FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ENROLLED ON AWARDS VALIDATED BYTEESSIDEUNIVERSITY

1 Support for Students

Extenuating Circumstances are defined as unforeseen and unpreventable circumstances outside the control of the student, which have significantly affected performance and/or attendance in a summative assessment and could not have been remedied in the time available.

Mitigating Circumstances are available when it is felt that an Extension, Deferral or Suspension of Studies is not appropriate. In such cases, a Mitigating Circumstance Application will be considered by a Mitigating Circumstances Panel. Please note that Mitigating Circumstances applications must normally be returned to Registrar Services within 14 days from the submission or examination date andcan only be offered for first attempts and re-assessment. Mitigating Circumstances Applications cannot normally be considered if you have previously been granted a Long Extension.

Other issues, which may be medical or personal, that are on-going or developing in severity over time may need to be assessed and supported in other ways.

As soon as you are aware that you are getting into difficulties with your studies, either as a result of illness or personal circumstances it is advised that you seek help. The College offers the following services where help and support can be obtained:-

  • Your personal or course tutor
  • StudentUnion, David Hockney Building01274 433007 or email:
  • College Counselling Service01274 235750
  • The College’s “Safeguarding Officer” 01274 433330 for issues of personal safety or child protection**
  • Registrar Services and Academic Regulations and Compliance 01274 433008

**The Mitigating Circumstances procedure is confidential; however, if we believe your safety is at risk we will pass your contact details to the College’s Safeguarding Officer who will make contact with you.

More details of these services can be found in your HE Course Handbook (on Moodle), and the on the College website.

Note: If you have a disability and have an agreement for additional learning support through the College’s Disability and Learning Support service, then you may wish to discuss with your support worker any problems you are experiencing in meeting deadlines. If you have a disability that you have not previously disclosed and think that this may be affecting your work, you are encouraged to speak to either your personal tutor or the Disability Services and Learning Support Team on (01274433133) or email: about possible help.

2 Mitigating Circumstancesprocedure

Completing an application forMitigating Circumstances is the responsibility of the individual student. You must apply to the Academic Regulations and Complianceofficeusing the appropriate form (forms are available from Moodle orRegistrar Services reception, B16, Old Building) with original documentary evidence that clearly supportsyour claim. Staff should not submit Mitigating Circumstances on your behalf, howeveryou must speak with your Personal Tutor (or an appropriate member of academic staff) to discuss your circumstances wherever possible before your submission/examination date (except where circumstances arise on the day of your submission/examination). It may be identified that it would be more appropriate to give you a short, or long, extension. Your Personal Tutor (or an appropriate member of staff), will need to sign the ‘Advice Sought’ Section of your Mitigating Circumstances form to confirm that they have provided advice. If you are unable to consult with anyone you will need to identify the reason why on your form.

It is important to note that the decision to award Mitigating Circumstances is by the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel and a personal tutor’s signature does not mean that your application will be granted.

Please note that submission of fraudulent claims may be considered under the Academic Misconduct Regulations (Taught Components and Programmes).

3 Forms of evidence to support your application for Mitigating Circumstances

Evidence must be submitted along with your application and should be presented via official documentation or headed notepaper, signed and dated to cover the period in question. You do not have to disclose personal or confidential details on your form. Such information should be submitted in a sealed envelope.If evidence is not submitted along with the Mitigating Circumstances form, you must identify the intended date the evidence will be available and the reason for the late submission. In exceptional circumstances, applications may be submitted after the deadline date. Late applications will only be considered if there is evidence that the student could not have submitted the application earlier. The decision on whether to accept a late application is at the discretion of Chair of the Mitigating Circumstances Panel(paragraph 14.1Extenuating Circumstances Regulations). The dates of the evidence provided must correspond with the dates of the assessments for which you are applying for Mitigating Circumstances. Original copies, not photocopies, must be submitted. Examples of supporting evidence include:-

  • Medical note(s)or information covering the time your assessment was due and confirming your inability to complete the work (from a doctor, nurse practitioner, medical centre, optician etc.). Please note that self-certification forms will not be accepted.
  • Letter from a medical professional treating yourself or your family (covering the relevant period)
  • Solicitors Letter
  • Travel tickets & booking confirmation (with accompanying explanation of their relevance)
  • Letter from another organisation (e.g. counselling or advice service) if personal problems are affecting your work
  • A police letter / report, incident number and Police Officer number
  • Official documentation (e.g. birth or death certificates). Where bereavement is the reason the death certificate must normally be supplied
  • Supporting statement from a tutor – student must request the member of staff to provide this - (in addition to other documentary evidence)

Should you require your original evidence for any other purpose, please let us know and we will return this to you once we have verified it. Please also note that all application forms and the supporting evidence will be destroyed in line with Data Protection after the appropriate specified period.

