Student Services

Applying for ECs

There is a strict deadline when applying for ECs and you will need to provide independent evidence (eg medical evidence) of the circumstances which affected your ability to do the work.

If you are not able to attend an examination or in-class test (eg a hospital appointment), you should apply for ECs BEFORE the date of the test or examination.

If this isn’t possible (for example, you become ill on the date of the examination), you then have a maximum of 10 working days from the date of the test or examination to apply for ECs.

If you are not able to complete an assessment (eg coursework), you should apply for an extension from your school in the first instance. If you believe, or you are advised that an extension will not give you enough time to get the work done, you should then apply for ECs BEFORE the submission deadline or within 10 working days of the submission deadline.

Once your results have been formally ratified by the Board of Examiners you will not usually be able to make a claim for ECs unless you can provide evidence of really exceptional circumstances.

If your ECs claim is successful you will usually get the opportunity to do the work again. If, after re-assessment, your original mark is higher, then this will override the mark you get in the new assessment.

If your claim for ECs is not successful, you will have 15 working days to provide further evidence. You can only do this once after submission of the initial ECs claim. If you wish to access the Review and Appeal procedure after this point, you will need a clearly evidenced reason for doing so as resubmission of the same evidence a third time to the panel or via the Review and Appeal procedure will not be permitted.

Evidence for an ECs claim

In order to make a successful claim for EC, you will usually need independent evidence to show how the EC has affected you at the relevant time.

For example, if you have been ill, a medical certificate, hospital record or a letter from a medical professional/counsellor which confirms the illness and also the impact on your ability to study, on the relevant dates.

If you have been affected by the illness of a family member, medical evidence will be required including how the circumstances have affected you and your ability to study.

If you have been the victim of a crime, you may need evidence from the police and medical evidence.

One of the most important things to remember is that the evidence must relate to the time of the assessment(s) claimed for. You may need to explain this to your doctor/counsellor, or whoever is providing the evidence for you.

Letters from friends or family will not usually be considered independent evidence.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to supply the evidence. It is not enough to ask the University to contact your GP or the Police.

Long-term Disability or Illness

If you make an EC claim which is based on your long-term health condition, the EC Panel will take into account whether this was known in advance to the University.

If you have a new health condition that has started or become evident after enrolling, then your claim can be considered by the EC Panel. However you will be referred to the Student Wellbeing Centre for ongoing support.

Where your disability or long-term health condition is covered by a PASS Plan through the Student Wellbeing Centre, you cannot rely on this in support of an EC claim unless you can show that other, unforeseen, circumstances have affected your situation.