If you're facing disruption to your studies due to circumstances that are out of your control, you may be able to claim for mitigating circumstances.
Before submitting a claim, please read all of the guidance below and note that this page is only guidance, not exhaustive. It doesn't supersede the Mitigating Circumstances Regulations, and we advise you to read these as well.
What are mitigating circumstances?
Mitigating circumstances are circumstances outside your control which disrupt your studies and make it difficult to achieve your full potential in assessments.
If you make a mitigating circumstances claim and it's accepted, you can delay taking an assessment until your ability to achieve is no longer impaired.
For your claim to be accepted, you must be able to demonstrate that mitigating circumstances are all of the following:
- outside your control
- unforeseen and unforeseeable
- serious
- true
- either happened at the same time as the assessment due date, or during the preparation period immediately before the assessment due date
- either prevented you from completing the assessment by the due date, or made you perform less well than usual when you took the assessment (please check the ‘fit to sit’ policy below)
Circumstances which may be accepted
The following are the most common examples of mitigating circumstances for which a claim might be accepted (this list is not exhaustive):
- serious short-term illness
- bereavement
- sudden deterioration of a long-term health condition
Circumstances which will not normally be accepted
You are expected to plan your academic work so that you can meet assessment deadlines at the same time as your other obligations.
The following are examples of circumstances which will not normally be accepted (this list is not exhaustive):
- medical circumstances that occurred outside of the relevant assessment period
- holiday or employment commitments
- poor study practice
- being unaware of assessment due dates or times
- poor time management
- telling us about the circumstances late due to feeling uncomfortable confiding in a University staff member
When you submit a mitigating circumstances claim, you can apply to delay taking your assessment in the following ways:
- A short extension for coursework deadlines of up to five working days, without penalty. The term ‘working days’ excludes weekends and public holidays. For example, if it is Tuesday today and there are no public holidays this week or next week, the next 5 working days would be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday
- A deferral of an assessment to the next available opportunity, without penalty. If your claim is accepted during the academic year, the next available opportunity will be in the resit period in July. If your claim is accepted in July, the next available opportunity will be in the following academic year
- A deferral of a whole module to the next academic year. This will give you the opportunity to re-attend and re-attempt all assessments in the module during the next academic year
Please refer to the FAQ ‘What can I apply for in my Mitigating Circumstances claim’ on our Mitigating circumstances FAQs page for more information.
If you've already submitted a claim for an extension of up to five working days on an assessment, you can't claim for a further five-day extension for the same assessment. If your reasons are valid, you should submit a new evidenced claim for mitigating circumstances and apply for a deferral.
If you require adjustments to an assessment due to any circumstances arising from a disability, contact Disability Learning Support – this is not part of the mitigating circumstances process. You cannot use your evidence of a disability in support of a claim for mitigating circumstances.
You should be aware that deferring an assessment due to mitigating circumstances can affect your studies.
Progressing to the next level
If you are an undergraduate student and you defer an assessment to the following year, this may mean you won't complete the minimum number of modules/credits to progress to the next level. You may have to return as a part-time or ‘assessment only’ student for up to one year to complete any outstanding assessments. For further information on progression requirements, see paragraph 5 of the Framework for Undergraduate Taught Courses.
If you are a final year student and you defer your assessment, you may not be able to complete your degree award this academic year.
Student Loans
Any deferral of assessment can also affect your eligibility for Student Loans Company funding. Please contact Student Advice for further information.
Visas
A deferral of assessment may also affect the conditions of your visa (if appropriate) as well as your future eligibility for the Graduate Route Visa. Please contact Student Advice for further information.
Fit to sit policy
The University has a ‘fit to sit’ policy, which means that if you take an assessment, you're declaring yourself fit to do so.
Should I still take an assessment if I might submit a claim?
It's your responsibility to decide if you're fit to take an assessment or if you should submit a mitigating circumstances claim. If you choose to submit work after making a claim for mitigating circumstances, the mark for the assessment will be applied.
If you complete and submit an assessment after having already claimed for mitigating circumstances via the self-certification route, the claim cannot be retracted and it would therefore be counted towards the two opportunities available to you for submitting a self-certification claim.
I've already completed an assessment, can I still claim?
If you didn't know that you were unfit when you completed an assessment, you can submit an evidenced claim. You'll need to demonstrate, with evidence, that you were unfit to take the assessment and that you were unfit to know it at the time.
Please contact the Student Centre if you need further advice or guidance.
Two ways to submit a claim
There are two routes for submitting a mitigating circumstances claim:
1. Self-certification claim
- If your claim relates to a short-term illness or circumstance that affects you for no more than five working days, you may be able to submit a self-certification claim
- Self-certification is not available for every type of assessment
- You can only submit a self-certification claim twice in any one academic year
- You can only use self-certification to request an extension (of up to five working days) to a coursework deadline, or a deferral of an exam or scheduled assessment; you cannot use it to request a deferral of coursework
- You must submit a self-certification claim no earlier than ten working days before the assessment due date, and no later than five working days after the assessment due date
Find out moreGo to Self-certification claims page
2. Evidenced claim
- If you're not eligible to submit a self-certification claim, you'll need to submit a mitigating circumstances claim supported by evidence
- You may be required to present your evidence to us for authentication if requested
After you submit your claim
You should normally receive the decision from the mitigating circumstances board within five working days of the submission of your claim. During busy times of the academic year, you may be notified within ten working days.
If you submit a claim close to the assessment deadline it's possible that you won't receive a decision until after the work was due. However, you should be reassured that if you've submitted a valid claim based on the agreed criteria for mitigating circumstances and provided the required evidence (where needed), the claim will be accepted.
If your claim has been rejected, you should be able to access details of why the claim was unsuccessful via e:Vision and email. If you require additional information, contact the Student Centre for advice.
In the case of a rejected claim that required evidence, you'll have only one further opportunity to re-submit the claim. This second claim must be based on new additional evidence. In addition to the new evidence you submit, you can ask the mitigating circumstances board to consider the previous evidence you submitted; please make this clear in your statement.
If you are submitting a second claim, the second claim should normally be made within one month following the outcome of the first claim. If a second claim is submitted after this period, you'll need to explain why it's late, and your evidence should also support your reasons for the late submission.
If your mitigating circumstances claim has been rejected twice for the same assessment, you won't be able to submit any further claims for these pieces of assessment.
Late claims after the final published deadline will only be considered in highly exceptional circumstances. You must provide compelling evidence that either you were not aware of the mitigating circumstances until after the published deadline, or you had a valid reason for not disclosing them before the published deadline.
Under no circumstances will late claims be considered or accepted if they are submitted more than one calendar year after the published deadline.
If you believe that you have a valid case, based on evidence, that a material irregularity has occurred in the conduct of the mitigating circumstances process, you may be able to submit an academic appeal. Details of the academic appeal procedure and deadlines can be found on our Academic appeals page.
Before submitting an academic appeal, you should contact the Students Union Advice Service who can provide free, confidential advice and are completely independent of the University. The advice service can assist in discussing your case and the procedures applied. To book an appointment go to Students’ Union Advice Service page or email [email protected].
Further information
Check our FAQs
Please check our Mitigating circumstances FAQs for answers to further questions about mitigating circumstances claims.
Read the regulations
Please note that the information on this page is a summary of the mitigating circumstances rules. The full University regulations are available in Section 11 of the Handbook of Academic Regulations:
Get further advice
If you're unclear about the mitigating circumstances process, seek advice from the Student Centre and/or personal tutor or course leader before submitting a claim.