Exceptional Circumstances

Students who experience illness, accidents, or other uncontrollable circumstances that affect their assessment performance can apply for special consideration. The Boards of Examiners, supported by the Exceptional Circumstances Service, and Exceptional Circumstances Committees, will decide on appropriate outcomes for each applicant.

Assessments you can get support with 

If you've encountered an unforeseen situation beyond your control that negatively affected your academic performance, you might be eligible for exceptional circumstances consideration.

Coursework support

Support is available for coursework where: 

  • an extension is not available, e.g., class quizzes, field trips or lab tests
  • you are unable to meet an extension deadline
  • you have missed a deadline
  • you have completed a piece of coursework, but your situation has impacted your performance
  • you are unable to apply for an extension because you have already applied for 3 extensions this academic year.

An extension might be a more suitable option if you need a short period of additional time for an assessment.

Exam support

Support is also available for examinations if: 

  • you are not able to attend online or in-person
  • you have missed the exam
  • you have taken an exam, but your situation has impacted your performance.  

Situations that qualify for exceptional circumstances 

An exceptional circumstance is something unexpected and beyond your control. Below are some examples of situations that qualify as exceptional circumstances. 

What situations qualify for Exceptional Circumstances?

Situations that are eligible for Exceptional Circumstances include:

  • Bereavement through the death of a close relative, partner or close personal friend.
  • Serious short-term physical illness or injury; this includes sudden worsening or a flare-up of a chronic physical health issue. Serious short-term mental illness; this includes sudden worsening or a flare-up of a chronic mental health issue.
  • Serious illness of a close relative (such as parent, child or spouse/partner) or a person who is dependent upon the student for their care.
  • Victim of a crime whose impact upon a student is serious; this includes the experience of sexual or gender-based violence and harassment.
  • Adjustments for a disability have not been made in time for a course assessment, where the student can demonstrate that the delay is not their responsibility .
  • Exceptional personal circumstances, e.g. events that result in a serious impact on a student’s ability to engage with academic work during the assessment period in question; this includes unexpected changes to caring responsibilities, and breakdown of a long-term relationship.
  • For students in paid employment, an exceptional and significant change in their employment commitments, where this is beyond their control.
  • Other exceptional circumstances that have affected, or will affect the student's ability to meet a deadline or complete an assessment. Such circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may include military service, military conflict, natural disaster or extreme weather conditions.
  • Students taking part in elite level sporting events may be permitted to request extensions to coursework deadlines under the Performance Sport policy. If a coursework extension does not afford the flexibility required to enable sporting representation, please speak to your Student Adviser or School Student Support Office for advice on other options.

What situations do not qualify for Exceptional Circumstances?

Situations that are not eligible for Exceptional Circumstances include:

  • A long-term or chronic health condition (including mental ill-health) which has not worsened recently or for which the University has already made a reasonable adjustment.
  • A minor short-term illness or injury (e.g. a common cold), which would not reasonably have had a significant adverse impact on the student’s performance in an assessment or ability to complete the assessment on time.
  • Holidays, including getting married, attendance at weddings, festivals and similar events.
  • Loss of work not backed up, computer or printing problems
  • Poor working practices such as:
    • Accidental submission of an incorrect document, wrong file type or a corrupted file;
    • Claim of technical issues on behalf of the University with no proof of an error message/ system failure on a University system (e.g. Learn);
    • Poor time management;
    • Misunderstanding of the examination timetable or instructions on assessment deadlines.
  • Deadlines for work or exams being set close together.

Are you applying regularly for Exceptional Circumstances on health grounds?

If this applies to you, please get in touch with the Disability & Learning Support Service. The Disability & Learning Support Service is here to support you with your study and assessment, and can put in place learning support, meaning that you may not need to apply for exceptional circumstances, unless your condition has significantly worsened. 

Contact Disability and Learning Support Service 

Possible application outcomes

Once an application is accepted by the Exceptional Circumstances Service, your school will decide on the outcome decision to ensure the best academic interest for you. 

If your Exceptional Circumstances application is accepted by the Exceptional Circumstances Service and relates to a late coursework submission, late penalties will be removed by default provided that the late assessment submission is accepted by your School or Deanery. Your School or Deanery will tell you when a late submission cannot be accepted (for example, where marking or moderation has already taken place).

You will be informed of the outcome decision when your marks are published at the end of the semester. Possible outcome decisions include:

  1. No action - the actions available would not be in your best academic interest.
  2. Disregard penalties for late submission of work.
  3. Disregard missing or unreliable components to derive your overall mark for a course.
  4. Disregard a course result when calculating your programme average.
  5. Record the course as a 'null sit' with the option for you to repeat some or all assessments, on a first sit basis.
  6. Allow you to resubmit a revised dissertation on a postgraduate taught programme.
  7. Allow you to take a specially prepared alternative assessment.
  8. Award a pass for a course that you have marginally failed.

Before applying, discuss the implications of these possible outcomes with your Student Support Team or the staff at The Advice Place. 

Application process 

When to apply 

You should apply no earlier than 10 days before the coursework deadline or examination. 

Each school has final deadlines for applications. Applications after those dates may be considered in exceptional situations. Learn more about exceptional circumstances deadlines. 

Completing the application

The application is split into three sections. All sections of the application must be completed. The required steps are:  

  1. Tell us what happened, and how it affected your assessment(s)
  2. Select your assessments
  3. Evidence and submission 

Collect your evidence 

All Exceptional Circumstances applications need to be supported by evidence, unless you are applying for the following reasons:

Find out more about what type of evidence you need to provide: https://registryservices.ed.ac.uk/exceptional-circumstances-service/exceptional-circumstances/evidence 

How to apply

See our "Applying for Exceptional Circumstances"  page for instructions on how to apply for Exceptional Circumstances.

Get guidance on making your application 

Getting a decision 

The EC Service will review your application and evidence. They will respond within 5 working days, letting you know whether your request has been accepted. 

The Board of Examiners makes the outcome decision for an approved exceptional circumstance after the end of a semester:   

  • Semester one courses: January 
  • Semester two courses: June

You can track the EC Service decision and the Board of Examiners outcome decision in your application dashboard. 

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