Your completed form, together with original copies of supporting evidence should, preferably, be submitted in person to the Registrar Services Reception, B16 Old Building, or posted to the Academic Regulations and Compliance team, B16 Old Building, Bradford College, Great Horton Road, Bradford BD7 1AY. (If posting, it is advisable to send it by Recorded Delivery so that you have proof of receipt and make copies of all evidence included). You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 5 working days, please contact the Academic Regulations and Compliance team if you do not receive this.

4 What happens to my application for Mitigating Circumstances?

Your application will be dealt with in the strictest confidence by staff assigned to process Mitigating Circumstances applications, and by the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel(paragraph 7.1 Extenuating Circumstances Regulations).Your application will be forwarded to the next appropriate Mitigating CircumstancesPanel for consideration. Mitigating Circumstances are granted on the basis that you are expected to be fit for the next assessment point.

If you have gained a pass mark for a mitigated module you will be allowed to accept or reject the offer of a reassessment opportunity. If you would like to take this opportunity for reassessment you must contact the Student Administration team within 14 days of receipt of the letter sent to all students who have gained a pass mark prior to the acceptance of their application. This should be confirmed in writing. The Student Administration Team can be contacted in person at B16 Old Building, by telephoning: 01274 433008 or by email:

Failure to indicate acceptance of the reassessment opportunity will result in its automatic withdrawal. If you decide to take the opportunity to be reassessed, the previous mark gained will be replaced by the subsequent mark.In the event that the Mitigating Circumstances have not been granted the reason for this decision will be explained to you in writing.

5Incomplete forms/incomplete evidence

If your application form is incomplete and/or insufficient evidence to support your claim is supplied, then your application will normally be rejected by the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel. You must make it clear on the form how your circumstances have affected your ability to complete your work/undertake your examination, and ensure that you have evidence from official sources to support this.

6 Deadlines for submission

Your application for Mitigating Circumstancesmust be received within 14 days of the original assessment deadline date, (available on the Student Portal or Moodle). If you are unable to submit by the published deadline you are advised, in the first instance to apply for a Short Extension. Where you have multiple assessments being submitted around the same time you are advised to submit one application, within two weeks of the first submission date.

If your application is outside of the 14 day timeframe,your application will not be considered by the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel unless you provide a clear and compelling reason as to why you were unable to submit by the deadline (lack of awareness about the deadline is not considered acceptable). If no explanation is provided then your application will be rejected.

The Mitigating Circumstances Panel held in September isordinarily for re-sit assessments only. If you do not submit in time for this then the remaining process available to you is that of an Academic Appealwithin 25 days of when your results are published. You will be asked to provide evidence to support your appeal and to also provide evidence as to why you did not submit an application for Mitigating Circumstances at the appropriate time. The dates of Mitigating Circumstances Panels are published on the College intranet, on Moodle or by calling Registrar Services on 01274 433008.

7Mitigating CircumstancesPanels

Mitigating CircumstancesPanels are held in semester one, semester two and an additional Panel for re-assessments is held after the reassessmentdeadlines. You will be notified of the outcome of the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel by letter within 15 days(i.e. whether your claim is accepted or rejected) and the outcome will also be reported to the nextAssessmentBoard.

In considering Mitigating Circumstances applications, the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel must be satisfied that:

  • You havefully and correctly completed, signed and dated the form
  • You have supplied adequate supportingevidence
  • The circumstances had a direct material effect upon your performance in assessment(s)

The records of Mitigating Circumstances Panel decisions are anonymous i.e. students names are not revealed to Mitigating CircumstancesPanel members.

