Student Handbook - Moodle Book

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

If you believe that your ability to attend or submit a particular item of assessment has been negatively impacted by circumstances outside of your control and so as to cast doubt on the likely validity of the assessment as a measure of your achievement, you may wish to submit a claim for extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances include illness, death of a close relative, etc. Extenuating circumstances do not include computer problems, misreading your exam timetable, employer commitments, planned holidays or local transport delays. The College provides further guidance here: http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/examinations/extenuating_circumstances/index.html

 

Where any form of assessment is concerned (e.g. a deadline for an assessed essay, or performance in an examination), a formal procedure must be followed if you wish the extenuating circumstances to be taken into account, and these are outlined below. However, you must recognise that the School and College have limited powers to make allowances for the effects of extenuating circumstances. The School Board of Examiners is required by the College regulations to measure achievement, not potential: what a student has done, not what s/he might have been able to do if there had been no problems. Therefore the only claims for extenuating circumstances which we are allowed to consider are those that cast doubt upon the validity of an assessment as a measure of achievement, and are also outside the student’s control. This excludes circumstances which have had no bearing upon the assessment: e.g., absence from part of the teaching due to illness. You may not have reached your full potential, but this has not affected the validity of the assessment, which has demonstrated your level of achievement. Whilst we may be able to consider such circumstances in relation to progression – e.g. whether you might be allowed to first-take or re-sit the module – we may not be permitted to take them into account when considering your overall performance.

 

Extenuating circumstances during Semesters One and Two

During the teaching semesters, extenuating circumstances may affect your ability to attend classes or meet coursework deadlines.

 

Absence from classes

Noting what is said under Attendance in § 2.2 THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE, as a matter of courtesy you should explain your absence to the module teacher, keep your Adviser informed, and provide a medical certificate or similar document as necessary. However, if you are prevented from attending a significant number of classes you may need to consider whether you will be able to recover lost ground, and you should discuss your situation with your Adviser and/ or the Student Experience Manager. You may wish to consider formally Interrupting your studies if you need to be absent for a significant period during one year, and restarting your studies in September or January of the next year, after your situation has ‘normalised’.

 

Extensions to assessed coursework deadlines

If you are unable to meet an assessed coursework deadline owing to extenuating circumstances you may submit a claim for extenuating circumstances to apply for an extension. This should be at least ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE of the deadline. This applies even if a deadline falls at the very beginning of a semester. The same applies if your assessment is an in-class test during Semester One or Two, which is treated as coursework by the College systems. For in-class tests, an ‘extension’, if your claim is accepted, would normally take the form of a new opportunity to sit the test.

 

You will need to submit your claim using the School’s online form here:http://www-dev.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/current-undergraduate-students/Extenuating_Circumstances . The reasons for the request must be explained by you and all required information must be included on the form. You will also be required to supply supporting documentation, e.g. a medical certificate or equivalent, as requested. Incomplete applications will be rejected. You will need to make an appointment to discuss your claim with the Senior Tutor for your year of study.

 

If you have missed a deadline or in-class test owing to extenuating circumstances on the day of the deadline, you should submit your claim as soon as you can.  In such cases, it is acceptable to seek an extension after the event.  However, this should normally be within three working days of the deadline.

 

Extension of a deadline will ONLY be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances; it is not an automatic right. You will not be granted an extension for foreseeable problems, such as conflicting deadlines, difficulty in obtaining books from the Library, or having to take paid work, nor for short-term or last-minute problems such as transport delays or IT problems. Remember that, unless an extension has been agreed, a late essay will receive a mark of no more than 40% (a bare pass) if submitted within two weeks, and a mark of zero if submitted more than two weeks late.  All written coursework is submitted electronically via QM+, which automatically gives a date and time for the submission. This means we are very strict—five minutes late is still late and will incur the penalty of the 40% cap.

 

The School’s policy is that coursework must not be allowed to interfere with your revision time for written exams. For this reason, most deadlines are set for no later than the end of the second semester. The latest deadline for any coursework is the first day of the Examination Term, and no extensions will be granted beyond the end of the first week of the Examination Term to students who have written exams to take. If you are not able to submit your coursework by the end of the first week, you must instead follow the procedure outline below for extenuating circumstances during the Examination Term.

 

Extensions to deadlines for coursework which does not form part of the assessment are at the discretion of the Module Organiser.

 

Extenuating circumstances during the Examination Term

If you do not feel you are well enough to attend any invigilated examinations then you should not attend, but must submit a claim for extenuating circumstances instead. You should note that the Academic Regulations state that if you attend an examination then you will be deemed to have declared yourself well enough to sit it and as a result any extenuating circumstances claim will not be considered. This rule is strictly adhered to.

 

You must fill in the online claim form at http://www-dev.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/current-undergraduate-students/Extenuating_Circumstances, giving the nature of the circumstances and how they have affected you. This statement must be corroborated by appropriate documentation (e.g. a medical certificate - self-certification is not permissible). These documents are then considered by the Extenuating Circumstances Committee of the School Board of Examiners so that your examination performance may be considered in relation to your plea of extenuating circumstances. All cases of extenuating circumstances are kept confidential until they are considered by this Extenuating Circumstances Committee, and its proceedings are strictly confidential. Details of individual claims will not normally be discussed at the full Examination Board meeting.

 

In accordance with the Academic Regulations all claims must be received no later than three working days before the relevant extenuating circumstances committee meeting.  This means the deadline in 2013-14 will be 10 June 2014. Please note that although accompanying documentation can be submitted late in exceptional circumstance, claims without any evidence cannot be considered.  It is in your best interest to provide evidence and supporting documentation that is as comprehensive as possible

 

The School will inform you of the result of your application after the Examination Boards have met in early July. If you have missed an examination and your extenuating circumstances have been accepted by the examination board you will likely be offered either a first sit or in very exceptional circumstances a first-take (see § 5.2 EXAMINATIONS PROCESS for further detail). If you have sat all your examinations and your circumstances have been accepted by the examination board it will be likely that no action will be taken at the moment, but the information will remain on file to be considered in the context of classification (see § 5.3 DEGREE CLASSIFICATION for further detail).

 

Please note that submission of an application for extenuating circumstances does not automatically mean that your circumstances will be accepted by the Examination Board. The scenarios outlined above are only likely outcomes and the Board is free to use its discretion to decide on any course of action that is permitted within the Academic Regulations.

 

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 http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/documents/leaflets/extcircs/5069.pdf