The Advice & Representation Centre’s Best Practice Guide to Mitigating Circumstances Procedure
Contents
What are Mitigating Circumstances?
Before you start
Who do I tell and how?
When should I tell my College about my situation?
What supporting evidence do I need to submit?
What should I put in my Mitigating Circumstances personal statement?
What outcome can I expect?
What advice and help can I expect from the Advice & Representation Centre?
What are Mitigating Circumstances?
Mitigating Circumstances (MCs) are unforeseen events, outside your control, which have significantly affected your ability to study and your performance in an assessment.
University’s MCs Guidance can be found here
Examples of MCs which would normally be accepted:
- Bereavement involving a close relative or a friend
- Serious illness or accident
- Severe weather
- Victim of serious crime
- Childbirth
- Jury service
Examples of MCs which would normally be rejected include:
- Exam nerves (unless caused by diagnosed mental health condition)
- General financial problems
- Clash of study or assessment with paid employment
- Religious festivals or similar commitments
- Long term health condition (unless experiencing a flare up or a relapse)
- Childcare problems that could have been anticipated
- Public transport delays
- More than one assessment due in at the same time
- Last minute computing equipment problems
The above list contains just a few potential examples. Your Handbook will contain more such examples. You should always seek advice if you are unsure if you should submit Mitigating Circumstances to your College.
It is not always clear when a student has Mitigating Circumstances. You may have MCs if your circumstances:
- Have caused you to miss a lot of lectures/seminars or labs;
- Have prevented you from spending the same amount of time as you would normally do on coursework, preparing for seminars/labs or revising for exams;
- Prevent you from demonstrating everything you have learnt on the course and meeting the required learning outcomes as specified in the module outline.
Please Note: If you have had course difficulties that have impacted on your performance e.g. delay in receiving course materials, problems on a work placement, delay in receiving adjustments as recommended by the Disability and Dyslexia Service, then it is still a good idea to submit MCs. This is however not a replacement for trying to resolve the problem at the time it occurs and/or pursuing the complaints procedure if relevant.
If you experience medical, personal or course difficulties that you believe will and have affected your performance in assessments, it is very important to let your College know as soon as possible.
It is vital that your College is continually aware of any ongoing problems or issues that have occurred. The information you provide will be used in relation to your assessment for the affected modules and will be retained confidentially as part of your student record.
Before you start
Before you start to draft a Mitigating Circumstances (MCs) Form you must first consider whether MCs are the most appropriate avenue for addressing the concerns or issues you may have.
Other possibilities to consider could be:
An extension may be appropriate for your needs if you only need an extra week or two. You should discuss this with your personal tutor.
If the circumstances are ongoing and likely to continue you may want to consider taking some time out (known as Abeyance – please see ARC “Change of Plan” Guide for more information)
If you did not do so well in an assessment but do not have serious or significant circumstances then you should seek feedback on the assessment in question to better understand where you went wrong.
Who do I tell and how?
You are responsible for informing your College of any MCs that you want to be taken into account. It is a good idea to notify your personal tutor about your MCs. If you have a meeting or conversation with your tutor or other person in your College, it is advisable to follow this up with an email to confirm that you did inform them about your circumstances. This may later form a part of your evidence.
MCs Forms can be found online, in your College’s Handbook or on Blackboard Learn or in your Programme’s Office.
You should submit a Mitigating Circumstances Form to your College together with appropriate supporting evidence. Without supporting evidence, your claim of MCs will normally be rejected. All information provided by you will be regarded as confidential (i.e. restricted to those who need to know in order to reach a decision).
If you are experiencing particular difficulties with disclosing your circumstances, please speak to an ARC Adviser; we are a non-judgmental, confidential service and we will guide through the process in a sensitive manner.
When should I tell my College about my situation?
It is very important to submit your Mitigating Circumstances Form to your College before you sit the exam or submit the assessment that you think might be affected. You should never wait until results have been published to inform your College.
If you can’t submit the Mitigating Circumstances Form in advance, then it must be submitted within 7 days after the assessment deadline or exam date. If you submit your MCs claim late (more than 7 days after the assessment deadline or exam date), you must have a good reason and you must explain the reason for lateness, otherwise your claim will be rejected. Always refer to your Course Handbook for the preferred MCs submission procedure in your College; practices do differ, so do not assume your friends’ College procedure is the same as yours.
Please note: you do not have to have missed an assessment deadline to submit Mitigating Circumstances. You may have met the deadline but believe your performance was affected. Equally, you do not have to have failed the assessment- you can still appeal the grade on grounds of mitigating circumstances even you have passed the assessment.
What supporting evidence do I need to submit?
