Application for Extension to Time Limit:Guidance Notes

APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION TO TIME LIMIT:GUIDANCE NOTES

The Application for Extension to Time Limit form should be used to apply for an extension to a research degree submission deadline. It should not be used by postgraduate taught or MRes students, or to request an Interruption of Study. All sections must be completed and relevant documentary evidence provided. Information on the required documentation and acceptable evidence is included below. Applications must be made ahead of the submission deadline. Retrospective applications will not normally be considered.

Following discussion with their supervisor(s), students who wish to apply for an extension to their submission deadline should complete Section 1 of the application form and pass it to their supervisor(s), who should complete Section 2. Section 3 must be completed and signed by the Head of School or their nominee. Applications that are supported by the Head of School/nominee should be sent to the PGR Quality and Operations team in the Registry for consideration by the Chair of the Academic Standards and Quality Committee or their nominee (Section 4). Completed applications should normally be received in the Registry at least one month before the student’s current submission deadline. If approved by the University, the PGR Quality and Operations team will confirm the new submission deadline with thePGR administrator in the School and will write formally to the student to notify them of the outcome.

Applications that are not supported by theHead of School/nominee should not be forwarded to the Registry, as they will not be considered by the University. Where this is the case, it is the responsibility of the Head of School/nomineeto ensure that the student receives written notification that their application has been rejected.A template letter and guidance on content is available for this purpose.

The PGR Quality and Operations team should receive a copy of this letter so that action can be taken to close the student’s record, following any appeal period.

The Extension to Time Limit Procedure is available in the Academic Regulations Handbook:

SECTION 1: FOR COMPLETION BY STUDENT

1A. Please complete all personal details, including the date(s) and reason(s) for any previous extension(s) or interruption(s) of study. If you are funded by a Research Council, it is essential that this is indicated on the form. You should contact your School Office if you are unsure about your latest submission deadline.

1B. Please indicate the reason(s) for the extension request. This may relate to more than one of the permitted grounds, but appropriate independent evidence must be provided in each case. All documents attached in support of the application should be listed.

Examples of commonly accepted evidence:

• Doctor’s letter that confirms the illness and the period it affected you;
• Doctor’s letter that confirms the illness of a family member and the period that it affected them;
• Photocopy of a birth/death certificate;
• Letter of support/explanation from a support service at the University (e.g. the Disability and Dyslexia Service or Counselling);
• Letter of support/explanation from a third party, such as a police report, local authority report or counsellor’s letter, etc.;
• Letter from employer verifying your workload commitments.

Examples of evidence unlikely to be accepted:

• Evidence of a medical condition for which the doctor did not see/diagnose;
• A letter from a partner or family member verifying circumstances, where there is no other independent supporting evidence.

Where an extension of six months or more is requested, or where previous extensions or interruptions of study have been granted, your last twoProgress Reportsmustbe included. Please liaise with your supervisor or the School’s PGR Administrator to provide these, if required. Your supervisor will also need to provide their last two Supervisor Reports and the report from your latest Annual Formal Progress Review.

Your School may ask for more evidence to support or clarify your case before deciding whether to forward your application for consideration by the University. If you do not have the evidence, you must report your circumstances and include on the form when you will be able to provide the evidence, or explain clearly why the information cannot be provided.

All supporting evidence must be provided on documentation that is recognisably authentic (e.g. on headed paper) and be signed and dated by the relevant authority. It must be unaltered and without annotation. Where necessary, you should arrange for information that is not available in English or Welsh to be translated. Translated evidence should be similarly authentic and can normally be obtained from the facility issuing the document.

All documentation can be submitted electronically but must be sent from your University email account or other designated email address (as recorded on SIMS).

1C.Please explain the reason(s) for the extension request. Include relevant dates and describe clearly the impact of the circumstances on your ability to submit your thesis by your submission deadline. Please note that, with the exception of applications on the grounds of parental leave, the circumstances must be exceptional and be demonstrated to have adversely affected your progress and ability to submit by your deadline. They would typically be unforeseen or unavoidable and close in time to the submission deadline in order to be reasonably considered to have impacted on the submission. If an extension has been granted on the same grounds previously, you should make clear the reasons why you have not been able to meet the extended deadline.

Circumstances likely to be accepted include:

• Maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave (where an interruption of study was approved previously and an extension to the submission deadline is now requested to compensate for the interrupted period);
• Serious short-term illness or accident;
• The death of close family or friends;
• A long-term health condition or disability that has worsened or is fluctuating and adjustments (such as a previous extension) have not or cannot be put in place;
• Significant severe personal/family circumstances;
• Being a victim of a serious crime.

