Extenuating Circumstances

Your own time management:

• You slept in or your alarm clock did not go off 
• Car broke down, train/bus delayed or cancelled, other public transport problems (unless you can show that you’d made reasonable allowance for such disruption)
• Misreading timetables of any kind, or time management problems, such as assessment deadlines close to each other

Life events:

• Holidays, house moves, family celebrations or other events where you either have control over the date or may choose not to participate
• Appointments of any kind, including legal or medical appointments, which could be rearranged
• Minor accidents or illness affecting relatives or friends unless serious you are a sole carer
• Childcare problems, or problems with similar caring responsibilities which could have been anticipated 
• Financial problems, other than cases of exceptional hardship or significant changes in financial circumstances since enrolment
• Sporting, recreational or voluntary commitments (unless you are representing University Centre South Devon at national level or your country at international level, or participating in an event that is of benefit to University Centre South Devon’s national or international reputation)

Computer problems:

• Corrupt data or media
• Poor internet connectivity
• Printer failure
• E-Submissions of an assessment file in an incorrect format or of the wrong file by
  accident
• Re-submission of an assessment accidentally after the deadline
• Submission of an assessment file in an incorrect format or of the wrong file by accident
• Lack of access to IT facilities due to debt sanctions imposed by South Devon College

Other:

• Unspecified short-term anxiety, mild depression or examination stress
• Problems with postal delivery of work (unless recorded delivery or registered mail)

Your own health problems:

• Mental health issues
• Major accident or injury
• Acute conditions
• Hospitalisation, including operations or those affecting a significant period of study
• Personal or psychological problems for which you are receiving counselling, or have been referred to a counsellor or similarly qualified practitioner
• Cough/cold/sore throats or other minor illness, such as minor viral infection, only if it is incapacitating and at its peak at the time of a time-specific assessment, such as an exam, test, performance or presentation
• following NHS advice to self-isolate or otherwise restrict mixing with others, even when
  asymptomatic or with mild symptoms

Significant life events:

• Pregnancy-related conditions, childbirth (including a partner or surrogate in labour) or adoption
• Bereavement causing significant impact
• Separation or divorce of yourself or your parents
• Weddings or civil partnership ceremonies of close family members
• Representing University Centre South Devon at national level or your country at international level, or participation in an event that is of benefit to University Centre South Devon’s national or international reputation

Unexpected disruption or events:

• Recent burglary, theft or serious car accident
• Jury service that cannot be deferred
• For part-time students in full-time employment, exceptional pressure of work or permanent change of employment circumstances
• Emergency or temporary measures enacted by the government such as lockdowns, limitations on movement or travel
• Serious accidents or illness affecting family/friends

Assessment issues:

• Unavailability of the VLE prior to the deadline for an assignment or examination where it has been confirmed by the module lead that this would have a significant impact on the preparation for an assessment or exam
• Late diagnosis of, for example, dyslexia, resulting in no support or examination provision
• Examination disruption (e.g. fire alarm going off; excessive noise from building works)

If you are experiencing circumstances that affect you for up to 5 working days, you can apply for a self certified 5 day extension.  You can only apply for a self certified extension once per academic year. For a self certified application, you only need to submit an extenuating circumstances claim form, you do not need to submit any evidence with it. This is referred to as a ‘self-certified’ claim.

If you have already used your self certified opportunity, you can submit further 5 day extention requests but you will need to provide evidence.

You should clearly explain in your claim form what the issue is and how it is affecting your ability to attend or complete the assessment(s). The evidence submitted with your claim form should:

• be independent and written by appropriately qualified professionals
• confirm the nature and timing of the circumstances, and that the circumstances were witnessed on the relevant date and not reported retrospectively
• be on headed paper, signed and dated by the author

Examples of evidence likely to be acceptable include:

• A medical note confirming a mental or physical health condition, provided at the time when you were suffering from that condition
• A letter from a counsellor confirming a personal, psychological or emotional problem for which you have been receiving counselling
• An official document such as a police report including a police reference number, court summons or other legal document
• A letter from a solicitor, social worker or other official agency
• An insurance claim document supported by a letter from the insurance company
• For students in full-time employment, wishing to make a claim based on exceptional pressures in their employer, a letter from your employer that confirms the particular circumstances, explains why they are exceptional and outside your control and formally supports your claim.

For any other type of assessment, such as an exam, an opportunity for re-assessment at the next opportunity, without penalty, depending on the decision of the Award Assessment Board. Please refer to the ‘Applying for non submission’ FAQ below.

If you are experiencing circumstances that affect you for more than 5 working days, you must submit evidence with your claim form, unless you have submitted a valid Long Term Health Conditions notification form.

You should clearly explain in your claim form what the issue is and how it is affecting your ability to attend or complete the assessment(s). The evidence submitted with your claim form should:

• be independent and written by appropriately qualified professionals
• confirm the nature and timing of the circumstances, and that the circumstances were witnessed on the relevant date and not reported retrospectively
• be on headed paper, signed and dated by the author

Examples of evidence likely to be acceptable include:

• A medical note confirming a mental or physical health condition, provided at the time when you were suffering from that condition
• A letter from a counsellor confirming a personal, psychological or emotional problem for which you have been receiving counselling
• An official document such as a police report including a police reference number, court summons or other legal document
• A letter from a solicitor, social worker or other official agency
• An insurance claim document supported by a letter from the insurance company
• For students in full-time employment, wishing to make a claim based on exceptional pressures in their employer, a letter from your employer that confirms the particular circumstances, explains why they are exceptional and outside your control and formally supports your claim.

For any other type of assessment, such as an exam, an opportunity for re-assessment at the next opportunity, without penalty, depending on the decision of the Award Assessment Board. Please refer to the ‘Applying for non submission’ FAQ below.

If your circumstances means you are unable to submit within 5 working days (10 working days for University Centre South Devon awarded programmes) of the original deadline for coursework assessments, or you are applying for ECs for any other type of assessment, you can apply for a non-submission.

Non submission means you could submit at the next available opportunity (usually the Referral period following the Award Assessment Board relevant to your programme) without penalty, depending on the decision of the Award Assessment Board. There is a limit to the amount of reassessment allowed in the referral period; a module that is not achieved because of extenuating circumstances will count towards this limit.

If your application is valid, you could be eligible to resubmit over the referral period as the same attempt. Where you are given a re-assessment opportunity as a result of valid extenuating circumstances, this will include all components of an element of assessment and any previous component marks will be overwritten.

If you have been given the opportunity to complete module/s as a ‘referral’ (details of any referral work required accompanies your transcript) you may apply for extenuating circumstances using the application form below titled ‘Referral Extenuating Circumstances Claim’. During the referral period, if valid, an extension will be no more than five working days.

Please note that if you have used your 1x self certified claim in the academic year, you will not be able to apply for a self certified claim in the referral period.

If your extenuating circumstances do not permit you to submit a referral assessment within five working days, you may be able to apply for non-submission of an assessment with valid evidence. However there are implications for non-submission of an assessment, particularly for students who wish to progress to another provider and attend graduation. Please contact the HE Study team via the contact details below to discuss this option, before submitting a claim.