Illness and Special Circumstances

 Illness

If you are absent from classes as a result of illness for periods of up to 7 days, you should complete a Self-Certification Medical Note (obtainable from the Student Services information Desk or from the SSID website via `on-line forms´) and return it to SSID. If the illness involves a period of more than 7 days, or if it has affected your examinations/assessment, a Sickness Absence Form (available as above) should be completed and submitted to School of English reception. This form includes more space for details of your difficulties to be recorded and there is also a box for tutor´s comments, as well as a section for certification by the University Health Service (notes on obtaining doctor´s certification are printed on the reverse of the form). If you are not registered with the University Health Service, this standard form cannot be used to obtain medical certification. It is therefore your responsibility to obtain a medical certificate/letter from your own doctor. The University is not empowered to seek out medical evidence on your behalf, nor can evidence submitted some time after an illness be taken into consideration when awarding your degree. A student who withdraws early from a timed examination without producing documented evidence of illness will be deemed to have completed that paper, and no supplementary paper will be set.

Reporting Special Circumstances

During your studies you may experience difficulties which could affect your academic performance. Such difficulties are known as "special circumstances". These could include

• Medical problems, including long-term problems or short periods of illness
• Personal problems e.g. stress or homesickness
• Difficult events e.g. bereavement

Serious incidents e.g. being affected by crime

It is important that you report any special circumstances to your department as soon as you can. Any special circumstances which you report in advance of the final exam period will be considered by the Departmental Examination Board and may be taken into account when calculating your results and determining your final degree classification. Any information you submit will be treated as confidential and will not be used for any other purpose. To report special circumstances, please discuss the issue with your personal tutor, complete a Special Circumstances reporting form and submit it to School of English Reception.Forms are available from Student Services Information Desk (SSID). Further information about completing the form is also available from the same webpage. You will usually need to submit documentary evidence with the form, e.g. a medical certificate.

Religious Holidays and Examinations

If you are not able for religious reasons (e.g. Sabbath, Festival, Friday Prayers etc.) to take examinations on any day on which examinations may be set during the year (including Saturdays but not Sundays), you should complete a 'Request for Religious Observance Form' at the beginning of each semester. Forms are available from SSiD and must be handed into the Examinations Office, Level 6, University House by the end of the third week of the relevant semester. Please note that once examination timetables have been set it is difficult for alterations to be made.