Mitigating Circumstances

Quick Guide
 Contents

1. Introduction and scope

2. Mitigating Circumstances

2.1. Explanation of a mitigating circumstance

2.2. Criteria for submitting a claim

2.3. Submission of a claim

2.4. Deadlines for submissions

2.5. Requirement for supporting evidence

2.6. Assessment of claim

2.7. Recommendations and outcomes

3. Self-Certification

3.1. Reasons for self-certification

3.2. Self-certification period

3.3. Allowed Frequency of Self-certification claims

3.4. Assessments in scope for self-certification

3.5. Definition of examinations

4. Data Protection

5. Related regulations and polices

2. Principles
1. Introduction and scope
This quick guide is produced by the Student’s Union to provide a summary of the
University’s Mitigating Circumstances Policy. The full detailed policy and further
information is available at www.le.ac.uk/mitigating

Leicester Students’ Union offers a free advice service to help any students that
may be struggling. Located on the first floor of the Percy Gee Building. The policy
applies to all students following taught programmes of study, or taught modules
as part of research degrees, full-time or part-time, who wish to apply for
mitigating circumstances in relation to an assessment or period of assessments.

The term assessment in this policy relates to any form of coursework,

examinations, presentations, in-class tests, lab work, online activities, or other
activity resulting in a mark and/or grade.

It should be noted from the outset that if you have not yet completed you
assessment, a mitigating circumstances claim will not excuse you from
completing the assessment. If your request in successful, your School will likely
ask that you attend/submit the same or alternative assessment at a later date.
More information about potential outcomes can be found at
www.le.ac.uk/mitigating
 2. Mitigating Circumstances

2.1. Explanation of a mitigating circumstance

Mitigating circumstances are defined as recognisably serious or significant

event(s), affecting a student’s health or personal life which are unforeseen and
beyond the student’s control. They are sufficiently serious enough in nature to
result in the student being unable to attend (in person or virtually), complete, or
submit an assessment on time.

A student who submits or attends an assessment on time, cannot normally claim

mitigating circumstances. However, a student can claim if they feel their
judgement was impaired in determining their fitness to complete the
assessment, and they will need to demonstrate this with appropriate evidence.

For example, evidence of a medical condition that prevented the student from
making a balanced decision immediately before an assessment where
reasonable adjustments were not already in place or were not adequate enough
in advance of the assessment.

Any student who does not present a mitigating circumstance claim within the
given deadlines as outlined in Section 6 cannot subsequently submit mitigating
circumstances after the assessment results are known.

The University expects that most cases of mitigating circumstances would fall
into one, or more, of the categories listed in Appendix A.
 Not normally accepted as mitigating circumstances
(this is not an exhaustive list)

Medical circumstances that:

i) do not relate directly to the assessment period in question and/or cannot be

attributed as having an impact on the assessment

ii) relate to minor illnesses that would not lead to equivalent absence from a work environment and
can normally be treated with over the counter remedies (e.g. colds, sore throat, headaches, day to
day ailments)

iii) are unsubstantiated or include retrospective evidence (e.g. doctors note after the illness has
disappeared)

Criminal conviction Financial issues Holidays/family events

Foreseeable and/or Transport difficulties that could Sporting fixtures

preventable circumstances have been anticipated or lack of (including those for
contingency planning into travel time University teams)

Loss of computer data/printer Religious festivals Being reluctant to

problems or submitting the and regular observance disclose circumstances
wrong work for assessment or (these should be flagged (even brief, non-detailed
draft version of the work to Schools in advance) accounts)

Missing exams or assessment deadlines A long-term condition where treatment or

due to misreading of timetables or additional support/arrangements are already in
oversleeping because of poor time place to mitigate the impact and there has been
management or personal organisation. no additional unforeseen flare-up
2.2. Criteria for submitting a claim

The following criteria should be applied to claims for mitigating circumstances,

only assessments affected in one of the following ways will be considered. At the
point of submitting a claim, all students will need to declare which criterion is
applicable for the affected assessments.

- Assessment will be submitted late, but falls within the late submission of
coursework penalty scheme (normally 8 working days after published
submission deadline for postgraduate modules and 10 working days for
undergraduate modules), anything submitted after these dates is assumed to be
a non-submission and will be considered under criterion d below.

- Absence from a scheduled assessment which is time bound, such as an

examination, class test, lab work or presentation;

- Taken ill during a scheduled assessment, such as examination or presentation;

- Non-submission of an assessment, including submission after maximum period

for late penalties;

- Assessment attended or submitted on time but the student can provide

medical evidence to support that they were incapable of determining whether
or not they were able to undertake the assessment at the time of doing so.

If one of the above criteria is relevant then the claim should demonstrate it
meets the additional criteria:

- Beyond the control of the student: the student must demonstrate that they
could not have done anything to prevent the circumstances arising, that they
were unforeseen and unpreventable.

- Impact on assessment: the claim must demonstrate a significant negative

impact on the student’s ability to submit/attend or complete an assessment by
the deadline. It must make clear the duration of the circumstances and have the
appropriate documentary evidence to support this claim.

- Have timely relevance: typically the circumstance must have occurred on the
day the assessment was due to be submitted or attended or the week leading
up to it. Where the serious or significant event falls before this time the student
should be able to demonstrate that the impact (as above) it had can be linked to
the assessment being claimed for (e.g. event significantly impacted
revision/preparation for assessment that could not be recovered at another
time and therefore the assessment could not be attempted or submitted on
time).
2.3. Submission of a claim

Should the request be approved, the student should no longer attempt the
assessment, and instead an alternative deadline will normally be set.

- If the assessment is attempted or submitted after the mitigating circumstance

request has been approved and the student informed, then the mitigating
circumstance claim will no longer be valid and the assessment outcome will be
final. No additional mitigating request can be submitted against the
assessment.

- Where the assessment has been attempted on time before a decision has been
communicated to the student then the mitigating circumstance request will take
precedence and if accepted any attempt will be null and void and the student
will be given a time in which to take the assessment again (see Section 9).

All claims should be submitted online, normally by the student, using the online
submission tool in MyStudentRecord. In exceptional circumstances, such as
where a student is incapacitated (e.g. hospitalised), it may be permissible for a
submission to be made by a member of staff on behalf of the student.

2.4. Deadlines for submissions

All forms of assessment will have a final submission date, or date of completion,
and where possible these dates will be held in the University Student Record
System. It is expected that assessment due dates will be published to students
at the start of each semester.

7
The latest deadline for the submission of a mitigating circumstance claim will be
7 calendar days after the assessment due date. The submission of a claim after
7 calendar days will be considered in exceptional cases where there is a clear
reason for the late submission.

Claims submitted after assessment results are known/released will not be

permitted. Students may submit an academic appeal where they wish to raise
new evidence of mitigating circumstances, and will be required through the
appeal process to demonstrate why it was not possible to bring these
circumstances to the attention of their school at the appropriate time in line
with the requirements of Senate Regulations and this policy. An academic
appeal may only be submitted after students have received the formal
notification of their progression or award decision, following the meeting of the
relevant Board of Examiners.

Departments must ensure that deadlines for the receipt of mitigating

circumstance claims are clearly publicised in course handbooks and module
materials and in keeping with the agreed deadlines above.
2.5. Requirement for supporting evidence

It is expected that students will provide the necessary supporting evidence at the point
of submitting their claim or within 7 days of the submission In exceptional cases, and
where there are justifiable reasons for doing so, a School can set a new deadline
(greater than 7 days) for the receipt of additional evidence and the student will be
notified of this date.

All evidence needs to be written in English. If it’s originally in another language it’s the
students responsibility to ensure a verified translation is provided.

Visit www.le.ac.uk/mitigating for more guidance on specific evidencing requirements.

The following list, whilst not exhaustive, outlines the types of mitigating circumstance
where supporting evidence is not necessary. Students should provide a short
explanation of the circumstances and the impact on their assessments as part of their
claim. Impact is the key thing here, how has what’s happened impacted on your ability
to undertake an assessment?

- Significant bereavement, for example a death of a close family member or significant

other

- Sexual assault (including image based sexual abuse)- Harassment based on a

student’s disability, faith, gender identity, race, and/ or sexual orientation

- Flare up or deterioration of a declared long-term health condition. If the condition has

not already been declared, evidencing of the condition will be required.

- Unexpected disruption to a technology for a time-bound assessment that could not

be avoided through advance planning

It should be noted that programmes subject to Professional, Statutory or Regulatory

Body (PSRB) accreditation may still require evidence to meet PSRB requirements,
students on these programmes should check with their School for guidance.

2.6. Assessment of claim

Claims will be considered by a Mitigating Circumstances Expert in the first
instance to determine whether the claim meets the relevant conditions and can
therefore be considered.

The expert will be trained and have access to all relevant information and
systems to make an informed decision on whether to accept the circumstances
in line with the criteria laid out in Section 2.2 of the policy and on what outcome
to recommend for the affected assessment(s).

For more information, visit the full University Policy.

 3. Self-Certification
Self-certification supports students affected by unexpected short-term minor
illness or disruption to their studies. This allows students the opportunity and
responsibility to submit a claim to waive late penalties due for certain
assessments within the self-certification period.

Students experiencing a more serious or significant event, affecting their health

or personal life, should submit an evidence-based mitigating circumstance
request rather than a self-certification request.

