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Guidelines on Extenuating Circumstances for
Postgraduate Students
- What does the University define as
‘Extenuating Circumstances’?
- How do I inform the Board of Examiners?
- How much information do I need to include?
- What documentary evidence do I need to provide?
- What circumstances are NOT taken into account?
- How are extenuating circumstances judged by a
Board of Examiners?
- What action can the Board of Examiners take?
- What action will not be taken by Boards of
Examiners?
- False Claims
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Equality Act 2010
- Where can I get more guidance?
Extenuating Circumstances Form
(includes Medical Evidence Pro-forma)
Please print, complete and
hand to the Graduate Administrator in your department.
A What does the University
define as ‘Extenuating Circumstances’?
Extenuating circumstances are formally defined as “circumstances
beyond the student’s control which cause the student to perform less
well in his or her coursework or examinations than he or she might
otherwise have been expected to do (on the basis of other work). In
general, extenuating circumstances will be of a medical or personal
nature affecting the student for any significant period of time and/or
during the examination period.”
B How do I inform the Board of
Examiners?
It is your responsibility to inform the Board of Examiners
about extenuating circumstances. Although you may have previously
discussed your difficulties with staff in your department, this does
not in itself constitute the submission of extenuating circumstances.
You need to complete an Extenuating Circumstances Form which is
available from your departmental office, the Registry (Room 6.116),
the Student Support Office or the Students’ Union Advice Centre. This
must be returned to the Graduate Secretary in your Department/Centre
by no later than one week before the meeting of the Board of
Examiners, or by the deadline published by the department/centre if
different. We cannot guarantee that forms submitted after this date
will be referred to the Board.
You should note that it is essential to inform the Board of any
extenuating circumstances before it meets. You cannot
subsequently appeal against your results on the grounds of extenuating
circumstances if you could reasonably have been expected to inform the
Board in advance. It is also your responsibility to explain fully the
impact of extenuating circumstances on your work. If you do not
sufficiently explain their impact then you cannot subsequently appeal
and ask the Board to consider additional information.
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C How much information do I need
to include?
You should include on the form details of specific coursework or
exams affected by illness, personal difficulties etc. Make sure you
explain the impact these circumstances had on your performance. It is
not the role of the Board of Examiners to try to work this out
or to seek further information on your behalf. Try to make your
submission clear and concise. Remember that Boards of
Examiners are trying to determine whether the circumstances are likely
to have significantly affected your academic performance.
D What documentary evidence do I
need to provide?
- Extenuating circumstances of a non-medical nature
You should if possible submit appropriate third party evidence to
support your claim. We realise that it in some cases it may be
difficult to do this, and then Boards may accept claims which are
not accompanied by documentary evidence. However, lack of third
party evidence may weaken your claim.
- Extenuating circumstances of a medical nature
In consultation with the local Health Centre the University has
developed a Medical Evidence Pro-forma for you to use if, having
read the following guidelines, you see that you need to supply
medical evidence to support your claim. The Pro-forma is attached
to the end of the Extenuating Circumstances Form.
- Exams and Invigilated Tests
If you miss an examination or an invigilated test due to illness
or are claiming to have been affected by medical problems during
your examination or test, you must seek medical attention on the
day, and you must submit documentary evidence using the Medical
Evidence Pro-forma at the end of these guidelines.. The evidence
must relate specifically to the time of the illness and must make
it clear that you were medically unfit to take the exam/test. Evidence
stating that you retrospectively reported your illness will not be
regarded by the Board of Examiners as satisfactory.
- Coursework
If you are claiming a minor illness has affected work or caused
you to miss a deadline then please note that the Health Centre,
and indeed most doctors, will not issue medical certificates
either for short-term or minor illnesses. Neither will they issue
medical certificates when you were not treated at the time and you
report your illness to a doctor retrospectively. Boards of
Examiners are aware of this, and therefore may accept claims
without this form of third party evidence. They may accept other
evidence submitted by you to self-certify your illness (such as a
duplicate copy of the notification of absence form which you
should have submitted at the time of your absence). Please note
that accepting a claim without third party evidence does not mean
that the Board of Examiners will take any action. In many cases
Boards of Examiners may judge that a short-term or minor illness
has not had a significant effect on your overall performance.
If you have been receiving treatment for a serious or long-term
medical condition which you believe has seriously affected your
work over a prolonged period, you must submit appropriate
evidence. You should be able to obtain evidence from your Health
Centre using the Medical Evidence Pro-forma, or you could resubmit
a copy of any documentary evidence which you have already
submitted.
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E What circumstances are NOT
taken into account?
