Extenuating circumstances (ECs) application processes and regulations are changing for the 22/23 academic year. This page is intended to explain these changes to students for the upcoming year. The changes do not impact anyone taking assessments in the 2022 Late Summer Assessment period as the changes will take effect as of September 19th 2022.
Here is how they are changing:
self-certs will be limited to one per semester
Currently students can apply for three self-certified ECs a year, at any point within that academic year.
The changes mean you will be limited to only one self-certified EC per semester. This means you will only be allowed to self-certify:
- once during semester 1
- once during semester 2
- once during the Late Summer Assessment period in August/September 2023
All other ECs will need to be evidenced.
EC deadlines for coursework are changing
Currently, when students submit an EC for a coursework extension, their new deadline is dependent on the evidence they supply, when they apply for their EC and how long their outcome takes. We know this can get confusing for students.
The changes to the regulations means that regardless of your evidence, self-cert or when you apply for your EC, your deadline is already set for you.
All coursework from the 19th September 2023, will now have three deadlines:
- The original deadline (no ECs submitted)
- If you submit a self-cert and it is accepted: your deadline will always be 5 working* days after the original deadline
- If you submit an evidenced EC and it is accepted: your deadline will always be 10 working* days after the original deadline
- If you submit an evidenced EC for and extension longer than 10 working* days, your assessment will be deferred
Students will no longer be able to apply for more than a 10 working day extension to coursework, unless they have compelling evidence that would lead to an unreasonable disadvantage.
*University working days do not include holiday closures (winter break and Easter break), Bank holidays or weekends.
Self-certified ECs will now be processed without evidence
Self-certified ECs will now be y accepted by the University without evidence, and so you should receive your outcome within 5 days
Please do know that the University reserve the right to investigate any EC that is not within the valid grounds to EC, as per the regulations, which means you do still need valid grounds to apply.
When you can revoke an EC
Currently, students cannot revoke an EC application if it has been accepted by the University.
The changes to the regulations means that students CAN now take away and revoke an accepted EC by the University, with restrictions:
- Accepted self-certified ECs: can be revoked up until the deadline or start time of an assessment. Once the assessment has started or deadline passed, you can no longer withdraw your request for an EC
- Accepted evidenced ECs: can be revoked up until the deadline or start time of an assessment. Once the assessment has started or deadline passed, you can no longer withdraw your request for an EC
- Pending evidenced ECs (where you dont yet have the outcome): Can be revoked after an exam, assessment or deadline if the EC has not yet been accepted. However, students will need to provide good reasons why they were unable to revoke their EC before the start time or deadline.
