How to submit an extenuating circumstances request

What are extenuating circumstances?

Extenuating circumstances, also known as mitigating circumstances or concessions, are unforeseen or unpreventable circumstances which negatively affect your performance in assessed work. You can request to have these circumstances taken into account.

There are two types of extenuating circumstances requests: In-Course and End of Year.

In-Course extenuating circumstances requests are used by your Division to mitigate against minor events or circumstances, outside of your control, that affect your ability to submit assessments in the lead up to or by the deadline, or attend an assessed event. If your request relates to absence from an assessed event, it may not be possible to schedule an alternative event (for example an exam or live performance) and should be raised as an End of Year request. Examples of assessments that can be included for In-Course mitigation are:

  • Advance requests for extensions to coursework deadlines, ie before the deadline
  • To notify your Division of an external commitment that will result in you missing a coursework deadline, In Course Test, practical assessment or examination
  • Request to submit a piece of coursework after the deadline, ie late submission of work
  • Failure to sit an In Course Test or practical assessment    

End of Year requests for mitigation of extenuating circumstances are used by your Division to recognise events or circumstances which caused exceptional interference with your academic performance throughout the academic year and/or could not be considered as an In-Course request. Examples include:

  • Serious personal illness
  • Serious personal accident or injury or hospitalisation
  • Significant adverse personal or family circumstance
  • Worsening or acute episode of an existing medical condition
  • Absence from an assessed event (that could not be rescheduled)
  • Advance request for permission to be absent from an In Course Test
  • Absence from an In Course Test after the test has taken place

All requests are considered by the Mitigation Committee on behalf of the Board of Examiners.

Full details of extenuating circumstances criteria and the procedures you should follow can be found in Annex 9 of the Credit Framework for Taught Programmes.

When should I submit a request?

Applications should be made as soon as the extenuating circumstances are known to you.

Applications for extensions to coursework deadlines should be submitted as soon as possible and normally no later than 24 hours (ie one full working day) in advance of the deadlines to which they relate.

You are advised to submit your application as soon as possible and, for End of Year requests, in time for the applications to be considered by the Mitigation Committee prior to the Board of Examiners’ meeting. Forms submitted beyond such meeting will have to be processed as per the Early Informal Resolution procedure.

How do I submit a request?

If you are a Kent and Medway Medical School student, please use the KMMS form.

All other schools use KentVision. Below is text and video guidance for submitting either an In-Course or End of Year extenuating circumstances request.


1. In KentVision, choose the Student Support tile and then choose the Extenuating Circumstances tile.

2. After reading the on screen information, click Apply for extenuating circumstances.

3. Choose the appropriate option for your request: the Extension, Late Submission or Absence button for an In-Course request, or click on the text 'End of Year - Academic Performance'.

4. If you are submitting an End of Year request, you will need to either choose a date range or tick the ongoing box. You will see a list of your modules. Use the plus icons on the far right of the screen to view the assessment options within the chosen module. Choose the appropriate assessment line(s) and click Continue.

5. Complete the application summary information and give consent for your information to be shared with appropriate university staff. Click Save.

You will have two choices in the application summary area:

If you have notified your Division at the time of the absence, you can self-certify for a period of up to seven days at a time to cover periods that coincide with non-submission of assessment, late submission and absence from ICT/practical assessments. There is no limit to the number of times you can self-certify but the use to cover periods that coincide with non-submissions, late submissions or absence from assessments is limited to two occasions per academic year, provided you have notified your Division of the first day of absence at the time.

Where you have already self-certified twice for periods of absence that coincide with non-submissions, absences etc, any further applications related to assessments must be accompanied by evidence. There is additional allowance for the examination period. If you have self-certified, but with the level of non-attendance that will be a cause for concern, you will be offered support in the first instance to you get back on track. If your attendance continues to fall below warning levels, other processes may be triggered and we will contact you.

If you choose not to self-certify, you will need to upload supporting documentation or chose the option of document to follow. If you choose the latter, you can later edit your application and upload the supporting evidence. Remember to provide the evidence if required or the application could potentially be rejected. Your application will not be considered until it has been submitted.

You will not be required to provide evidence if your Inclusive Learning Plan (ILP) has adjustments recorded in relation to academic performance. The messaging on the screen is altered and the supporting evidence upload is not required, however in the reason, you should state the application request is ILP related.

6. You will now see the final review page for your request. Here you can restart, update, or save and submit your form later. If your request is complete, tick the consent box and Submit. Your application will not be submitted until you click the submit button.

7. You will see a confirmation message that your application form has been submitted and, after clicking OK, see a summary page. You will also receive an email notification.

8. You will receive an email of the outcome once your application has been reviewed by staff.

Video guidance on how to submit an In-Course extenuating circumstances request.

Video guidance on how to submit an End of Year extenuating circumstances request, including what happens if you have chosen to provide proof at a later stage.

How to apply for an extension on your Postgraduate dissertation/project

If you need to apply for an extension on the submission of your Postgraduate dissertation or project due to extenuating circumstances, this can be done via KentVision. Please watch the below video for process guidance.

FAQs

FAQs can be found in KentVision. From the dashboard, choose the Student Support tile and then choose the Extenuating Circumstances tile. Click Apply for extenuating circumstances and you will see the FAQs in gold text. You can exit this page by clicking the Quit button at the bottom of the page.

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