Exceptional circumstances

Assessments and your personal circumstances

If you are worried your circumstances could affect your assessments, you should tell us as soon as possible, rather than waiting for your results. Read about the Exceptional Circumstances Policy and Procedure below.

Exceptional circumstances

We recognise that unplanned events, including ill health, may occur during your time at BU which could adversely impact your ability to study and complete an assessment.

It’s important that you let us know about any issues you may be experiencing as soon as possible so that we can assist you in finding the right support. Waiting until the end of the year before telling anyone will limit the options available to you.

If you feel that circumstances have impacted you to the point that they could affect your results, you should talk to your Academic Advisor, Programme Leader (PL) or Programme Support Officer (PSO) to see if you may be able to request a coursework extension or have your exam(s) postponed.

If you have completed your coursework or sat your exam before the full impact of your circumstances are known you should also discuss this with your Academic Advisor, Programme Leader (PL) or Programme Support Officer (PSO). If you have a valid reason for not reporting this earlier you may be able to request that your circumstances are considered by the Assessment Board when they are looking at your results. For full information please read the detailed Student Guidance for Exceptional Circumstances.

In response to student feedback about this process, an online extension request form was launched in 2020/21 to simplify the process of requesting an extension - please login to Office 365 first (with your BU student account) and ensure you select the correct link for your faculty:

To complete the form, you must also be logged into your own BU Office 365 account, not your personal Outlook or Hotmail account. If you are using a shared computer, you must ensure that you have logged in to BU Office 365 and that previous users have been logged out.

If you have already submitted an extension request by email, you do not need to submit a new request using the online form. If you have any queries, please contact the Programme Support Team for your course.

More information

What are exceptional circumstances?

An exceptional circumstance is an event that has had a negative impact on your ability to study or complete your assessment. It is something which you could not have foreseen and over which you have no control. For full information please read the detailed Student Guidance for Exceptional Circumstances.

Please note: For circumstances relating to Covid-19 please see the specific guidance above.

For example:

An illness (including mental health) that impacted your ability to attend an exam or meet an assessment deadline or adversely affected your performance in an assessment
Family illness
Pregnancy-related illness
Bereavement
Unforeseen travel disruption normally causing delays of over an hour, for example industrial action or road traffic accident
Acute personal difficulties/Domestic disruption
Jury service

Please be aware that there also events that we would not consider to be exceptional for example:Computer IT/failure	It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all work is electronically stored and/or submitted and the correct piece of work is submitted. Enough time should be allowed to submit the work to meet the deadline.
Transport problems	Routine delays to buses and trains will not be accepted.
Misreading assessment dates and times	It is the student’s responsibility to ensure an accurate understanding of the assessment location, time and duration.
Holidays or expeditions	All holidays, and vacations should take place at a time that does not impact your availability to study or prepare for or undertake an assessment.
Inadequate planning, organisation or time management	Students are expected to plan their time to manage their assessments schedules and the study time required to support their own learning.
Timetabling of coursework/examinations	Deadlines of exams being too close together will not be accepted as valid Exceptional Circumstances claim.
Paid employment or voluntary work	Students are responsible for managing other commitments so that they do not adversely interfere with their studies. If students are experiencing acute personal difficulties that require them to undertake unexpected levels of paid work these might be come under the definition of Exceptional Circumstances.
Not disclosing circumstances	The University can only consider Exceptional Circumstances claims if they are disclosed in accordance with regulations. If a student has a valid reason for not disclosing circumstances by the published deadlines they should speak to their Academic Advisor or SUBU Advice.

How do I let my faculty know about my circumstances?

Let your Academic Advisor, Programme Leader or Programme Support Officer know as soon as you experience any events that have a negative impact on you. The sooner you let us know the earlier we can assist you in getting the support you need and advise you on how to request an extension or postponement.

If, when you have discussed your situation, you need to submit a request for an extension or postponement OR a request for Board Consideration the forms to do this are available below. To complete the forms, you must be logged into your own BU Office 365 account. If you are using a shared computer, you must ensure that you have logged in to BU Office 365 and that previous users have been logged out:

What happens once I have submitted my exceptional circumstances?

If you have requested a coursework extension(s) or an exam postponement(s) then this will be considered by your Programme Leader (or their nominee). You will normally be advised if this has been authorised within five working days of submitting the form and supporting evidence. For coursework you will be given a new deadline. Postponed exams are normally sat within the next exam period.

When will an Assessment Board consideration take place?

If you have requested Assessment Board consideration this will take place during the assessment board season, normally in June or July. If it is agreed that the evidence submitted supports your statement of how the circumstance has impacted you the Board will decide the way that you will be reassessed.

This decision will be dependent on how you have performed overall across all of your assessment. Your marks will not be increased and your work will not be marked sympathetically but the Board may agree that you be given the opportunity to resit or resubmit as if for the first time.

Can I appeal my results on the grounds of Exceptional Circumstances?

One of the grounds for appeal is:

“I believe my performance in assessment has been affected by illness or other factors which, for valid reason(s), I was unable to divulge before the meeting of the Assessment Board.”

So yes, you can appeal, but the appeal can only be upheld if is agreed that you have a valid reason for why this Exceptional Circumstance could not have been declared before the deadline for Board considerations. So, if you think that your circumstances may have affected your results you should still request Board consideration, even if you believe you may have passed the assessment.

Looking for support?

Whether you're looking for academic, personal, financial or career support - find out how we can help.

AskBU: contact us

AskBU is your one-stop-shop for student enquiries - you can contact us by email and phone, or drop in to see us at Talbot or Lansdowne Campus - we're open during term time and vacations.

Exceptional circumstances

Assessments and your personal circumstances