8Outcomes of Mitigating CircumstancesPanels

The outcomes of a Mitigating CircumstancesPanelwill form recommendations to the relevant Assessment Board regarding acceptance or rejection of your case. No details of your circumstances are passed to the assessment Board.

9Submitting a request for a Review of a Mitigating Circumstances Panel

In exceptional circumstances, within 10 days of being informed of the decision of the Mitigating Circumstances Panel, a student may make a written request for a review of the decision of the Mitigating Circumstances Panel. This Review will not usually consider the issues afresh or involve a further investigation. The Review should be submitted to the Office of Student Complaints Appeals and Regulations, Teesside University, or emailed to , and must cite which ground(s) is relevant to your case together with your supporting evidence. It is important to note that this review is not a fresh consideration of the decision by the Mitigating CircumstancesPanel.

A Review can only be made on the grounds that the decision not to award Mitigating Circumstances was inconsistent and/or unsupported by the evidence presentedand/or there was a material procedural irregularity by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel, which prejudiced the student’s case and/or additional evidence has come to light since the decision of the Mitigating Circumstances Panel, which could not reasonably have been expected to have been produced at the time of the consideration of the application.

If you require further clarification on any issues arising from this communication, you should in the first instance contact the Student Union, David Hockney Building 01274 433007 or email:

Submission Requirements for Higher Education Students

Extensions and Extenuating (Mitigating) Circumstances

SUMMARY GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS

(TeessideUniversity Extenuating Circumstances Regulations)

An ‘assessment’ is any work due to be assessed on a given day; this may be the submission of a written assignment or portfolio, a presentation or examination. If you are approaching an assessment deadline (i.e. the week before your work is due or earlier) and you do not think you will be able to complete or undertake your assignment by or on that date, you should discuss the available options with your tutor.

Note: You cannot apply for both a Long Extension for coursework and for Mitigating Circumstances unless you can provide evidence to show your circumstances are still affecting you past the agreed Long Extension deadline or where you have a completely different set of circumstances that are now affecting you. It is your responsibility, after discussion with your tutor (or member of Academic Regulations and Compliance) to decide whether to apply for either a Long Extension or Mitigating Circumstances. Please consider the following information carefully when completing your application form. Note that this list is a guide and not exhaustive.

If you have missed a substantial amount of teaching on a number of modules due to extenuating circumstances you may wish to consider suspending your studies. Please discuss this option with your tutor.

Examples of acceptable circumstances / Examples of unacceptable circumstances
  • Serious ill health (which may include an acute episode, a disability or a chronic condition which is not covered by agreed support already in place).
  • Significant personal accident or injury.
  • Acute personal or emotional trauma (which may include acute anxiety or depression, family breakdown, breakdown of close personal relationship, death or serious illness of family member, significant other, or close friend).
  • Victim of crime.
  • Additional impact of a disability.
  • Complications in a pregnancy.
  • Jury Service.
  • Serious transport difficulties which could not have been avoided.
  • Other significant/exceptional factors for which there is evidence of an impact on performance and/or attendance in a summative assessment and could not have been remedied in the time available. This could include religious/cultural issues and their impact on the individual.
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  • Study related circumstances (personal equipment failure, printer problems, failure to take back-up copy of work, misreading the examination timetable, oversleeping, taking the wrong examination).
  • Normal exam stress or anxiety experienced during revision or during the assessment period.
  • Personal disruptions within the student’s control (moving house, change of job, normal job pressure, holidays, weddings, failed travel arrangements, financial issues, poor time-management, routine medical appointments, disruption to routine caring responsibilities).
  • Grounds of religion, unless notification was given at the start of the academic year.
  • Foreseeable and preventable circumstances.
  • Statement of a medical condition without reasonable evidence (medical or otherwise) to support the case.
  • Complaints against staff or in relation to delivery of the module/programme. (These are managed through the Student Complaints Policy and Procedure).
  • Medical circumstances outside the relevant assessment or learning period for which appropriate adjustments for extenuating circumstances have already been made.
  • Long term health condition, for which the student is already receiving reasonable and appropriate adjustments.
  • Medical condition supported only by retrospective evidence (such as a doctor’s note stating that the student was seen after the illness).
  • Late disclosure of circumstances, where the student could reasonably be expected to have contacted a member of staff about the problem, but did not do so.

Mitigating circumstances procedure updated June 2017