His defence had pointed in part to the fresh evidence of Hoyle's mental impairment, which they argued was a possible defence to some of the allegations.

But a full bench of the ACT Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in a 40-page judgement handed down by Chief Justice Helen Murrell.

A jury found Arthur Marshall Hoyle, 68, guilty last year of raping one student, making advances on two others, and showing another a pornographic PowerPoint slide.

The offences happened in Hoyle's office in April 2015, after he had invited the students in to discuss allegations of cheating in their essays. The victims were all female and from overseas.

He was found guilty of a total of eight offences, including two of rape, and he was acquitted of a further two acts of indecency.

He was sentenced to four years jail, with a non-parole period of two years and six months.

The defence had argued five grounds of appeal. They said there was a miscarriage of justice after tendency and coincidence evidence was admitted at the trial and that the prosecutor had used inflammatory language and suggested the behaviour was premeditated.

Further grounds of appeal were that a doctor's expert evidence of the "freeze response" and delayed reporting by victims of sexual assault should not have been admitted at the trial, and that the judge gave the jury inadequate directions on the onus of proof.

The defence had also argued that the absence of fresh evidence about Hoyle's mental condition caused a miscarriage with justice, including the missed opportunity of a mental impairment defence.

But on Thursday, Chief Justice Helen Murrell said the court had dismissed all grounds appeal on the conviction and sentence and delivered the court’s reasons.

The decision was met with an exclamation of "oh no" and tears from the man's family in the court.

Hoyle will be eligible for parole in October 2019.