Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure · Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure: Academic Registry - updated September 2017 2 2.4 It is the responsibility of any

Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure With effect from September 2017

Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure: Academic Registry - updated September 2017 1

1. PRINCIPLES 1.1 The University has a duty to each individual student to ensure that assessments are

conducted fairly, and that each student has the opportunity to demonstrate their true level of academic performance.

1.2 Recognising that students may sometimes suffer serious illness or other problems

which are outside their control and which may prevent them from showing their real level of performance, the University has a system whereby students who have been affected by such problems can put forward extenuating claims for consideration.

1.3 Faculties will hold Extenuation Panel(s) which shall act with delegated authority

from Progression and Award Boards to oversee the consideration of all claims relating to extenuating circumstances. The Extenuation Panel: (a) shall consist of a Chair who will be either the Faculty Director of Learning and

Teaching or Director of Student Experience, a Secretary from the Faculty administration team, a representative from the Academic Quality Unit and additional membership determined by the Faculty Board(s);

(b) shall organise its deliberations so as to try to seek neutrality in decision making – i.e. if the Panel includes the student’s Programme Leader, personal tutor or Course Leaders (for example), those people would not normally comment on the case.

1.4 Students may still have to undertake assessment to demonstrate that they have

achieved the required learning outcomes at a point in time when the extenuating circumstances no longer affect the student’s performance. An extenuating circumstances claim may not necessarily affect the academic judgement of Progression and Award Boards.

2. SCOPE 2.1 This Policy applies to all taught programmes leading to an award of the University of

Greenwich. 2.2 This Policy applies to partnership provision unless specific alternative arrangements

have been agreed between the University of Greenwich and the partner institution and is included in the Memorandum of Agreement.

2.3 Timing of claims:

a) Claims relating to impaired performance of coursework may be made up to 4 weeks before the assessment is due or at the time of the assessment being due, but not retrospectively. This includes work affected by extenuation which is handed in by submission deadlines AND also work submitted within 10 working days of the submission deadline.

b) Claims relating to circumstances resulting in a need for up to 10 extra working days to submit should be made at the time the assessment is due and not retrospectively.

c) Claims relating to the non-attendance of examinations must be made within 5 working days from the date of the missed examination.


2.4 It is the responsibility of any students with a long-term condition or problem which may affect their study and assessment to seek advice as early as possible and use the support services available through the University to ensure that they can study and undergo formal assessment in the way which meets their special needs but still allows them to demonstrate their real academic ability. (See Examination & Assessment Regulations for Students with Disabilities, Specific Learning Difficulties and Long-Term Medical Conditions, Feb 2015).

2.5 Submissions of extenuating circumstances will not be valid without independent

evidence. Extenuation Panels will deem such claims to be invalid or request evidence before further consideration.

2.6 It is recognised that the submission of such evidence may be related to sensitive and

distressing circumstances. Students seeking guidance can do so through Student Centre or through the Students' Union Advice Service – www.suug.co.uk/welfare (Students in Partner organisations should seek guidance through their own Student Centre or counselling departments) and will be given as much assistance as possible.

2.7 Coursework submitted up to ten working days after the official submission deadline

set by the Course Leader will be accepted and marked and, if it meets the criteria for a ‘pass’, the mark will be capped at 40% (50% for postgraduate programmes). Where coursework is submitted up to ten working days after the set deadline and an Extenuation Panel has accepted as valid the reason for the late submission no capping will be imposed on the coursework mark (see Section 4: Extenuation Panels).

2.8 Coursework will not be marked if received later than ten working days after the set

deadline for submission and, in such circumstances, a non-submission will be recorded against this item of assessment.

2.9 It is possible, and encouraged, that students should opt to submit or participate in

assessment by the original date, even if extenuation has been approved. However, in all cases the grade awarded will be entered into the student’s transcript. Where the assessment has been passed but the grades reflect “below expectation” levels of performance because of the extenuation, a further opportunity to undertake a ‘deferred resit’ or ‘deferred repeat’ to improve upon impaired performance may be given at the discretion of the Progression and Award Board.

2.10 Claims relating to multiple assessments/examinations affected, which can be

covered by the same extenuating circumstance should be detailed on a single claim. Or, where appropriate to ensure the student makes timely applications, multiple claims may be submitted.

2.11 When submitting claims for extenuation a student will need to demonstrate that the circumstances claimed had affected them at the time of a formal assessment or in the period immediately leading up to an assessment. A long term condition or problem will not be treated as extenuating circumstances, unless it can be shown that the condition or problem was exacerbated by circumstances occurring during or close to the assessment period.


3. PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES 3.1 All claims of extenuating circumstances must be submitted via the University’s

online form through the portal supported by independent evidence. Please see Appendix B for full details and guidance on how to submit an Extenuating

Circumstances claim. 4. EXTENUATION PANELS 4.1 The Extenuation Panel shall meet sufficiently frequently to oversee the extenuating

circumstances claims received (the number of occasions to be determined with reference to key dates for coursework submissions and examinations). The Extenuation Panel may delegate some decision making on the straightforward types of extenuation claims to an officer (e.g. the Secretary or Chair) who will make determinations on the straightforward claims according to decision making protocols set out by the Extenuation Panel.

4.2 All claims for extenuating circumstances shall be dealt with promptly by the

Extenuation Panel and decisions will be communicated to the Progression and Award Board and individual students. The target timeframe for responses shall be: a) Once the student has submitted their claim they shall receive an automatic

email acknowledging that their Extenuating Circumstances form has been submitted.

b) An initial decision on the extenuation claim should normally be communicated

to the student by the Extenuation Panel within 15 working days. The decision may not be final at this point and might possibly include a request for more information or a decision to refer the claim to the Extenuation Panel.

4.3 The records of the Extenuation Panel will be taken into consideration by the Progression and Award Board when reaching a decision for individual candidates.


Appendix A GUIDANCE ON CIRCUMSTANCES AND REQUIRED EVIDENCE It is important that students understand what kinds of circumstances could be treated as extenuating circumstances, and that problems arising from their own negligence or inability to organise their time, will not be considered. Extenuating Circumstances are normally defined as circumstances which: • impair your performance in assessment or reassessment, or • prevent you from attending for assessment or reassessment, or • prevent you from submitting assessed or reassessed work by the scheduled date

Such circumstances rarely occur and would normally be • unforeseeable in that you could have no prior knowledge of the event concerned, and • unpreventable in that you could do nothing reasonably in your power to prevent such

an event, and • expected to have a serious impact on performance

Students are expected to make reasonable plans to take into account circumstances even those which, on occasion, may have been unforeseeable and unpreventable. What is meant by a serious impact on performance? Many things may have an impact on performance – a poor night’s sleep, a minor illness (such as a cough or cold), a minor injury, financial worries etc. These will often impact on performance but would not be expected to have a serious impact and so would not be acceptable as extenuating circumstances. Most students experience a certain amount of stress at periods of formal assessment. It is expected that individuals studying in higher education will develop the ability to deal with this and to produce satisfactory work whilst meeting deadlines. “Examination stress” or stress in a practice placement, shall not in and of itself be considered as an extenuating circumstance. A student might wish to claim that extenuating circumstances have contributed materially or significantly to poor performance in any formally assessed work, absence from examination or other assessment event, or failure in examination or other assessed work. Prior consultation with the Programme Leader or Personal tutor is advisable. A student might wish to claim that extenuating circumstances have contributed to a failure to submit work within published deadlines. Valid extenuating circumstances and valid evidence would normally fall into the categories shown below. This is given without prejudice and for general guidance; it is not exhaustive, definitive or prescriptive. The University considers each claim of extenuating circumstances on its own merits, as an individual case and according to the relevant procedure. Claims of extenuating circumstances without independent evidence will not be considered unless the circumstances are exceptional.


CIRCUMSTANCE REQUIRED EVIDENCE COMMENTS

Illness An original medical certificate or letter from an appropriate medical professional or a letter from the University Counselling Service (or equivalent) confirming the nature of the illness and the likely impact it is having on the student's ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

Short-term illness (less than 7 days) will not generally be regarded as an extenuating circumstance with regard to assessed coursework, where the student is given a number of weeks/months to complete and submit such work, although a Faculty may decide to grant an extension dependent on individual circumstances.

Hospitalisation A medical letter/certificate from the relevant hospital confirming the nature and severity of the student's circumstances and the likely period of impact on the student's ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

Family illness A medical certificate/letter from an independent medical professional confirming the nature and severity of the family circumstances and the likely impact it is having on the student's ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

Bereavement A death certificate or a letter confirming the death from an independent person (usually not a family member) with their contact details provided and including a view on the closeness of the relationship.

Only applicable where there is a demonstrably close relationship between the student and the deceased.

Acute Personal/ Emotional Circumstances

An original medical certificate or letter from an appropriate medical professional or a letter from the University Counselling Service (or equivalent) confirming the nature of the illness and/or circumstances and the likely impact it is having on the student's ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

If the particular circumstances are so severe that the student would not want the information to be seen by anyone, then the Counsellor can write to the Chair of the Extenuation Panel(s) direct on behalf of the student outlining the circumstances and their findings following consultation over a period of time. The Counsellor will need to see any documentary evidence supplied by the student in order to be able to confirm that the facts have been verified.

