Consideration of personal circumstances

Support information

We understand that you may be anxious, distressed or find it difficult to talk about your personal circumstances. You might also need advice and support.

If you want to talk to someone about your assessments, we suggest you speak to your Personal Tutor, Course or Module Leader or Course Administrator. They will be able to offer advice and can help you to access other sources of support, such as wellbeing, if you need it.

We offer a range of support services to help you deal with your personal circumstances, and you can find a list of the services we offer on our website.

You can also get independent advice by booking an appointment with our Student’s Union Information and Advice Service or the Peer Support scheme.

Extensions

You can ask for an extension to get extra time to finish your assessment when you have been affected by personal circumstances. An extension can be for up to two weeks. If the extension is approved you will be given a new deadline to submit your assessment.

You can ask for an extension online. If you need an extension of up to a week you can self-certify - please complete the self-certification form and upload it when requesting your extension online. If you need an extension of more than one week and up to two weeks you will need to send evidence of your circumstances. You can find information about types of evidence in our Notification of Extenuating Circumstance (NEC) policy.

If you think you will need an extension, please apply for it as soon as possible. You can ask for an extension before, and up to one week after, the assessment deadline. If you can’t apply for an extension because, for example, you are in hospital, you should apply as soon as you can and send evidence to show why you couldn’t apply earlier.

You can only ask for two extensions for the same assessment. For example, if you asked for a week’s extension but your personal circumstances affected you for longer than expected, you can then ask for another week’s extension or to delay the assessment. You will need to complete another online form and provide evidence of your circumstances.

You can’t ask for an extension for exams, class tests or other assessments that take place in person, such as presentations. If your personal circumstances impact one of these types of assessment you can request a delay until the next time the assessment takes place instead (see section below).

You can’t request an extension after you have submitted an assessment. If you submit your assessment without an extension you are telling us that you were well enough to do the assessment and accept that it will be graded on its merit.

If you need help to request an extension you can speak to your personal tutor or course administrator.

Asking to delay the assessment until the assessment next takes place

Sometimes your personal circumstances might affect you for longer than two weeks or mean that you can’t sit an exam or other in-person assessment. When this happens you can ask to delay the assessment until the assessment next takes place, this will usually be in the summer.

You can ask to delay the assessment online and you will need to send supporting evidence of your circumstances. If you don’t provide evidence there may be a delay in approving the request or it might not be approved. You can find information about types of evidence in our Notification of Extenuating Circumstance (NEC) policy.

If you think you will need to delay your assessment, please fill out the online form as soon as possible. You can ask for a delay before, and up to one week after, the assessment deadline. If you can’t ask for a delay because, for example, you are in hospital, you should apply as soon as you can and send evidence to show why you couldn’t apply earlier.

If you originally asked for an extension, but then feel that you need to delay the assessment because your circumstances impacted you for longer than expected, you will need to fill out another online request.

If you need help choosing the best option for you, please speak to your personal tutor or course administrator.

Examples of personal circumstances that are likely to be accepted

This list includes some examples of personal circumstances that are likely to be accepted for an extension or delay. If you have personal circumstances not covered here, please speak to your personal tutor.

• Short illness, injury, hospitalisation or minor illness where you couldn’t access labs due to infection control protocols
• An ongoing condition or disability got temporarily worse
• Serious illness or bereavement of a family member or close friend
• Unexpected caring responsibilities for a family member or dependent
• An unexpected personal or family crisis, or experiencing a traumatic event
• Being a victim of a crime
• Being evicted from your accommodation or your accommodation becomes uninhabitable
• Public duties such as Jury service, competing in national or international sporting events or being a candidate in NTSU elections during the voting period
• Lunar religious festivals, where the date moves each year, such as lunar new year, Rosh Hashanah or Eid.

Examples of personal circumstances that are not likely to be accepted

Your personal circumstances are not likely to be accepted if it is something you could reasonably have planned for, such as a house move or holiday. You can’t ask for an extension or delay for the following circumstances:

• Assessments deadlines that are close together
• Normal exam anxiety
• Misreading assessment deadlines, exam timetables or other details
• Minor transport disruption
• Minor life events such as work pressure, having a disagreement with your friends or housemates
• Computer, printer or internet failure
• Not having access to your student account because you owe debts to the University
• Being reluctant to tell us about your circumstances.