Extenuating Circumstances

Your responsibilities

Before making an extenuating circumstances claim, you should carefully read Extenuating Circumstances: a Guide for Students.

• This guide explains, step by step, how Queen Mary undergraduate students can apply and should be your main point of reference. Queen Mary’s Extenuating Circumstances Policy is available on the Policy Zone webpage. All students are required to familiarise themselves with this policy and to engage with the procedures outlined therein in good faith and with respect. 

If you have any queries about the process, you can contact the Undergraduate Student Support Officer by visiting the School office when open (3rd floor, Graduate Centre, 09:30 - 16:30), or by raising an enquiry via AskQM.

When to claim

You should submit your extenuating circumstances application as soon as possible after your deadline or exam. Normally, the University expects:

• Coursework – claims within 7 calendar days of the submission deadline
• Exams – claims within 3 calendar days after the last day of the exam period (See section 1.1 of the UG Handbook for the Academic Calendar.)

More information under section ‘When to Claim’ in Extenuating Circumstances: a Guide for Students.

Additional evidence can still be requested

Whether students submit a self-certification or standard claim, additional evidence can still be requested in order to assess a claim. Evidence must be in English or translated by an accredited translator.

When you will be notified of the outcome of your EC claim.

• Coursework: the student should expect to be notified of the outcome as soon as possible and within 5 working days. Students requesting an extended deadline should always continue working on their assessment and not wait for an outcome from their claim.
• Exams: Outcomes will normally be published after the examination and within 10 working days of the end of the examination period.
• Where the claim is referred to the oversight panel, the student will be notified of when they should expect to hear the outcome.

Additional Support 

You are also welcome to contact the Advice and Counselling Service if you would like professional support with any personal, emotional, financial, or other welfare issues that might have contributed to your extenuating circumstances claim. 

The Academic Advice Service at Queen Mary Students’ Union provides independent and impartial advice on extenuating circumstances claims. You can also get independent advice about your rights and entitlements under the university’s regulations and procedures. 

Requesting an alternative assessment

A student with a registered disability (on the advice of the Disability and Dyslexia Service) may wish to discuss the possibility of requesting an alternative assessment should they find themselves in a situation where their disability or long-term medical condition makes meeting those assessment methods difficult or impossible. Applications for alternative assessments should be made as early as possible in the semester in which the module is taken, as academic staff need time to write new essay or exam questions and to gain the agreement of the School and colleagues in Academic Registry and Council Secretariat. The university cannot guarantee that it will be possible to implement any requests for alternative assessments made after the Examination Access Arrangement deadline in each semester.  See the Disability and Dyslexia Service’s exams webpage for more information. If there is not sufficient time to process this request before the assessment deadline, the student should consider applying for extenuating circumstances to explain their circumstances and that they are awaiting a review by DDS.

If you feel that your ongoing health or personal circumstances are making it difficult for you to manage your studies, you may need to consider taking a break from your programme. This is called an ‘Interruption of Study’ and basically means that you ask the university for permission to take a break from your studies and return in the future when your health or your personal situation is more manageable. For more information about how to request an interruption of study, and to find out about the practical and financial implications of doing so, see the Advice and Counselling Service’s guide on Interrupting your Studies.

All information you include in your EC application remain confidential and will only be seen by the EC assessors. We might also reach out to you to see if you need any support.