The University will always consider other circumstances where you can show significant impact on your performance.

Circumstances unlikely to be accepted include:

•Minor illness;

•Poor organisation;

•Circumstances where adjustments have already been made (e.g. a previous extension as result of a long-term health condition or disability, unless clear evidence can be provided to justify a further extension on the same grounds);

•Holidays;

•Financial difficulties, unless other factors make them particularly severe;

•Work commitments, unless clear evidence can be provided that the workload has increased substantially and unexpectedly and can be considered exceptional;

•Being unaware of the submission deadline.

1D.Please provide a revised timetable for completion. This should be agreed with your supervisor(s) and must give a clear indication of the amount of work already completed and outstanding. Include details of scheduled supervisory meetings. Any diagrams/charts may be included on a separate sheet, if necessary, but these should be supported by a written account. An example of a suitable and unsuitable timetable is included in Annex 1 and 2.

1E.Please sign and date the declaration and pass the form to your supervisor for completion. By typing your name, you are providing your electronic signature.

Help and advice

The University’s Student Support and Wellbeing Services are based on both the Cathays and Heath Park Campuses, and offer free and confidential advice on a range of matters, including:

• Advice and Money - support with funding, bursaries, fees, loans, debts, childcare, housing, academic matters and other welfare issues.
• Careers and Employability - support with career planning, including what to do with the degree, job hunting and recruitment, further study, taking time out, work experience, academic skills and employability.
• Counselling, Health and Wellbeing - confidential counselling and wellbeing support to students who wish to discuss matters of a personal or emotional nature which impact on their ability to study. Appointments can take place in person, over the phone, or via webcam, instant messaging or email. A daily walk-in service is also available without making an appointment.
• Disability and Dyslexia - supporting students with specific learning difficulties, disabilities, medical conditions and mental health difficulties on funding for support, assistance in making reasonable adjustments, assessments of disability related needs and specialist support to assist students during their studies.
• International Student Support – supporting students from outside the UK on a wide range of issues, including immigration and visas.

The Student Support Centres are open Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 16:30. The contact details are as follows:

Student Support and Wellbeing

+44 (0)29 2087 4844

International Student Support enquiries

+44 (0)29 2087 6009

Further information on the services is available at:

SECTION 2: FOR COMPLETION BY SUPERVISOR

Please confirm if you support the application for an extension to the student’s submission deadline and include a clear and reasoned statement to explain the reason(s) for this decision. A brief statement merely confirming or rejecting your support of the application is unlikely to be sufficient.

If you support the application, please confirm whether:

• the reason for the extension is justified;
• notwithstanding the reason for the extension request, the student’s progress to date has been satisfactory;
• the revised timetable for completion provided by the student is reasonable and whether you are confident, as far as is possible, that the student will submit their thesis by the requested deadline;
• you are able to support and monitor the student’s progress through planned supervisory meetings and formal contact.

Any concerns regarding the student’s ability to submit their thesis in accordance with the revised timetable for completion should be outlined here. Any adjustments that have been, or will be, put in place to assist the student with the completion of their studies should also be reported.Please be aware that students can request to view the completed form and any comments relating to them.

If you are unable to continue supervising the student for any reason, this should also be recorded and brought to the attention of the Head of School/nominee, who will take remedial action as appropriate.

Where students have encountered health problems, or if there are any concerns about the student’s health impacting on their studies, they should be referred to Occupational Health, who will identify adjustments to support their continued study. Information on the referral process is available on the intranet:

Where an extension of six months or more is requested, or where previous extensions or interruptions of study have been granted, the last two Supervisor Reports and the latest Annual Formal Progress Review report must also be included. The student should also provide their last two Progress Reports.

SECTION 3: FOR COMPLETION BY HEAD OF SCHOOL/NOMINEE

Please consider carefully the application provided by the student, the supervisor(s) statement, the timetable of completion, and all supporting documentation, and make a reasoned judgement on the case. If you wish to support the application, please provide a brief summary justifying the reason(s) for this decision. If you wish to support an extension that differs in length to the period indicated on the application, this should be recorded, and the reasons for this decision outlined clearly. Where support of the application is subject to any conditions (that the student is referred to Occupational Health to ensure that appropriate adjustments are made to support them in their studies, for example), this should be stated here.

