Extenuating Circumstances Form - GUIDANCE NOTES

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES FORM - GUIDANCE NOTES

The Extenuating Circumstances Form should be used when you need to: a) inform your programme/subject of any circumstances which are affecting your ability to meet your programme commitments; and/or b) apply for an extension on the submission deadline for coursework; and/or c) apply to defer an exam, practical assessment or viva; and/or d) apply for a temporary leave of absence (up to three weeks)

Instruction for completion These notes should be read in conjunction with the University’s Extenuating Circumstances Policy and, if necessary, you should seek advice from the Faculty Office, RKE Office (for Postgraduate Research students), Student Services or the Student Union.

You must complete Section A and, if you require an extension/deferral, Sections B and/or C in full and submit the form, with documentary evidence (details below) to your Home Faculty Office/RKE Office.

Extension/Deferral Request You should apply as early as possible in advance and preferably no later than five working days before the due deadline of the assessment or date of the exam/practical assessment/viva so that you will have confirmation of the outcome in good time. In exceptional cases only, you may submit the Extension/Deferral Request up to five working days after the deadline of the assessment or date of the exam/practical assessment/viva.

If it is not possible to provide the evidence to accompany the form, you may submit the form alone stating which pieces of evidence are to follow and an expected date of their submission. If you are submitting the form after the due date/deadline, then you will also need to justify why you were unable to submit it earlier. If you are unable to obtain evidence then you may request support from Student Services, eg for sensitive/confidential issues. See also c) below.

Outcome of your Extension/Deferral Request or Request for Temporary Leave of Absence The outcome of your request or a request for further details/evidence will be emailed to your University email account so it is your responsibility to check your account regularly and, if you are requested to provide further information/evidence, you should reply promptly.

If approved, a copy of the Extenuating Circumstances Form will be returned to you – please keep this safe and remember that you will be required to submit a copy of the approved form with each piece of coursework for which an extension has been approved.

General Guidance When completing the form please ensure that you have completed it in full and have paid particular attention to: a) Assessments/Modules affected by the claimed extenuating circumstances Provide full details of all assessments you believe to have been affected by your extenuating circumstances. An assessment that is not listed on the form cannot be considered. b) Reason for the claimed extenuating circumstances Give a full account of the details of the reason for your claim, including dates and times. Where necessary you can provide additional information on a separate sheet and attach it to the form. c) Documentary evidence supplied

03f7e567f0df4e8e7c524a78689c359c.docx Page 1 of 8 Give details of each piece of documentary evidence submitted, together with the time period to which it relates. Details of a sensitive and personal nature, which you would prefer not to submit, may instead be discussed in confidence with Student Services. If Student Services then agree to support your application, you may not need to submit further documentary evidence. Please see Section 4 of the Extenuating Circumstances Policy.

What are ‘Extenuating Circumstances’ The University recognises that sometimes, something happens that is beyond the ordinary pressures of life and seeks to offer the opportunity for students to achieve what would be considered their normal standard of academic work. Extenuating Circumstances’ are defined as:

‘Circumstances, normally exceptional and outside the control of the student, which prevent him/her from performing in assessment at the level expected or required of them.’

Below is a quick guide of examples of valid and invalid Extenuating Circumstances and the types of supporting evidence required. If your circumstances are not listed, please refer to the Extenuating Circumstances Policy, which has a much more detailed list. If you are still in doubt, please seek advice from the Faculty Office or RKE Office.

Please retain these notes and do NOT submit them with your Extenuating Circumstances Form.

03f7e567f0df4e8e7c524a78689c359c.docx Page 2 of 8 EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES FORM

Section A To be completed by the student

Student Name Student ID

Programme Home Faculty

Start date of Please indicate end date Ended period affected of period affected, Predicted end (dd/mm/yy) predicted end date or On-going (dd/mm/yy) circle ‘On-going’

Details of the extenuating circumstances Specific details must be given; general statements such as ‘ill’ are not acceptable. Please attach a separate sheet, if necessary.

- Late Claims If you are submitting this after one or more assessment deadlines, please provide an explanation and, if it has been requested, please include your latest draft(s) of the assessment(s) for which you are requesting an extension. (Please note that the definition for ‘late’ is up to 5 working days after an assessment deadline).

Documentary evidence All documentation to support your claim for extenuating circumstances should be attached to this form. If the evidence is not immediately available, please indicate when you will be able to submit it and the reason for the delay. (NB the Faculty has discretion to reject evidence submitted more than 5 working days after the form is received.) If you are unable to obtain evidence then you may request support from Student Services, eg for sensitive/confidential issues. . Period covered Description of evidence From To

Request for Temporary Absence (up to three weeks) This must include a rationale based on the evidence provided and the dates of intended departure and return. Please note that you should submit this form at least 5 working days before departure.

I certify that the information I have given in Section A above and Sections B/C overleaf is correct, to the best of my knowledge, and understand that appropriate staff will have access to the information provided on this form.

03f7e567f0df4e8e7c524a78689c359c.docx Page 3 of 8 Student signature Date

03f7e567f0df4e8e7c524a78689c359c.docx Page 4 of 8 Section B – Extension Request for Written Assessment(s) Please note that only assessments/exams formally requested using this form may be considered for extensions/deferrals.

Module Module Title Title of Assessment Due Date set Date Requested by Agreed Date Code (eg Essay, Journal) in Module Student (to be completed by Handbook Faculty Office)

Section C – Deferral Request for Practical Assessment(s) and/or Formal Exam(s)

Module Module Title Title of Assessment Due Date set Date Requested by Agreed Date Code (eg Presentation, Exam,) in Module Student * (to be completed by Handbook/ Faculty Office) Exam Timetable

03f7e567f0df4e8e7c524a78689c359c.docx Page 5 of 8 * If a deferral is approved then centrally-organised exams due to be held in week 12 of semester 1 will normally be rescheduled for the semester 2 assessment period and exams due to be held in semester 2 will normally be rescheduled for the summer resit period.

03f7e567f0df4e8e7c524a78689c359c.docx Page 6 of 8 Section D To be completed by Student Services at the request of the student

Only the following people in Student Services may support the student’s request: Nicola Barden, Lesley Black, Jan Collins, Joanne Gale-Chambers, Sue Martin, Steve Petty, Helen Piper, Sylvia Smallwood and Geoff Titchener

I support this request for Extenuating Circumstances to be taken into account for the period stated below: Start date of Please indicate end date Ended period affected of period affected, Predicted end (dd/mm/yy) predicted end date or On-going (dd/mm/yy) circle ‘On-going’ Signature * Date * Only the Director of Student Services or Head of Wellbeing may sign this form.

Section E To be completed by Faculty/RDQC

Received by (name) Date

Evidence received by (name) Date (date if different date to form) Yes / No Acceptability of claim (please write ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as appropriate against each criteria below) Deadlines met?

Meets published definition?

Valid evidence?

Faculty decision (delete/strike through as appropriate) Accept Reject

Please enter the new date(s) for submission of coursework and when the practical assessment(s)/ exam(s) will be rescheduled in Section B, as appropriate.

If Rejected please give details (eg non-submitted/insufficient evidence, grounds not established, deadline missed, Policy terms not met) Reason to be included in email to student

Email sent to student confirming approval/rejection Date Copy of email sent to: Personal/Module Tutors and Programme Leader (UG/PG students) or Director of Studies (Postgraduate Research students)

Copy of approved form returned to the student Date Authorising signature Stamp

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