Please note that by not attending the hearing the Board of Appeal can draw conclusions as it considers appropriate;
You need to formally withdraw the appeal in case – at any given point in time – you no longer wish to proceed with the appeal.

It is recommended, prior to lodging an appeal – and thus starting an official legal procedure – to inform yourself on the faculty specific procedures.

Faculty specific information concerning the inspection and complaint procedure (first login with your UM account)

If you do not agree with the result of an exam, , please attend the organised exam/test inspection first. At the inspection, you can submit a comment that could lead to a re-assessment due to a manifest error in the grading. In case there is no organised exam/test inspection or in case of any other type of decision, please contact the examiner.

If after inspection and/or contact with the examiner, you still disagree with the result or decision made, you can file an appeal at the Board of Appeal (CBE) within six weeks of the date of the publication of the final result in your StudentPortal. This appeal procedure includes the scheduling of a meeting to provide further explanation of the decision taken and to discuss the possibilities of reaching (or not reaching) an amicable settlement. \ Please note that neither the Board of Examiners nor the Board of Appeal is competent to discuss the content of the exam. Both panels will discuss whether the examiner could reasonably have set the question and could reasonably have come to the disputed result or decision. Both panels assess only the procedure followed.\ \ You may find information on existing procedures, e.g. organised exam/test inspections and how to contact examiners/ teachers on your faculty’s intranet\ \

Against which decisions can you file an appeal?

The competence of the CBE is based on article 7.61 of the Dutch Higher education and scientific research Act (Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek/WHW). This means you can file an appeal against decisions such as:

A decision of the Board of Examiners of a faculty or an examiner (e.g. a decision regarding the result of an exam, the refusal of a request for an exemption or the refusal of the request for an extra exam opportunity).
A decision regarding the admittance to exams, the application to a master or regarding further educational requirements of a bachelor.
A decision regarding the binding study advice (BSA).
A decision regarding the result of a Colloquium Doctum.

Please note, that only final grades are subject to appeal. If the final grade consists of partial grades (for example, an assessment component that is a prerequisite for taking another assessment component) and you disagree with a partial grade, you can only appeal against it when the final grade is published.\

How and where to file an appeal

You can file an appeal with the Complaints Service Point (CSP). The CSP forwards your appeal to the CBE, who will assess the case substantially. Please note: you need to file an appeal within six weeks after the day that the contested decision has been published (the term starts the day after the decision has been published or has been sent to you). If you do not file your appeal on time, it is likely the CBE will decide it is inadmissible.This means you forfeit your right to file an appeal! This is in accordance with Dutch law (article 6:9 paragraph 1 of the Dutch general administrative law Act). You can read more on the deadlines that apply when filing an appealhere.

When you wish to file an appeal, please fill out the appeal form, provide your motivation for filing an appeal – the grounds for your appeal – and attach a copy or screenshot of the contested decision.

Pdf Appeal form CSP

You can find an example of a motivation for filing an appeal in the document below:

Example motivation letter\ \

Appeal ground(s)

Your appeal needs to be based on legal grounds. This means you need to prove that the contested decision breaches the law (article 7.61 paragraph 2 WHW). Examples of this are:

A decision violates a general binding regulation, e.g. the Education and Exam regulation (EER) or other UM rules and regulations;
The decision implicates the abuse of power or unreasonable decision-making.
The decision infringes or violates a general principle of sound administration, for example the principle of legitimate expectations (for example the Board of Examiners does not adhere to a certain pledge) or the obligation to state reasons (the decision is based on untruthful information or it lacks a sound reasoning).

Naturally, you need to explain and argue these appeal grounds in your notice of appeal!\ \

What to expect from an appeal procedure?

Once you have filed an appeal with Maastricht University (UM), you have started an official legal procedure, to which the Dutch General administrative law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht) are applicable. The procedure will proceed as follows:

Acknowledgement of receipt\ Once you have submitted your appeal, the CSP will send you an acknowledgment of receipt by email as soon as possible. The CSP will then forward your appeal to the CBE and you will receive a separate confirmation of receipt by email from the CBE.

Pro forma appeal\ It is important to file your appeal on time and do not let the six weeks deadline expire. In case you find yourself unable to file the appeal on time or in case you are still waiting for answers to your questions, it is possible to file a pro forma notice of appeal with the CSP. This means that you announce your intention to file an appeal, but refrain from providing the grounds for your appeal. After the CBE has received your pro forma appeal, they will determine the timeframe within which you have to provide the grounds nonetheless.

