2. Extenuating Circumstances

Examination Conventions 2012-13

2.1 It is the responsibility of students to notify their tutors and supervisors, or other appropriate departmental staff, at the earliest opportunity if there are any extenuating circumstances that might have a bearing on their examination performance. Students should provide notification by completion and submission of a Special Circumstances Form, along with any additional relevant documentary evidence where appropriate.

2.2 Departments should publish in their student handbooks any deadline by which students should notify their tutor or supervisor or other appropriate departmental staff of any extenuating circumstances which they wish the meeting of departmental examiners to be made aware of.

2.3 Departments should take medical circumstances into account when considering performance in assessed work and examinations, provided that adequate and written medical evidence is submitted. A student should submit written medical evidence which states the nature, the date of onset and the duration (where this can be judged) of the medical problem. Medical evidence should normally be from the University Health Service, but may exceptionally be accepted from another suitably qualified authority. Where a student has medical problems that are ongoing and/or chronic and that affect more than one examination period the student should keep their tutor or supervisor or other appropriate departmental staff informed and may be required to submit further written medical evidence for subsequent examination periods. Students with ongoing medical conditions may be eligible for support from the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS) and should refer to the DDSS website for information (www.shef.ac.uk/ssid/disability).

Where a student has disclosed a disability and where details have been passed to the Departmental Disability Liaison Officer by the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service, the student will not be expected to submit further written evidence at subsequent assessment and examination periods. On occasion, where any additional information concerning the impact of the disability at a particular examination period needs to be considered by the Examiners, the student should submit a Special Circumstances Form but will not normally be expected to submit further written evidence. A student will, however, be expected to provide evidence to support other extenuating circumstances, not related to their disability, as detailed at 2.1 and 2.3 above.

2.4 Where extenuating circumstances have affected coursework but not invigilated examinations, the student's tutor or supervisor or other appropriate departmental staff should normally consider granting an extension to the deadline for submission in the first instance. If this is not possible, then alternatively a department may consider taking action under points 2.5 or 2.6 below.

2.5 Where a student has completed all assessed work and examination/s, an adjustment of a grade/s may take place. At Level 1, this may be a departmental decision although reference should also be made to the External Examiner where appropriate. At Levels 2 and 3 the External Examiner should give their approval. Any such grade/s should be returned in the normal way, but departments should keep a record of any adjustments made.

2.6 Where a student is unable to complete an examination a 'Not Assessed' result may be returned and the student allowed to complete the examination as a first sitting on a future occasion. This will usually be in August for Level 1 & 2 examinations and may be in May-June and/or August in the case of Level 3 & 4 units, in order to enable final year candidates to graduate in the same year. (The Faculties of Engineering, Science and Social Sciences have agreed this practice in relation to final year not assessed candidates and the University Learning and Teaching Committee has recommended that all Faculties should adopt the policy).

2.7 Students should be made aware at the time any deferral is agreed that deferring an examination until August may, in the event of failure, mean that a resit examination cannot be taken until the following session and progression may be impeded as a result.

2.8 If departments wish to make use of the provisions of the General Regulation relating to Aegrotat Cases, the case should be discussed at Faculty level (via Student Services) first to ensure consistency of treatment. The provisions should normally only be used in exceptional circumstances and not as a substitute for the customary `Not Assessed´ arrangements (see above for details). They may be particularly relevant in cases where there appears to be no likelihood of the student concerned ever being able to complete the assessment in question or where deferment of final examinations would have significant consequences for the student concerned.

1. Aegrotat credit without grades for units can be awarded where the examiners are satisfied that a pass standard has been reached. In such cases, the degree would need to be determined without reference to this unit/s, taking due account of any unit/level weightings.
   
2. The possibility of an aegrotat degree, should only be considered if a substantial part of the Final Examination (more than 60 credits) has not been completed.

2.9 Where the departmental examiners decide that, because of (written) medical evidence, a degree classification should be awarded higher than that justified by the grades, the Faculty (the Faculty Officers to whom the relevant powers have been delegated) must be informed and must confirm the award.

2.10 Departments may take personal circumstances into account in the same way, but must satisfy themselves that the student has genuinely been affected by non-academic difficulties.

2.11 Marginal cases should always be referred to the Faculty to ensure comparability of treatment.

2.12 Medical and special personal circumstances should normally be regarded as confidential and at the request of the student may be restricted to special cases committees (or their equivalent) in departments, and to the Faculty Officers rather than being communicated to any whole-Faculty meeting of Examiners.

2.13 Notification of medical or personal circumstances, including assessments of dyslexia, which have not been submitted within any specified departmental deadline (as referred to in point 2.2 above) will not normally be considered by the meeting of departmental examiners and will need to become the subject of an appeal under the Academic Appeals Regulations following publication of examination results to students.