Extenuating Circumstances – what are they and will it work for me?
If you are experiencing issues with your studies and are worried about an upcoming assessment or a submission deadline, the Extenuating Circumstances procedure may be able to help taught and research students.
Extenuating Circumstances is available to all taught students regardless of their level of study and the process is quite straight forward. You can submit Extenuating Circumstances for many reasons including a sudden illness, an exacerbation of a long standing condition and bereavement amongst others. Check the Extenuating Circumstances intranet page for a full list.
A request for Extenuating Circumstances will only be considered if your circumstances are close in time to the assessment, if your circumstances are unforeseen and unavoidable and severe and exceptional.
You can submit an Extenuating Circumstances request to your School to request either an extension (for submission deadlines only) or to defer the submission deadline but the request must be submitted before the deadline. For exam or time limited assessments you can ask for a deferral within 24 hours of start of assessment. Evidence is not normally needed
If a deferral is granted, the deadline or assessment will usually be rescheduled to the next assessment period which may be in the August resit period. It may be a good idea to check this with your academic school before making the request. You make requests via sims but some schools have an Extenuating Circumstances portal so you need to check how your school wants you to make the request.
The process is there to help protect your academic attempts. There is no limit as to how many Extenuating Circumstances requests you submit, but if your School are concerned about the number of requests submitted they may contact you to see whether they can offer any support and discuss further options. A word of caution for students in their final year of study. The process is of course still available to you but if you request a deferral of an assessment this may delay your Graduation.
Don’t be tempted to keep requesting a deferral of assessments as this could trigger the requirement to repeat a year or could lead you to exceed your time limit to complete your studies. If you feel that you may fall into these categories please contact Student Advice who can advise further. Some students who have a long term health condition or have a caring responsibility may be able to submit Extenuating Circumstances retrospectively, even if they have completed the assessment or submitted their work. If you feel that you may meet this criteria and would like to know more – contact the student Advice team.
If you become unwell in an exam or have technical difficulties when completing an assessment you can also report . if this happens in is important to act very quickly. Tell your School and report extenuating circumstances straightaway. There is no guarantee that your request will be granted so you will need to explain in as much detail as you can how your circumstances have impacted your ability to study. Research students can also report extenuating, but the process is different as well as the remedies. If you are research student, contact the Advice team
Ultimately the procedure is there to help you when life gets in the way of your studies. If you are at all unsure whether your circumstances meet the criteria or would just like further information – contact the Student Advice Team at the Students Union on 029 20 781 410 or at advice@cardiff.ac.uk