Support with your academic assessments and deadlines
As a student, you will need to adhere to your assessment deadlines, but if something unexpected happens then we are here to support you.
It’s important that you know your deadlines and plan your work in advance in order to make sure that you meet them. We’ll support you to do this by publishing your deadlines early in the semester and helping you to plan your studies through your academic mentor, our Student Services team, and the study and assessment support available through the Academic and
We understand though that, sometimes, circumstances beyond your control might affect your ability to submit work by the original deadline, so the University has support in place to assist you in such circumstances. These are called "exceptional circumstances" - often shortened to "ECs".
What is available?
There are options to the support available to our students around assessment deadlines and exceptional circumstances in order to make the process simple and fair, and to help students manage their time better with a more flexible and responsive approach.
Automatic extension of seven calendar days to written deadlines if needed
Because we know that sometimes the unexpected happens (and it's always near a deadline) we’ll give you the opportunity to take an automatic extension of seven calendar days (including bank holidays) if something happens which means that your plans to meet your deadline don’t work out, for up to 3 pieces of work per semester.
This short extension is available for most written assignments, but won’t apply to exams or in-class tests.
To get this extension, you just need to apply for it via the eVision system. If you do miss a deadline without applying for the extension then our normal marking penalties will apply.
Work will need to be submitted by 1pm on the extended submission date.
Ability to apply for another assessment opportunity later in the year
Sometimes something more significant happens – say for example you are in hospital during a deadline period, or you miss a scheduled exam because of a bereavement in your immediate family – and in such cases we have a process called Exceptional Circumstances where you can submit a claim together with some evidence of what has happened, and we can then make arrangements to support you.
Please note that exceptional means uncommon, unexpected and not standard, therefore these claims should only be used for serious situations. We are not able to approve EC claims for situations that would be seen as a normal course of student life, such as general stress or pressure of your workload.
Also, it's important that you understand that if approved, you will usually have to wait until the next semester to take your assessments, which can have an impact on how long it takes to complete your degree – but you should be reassured to know it’s there as an option to support you if something serious happens.
Our Student Experience and Support team will work with you to find the best solution for your needs. To tell us about a more serious circumstance, you should complete the form on eVision with as much detail as you can. We’ll then look at your circumstances and let you know your options for support, including whether we can offer you another assessment opportunity.