Questions on Standard EC requests

You can submit a standard Exceptional Circumstances request if you feel that your circumstances or difficulties have negatively affected, or will affect, your ability to complete coursework, to attend classes or to prepare for your exams. Through this process you will be able to request, for example, a longer coursework deadline extension, re-arrangement of an in-class test, or absence from a mandatory timetabled event.

You should submit a standard EC request for any assessments or adjustments that fall outside the Post Results Exceptional Circumstances and Self-Certification process. It is important that on the request form you describe the impact your circumstances have had on your studies. You will be required to provide evidence for your circumstances and this evidence should clearly show the timeframe of your circumstance and the assessment period you are asking to be considered. For types of evidence please refer to the latest Exceptional Circumstances Policy.

Please read the FAQs below for more information including how and in what time frame you can submit a standard EC request.

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below explain a number of important aspects relating to Standard Exceptional Circumstances (Standard EC) requests, including:

How to make a standard EC request
When you need to make a request (i.e. deadlines)
The potential outcomes if your request is granted
The implications of these outcomes
How to appeal a decision
Where to go for more support and information
Plus more specific questions you may have

Standard EC FAQs:

How do I make a standard EC request?

For UK-based undergraduate and postgraduate taught students, you will need to do the following:

- Login to the

- Open the ‘Actions’ tab, then select ‘Exceptional Circumstances' from the list.

- Please read the guidance and complete the online form, following the instructions provided

- The status/outcome of your request will be displayed on RISIS

The request form in RISIS is your opportunity to describe the exceptional circumstance, and its impact on you, and to provide any necessary evidence you have for your request. Please note, if you do not provide enough explanation of the circumstance or why mitigation is needed, or relevant evidence, your request may be rejected. The evidence you supply must cover the timeframe of that circumstance and the assessment submission deadline.

You should continue working to submit your assessment by the original deadline, if possible, and submit your work even in an unfinished state rather than fail to submit any work at all. This work can then be marked as normal if your EC request is not granted.

After submitting your EC request you should then continue to work on your assessment pending the outcome decision. If you have not received an outcome by your proposed new deadline, please submit your work by this deadline anyway to prevent any late penalties being incurred.

If your EC request is granted, after you have submitted your work, you will have the opportunity to submit the assessment to the new deadline if this should be different to the one you have requested. Contact your Support Centre or equivalent to arrange for any work that you have already submitted to be removed.

If you have any queries please contact your Student Support Coordinator or dedicated support in the Henley Business School Office or International Study and Language Institute (ISLI).

Will my Exceptional Circumstances request be confidential?

The information which you provide on your standard Exceptional Circumstances form will normally be held confidentially and will only be shared with those who need to see it. If you are uncomfortable with disclosing information about your circumstances, please discuss the matter with a member of staff (ideally your Academic Tutor or Student Support Coordinator) or a 黑瓜吃料网 Students' Union adviser.

What are the deadlines for submitting my Exceptional Circumstances form?

You should submit a standard Exceptional Circumstances (EC) form before the deadline for submission of coursework.

Please note that for in-class tests you should submit a standard Exceptional Circumstances form before the date of the in-class test and within five working days of the date of the test. If you expect to be absent from an in-class test you must inform the relevant lecturer and Support Centre (or Henley Helpdesk or ISLI Admin Office) in advance of the test.

Standard EC forms submitted after the relevant deadline will not be considered in the normal way. If, however, you were not able to submit the form due to significant circumstances, for example, hospitalisation, incarceration or major physical or mental incapacity, then submit a standard EC request in the normal way as soon as you are able to. In that late standard EC request you must provide ALL of the following:

- The relevant supporting evidence for those circumstances detailed in the late standard EC request

- A statement which details the reason for the lateness of the standard EC request

- Additional evidence that supports the reason for lateness of the standard EC request.

What are the possible outcomes available?

Annex 2 of the latest Exceptional Circumstances Policy indicates the outcomes you can request, together with the process to be followed and the decision route.

What if I need a coursework extension that goes beyond the end of the Semester 2 assessment period?