All claims must be substantiated by original documentary evidence which should confirm the following:
- The nature of the circumstances
- When and for how long you were affected
- How the circumstances were likely to affect/have affected your ability to study or perform in assessments
You should also enclose your statement explaining what impact your difficulties are having/have had on your ability to study. Personal statement should be as detailed as possible; you are the only person after all who can explain your difficulties and impact on your studies in a best way.
It is unlikely staff in your College will be able to contact external parties, for example your doctor (if registered externally, i.e. not with the University’s Medical Centre) on your behalf for any information supporting your MCs. It is your responsibility to ensure you provide adequate evidence including dates you were affected by your MCs. Under NO circumstances can you expect the Panel to do this for you.
If you are registered with the University’s Medical Centre, you should complete a Medical Disclosure Form which will give permission for the University Medical Centre to share information with the Mitigating Circumstances Panel. The Medical Centre will not issue a letter or a certificate directly to you. Medical Disclosure Form, which is available from your Programme Office, should be completed by you and submitted together with your MCs Form; do not take it to the Medical Centre.
Examples of acceptable documentary evidence include:
- Medical certificate from hospital, GP or counsellor
- Travel delays - letter from transport company
- Self –certification of illness for illnesses lasting up to 7 days (least advisable form of evidence regarding exam absence)
- Letter from police, lawyer or Court
- Copy of death certificate of a close relative
Your College may wish to verify your mitigating circumstances with an objective third party such as a doctor or counsellor. The University may also wish to verify authenticity of the evidence. All students suspected of submitting falsified documents are subject to disciplinary action
What should I put in my Mitigating Circumstances personal statement?
Timeline of events:
It is often difficult to know where to start in explaining personal and individual circumstances to people you may not know but the most logical way of explaining it would be by the academic year (September – August).
Write your statement:
- It has to clear, concise and in chronological order
- That dates are vital, if you are not clear about when things happened, it is unlikely your MCs will be accepted.
- It is also important that you are clear on what assessments have been affected,
- Is there someone who can support your statement? Think about whether you spoke to anyone in your department or college about the circumstances you mention and what advice you were provided with.
- Don’t just explain what happened to you, but try to show the impact on your academic progress. We are all affected differently by certain situations, so be clear about your personal experience.
- Do not assume that the person looking at your case knows anything about you (even if you have previously submitted MCs for the same circumstances); you should ensure you provide all of the detail necessary regardless of who will be making a decision on it.
- When drafting your statement ensure that you all of the information is there, your department will not read between the lines or make their own conclusions- if the information and evidence is not there then it will not be considered.
- Going over distressing, personal events can be difficult and upsetting so you may need to revisit your draft more than once.
- It is better that you provide too much information as opposed to not enough but make sure it is relevant (talking about your dog dying 3 years ago is not going to hold much weight).
- IF the circumstances are still ongoing and are likely to be for some time, you need to explain how things will be different and how you plan to cope with the situation (for example you are now receiving therapy etc).
- You should refer to supporting evidence and explain its relevance to your case.
- If you are submitting your MCs after the assessment, you must explain why you have not notified your College about your difficulties sooner. The University regulations state that you must inform someone when there are circumstances which impact on your studies as soon as possible; if you have not, you must give a good reason.
What outcome can I expect?
Your College’s Mitigating Circumstances Panel determines whether your claim for MCs should be accepted and it will make recommendations to the relevant Board(s) of Examiners. The Board of Examiners will then determine any action in respect of accepted MCs. The outcomes will vary depending on each student’s specific personal circumstances. For example, you may be allowed a new attempt in the relevant assessment(s) for an uncapped grade/mark if the assessment affected was a first attempt.
It is important to remember that you will still need to be assessed and MCs are not a replacement for a grade or a mark. Your progression to the next Level will still depend on you fully satisfying progression criteria. MCs are only there to help to overcome any disadvantages you might have had during that progression.
There is no guarantee your marks will change. The Exam Board may fully consider your personal or medical situation, but come to the conclusion that your difficulties did not significantly affect your academic performance.
We recommend that you discuss your circumstances with your personal tutor and whether the outcome you are hoping for is realistic.
If your MCs are not accepted by your College’s Mitigating Circumstances Panel or the Exam Board, you may be able to submit an appeal (please see our Academic Appeals section of the website). You cannot appeal the outcome of an MC Panel ; you have to wait until your results are published and the appeal on the grounds of having had Mitigating Circumstances.
What advice and help can I expect from the Advice & Representation Centre?
We can help you by assisting with the following:
- Explain the MCs procedure and answer any questions you may have
- Consider your options so that you can work out the best course of action
- Check your completed MCs Form and advise on your statement
- Identify what evidence you may need to support your claim for MCs
For fully hyperlinked version go to brunelstudents.com/advice/universityprocedures