Any concerns or comments that you wish to bring to the attention of the University regarding the student or their progress should be included (e.g. that any further extension requests are unlikely to be supported by the School). Please be aware that students can request to view the completed form and any comments relating to them.

As part of the admissions process, the School should have given thought to the replacement supervision arrangements that might be put in place in the event of the main supervisor and/or other key contributors to the supervision leaving the University or becoming unable to continue in their role. If the supervisor has indicated that they are unable to continue supporting the student through any extended period, the Head of School should ensure that new arrangements are put in place with minimal delay, wherever possible.

If you do not support this application for an extension, the form should not be forwarded to the Registry, as the application will not be considered by the University. Please ensure that the student receives written confirmation that their application has been rejected, and that the PGR Quality and Operations team receive a copy of this correspondence, so that action can be taken to close the student’s record, following any appeal period. A template letter and guidance on content is available for this purpose.

NOTIFICATION OF DECISION

To provide notification of the outcome of the application, action should be taken by the relevant parties as follows:

1. Applications supported by Head of School/nominee and APPROVED by the University

Where an application has been supported by the Head of School/nominee and forwarded to the Registry for University consideration, the Registrywill notify the student and School PGR Administratorof the outcome,including the new submission deadline and any conditions that need to be met by the student/School.

1. Applications supported by Head of School/nominee but NOT APPROVED by the University

Where the decision of the University is to reject an application, the Registry will notify the student, School PGR Administrator, and Head of School/nominee in writing of the outcome and the reason(s) for the decision. The Registrywill also provide relevant information to the student on the appeals process.

1. Applications NOT SUPPORTED by the Head of School/nominee

The Head of School/nominee should notify the student and supervisor in writing of any applications that are not supportedby the School and therefore not put forward for University consideration. TheHead of School/nomineeshouldalso provide relevant information to the student on the appeals process.

ANNEX 1:Example of a suitable timetable for completion

Submission deadline – 30 September 2016
Requested revised submission deadline – 31 January 2017
Length of requested extension – 4 months
Work completed (as of 31 August 2016)
Introduction: 75% complete (approx. 2,500 words). Methodology section incomplete.
Chapter 1: Full draft completed.
Chapter 2: Full draft completed.
Chapter 3: Full draft completed.
Chapter 4: Full draft completed.
Chapter 5: 50% of chapter currently drafted (approx. 5,000 words). Results section incomplete. Footnotes incomplete.
Chapter 6: 50% of chapter currently drafted (approx. 6,000 words). Results section incomplete. Literature section partly complete. Footnotes incomplete. Conclusion incomplete.
Conclusion: 90% complete (approx. 2,500 words). Sections 4 and 5 incomplete. Footnotes and formatting incomplete.
Appendices: 95% complete. Final formatting required.
1 September – 14 September / Complete Results section of Chapter 5.
15 September – 30 September / Finish writing chapter 5.
1 October / Meeting with supervisor to discuss draft of chapter 5 and final plans for chapter 6.
1 October – 15 October / Complete Results section of Chapter 6.
16 October – 31 October / Complete literature section of Chapter 6. Write chapter conclusion.
1 November – 15 November / Complete methodology section of Introduction.
16 November – 29 November / Complete Conclusion.
30 November / Submit full draft of thesis to supervisor for comment.
1 December – 13 December / Review formatting. Check references and presentation. Write acknowledgements and summary.
14 December / Meeting with supervisor to discuss full draft of thesis.
15 December – 31 December / Revise chapters 1-3 in line with supervisor’s comments.
1 January – 15 January / Revise chapters 4-6 in line with supervisor’s comments.
16 January – 29 January / Revise Introduction, Conclusion and Appendix in line with supervisor’s comments.
30 January / Print and bind copies of theses for submission.
31 January / Submit thesis to School for examination.

ANNEX 2:Examples ofunsuitable timetables for completion

Example 1:

Submission deadline – 30 September 2016
Requested revised submission deadline – 31 January 2017
Length of requested extension – 4 months
My thesis is nearly complete. I will continue to make good progress and will submit by 31 January 2017.
September – October / Finish Chapter 5 and 6.
November / Finish Conclusion.
December / Make changes to thesis.
January / Submit thesis.

Example 2:

Task / September / October / November / December / January
Finish Chapter 5 and 6
Finish Conclusion
Make changes to thesis
Submit thesis

In the above examples, it is not possible to determine the amount of work that you have already completed, and the amount of work that you still need to finish. This does not allow your School and the University to determine if the length of time requested is reasonable.

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