Pregnancy A medical certificate/letter from an independent medical professional confirming the nature and severity of the family circumstances and the likely impact it is having on the student's ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

Students who are pregnant should follow the guidance in this document. In some cases it may be appropriate to use this procedure (e.g. a specific illness caused by the pregnancy), in which case the requirements for illness or hospitalisation above should be followed.


CIRCUMSTANCE REQUIRED EVIDENCE COMMENTS

Victim of crime A written statement of events which is supported by written evidence from the Police (including a crime reference number). Where the impact of the crime has led to a medical or other professional consultation, an original medical certificate or letter from an appropriate medical professional or a letter from the University Counselling Service (or equivalent) confirming the likely impact the reported crime had/is having on the student's ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

Domestic Disruption Where significant and unforeseen domestic disruption has occurred very close to a timetabled examination a letter from an appropriate independent individual/authority detailing the relevant circumstances and an indication of the likely impact with their contact details provided.

This applies only in relation to examinations unless the circumstances are exceptionally severe and extended. Disturbances caused by housemates would generally be considered to be normal and therefore not acceptable as an extenuating circumstance.

Representing the University at a national event or involvement in some other significant/ prestigious event

A letter of confirmation from the relevant organising body and a supporting statement from the student explaining why the event should be considered as significant/prestigious and the reason(s) why they are required to be absent from University.

Jury Service (UK) A letter from the Court together with proof that a deferral has been requested and rejected or proof that a previous request for deferral has been accepted.

A student who is asked to undertake jury service that would affect their ability to meet any of the requirements of their programme should make a request to the Court for the Jury Service to be deferred. Only where the Court has refused such a deferral will Jury Service be considered as an acceptable extenuating circumstance. Deferral of Jury Service is only permitted once by the Courts.

Court Attendance (UK) Where a student is required to attend a tribunal or court as a witness, defendant or plaintiff the student should provide official correspondence from the tribunal/court confirming attendance or a solicitor’s letter detailing the nature and dates of the legal proceedings and the requirement for the student to attend.


The following are not ordinarily considered valid grounds for Extenuating Circumstances. The onus is on students to manage their life so that these types of occurrences can be handled if they arise. This is given for general guidance and is not exhaustive, definitive or prescriptive. Due regard should be given to the reasonableness of the outcome, and it may be that in some circumstances these examples would be deemed to be acceptable, particularly where the circumstances are exceptional or could not have been foreseen.

CIRCUMSTANCE COMMENTS

Transport issues It is expected that students will ensure that they arrive at the assessment on time, irrespective of the form of transport used or relied upon. An inability to travel as a result of circumstances beyond the student's control may though constitute sufficient cause. Students should, however, allow a reasonable contingency time in any travel arrangements made, as moderate delays are considered to be a normal expectation.

Holidays It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they are available for all study activities and all assessments in the main examination periods or offered in the reassessment period. All holidays should take place at a time that will not impact on the student's availability to study or undertake or prepare for an assessment(s).

Accommodation disturbances It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they have access to suitable accommodation, including for any assessments offered in the reassessment period, and therefore ongoing or foreseeable problems with accommodation are unlikely to constitute good case. Disturbances caused by housemates would generally be considered to be normal and therefore not acceptable as an extenuating circumstance.

Misreading the examination timetable

It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they know and remember the location, time and duration of all formal assessments.

Paid employment or voluntary work

It is expected that students will ensure that any paid employment or voluntary work does not interfere with their ability to engage with their studies or assessments. Where unforeseen or exceptional work commitments arise in the case of part-time students these may be considered to be acceptable dependent on individual circumstances.

Exam stress Feeling ‘below par', stressed and anxious leading up to and during an assessment(s) is a common experience of many students. It is not considered to be an acceptable extenuating circumstance unless a medical diagnosis of illness has been made.

IT and/or computer failure Loss or corruption of files is not an acceptable extenuating circumstance. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all work which is electronically stored, generated and/or submitted is sufficiently backed up.

Foreseeable/preventable circumstances

Where the circumstances are within the control of the student they are unlikely to constitute sufficient cause for failure to comply with the assessment requirements or engage fully with their studies.


CIRCUMSTANCE COMMENTS

Scheduling of assessments/deadline

Deadlines being close together or examinations scheduled close together are unlikely to constitute acceptable circumstances

Being reluctant to disclose the circumstances for any reason

The University can only consider circumstances if they are disclosed in accordance with this policy.

