Absences and Extenuating Circumstances

accidents

Please Note that you cannot be absent during term time without written agreement from your advisor or student support officer


Absences

Students cannot be absent from Queen Mary University of London during term-time without obtaining written agreement in advance from the School of Mathematical Sciences.

If you are unable to attend any scheduled teaching or Advisor meetings then please notify the School of Mathematical Sciences of your absence via email prior to the scheduled activity -  maths@qmul.ac.uk. 

You need to include the scheduled teaching activity/s and/or meeting/s you are missing including the reason for your absence. A member of the Education Services Team will notify you if your absence has been approved.

In advance of deregistration you will be sent a formal, written warning and a specified period in which you must improve your engagement, attendance, participation, or submission of assessment before deregistration from your programme of study occurs.

Further information can be found in the Academic Regulations (point 2.57 onward).

If you are absent for more than 5 weekdays you may be asked to provide supporting documentary evidence such as a letter from your GP.


Extenuating Circumstances


All extenuating circumstance claims or queries should be directed to the Education Services Team.


Extenuating circumstances are defined by Queen Mary as:

 

Circumstances that are outside a student’s control which may have a negative impact on a student’s ability to undertake or complete any assessment so as to cast doubt on the likely validity of the assessment as a measure of the student’s achievement.

 

Extenuating circumstances are usually personal or health problems. Health problems include your emotional wellbeing and mental health, as well as your physical health. Extenuating circumstances do not include computer problems, misreading your exam timetable, planned holidays or events, or local transport delays.

 

In order to be valid, the extenuating circumstances must be:

•     unplanned;

•     outside of the student’s control;

•     such that there has been a negative impact on the ability to undertake or complete any assessment;

•     cast doubt on the likely validity of the assessment as a measure of the student’s achievement.

 

Queen Mary operates a fit to sit policy, which covers all assessments including coursework and exams. If you sit an exam or submit a piece of coursework you are deemed to be fit to do so. In such instances a request for extenuating circumstances will not normally be considered. If you do not feel you are well enough to attend an invigilated exam then you should not attend and should submit a claim for extenuating circumstances instead. You will need to attend a medical consultation within three days of the date of your exam that you missed. Similarly if you get sick during an exam and have to leave you will need to attend a medical consultation within three days.


To submit an extenuating circumstance request you must log a claim through the online extenuating circumstances task on MySIS (https://mysis.qmul.ac.uk/) and following the instructions there. Claims must be submitted by the relevant deadlines which are noted below or on the key date’s chapter of this handbook. If you have any queries please email maths@qmul.ac.uk.

 

Your claim must be accompanied by relevant supporting evidence (for example medical certification, death certificate, police report and crime number, or other written evidence from a person in authority). Please note that although accompanying documentation can be submitted after the claim, claims without any evidence cannot be considered except in the limited cases permitted for self-certification, below. It is in your best interest to provide evidence and supporting documentation that is as comprehensive as possible.

 

You are entitled to self-certify on up to three occasions each academic year; each self-certification can cover a period of up to seven calendar days. This means completing and submitting the Queen Mary self-certification form in place of independent evidence. Please note that self-certification does not mean automatic approval of a claim – The School of Mathematical Sciences will consider it in the normal way and will need to be satisfied of the validity of the claim, and satisfied that it justifies the outcome. Any claims beyond those three must be accompanied by evidence, as described above.

 

When you submit an extenuating circumstance claim you will receive a formal acknowledgement, you must keep this safe for the duration of your studies. All claims must be received by the relevant deadlines which are noted below or on the key date’s chapter of this handbook.

 

All extenuating circumstances claims are kept confidential until they are considered by the School of Mathematical Sciences Subject Examination Board. All proceedings of the subcommittee are strictly confidential, and will not normally be discussed at the full examination board meeting.

 

It is your own responsibility to submit any claims for extenuating circumstances, not that of your tutor or staff member. Please ensure that if you have what you believe is a valid case, you complete the submission process in accordance with the set guidelines and deadlines.

 

It is not possible to make a retrospective claim for extenuating circumstances, specifically once you know your results. Therefore claims submitted after the deadline will not be considered by the examination board. Please refer to the full guidance notes on extenuating circumstances from the Advice and Counselling service or online at https://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/guides-and-forms/student-advice-guides



EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES CLAIM DEADLINES

You must submit claims as soon as possible and at the latest by:

Friday 10th January 2025 at 5pm

for matters relating to Semester A (for all assessments during Semester A and not for Exams taken in the January 2025 Examination period; the deadline for this is below)

Friday 14th February 2025 at 5pm

for matters relating to Semester A Examination Period - January 2025

 

Friday 9th May 2025 at 5pm

for matters relating to Semester B (for all assessments during Semester B and not for Exams taken in the Main Examination period for Semester 2 & Year Long Modules; the deadline for this is below)

 

Friday 13th June 2025 at 5pm

for matters relating to Main Examination period for Semester 2 & Year Long Modules

 

Tuesday 19th August 2025 at 5pm

for matters relating to Late Summer exam period

 


Claims submitted after the relevant deadline will not be considered.



Missed Examinations


Note that if you attend an examination but later tell us that you were ill during the examination we cannot normally grant you an approved EC. If you feel ill before an examination then it may be best not to attend the examination but instead to seek medical advice and submit a medical certificate.


Retaking the Year

If you expect that you might not meet the hurdle to progress, but have extenuating circumstances, you may be able to retake the year. In order to be considered for a retake, you must inform the Student Support Officer about your extenuating circumstances before the end of the Main examination period, i.e. before you know any of your examination results. You must demonstrate that significant extenuating circumstances have been present for much of the academic year, which, for example, have led to your missing large parts of Semester A or B. Normally, extenuating circumstances covering only parts of the revision period or the examination period are insufficient.

You should provide the Education Services Team with a one-page summary detailing your case. Summarise briefly any extenuating circumstances affecting the current year and, where appropriate, refer to extenuating circumstances forms you submitted earlier. For recent occurrences that have not been covered by previously submitted extenuating circumstances forms, you should also submit a new extenuating circumstances form. The Education Services Team will be able to advise you on whether a request to retake the year might be successful. If you want to go ahead with a retake request, you need to complete a Queen Mary Retake of Academic Year form, which is available from the Maths Office or Student Enquiry Centre, room CB01 in the Queens' Building. Hand in all completed forms to the Maths Office.


Interruption of Studies or Withdrawal

If you decide to withdraw from Queen Mary, either temporarily or permanently, you should discuss the matter with your Advisor and read the Your study web site. If you decide to proceed, you must complete an "Interruption of study" or "Withdrawal from Queen Mary" form, which is available from the Maths School Office or the Student Enquiry Centre or the Your study web site. Then take the form to the Education Services Team, who will want to discuss it with you before agreeing to sign it. Further information can be found here - 

http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/study/withdrawing/index.html

If you wish to interrupt, i.e. withdraw temporarily, then you must do so by the set deadline stated on the interruption form. Interruption of studies is normally for one complete year but, in exceptional circumstances, the period may be up to two years. Please contact the Education Services Team to discuss this further, If you interrupt your studies then you lose the automatic right to enter examinations for modules that you took before you interrupted, and we will not allow you to enter for any examination in which you would be the only candidate. Further information can be found here - 

http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/study/interrupting/index.html

If you are looking to interrupt your studies or withdrawing from your studies you need to contact the Education Services Team to discuss both procedures. Interruption of Studies or Withdrawal forms can only be authorised by the Education Services Team.