1. Before the results are announced: report any difficulties

2. After the results have been announced: appeals

2.1 Step 1: the appeal to the presidents of the jury

Academic regulations and procedures

Article 157. – « Any student who considers that the provisions of these Regulations were not complied with in respect of registration for examinations and the conducting of examinations and Examination Board meetings, apart from the absolute discretion of the Examination Board and each of its members on the individual grades awarded to the student and the results he or she obtained, may appeal against the results communicated to him or her.

To be admissible, the appeal must be submitted by the student by e-mail to the Chair of the Examination Board concerned or by ordinary letter marked for his or her attention hand-delivered against receipt to the Faculty administrator or his or her representative.

For the appeal to be deemed admissible, the time limit for lodging it is three days from notification of the results of the Examination Board meeting in the event of a dispute concerning the latter, or, in the event that the dispute concerns an assessment consisting of a written examination, from the date on which the marked examination paper was inspected in accordance with article 97 of these Regulations, or, in the event that the dispute relates to any other form of assessment, from the date on which the results of this assessment were notified.

The appeal must contain a precise statement of the grounds on which the appeal is based.

The Chair of the Examination Board may interview the student or any teacher concerned by the appeal to obtain further information. The Chair of the Examination Board shall make a written record of oral explanations or take delivery of the written explanations of the party or parties involved and keep them for the purposes of examining the appeal. If the student is interviewed, a report summarising the interview shall be drawn up afterwards in duplicate and signed by the Chair and the student. The student shall be given one copy and the Faculty shall keep the other one.

The Chair of the Examination Board shall notify the student of his or her decision on the appeal. Unless prevented by unforeseeable circumstances, notice shall be given within five days of the date on which the appeal was lodged. The notified decision shall indicate the procedure for exercising the right of appeal referred to in article 158.  »

 → The jury chairs are listed at the end of this article (pt. 3). This list may not be complete or may contain errors. Please let us know so that we can make the necessary changes.

Here are some questions to help you draw up your appeal: 

• What results are being contested?
• What is the legal basis for the appeal? Which provision of the General Study and Examination Regulations has not been respected?
• ​What are the facts? Is there any supporting evidence (email exchanges, copies of exams, etc.)?
• …

Rights and duties in examinations

2.2 Stage 2: Appeal to the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs (VRAE)

Academic regulations and procedures

Article 158. – « The student may appeal the Chair of the Examination Board’s decision referred to in article 157 to the Vice Rector for Student Affairs.

To be admissible, the appeal must be sent to the Vice Rector for Student Affairs within five days of the student being notified of the Chair of the Examination Board’s decision, either by registered post or delivered by hand against receipt, no later than 4.00 pm on the day on which that period expires, to the office of the Vice Rector for Student Affairs.

To be admissible, the appeal must contain a precise statement of the grounds on which the appeal is based and must include a copy of the contested decision.

The Vice Rector for Student Affairs shall notify the Chair of the Examination Board concerned that an appeal has been lodged and may interview or put written questions to him or her to obtain further information. He or she may also interview the student in the same way, with the Chair of the Examination Board present if appropriate. He or she may also require the Chair of the Examination Board to provide him or her with copies of the oral or written explanations collected by the Chair in connection with the procedure for an appeal made in accordance with article 157.

The Vice Rector for Student Affairs shall notify the student, either by e-mail or ordinary letter, of his or her decision on the appeal within one month of receipt of the appeal. »

Procedure

PLEASE NOTE: Although this is not stated in the General Regulations governing studies and examinations, you must pre-register your appeal request online: Appeal forms.

To compile your application, you will need to provide :

• A covering letter
• Letter (or email) from the jury chair
• Contested elements and supporting documents

Then you need to submit your paper application, either by registered letter or by hand-delivering it to the secretary's office of the vice-rector, against acknowledgement of receipt. In the latter case, you must be there no later than 4pm on the last day of the deadline!  

You must be careful to submit an accurate and complete application! In principle, once submitted and after receipt of the acknowledgement of receipt, no documents may be added to the application (except at the request of the VRAE).

If the requested documents are not available at the time of submission for reasons of force majeure (i.e., in principle, unforeseeable and beyond your control), they may be submitted later, if and only if the absence of these documents and the justification for it have been indicated in writing in the covering letter at the time of submission.

For information, no document attached to the application and sent to the Office of the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs can be requested after the application has been analysed.

The DEADLINE is 5 days following notification of the jury chair's decision.

Please note that weekends and public holidays are included in the deadline. However, if the last day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next weekday that is not a public holiday.

You must receive the VRAE's decision within one month of submitting your application.

​We strongly recommend that you consult the following addresses and make sure that you submit a complete file, within the required deadline and in the expected form. Otherwise, the appeal request will not be considered.

Appeal to the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs

Procédure d’introduction des recours/demandes | UCLouvain

Timetable and deadlines

Preparing your file

Appeal form

Download a sample appeal form for an examination

General regulations governing studies and examinations

3. Accusation of cheating

​ ​​​3.1 Summons to hearings and decisions

1. 1. The Chair of the Examining Board will summon the student to a hearing and will hear the student's explanations and defence of the alleged irregularity or plagiarism. 

At the end of the hearing, two copies of the hearing minutes are drawn up for signature by the Chair and the student. One of the two copies is given to the student; the other is kept by the faculty.

It is important to notify your refusal to sign the minutes if the information they contain is incorrect or incomplete!

2. The Chairperson then calls a meeting of the jury to state the facts and arguments or presents the facts and arguments to the jury, which normally meets for deliberation. If the student so requests to the Chair of the jury, he or she will be heard by the assembled jury. The student is notified of the meeting at the latest the day before the day of the deliberation, by e-mail from the Chair of the jury or by telephone with confirmation by e-mail from the Chair of the jury.

If the student is interviewed by the jury, at the end of the interview, two copies of the minutes of the interview are drawn up and signed by the Chair and the student. One of the two copies is given to the student; the other is kept by the faculty.

The jury decides whether there has been any irregularity or plagiarism. 

3. The Chair of the Examination Board notifies the student concerned of the decisions taken against him or her, together with the reasons for the decision. If the jury decides that there has been no irregularity or plagiarism, it invites the teacher to award the student a mark for the examination concerned. If the jury decides that there has been irregularity or plagiarism, the consequences are as follows.

• • • ​a) Valuation affected by fraud

• • • b) Academic sanctions

​ ​3.3 Appeal to the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs

The jury's decision may be appealed to the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs.

Academic regulations and procedures

Article 158. – « The student may appeal the Chair of the Examination Board’s decision referred to in article 157 to the Vice Rector for Student Affairs.

To be admissible, the appeal must be sent to the Vice Rector for Student Affairs within five days of the student being notified of the Chair of the Examination Board’s decision, either by registered post or delivered by hand against receipt, no later than 4.00 pm on the day on which that period expires, to the office of the Vice Rector for Student Affairs.

To be admissible, the appeal must contain a precise statement of the grounds on which the appeal is based and must include a copy of the contested decision.

The Vice Rector for Student Affairs shall notify the Chair of the Examination Board concerned that an appeal has been lodged and may interview or put written questions to him or her to obtain further information. He or she may also interview the student in the same way, with the Chair of the Examination Board present if appropriate. He or she may also require the Chair of the Examination Board to provide him or her with copies of the oral or written explanations collected by the Chair in connection with the procedure for an appeal made in accordance with article 157.

The Vice Rector for Student Affairs shall notify the student, either by e-mail or ordinary letter, of his or her decision on the appeal within one month of receipt of the appeal. . »

• • • a) Procedure

• • • b) Delay

• • • c) Preparing your file