Five Things to Remember when applying for Extenuating Circumstances

 

1. It will take time to get a reply from the Academic Admin team

We know it can feel like forever when you you are stressed, particularly if you are unwell, but there will not be an instant answer as to if your EC has been accepted. During the assessment period Academic Admin are experiencing a high number of EC applications, so this will slow down response time too. With self-cert ECs, students usually get a response pretty quickly, however, at this time of year there will be an increased delay in finding out if they have been approved... if you don't hear anything after 3 - 5 working days then please contact us.

2. Don't rush the application and check it before you hit submit

It is understandable that students already feeling unwell or stressed will accidently select the wrong assignment or miss off an assessment when making their application. But in the end, it creates further stress for you if you then have to put time and energy into correcting the issue. These things happen, so if this happens to you, don't worry, you can get in touch with us at SU advice and we will be happy to advise. However, our top tip is don't rush the EC application - double and triple check it before you submit. That way you can focus on looking after yourself!

In our experience sometimes the mistakes that are much harder to sort out later with ECs are the ones a student made and did not realise, so check, check, check... before you submit!

3. You need to meet the EC grounds

 

When applying for an EC always check on what grounds you can apply and if you are meeting them with your application. This goes for self-certs too, while they do not require evidence they still need to meet the grounds. So things like going on holiday, family celebrations, pre-booked travel plans etc. are not going to be accepted. This last point is really important - the University operates from a place whereby it expects students to be available for assessment periods, that is why they publish all the dates for the assessment periods well ahead of time. 

 

4. Get that EC in

This applies to self-cert ECs ahead of the deadline, because once the assessment is due/happening you will not be able to use it. This type of EC can cover a 5-day period, but it cannot include assessments that are in progress or have passed.

This applies to evidence-based ECs when it comes to evidence, of course, if you have the evidence ready to go, then great. But if you are waiting on a piece of evidence (for example being sent through a doctor's note) and are concerned that your application will be late - get that EC in and clearly state what the evidence is that you are waiting on and that you will submit it as soon as you have it. 

5. Technical Issues require specific actions

The University require you to do certain things at the time, so make sure you know what: