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Information and resources for undergraduate students facing health and welfare issues
The best way of ensuring that you do well in your assessments is to get into good working habits that mean you are able to meet the deadlines that we set. It can be unwise to request extensions because there is often a knock-on effect that means you’ll end up deferring the stress and bunching up deadlines.
However, if something comes up that you think will impact your ability to complete your assignments for us, the department applies the UCL Extenuating Circumstances Policy. This is intended to ensure that students are not unfairly disadvantaged by unexpected circumstances beyond their control which may affect their performance in their assessments for us. As a student, you are responsible for making known any circumstances which may affect your performance at assessment in good time so we can consider how to respond.
It is worth noting upfront that this policy applies only to short-term, unexpected circumstances, and it only applies to summative assessments for individual courses. Longer-term conditions and disabilities that you may have are covered by UCL’s Student Support Framework. If you have a medical condition that you think will impact your ability to perform in exams you can also apply for special examination arrangements. The Student Disability website has further information there. If you have a Summary of Reasonable Adjustments in place (SORA) you should not be applying for extensions based on extenuating circumstances unless something new has come up.
- How it works for coursework
All Extenuating Circumstances claims must now be submitted on Portico. This step-by-step guide will clarify how to do that. You will also be notified of the outcome of your claim via Portico. Should you need further advice about ECs before you apply, you can contact Sarah Seifnezhad in the Geography Office, via geog.office@ucl.ac.uk.
- Before the deadline
If you have no supporting evidence, this year (partly as an acknowledgement of the continued impact of the pandemic) you may be able to ‘self-certify’ for an extension twice during the academic year. You’ll still need to go through Portico as above, but we should be able to get back to you within a day or two to let you know the result. Note that you can only self-certify if you submit your claim before the assignment deadline. If you have used up your self-certifications or have a more complicated situation, this will take more time because the panel will need to discuss your case. We should, in these circumstances, be able to get back to you within 10 days.
- After the deadline
If you found that you could not make a deadline, you can also submit a claim, normally up to five working days after the deadline has passed. If you go down this route you will, however, need to provide some supporting evidence so that we can verify that your claim is sound (we need to be fair to all students and only grant extensions to those who really need them). Because we need to evaluate the evidence that you submit to us for these, this route takes a little longer, but we should again be able to get back to you within 10 days. Then you’ll know where you are and how best to proceed with the assignments involved.
For either route, it makes sense to get in touch as soon as possible. Then we’ll be able to get back to you sooner and you can then plan around the decisions of the EC panel.
- How it works for exams
If you are too unwell to take an exam, you can follow the same route as above, including self-certification if that is still available (e.g., if you have not already self-certified twice), to apply for Deferred Assessment. You may then be allowed to take the missed exam/s in the Late Summer Assessment (LSA) period (usually in August). If you apply after the exam has passed you must do so within a week of the missed exam, and should see your doctor as soon as possible for evidence.
- Supporting you through these challenges
If you are struggling with your studies (because of unforeseen circumstances such as these or more generally), please do not hesitate to talk to someone in the department. You may wish to start by speaking with your personal tutor. Alternatively, you can talk to the Undergraduate Tutor, Fabien Cante, or Clara Hall, who provides support to students in UCL Geography and can help signpost you to other services that may be able to help. It would be a good idea to speak with Fabien, if you can, alongside submitting your EC claim so that he can advise you on how best to deal with what has come up. All discussions will be treated confidentially.
FAQs
Discover quick answers to commonly asked questions about health and welfare support for undergraduate UCL Geography students. Get the information you need on accessing healthcare, student well-being, and more.
- What is the difference between conventional and self-certified ECs?
Self-certified ECs do not require evidence but there are important limits to their scope:
- You can only self-certify for up to two separate periods of up to two weeks (14 calendar days) within the 2022-23 academic session. Postgraduates can self-certify on a third separate occasion, but the third occasion can only be used after the end of Term 3, 2023.
- The maximum extension is one week for coursework.
- You can only self-certify once for any given assessment.
- You must submit a self-certified EC in advance of an assessment deadline. But no more than 2 weeks in advance.
- Once you have started any time-limited assessment, you cannot self-certify a deferral to the next assessment period.
- Should I request self-certified or standard ECs?
Self-certification requests are designed for circumstances where evidence is difficult to obtain or where the mitigation is limited to the point that it doesn’t justify increasing workload pressure on GP practises by insisting on medical evidence.
However, they can be used for any event that constitutes a legitimate EC where evidence cannot be obtained. If you can find evidence, it’s a good idea to apply for conventional ECs. Also, if you need longer extensions, if you need to apply for an extension on top of an existing EC, or if you’ve run out of your quota of self-cert ECs, you must apply for conventional ECs.
- When should I apply for an EC?
Self-certified ECs: No earlier than 2 weeks before the deadline. Requests submitted after the deadline, or after time-limited assessments have started, will not be approved.
Conventional ECs: No more than 2 weeks before the deadline and normally no more than 5 working days after the deadline. If the latter, the expectation is that this is because the EC is ongoing and preventing you from applying for an EC by the deadline.
- What happens if I submit a conventional EC more than 5 working days after the deadline?
You can still submit an EC as long as it’s before your formal results are published on the exam board. However, you will need to explain why you didn’t submit your EC on time. If your EC request is late, and you do not provide a compelling reason, backed up by evidence, then your EC may be rejected even if the panel accepts that you had valid reasons for an EC at the time the assessment was due.
- Can I submit ECs after your results are published?
No. At this point, it is too late. Extenuating Circumstances claims cannot be considered through these procedures once your formal results have been published. However, you have the right to appeal your results via the Academic Appeals Procedure.
- What kind of evidence is required?
This obviously depends on the nature of your EC, but if you are unwell, you should provide a doctor’s note. If your evidence isn’t written in English, you must provide a notarised translation. Please avoid sending photographs that you think illustrate your condition. Photographs of medication or proof that you have booked an appointment with a GP or therapist are not normally accepted. Further information about the types of evidence which you might be able to use is available in Section 1.5: Providing Supporting Evidence. Your evidence will need to cover the full period for which you are requesting mitigation. If your ECs are submitted late, your evidence should help to explain the delay.
- What if I don’t have the evidence yet?
You should submit the EC on time and indicate that your evidence will be forthcoming. Your EC will only be validated on receipt and evaluation of your evidence. You must submit your evidence within FOUR WEEKS of submitting your EC.
- How will I know if my EC has been approved and how long will this take?
If you self-certify then you should hear 1-2 working days. A conventional EC will need to be considered by the Geography EC panel and this can take up to 10 days if we are receiving a very high volume of requests. Please be patient.
- Are IT issues acceptable grounds for an EC?
Routine computer problems such as viruses, disk corruption, printer problems, and short-term network problems are not normally considered acceptable grounds for an EC. You are expected to take proper precautions and make backup copies of your work and allow enough time to produce your work.
- What about technical failures in EC exams?
You CANNOT use the EC process to appeal technical failures in any assessment on AssessmentUCL. If you have not been able to submit your work because of a technical problem, you must complete an AssessmentUCL Query Form.
- What if I’m sick during an online exam?
If you experience sickness or an unexpected personal issue during an exam you can use the EC process to request a deferral. But you cannot self-certify once the exam has started; you must provide evidence. See the assessment regulations.
- What’s the maximum length of extensions I can request?
Students are permitted one week of self-certified extension without evidence (two weeks for dissertations). There is no official limit for conventional ECs, but anything over 12 weeks can only be authorised by the Joint Faculty. The length of extension you request should be commensurate to the EC you describe and the evidence you provide – the EC panel will consider the most appropriate form of mitigation and may grant an extension of greater or shorter length than requested.
- How are extension deadlines calculated?
Extensions will be granted from the original or last approved deadline, not the decision date (students should therefore continue to work on their assessment if they are able to while a decision is being made).
- Are EC extensions added on top of SORAs?
Where a student has a SoRA, extensions will be granted from the adjusted deadline. Students will not be entitled to their SoRA adjustment again on top of an EC extension. E.g. the Original deadline is 1/5/23 and the student has a SoRA extending this to 8/5/23. If the student has a two-week EC extension approved the new deadline will be 22/5/23.
- Can one of my self-certified EC requests cover more than one deadline?
Yes, as long as they fall within the same 14-day period. You can submit a self-certified EC to cover any assessments (including exams) falling within that period. e.g. student has a deadline of 14/5/23 for module X and 26/5/23 for module Y. Both deadlines would be covered by the EC and would only count as one of your two self-certified opportunities (three if you’re a postgrad).
- Can I apply for two consecutive self-certified ECs?
Back-to-back self-certified ECs are not allowed. If you are still unable to meet the deadline you must submit a conventional EC.
- Can I use self-certified ECs to push an assessment into the next period?
You can only defer time-limited assessments (e.g. exams) to the next assessment period. You cannot defer coursework or the dissertation to the LSA – you can only request a specific extension length. You can only request deferrals 2 weeks in advance of the event.
- Will applying for an EC negatively affect my grade?
Not in any way.