Procedure To Request Consideration Of Extenuating Circumstances

The following gives a brief description of the procedure to be used if you find yourself unable to attend a test or submit a piece of assessed coursework due to extenuating circumstances, eg illness. Pages 43-45 of the student handbook contain more extensive material on extenuating circumstances.

  • If you think it is likely that you won't be able to attend a test or submit a piece of assessed coursework by the deadline and you believe your circumstances warrant special consideration, you need to complete the form for the consideration of extenuating circumstances available on the "all levels" page of the department website. The most common reason for students asking for special consideration is due to serious short term illness. Pages 43 and 44 of the student handbook give examples of other situations that would also be considered as valid extenuating circumstances.
  • Once the form is completed it should be handed in to the Teaching Support Office or emailed either to Jackie Halliday or to the Director of Studies, Janet Godolphin, IN ADVANCE OF THE TEST DATE OR ASSESSED COURSEWORK DEADLINE. Submitting the request in advance means that the decision on whether your circumstances are considered valid or not can be made promptly within the department.
  • You will need to provide evidence supporting your request for special consideration. If it will take some time to obtain the evidence then please do not delay in sending in the form. You can include details on the form of the evidence that you intend to provide. A decision can be made "subject to appropriate evidence being provided".
  • In all cases of a student seeking special consideration due to illness, medical evidence must be provided that covers the appropriate dates, eg the date of a missed test. For example, if you miss a test due to short term violent sickness, it is not sufficient for you to visit a medical practitioner several days later, since any medical letter would then be unlikely to cover the date of the test.
  • If the nature of the difficulty is such that you cannot notify us or submit a form in advance, then you should submit a completed form as soon as possible. Requests for special consideration made after a deadline or missed test are considered by an Extenuating Circumstances Panel within the Faculty.
  • A positive decision from a request for special consideration is generally that a missed test can be deferred, i.e. taken at a later date or that a piece of assessed coursework can be given in at a later date.
  • If you are unwell but think you may still be able to sit a test then you should be aware that by opting to sit an assessment you are declaring yourself "fit to sit". It is only in exceptional cases that Extenuating Circumstance Panels make decisions in favour of students who sit tests but then submit requests for special consideration.
  • Please do contact Janet Godolphin if you have a query relating to extenuating circumstances not covered by the handbook.