Extenuating Circumstances

Extenuating Circumstances

What are Extenuating Circumstances

These count as instances or issues which are outside of your control, and which may temporarily prevent you from undertaking an assessment or have a significant detrimental impact on your ability to undertake an assessment to the standard normally expected. Extenuating circumstances are outside of your control as they are unforeseeable and unpreventable.

The University can make allowances for when such circumstances arise through the extenuating circumstances process. First and foremost, it’s important that you inform your personal tutor, staff from your department, or contact the advice team at the earliest opportunity so that we can let you know what necessary steps you need to take next.

There is further information available on the student portal:

https://liveplymouthac.sharepoint.com/sites/x70/SitePages/Extenuating-circumstances.aspx?web=1

Some examples of extenuating circumstances are:

Serious mental health issues
major accident or injury
hospitalisation (including for operations)
serious short term illness that is incapacitating and at its peak at the time of a time-specific assessment, such as an exam, test, performance or presentation
following NHS advice to self-isolate

Some issues that will not be considered as extenuating circumstances include:

Your own time management

You slept in or your alarm clock did not go off
Your car broke down, or your train or bus (or equivalent) was delayed or cancelled, unless you can show that you’d made reasonable allowance for such disruption
Misreading timetables of any kind, or time management problems, such as assessment deadlines close to each other

It’s important to bear in mind that this list is not exhaustive, and you can find more information about what circumstances do and do not count as ECs on the student portal. If you're unsure of whether you should apply for ECs, you can speak to an advisor to discuss this further.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES?

The form is online and can be accessed via the student portal. There is also guidance available for students who are considering applying for ECs.

If the issue relates to a short-term issue affecting you for up to five working days and you are unable to provide supporting evidence there is the opportunity to submit one self-certified extenuating circumstances claim per academic year without the need for documented evidence. You should clearly 5 explain in your claim form what the issue is and how it is affecting your ability to attend or complete assessment(s) during this 5 working day period.
Self-certification would apply only to deadlines occurring during this 5 working day period.
Subsequent applications for extenuating circumstances must be supported by valid evidence as detailed in 3.1 unless you have previously been assessed for a long-term health condition (see section 2.4.2)
If your claim is approved, coursework deadlines may be extended by a maximum of five University working days from the original submission date. If your claim related to time specific assessments such as in-class tests, exams, performances or presentations and was approved, it would be for non-submission.

Further details regarding the University Extenuating Circumstances Policy can be found by accessing the following:

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBeE02Y2c9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--1e9772e1784cd7f9b92cc2015b1d7eb58249908d/Extenuating_Circumstances_Policy_and_Procedures_2024-25_clean_copy.pdf

CAN I SUBMIT EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES AFTER THE ABOVE DEADLINES?

Any late claims will need to be supported with details and evidence as to why you were unable to submit them at the correct time. Valid reasons may include

being in hospital or
unable to engage with the extenuating circumstances policy due to mental health issues affecting your judgment or;
a late diagnosis of a condition which may have impacted your performance in an assessment, or your ability to engage with the extenuating circumstances at the correct time

Some valid reasons and what sort of evidence would likely be acceptable can be found on Page 5 and Page 6 of the Extenuating Circumstances policy.

HOW CAN THE SU HELP?

Remember, these processes are in place to be a support for you during your time at Plymouth University. If you need help understanding/completing the process, or want to discuss extenuating circumstances further, please contact the Advice team. We are an independent and confidential service offering impartial advice.

If you commenced your programme of studies in January 2024 please contact advice for further information.

Last Updated: April 2024