Attempt for amicable settlement\ The CBE will begin by sending your appeal to the relevant UM body that made the decision you are appealing. The CBE will ask that body to investigate, within a reasonable time, whether an amicable settlement can be reached. It is likely that the relevant body will contact you by email or phone to discuss your appeal and the contested decision. The outcome of this enquiry may be that:

an amicable settlement is reached. In this case, you must withdraw your appeal by sending a notification by email to the CBE, so that the CBE will not proceed with the case.
no amicable settlement is reached, but this contact with the body has given you a better understanding of why the contested decision was taken and you no longer feel the need to pursue your appeal. In this case, you must withdraw your appeal by sending a notification by email to the CBE, so that the CBE will not proceed with the case;
no amicable settlement is reached and you wish to pursue your appeal. In that case, you must notify the CBE by email that you are pursuing your appeal, so that the CBE will continue to process the case.

Hearing\ If the appeal is pursued, you will receive an email from the CBE inviting you for a hearing. Before the hearing, the CBE will also send you the written response from the relevant UM body who has replied to your letter of appeal. This way, you are able to prepare for the hearing and reply to their arguments during the hearing. During the hearing, the representatives of the relevant UM body will also be invited. You have the right to be represented by a lawyer or to authorise somebody else to represent you on your behalf in your case (but you are not obliged to do so). You may also bring witnesses and/or experts (please note that any costs associated with this will be at your own expense).

A hearing will not be held if your appeal is obviously inadmissible or obviously unfounded, or if neither party wishes to exercise their right to a hearing.

Judgment/Decision\ The CBE decides within sixteen weeks, counted from the day after the decision you are appealing against has been made public (article 7.61 paragraph 4 WHW and article 20 Rules of Procedure Board of Appeal for Examinations). The decision is based on the documents submitted and the arguments presented during the hearing. Possible judgments are:

The appeal is not admissible: as a consequence of procedural defaults (e.g. submitting an appeal after the legal term for submitting an appeal has passed without a reasonable ground). The CBE will not assess the appeal substantially in this case.
The appeal is unfounded: the contested decision stands.
The appeal is founded: the contested decision is (partly) voidable and the responsible UM body is required to take a new decision, taking into account the judgement of the CBE.

Please note:The CBE does not have the competence to (partly) replace the contested decision with a new decision taken by themselves. This means that they do not have the competency to assess an exam or change a grade or result themselves. They merely make a marginal assessment and check if the body or person concerned has reasonably, without violating any laws or regulations, taken the contested decision.

An anonymized verdict of the CBE will be published on Uitspraken College van Beroep voor de Examens en College van Beroep voor het Hoger Onderwijs.

Competence\ The competence of the CBE is based on articles 7.60 up to and including article 7.62 of the WHW. You can also read more about the competences of the CBE in chapter 9 of the Student Charter.

The rules governing appeals to the CBE are set out in the Rules of Procedure of the Board of Appeal for the Examination.\ \

Temporary injunction

Lodging an appeal does not mean that the implementation of the contested decision is suspended. Sometimes, a decision by the CBE within a short time is essential, as the absence of such a decision may have irreparable consequences for you. In this case, you may request for a temporary injunction. Then, you will have to prove that a speedy judgement by the CBE is absolutely necessary in your case. For example, if you are facing serious study delay or other serious harm without a decision. A temporary injunction is an urgent procedure that is separate from the assessment of the merits of your appeal. The chair of the CBE will invite both parties to a hearing and will make a decision as soon as possible. This temporary injunction will be set aside once the CBE has taken a decision on the merits of the case. \ \

Timeframe of the appeal procedure

The CBE’s decision on your appeal will, in principle, be taken within ten weeks after the term for lodging your appeal has passed (Article 7.60 paragraph 4 WHW and Article 20 of the Rules of Procedure of the Board of Appeal for the Examinations).\ \

Higher appeal

You can appeal against the decision of the Board of Appeal to the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State in The Hague (ABRvS). The deadline is six weeks after the decision of the Board of Appeal and there are costs associated with this procedure. More information and contact details can be found on the website of the Council of State: www.raadvanstate.nl/studentenzaken

Complaints Service Point

You can send your appeal via email to: complaintsservice@maastrichtuniversity.nl. \ The CSP is open from Monday until Thursday (the CSP is closed on Friday).

Via post to:\ Maastricht University\ Student Service Centre (SSC)\ Attn. Complaints Service Point (CSP)\ Postbus 616\ 6200 MD Maastricht

Deliver to the SSC on site:\ Information desk Visitor’s Centre\ Bonnefantenstraat 2\ 6211 KL Maastricht\ Monday - Friday. from 8.30 until 18.00 hours\ Please write clearly on the envelope: attn. Complaints Service Point (CSP)

Student Deans\ For questions regarding your legal position as a student or about submitting an objection, appeal or complaint you can contact the UM Student Deans via: studentendecanen@maastrichtuniversity.nl

You can also make an appointment with them through the website.