The Appeals Committee of the Marine Institute Academic Council provides an objective review of students’ cases.

This Committee considers student appeals of the application of Institute Academic Policies and Regulations.

The purpose of this section is to outline the procedures by which appeals may be made and to ensure that students are given advice that will allow them to make the best possible case when preparing an appeal.

• The responsibility for making an appeal before the Appeals Committee of Academic Council rests with the student.
• Student Appeals should be directed in writing to the Registrar who is Chair of the Academic Council Appeals Committee
• Reasons for initiating an appeal before the Appeals Committee of Academic Council include the following:
  • i) medical problems
  • ii) bereavement
  • iii) other acceptable cause
• Students should prepare as strong a case as possible. It is therefore recommended that students seek advice when preparing their appeal. Such advice can be obtained from a variety of sources:
  • i) The Office of the Registrar for the appropriate regulations and appeal procedures.
  • ii) An advisor or facilitator to assist in preparing their appeals, such as:
    • faculty member
    • a counselor
    • designated faculty, who have made themselves familiar with the appeals process and who are willing to undertake the role of student advisor or facilitator
    • the Marine Institute Student Union (MISU)
• A student submitting an appeal must present to the committee a personal letter including reasons for the appeal. Students must present independent evidence to corroborate statements made in the letter of appeal. Preferably, this evidence will come from a professional, such as a doctor, a counselor, a lawyer or a professor. However letters from other knowledgeable parties may be acceptable.
• In cases where an appeal is made on medical grounds, medical notes must be sufficiently specific to allow appropriate consideration of the student’s case. The note must also clearly state that, in the opinion of the doctor, the problem was serious enough to have interfered with the student’s work. The Institute requires that all medical notes be on letterhead, be signed by the physician and include details on the following:
  • i) confirmation of the specific dates on which the student visited the doctor.
  • ii) the degree to which the illness (or treatment, in the case of medication, for example) is likely to have affected the student’s ability to study, attend classes, or sit for examinations.
  • iii) the length of time over which the student’s ability was likely hampered by the medical condition (e.g. recurring and a more adverse effect on studies than a single episode of back pain requiring bed rest for a week.)
  • iv) the fitness of the student to resume studies (it is in the student’s best interest not to return to his/her studies prematurely.)The Institute respects the privacy of all students and, therefore, the confidentiality of all material contained in medical notes.
• Students claiming bereavement as grounds for an appeal must provide proof of death and evidence of a close personal relationship between themselves and the deceased.
• The members of the Appeals Committee do require substantial information about the reasons for the appeal in order to make their decisions. However, the committee also recognizes the student’s rights to confidentiality. With this in mind, a student may discuss the reasons for his or her appeal with the Institute counselor, who, with the student’s permission and provided sufficient reasons exist, may then write a letter to the committee confirming that there were sufficient grounds for an appeal without disclosing the special personal and confidential details of the case.
• In cases where a student wishes to appeal a decision of the Appeals Committee of the Marine Institute Academic Council, the appeal shall be directed to the Executive Committee of Academic Council. The Executive Committee shall determine if there is any further evidence or grounds to amend the previous decisions of the Appeals Committee.
• In all cases, written appeals must be made no later than two weeks after the decision of the Appeals Committee is made known to the student. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of the right to appeal.