Submitting the same extenuating circumstances more than once except where the student has accessed appropriate support to manage the circumstances but there is an unexpected acute episode at a particularly significant time

Where a student has had extenuating circumstances for one period accepted but continues to be affected by or has a recurrence of the same circumstances, they should seek medical/other advice. If necessary they should either follow the procedure for Students with Long Term Conditions/Disabilities so that appropriate support for study or individual arrangements for examinations can be put in place or discuss with their School the possibility of voluntarily interrupting their studies until the circumstances have been resolved.

Criminal conviction If a student is convicted of a criminal offence any disruption caused by the investigation or sentence is not an acceptable extenuating circumstance.

Withdrawal of IT facilities or suspension for reason of debt

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/academicservices/qualitymanual/registrationattendanceandstudy/voluntary-interruption-of-study.aspx

Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure: Academic Registry – updated September 2017 9

Appendix B

Extenuating Circumstances:

Student System

Notes for Guidance

Last Updated: January 2017


Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................... 10 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 10 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 10

What are Extenuating Circumstances? ............................................................................................... 10 Accessing the system ....................................................................................................... 11

Starting and Logging into BannerWeb ................................................................................................ 11 Creating a new claim........................................................................................................ 12

Select a term ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Information Page ................................................................................................................................. 12 Summary of the Circumstances ........................................................................................................... 13 Duration of the Circumstances ............................................................................................................ 14 Discussions with Staff .......................................................................................................................... 14 Formal Assessments Affected .............................................................................................................. 14 Details of the Extenuating Circumstances ........................................................................................... 16 Uploading Evidence ............................................................................................................................. 16 Summary Page .................................................................................................................................... 19

View Existing Claims ........................................................................................................ 20 Select a term ........................................................................................................................................ 21

Claim Statuses ................................................................................................................. 22 Further Help .................................................................................................................... 22

Introduction This document is for student users of the University of Greenwich’s Extenuating Circumstances (EC) system. It assumes you have a basic understanding of how to use the Internet and a Web Browser (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox). Its purpose is to provide a general navigation guide to enable students to use the system.

Objectives • To learn an overview of the EC system and how it is used • To learn how to navigate within EC system, how to submit a claim, and review

completed/submitted claims

Overview

What are Extenuating Circumstances?

• Extenuating Circumstances are reasons provided to the Faculty that may affect the submission or quality of submitted assessments.


• This system provides a fluid means for students to submit their request for extenuating circumstances to their faculty staff, and serves as a means for continuous reference and updates.

Accessing the system

Starting and Logging into BannerWeb The Extenuating Circumstances system is housed within BannerWeb. You will need to log into the Portal first, in order to access BannerWeb:

1. Login to the University of Greenwich Portal (http://www.portal.gre.ac.uk) 2. Click on ‘Student Records’ in the Quick Links bar, which will open BannerWeb 3. Click on ‘Student Services’, then the ‘Extenuating Circumstances’ block.

From the main menu, you can:

• Create a new claim, or • View existing claims

http://www.portal.gre.ac.uk/

http://www.portal.gre.ac.uk/


• Select a term

Creating a new claim

Select a term The first thing you will need to do is select the term you are submitting a claim for, as with other sections in BannerWeb, all claims in the EC system are linked to a term:

EC claims can only be submitted for the academic session in which you are studying.

Note that it may be possible to submit a claim for the previous academic session if the change of academic session falls within the permitted time range for submitting an EC (4 weeks before an assessment, or 10 days after). If you do not have a student record for the academic session selected, an error message will be triggered confirming this:

Information Page The page will display detailed information and links to further information resources regarding the rules and regulations around the process.

After reading these details, you can click ‘Continue to create a Claim’.

Click in the dropdown box to select a term, then click Submit


The ‘Back’ button will take you back to the EC system menu.

Summary of the Circumstances

When submitting a claim you will need to select at least one of the following reasons for which you wish to be considered for EC:

• Accident • Bereavement • Harassment or Assault • Jury Service • Medical (new) • Medical (ongoing: worsened) • Organisational maladministration • Unexpected personal or family difficulties • Work (part-time and placement students only) • Other situation (explain in the box alongside)

You can enter additional free text information in the ‘Other situation’ box if required.


Once complete, click on Continue.

Duration of the Circumstances You will need to specify the date on which the incident relating to your claim occurred.

Clicking in the ‘From’ or ‘To’ box will open a calendar, for you to click on the desired dates.

From – When the situation started

To – When the situation ended

If it is still an ongoing issues you will need to leave the ‘To’ box blank, then tick the ‘Ongoing Issue’ box.

