Module changed mark weighting AFTER submission, cost me a First. Is this grounds for appeal?
Final year student. I'm probably going to end up with 9 first-class marks instead of the 10 I need for a First under my uni's classification scheme. If that happens, I'm wondering if I'd have grounds to appeal.
In one of my modules the assessment breakdown was clearly published as: two individual assignments at 20% each (40% total) and a group project at 60%. I scored 88 on the individual assessment.
Then, about 3 months after the group project deadline we received our group project results, which we got a 60 in. That would have given me 71 under the original breakdown. However, shortly after the course convenor sends out an email saying they've reduced everyone's individual assignment marks by 10% to "allow for a higher grade for the group project". My overall dropped to 68.
Nobody told us this was happening before or during the assessment period. I did my work assuming the published weightings would apply. That 3 mark difference is literally the difference between me getting a First and a 2:1 overall. To make it worse, the group project results didn't come out until months after submission and by that point I had already completed most of the assessments for my other modules on the basis that I was expecting a First in this module. If I'd known earlier that my mark was going to be pulled down I could have at least adjusted how I approached my remaining work.
I'm thinking about appealing on procedural grounds once my final results come out since my mark is within 3 of the boundary. But I know these appeals barely ever succeed so not sure if it's worth the stress.
(To clarify, at my uni you need 10 first-class marks (70+) out of 18 classification marks for a First. There's also an aggregate route but my average isn't high enough for that, so I specifically need that 10th mark. This module at 71 would give me exactly 10. At 68 I'm stuck on 9 with no other way to get a first.)
Has anyone been through anything similar? Would this count as a procedural error or would the uni just say it's moderation/academic judgement? Would really appreciate any advice.
Edit:
Seems like I've misunderstood the rescaling, what has happened is they have scaled the individual assessment grade by 10% (i.e my 88 would now become 88x0.9 =79.2) and this still compromises 40% of the grade. Still doesn't change the effect this has on my overall degree classification though. But I guess this means I have less grounds for an appeal on procedural grounds?