Options if you have problems

If you are unable to complete an assessment at the time required, there is a range of options available to you, each of which is explained below.

1. One week safety net

If you miss a coursework deadline due to minor difficulties, or bad planning on your part, we provide a late-submission possibility to prevent the consequences being totally disastrous. If you submit the work within one week of the deadline, it will be marked and returned to you with full feedback, but the maximum grade it will be given is D- for Undergraduates, or a C- for Postgraduate, in other words, a bare pass. If an item of assessment is submitted more than seven days after the deadline and an extension has not been granted, the work will receive a G grade. See 6.9 of the Academic Regulations.

2. Coursework extensions

If you suffer a significant period of illness or other legitimate mitigating circumstance during the period when you should be preparing an item of coursework, you can apply to the module tutor for an extension to the deadline. There is a form (available from your Student Administration Team for Single Honours students or the Framework Office for Joint Honours students) which you should complete and submit in advance of the due date. In some cases it may be difficult to apply in advance, but the extension request must be received no later than three days after the deadline in order to be considered. If permitted, the tutor will set a new date, giving you a further period to complete the work, at most two weeks later than the original deadline. No further extension is permitted, but the one week safety net (see above) applies to the new date. See 6.8 of the Academic Regulations.

3. Deferral of Assessment

Exams

If mitigating circumstances prevent you from attending examinations, or disrupt your study during the revision period, you should apply for a deferral of those examinations affected. You should follow the Mitigating Circumstances procedure, applying for a deferral. If your case is accepted, you will be able to sit the examination at the next opportunity and you are awarded the full grade that your work merits. If your case is not accepted, you still retain the resit entitlement explained in 6.10 of the Academic Regulations.

Coursework

If you cannot complete a piece of coursework due to mitigating circumstances that are so severe that the two week extension (see section 6.2, Coursework extensions) is insufficient, you can apply for a deferral of the assignment, in which case you will be awarded the full grade that your work merits. If your case is not accepted you still retain the resubmission entitlement as explained in 6.10 of the Academic Regulations.

4. Other alternatives

If you need to defer many assignments you may need to think differently. Mitigating circumstances that disrupt your study significantly are likely to affect not only items of assessment but also lectures, seminars or other learning and teaching opportunities. If faced with such severe disruption, you should seek an advisory interview with the Course Leader for your course, or other designated tutor, to plan for a structured recovery programme. Options available to you include suspension of study (e.g. for a year), or a reduction of your study commitments (e.g. scaling down from full-time to part-time for the current academic year). These are explained in the two sections below.

5. Suspension of study (sometimes called 'intercalation')

Suspension of study is the term used for a break from University work, usually for a 12 month period, so you resume where you left off. The advantage of this process is that any grades you achieved prior to your difficulties are retained and there is no additional cost involved. Of course, it is necessary that the 12 month pause is sufficient to enable the difficulties to be resolved, so that you can return able to give your full attention and efforts to your study. You also need confirmation from academic tutors that the course isn't about to change in a significant way. Discuss it with your Course Leader (for Single Honours) or an Academic Advisor (for Joint Honours) before completing a 'Suspension of Study' form.

6. Change to study commitments

Further options - that you should discuss with your Course Leader or an Academic Advisor - include:

• De-registering from one or more of your modules. If you do this by 30 November fees for the module are refunded. This option is only available up to the 1 March
• Part-time study. De-registering may mean that you become part-time, or you may move from full-time to part-time at the end of the year. Check the financial implications of this with the Financial Guidance team
• Re-starting the year. This may be possible with Mitigating Circumstances
• Withdrawing from your course. You should check the financial implications of doing this

Help us to help you - keep your Personal Academic Tutor or Student Administration Team informed of any difficulties you are having, and always ask if you are unsure about anything!