Students’ overall claims and engagement will be monitored. Any misuse of

self-certification could result in a student being asked to provide evidence.

3.1. Reasons for self-certification

Self-certification should not be used for an illness for which it would be

reasonable to seek medical attention. In such circumstances, evidence must be
obtained to support any mitigating circumstance request.

Examples of short-term illnesses and circumstances for which self-certification

would be acceptable are as follows (please note this list is not exhaustive):

- Flu

- Food poisoning

- Gastroenteritis

- Migraine

- Menstrual pain

- Norovirus

- Unforeseen carer responsibilities

Distance learning students may also cite employment related pressures as a

reason for self-certification.
 3.2. Self-certification period

The self-certification period is defined as a period in which students can submit

an assessment without normal late penalties being applied. This does not alter
the original assessment deadline. The self-certification periods available to
students are as follows:

Campus based students (full-time and part-time) can self-certify for a maximum
of 5 working days per self-certification period.

Distance learning students can self-certify for a maximum of 10 working days.

Self-certification periods will start at 9am on the first day of the period and
conclude at 8.59am on the last day of the period. Any late penalties will then
apply from the end of the self-certification period, i.e., 9am on the last day of the
self-certification period.

Following a successful self-certification request, assessments can be submitted

after the original deadline before the self-certification period ends without a
late penalty applying. Assessments submitted after the self-certification period
will be subject to late penalties. A successful self-certification request will not
change the original assessment deadline. Anything submitted 11 or more working
days after the original deadline (9 working days for all PGT programmes, except
DL PGT programmes) will be deemed a non-submission, irrespective of whether
there is a successful self-certification request.

Submissions of consecutive self-certifications will not be permitted. Students

may only submit one self-certification request within a 10 working day period.
For real time assessments that are in scope for self-certification, but where the
waiving of late penalties is not appropriate, Schools will decide one of the
following outcomes from the standard mitigating circumstances outcomes, as
appropriate:

- Provide a new date to attend the assessment, or

- Provide a new date to attend an alternative assessment, or

- In exceptional circumstances, void assessment and rescale module mark

across the other assessment elements.
 3.3. Allowed Frequency of Self-certification claims

Students can request to self-certify twice as follows:

Campus based students (full-time and part-time) can self-certify twice per
academic year.

Distance learning students can self-certify as follows:

Full time, Undergraduate: 2 self-certification claims (per level)

Full time, Postgraduate: 2 self-certification claims (per course)

Part time, Undergraduate: 4 self-certification claims (per level)

Part time, Postgraduate: 4 self-certification claims (per course)

Once an instance of self-certification is successfully claimed, it cannot be

returned except in exceptional circumstances.

3.4. Assessments in scope for self-certification

Students cannot self-certify for examinations (see definition in Section 4.5).

The self-certification period will usually cover coursework assessments

scheduled with the original deadline within the self-certification period.

However, Schools may take assessments out of scope for self-certification where
there are good reasons. Please check with your School if an individual
assessment is in scope for self-certification.

Only assessments with deadlines that fall within the claimed self-certification
period will be eligible for self-certification.

Assessments linked to requirements set by Professional, Statutory and

Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) cannot be self-certified. Therefore, students should
submit a mitigating-circumstances claim with the relevant evidence for
consideration by a Mitigating Circumstances Expert.

If an assessment that cannot be self-certified is scheduled during the

self-certification period, students will need to either:

- sit / submit the assessment as planned, or

- submit a mitigating circumstances claim with the relevant supporting

evidence.
 3.5. Definition of examinations
For the purpose of self-certification, examinations are defined as:

Any assessment that is both released and has a deadline within the same
University-approved exam period. This definition covers both on-campus and
online exams and time limited coursework that is released and has a deadline
during an exam period.

The exam period may be defined either by the University or a Professional,

Statutory or Regulatory Body (PSRB). The main University exam period can be
found on the Students’ Guide to Exams (login required), Schools can advise on
other exam periods.

4. Data protection
All student records in relation to mitigating circumstances claims will be held in
SITS and will be subject to the University’s Data Protection code of practice and
data retention schedule. In cases concerning student health and wellbeing a
referral will be submitted to Student Support Services to ensure appropriate
support is offered.

5. Related regulations and polices

Students are reminded that in accepting the University of Leicester’s terms and
conditions at registration, they are agreeing to abide by the Senate Regulations
and associated policies. The following regulations are referenced in this Policy
on Mitigating Circumstances:

- Senate Regulation 5: Regulations governing undergraduate programmes of

study

- Senate Regulation 6: Regulations governing taught postgraduate programmes

of study

- Senate Regulation 7: Regulations governing the assessment of taught

programmes