It is not possible to list every circumstance that the Board of
Examiners would not accept or take into account. However some of the
more obvious examples are listed below:
- general pressure of work is not taken to be circumstances beyond
your control, as you are expected to plan your work schedule;
- a short-term problem or illness which has occurred during the
year and which is not be deemed to have had an overall effect on
your performance;
- missing an examination because you misread the timetable or
overslept;
- having more than one examination on the same day or on
consecutive days (unless you were already suffering from illness or
injury)
- where extenuating circumstances have affected you throughout
your time at University, it is difficult to determine what your
marks might have been like otherwise. In such cases, the Board of
Examiners is unlikely to take any action.
F How are extenuating
circumstances judged by a Board of Examiners?
Boards of Examiners try to determine whether, and to what extent,
extenuating circumstances have affected your academic performance, and
determine what action, if any, can be taken. In assessing the
significance of extenuating circumstances Boards will normally take
into account:
- the severity of the problem and the length of time involved;
- any supporting documentary evidence;
- whether all work in the same period appears to have been equally
affected;
- whether it is possible to gauge the effect of the extenuating
circumstances upon academic performance;
- whether your achievement is consistent with past performance;
- the type of assessment affected, and how long you had to
complete the work (i.e date when work set and deadline for
submission).
G What action can the Board of
Examiners take?
The Board of Examiners will try to ensure a fair result based on
your overall performance. It could take a number of actions. For
example, if a candidate has missed an examination, and the Board of
Examiners considers the reasons to be valid, it can treat the absence
in a number of ways. In certain cases, and where appropriate, the
Board might decide to take the coursework mark to stand as the mark
for the module. In other cases it might decide that the missing exam
mark would remain on the grid but the Board could exercise its
discretion in determining the final result.
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H What action will not be
taken by Boards of Examiners?
Boards of Examiners will not:
- add extra marks because a student’s work has been affected by
extenuating circumstances;
- amend marks from previous years of study
- annotate the statement of results/transcripts with comments
about the existence of extenuating circumstances.
I False Claims
You should note that submitting a false claim could be regarded as
an attempt to gain unfair advantage, which would be an academic
offence and could be dealt with under the Academic Offences
Procedures.
J Data Protection Act 1998
By submitting an extenuating circumstances form you are agreeing to
the University holding this personal data for the purposes of
processing your claim. The University will hold this data in
accordance with its notification under the 1998 Data Protection Act.
K
Equality Act 2010
If you are providing information about your disability on your
extenuating circumstances form, please note that this does not count
as disclosure to the University as these forms are intended for use
only by the Board of Examiners. We strongly urge you to disclose any
persistent medical condition, specific learning difficulty or
disability to Student Support.
MPORTANT – PLEASE READ: Information about you that may affect
professional suitability
1)
The University is committed to a fair and
confidential process for handling extenuating circumstances and recognises that this process may involve the disclosure and handling
of sensitive personal information.
2)
The University is committed to full
compliance with its obligations related to professional suitability
in order to uphold the highest standards of conduct among its
students both during and beyond their period as a student at the
University.
3)
All University students are required to
comply with the University’s Disciplinary Regulations and other
regulations of the University regarding conduct. Students enrolled
on schemes where a practical professional placement is required have
additional responsibilities placed upon them regarding their
professional suitability. Failure to meet these responsibilities can
lead to the Breach of
Professional Conduct, Fitness to Practise and Termination of
Training Procedure being invoked. You will have been informed
when you registered as a student if your degree scheme is subject to
this Procedure
4)
Breaches of professional standards by
students may involve a range of actions or omissions but may
include:
-
actions that are harmful to service
users, other members of the public or service provides;
-
actions that are likely to constitute
an unacceptable risk to students or others;
-
failure to disclose information about
previous matters relating to professional suitability prior to
enrolment on the scheme;
-
contravention of the relevant
professional code of conduct;
-
actions that are prejudicial to the
development or standing of professional practice.
In addition, for students studying law, the
University has an obligation to report relevant information related
to professional suitability to the Law Society.
5) Any information that is provided on any
extenuating circumstances form that raises issues of professional
suitability, whether it has been disclosed by you and about you or
by another student on another form but relates to you will be
disclosed as necessary to the relevant internal or external
authorities. Information will only ever be disclosed on a need to
know basis to ensure the University is able to comply with its
obligations related to professional suitability. These authorities
may include the Professional Practice and Conduct Committee, your
employer if your registration as a student relates to Continuing
Professional Development or any relevant Professional or Regulatory
Body.
L Where can I get more guidance?
If after having read these notes you feel you need more help in
putting forward your extenuating circumstances, you should contact the
Students’ Union Advice Centre, the Student Support Office or the
Registry (Room 6.116).
Extenuating Circumstances Form
(includes Medical Evidence Pro-forma)
Please print, complete and
hand to the Graduate Administrator in your department.
Extenuating Circumstances Form for International Academy
Pre-sessional Students
Extenuating Circumstances Form for Health and Human Sciences
Students
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