You are eligible to request an extension to your submission date if unforeseen or unpreventable personal circumstances affect your ability to submit a specific piece of summative written coursework, final year project or dissertation on time.

This may apply if you are experiencing a one-off/isolated incident relating to health or other personal circumstances, or a worsening of an existing physical or mental health condition. 

Deadline for Extension Requests

An extension application form must be submitted on or before the coursework deadline date and time. Supporting evidence is not required. 

If you need to request an extension after the coursework deadline date and time has passed, this must be submitted via a Mitigating Circumstances application form, alongside supporting evidence.

If the issue affects you for seven days or less, and does not affect an exam or assessment, you do not need to request mitigating circumstances. You should instead log your absence on the SEAtS app. If your programme does not use SEAtS to log attendance or you have any questions about the mitigation processes, then please contact you Student Support team [School Attendance team].

If the issue affects any exam or assessment, you can request mitigating circumstances. You are encouraged to submit an application as soon as you are aware that your circumstances may affect your academic performance.

Deadlines for Mitigating Circumstances

For examinations: the School’s published end-of-semester deadline (which is generally set seven calendar days after the end of the assessment period). *

For coursework: seven calendar days after the submission deadline of the affected coursework. * 

• You can apply after the deadlines by supplying a strong and acceptable reason for why your Mitigating Circumstances application is late.

Extension Request:

No evidence is required for an extension request that is submitted before the assessment deadline date.

Mitigating Circumstances Request:

You should provide as much supporting information as possible with your mitigating circumstances request. This helps us to understand the severity of the situation and assess the best solution. All evidence will be treated confidentially.

Evidence you might include

You may include any evidence that supports your request, such as:

• extracts from your medical notes.  
• copy of prescription or photo of prescribed medication, with name and date label.  
• appointment card or text message from medical unit, or hospital admissions letter.  
• relevant communications from a school or care facility for anyone for whom you have caring responsibilities.  
• an obituary, order of service or letter from a family member, in the case of bereavement.  
• police, security, or insurance report.  
• press or media report in relation to an event that may have impacted you.  
• confirmation of existing engagement with the University’s Mental Health Support Team / Report and Support service/ Residential Life.   
• personal statement (can be included in exceptional circumstances if unable to obtain any independent evidence). 

If you are registered with DASS, they will confirm with your School directly - you do not have to seek this evidence from them.

Before making a request 

• You should read the University’s Extensions Procedure and/or Mitigating Circumstances Procedure - these explain when you can make a request and how it will be assessed. 
• The Students’ Union also has advice on submitting an extension and mitigating circumstances request

To make a request

You should make your extension and mitigating circumstances request to your School. Each has their own application forms– details are available from either your School Community Page or your School Support Office. 

Extension Request:

Extensions are typically granted for seven calendar days, up to a maximum of fourteen days. If you have an automatic extension agreed in your Disability Advisory & Support Service (DASS) Support Plan, the maximum extension you can normally receive is 21 calendar days. 

The length of an extension will be dependent on the structure of the course or unit and will not extend beyond the feedback deadline for the assessment. 

Mitigating Circumstances Request:

Where the School grants a request, they have a choice of several mitigation options – they will recommend the one they feel is most appropriate for each individual case. This could include granting an extension, offering a resit, excluding a mark from a unit average, or directing you to further support inside or outside the University.

Our mitigating circumstances procedures explains the full process and possible mitigation recommendations.

Extension Request:

As long as you apply for an extension at least two working days before your coursework deadline, you will receive a decision before the original submission date.

Mitigating Circumstances Request:

You will be informed of the School’s approval decision at the earliest opportunity, and you will be told if the application is successful or unsuccessful.

If you have a long-term or recurring medical or mental health condition that affects your studies, you should strongly consider registering with our Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS). This will allow you to access a variety of support that is appropriate to your needs.

Students who are registered with DASS will not normally have to provide medical evidence for mitigating circumstances requests that are related to your DASS support plan.

Even if you're not registered with DASS, we will only ask for medical evidence once for mitigating circumstances relating to a long-term or recurring medical or mental health condition, with the exception of cases where there are accreditation or fitness-to-practise requirements.