Discussions with Staff If you have discussed the circumstances of your claim with a member of staff, you will need to click ‘Yes’, then detail this in the boxes provided.

If you have not discussed this with staff yet, then click ‘No’. However, we advise that you do speak to a member of staff from your Faculty before submitting a claim.

Formal Assessments Affected

All assessments items from your Banner profile will be displayed on this page.


You will need to complete all sections for each assessment you want to make a claim for by clicking the tick box(es) and selecting the due date from the calendar (This can be no more than 4 weeks prior to the current date, or 10 days after the current date). You will also need to state whether you have already submitted of been assessed for this item, and what you are seeking to achieve with your claim.

Missing Assessments If an assessment item is missing from the list, click the ‘Click here if the Assessment you want to claim for is not displayed’ button to submit details of the missing assessment. A free text box will be displayed to allow this. Please ensure you include as much detail as possible to enable staff to investigate why the assessment is missing and hopefully add it to your student record.

Once the assessment has been added, this can then be selected from the list as per the other previous assessments. Your note regarding the missing assessment will then need to be deleted in order from the Missing Assessments section, in order for the claim to be processed accordingly.

Where the assessment is an exam, you will not be able to request an extra 10 days to submit, so the option will be greyed out .


Details of the Extenuating Circumstances In this section, you will need to describe your situation and how this has adversely affected your assessment or performance.

Remember that the Panel is assessing whether the situation is:

• Evidenced • Unexpected and unavoidable • There was an impact upon your performance • The negative impact was unable to be controlled

Uploading Evidence This page allows you to submit any evidence you may have to support your claim, for example, a Doctor’s note or letter, death certificate etc. You will need to click ‘Upload Evidence’.

A separate window will then pop up. To upload a file, click ‘Browse’ and select the document you wish to submit.


Once you have selected the document you need to submit, you will then be taken back to the pop up. You need to click ‘Upload’ to upload the file.


You will then be told if your file has been uploaded successfully. Then click ‘Return to upload window’ to either view your document or submit more. You can upload more than one file to support your claim.

Once you have uploaded the evidence, click ‘Close’

You can then ‘Upload New Evidence or click ‘Continue’ to complete the claim.


Summary Page This page displays a summary of your claim for you to check before submitting the claim. The information here cannot be edited however, if you need to make changes, you can click on ‘Amend’ at the bottom of the screen to go back and make necessary changes.


You will also need to confirm that you have read the EC regulations, and that all the information and documents you have provided are genuine and truthful. On submission, a confirmation email will be sent to your University of Greenwich student email account.

Note: Your claim will not be processed until you have clicked submit and will show as an Incomplete Claim.

View Existing Claims


Once a claim has been started you will be able to view this in the ‘View Existing Claims’ section from the EC main Menu.

Select a term If you have not done so already, you will need to select the term for which you wish to view any existing claims. The system will then load any claims relating to that academic session:

A list of all claims will then be displayed. Each claim can be viewed by clicking the blue hyperlinked claim number.

Clicking the Claim number will take you to the summary page of that claim.

Clicking ‘View Emails’ will display any emails that have been sent to you relating to that claim.

If the claim has not been submitted it will show as ‘Incomplete Claim’ and clicking on the claim number will take you to the next section you need to complete to enable you to complete the claim.


Claim Statuses A full breakdown of the different statuses are shown below:

Decision / Status Description Incomplete claim Any claim that has not been Submitted (The ‘Submit’

button has not been clicked) Upload Evidence A claim that has been submitted, but no evidence

uploaded. You must upload evidence within 10 working days.

Insufficient Evidence – Upload additional evidence

A claim that has been submitted, but the faculty deemed the evidence as insufficient.

Awaiting decision Claim is complete and awaiting a decision. Awaiting decision (Missing Assessment) Claim has been submitted but the ‘Missing

Assessments’ section has been completed. Once the assessment(s) have been added to your record by University staff the claim will be resubmitted and the status will be updated to ‘Awaiting Decision’.

Accepted Claim has been Accepted Rejected – too early Claim has been Rejected because it was submitted too

early Rejected – too late Claim has been Rejected because it was submitted too

late Rejected – insufficient evidence Claim has been Rejected because there was

insufficient evidence Rejected – not a valid claim Claim has been Rejected because it was not a valid

claim

Further Help For further assistance with this system, all enquires now come through to the IT Service Desk, who is the first line of support for all queries.

Email: [email protected] Phone: 020 8331 7555

Documents

Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure · Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure: Academic Registry - updated September 2017 2 2.4 It is the responsibility of any