For UG Finalists: Please be aware that if your new extension deadline goes beyond the end of the semester 2 assessment period this may mean that your overall results cannot be considered at the Programme Examiners meetings in June. This may mean that you will be unable to graduate in July and you will be invited to the graduation ceremonies in the following December.

For PGT Finalists and UG finalist Resitters: Please be aware that if your new extension deadline goes past the 15th September this may mean that your overall results cannot be considered at the Programme Examiners meetings in October. This may mean that you will be unable to graduate in December and you will be invited to the graduation ceremonies in the following July.

For UG Non-Finalists: Please be aware that if your new deadline goes beyond the end of the semester 2 assessment period this may mean that your results cannot be considered at the Programme Examiners meetings in June. This may mean that your progression outcome cannot be confirmed in time for reassessment during the August examination period. In this circumstance, if your progression outcome is failed or not qualified at first attempt, your student status will be ‘suspended exam only’ during the following academic year; and reassessment will take place during the Summer Exam period in that following year.

For UG Non-Finalist Resitters: Please be aware that if your new deadline goes past the August/September resit period this may mean that your results cannot be considered at the Programme Examiners meetings in September. This may mean that your progression outcome cannot be confirmed in time for the start of the Academic Year. In this circumstance:

- If your progression outcome is ‘passed’ your student status will be ‘suspended exam only’ during the following academic year and you can restart your studies a whole Academic Year later.

- If your progression outcome is failed or not qualified at first/second attempt, your student status will be ‘suspended exam only’ during the following academic year; and your reassessment(s) will take place during the Summer Exam period in that following year.

How can I request a repeat year as an Undergraduate Student?

If your exceptional circumstances have negatively impacted your study for the whole academic year, we advise you to apply for a Repeat Year, with relevant evidence to support your request, as soon as your results are published in July.

Things you need to know:

- In most circumstances where a Repeat Year request is granted, University regulations require that, before a student can re-enter, they must be medically/psychologically fit to do so. This is known as ‘fitness to return conditions’ (FtR).
- If your Repeat Year request is granted, these FtR conditions will be noted in your Exceptional Circumstances outcome and MUST be met BEFORE you can restart the year.
- The Repeat Year return to study process which includes any FtR conditions can take many weeks to process, therefore if you wish to restart your studies in the consecutive academic year, your Repeat Year request no later than the deadline of the Summer PREC window, which is 4 working days after results publication, and conditions of return must be met no later than 3 weeks before the start of the semester. Any submissions received after the Summer PREC deadline date will still be considered but your restart date may be delayed until the following academic year (i.e, you will automatically be suspended for an academic year).

- Seek advice and guidance from 黑瓜吃料网 Students' Union when submitting a Repeat Year request.

- Do not enter into any financial commitments (e.g. accommodation) until you have a final decision regarding your Repeat Year request and your return to study date has been confirmed.

What if my EC affect me during the exam period but I have to wait until my results to submit a PREC?

If you are faced with situations or difficulties that are outside your control and which negatively affect your academic performance during an Exam period, read the Post Results Exceptional Circumstances guidance.

What if exceptional circumstances affect me during Semester 1?

You won’t be able to submit a PREC request immediately as you will need to wait for your full profile of marks at the end of the year in order to understand whether you need to retake any examinations. Different degree programmes have different rules regarding how many and which modules must be passed in order to progress with your studies. It is however very important that you gather any evidence of your exceptional circumstances at the time and keep it safe so you can submit it at the end of the year should you need to do so. Please see Post Results Exceptional Circumstance guidance.

If my EC is for group work, what do I need to know?

It is important to note that Exceptional Circumstances outcomes are recorded against an individual student, and that individual student is notified of an EC outcome via the RISIS portal. The relevant outcome is noted for that student only. Therefore, group requests cannot be considered/processed via the EC system, hence the need for EACH group member to submit their own standard EC form for group work.

For example: One group member may have had an illness which prevented them from taking part in the group work in the normal way and/or submitting by the submission deadline. They will submit their standard EC form citing their specific EC reasons, and their circumstance/evidence will be considered in the normal way. If approved, depending on the cause/length of that illness, they will be granted a relevant adjustment accordingly as outlined in the EC policy. This will/may subsequently impact the other group members being able to complete or submit their work and those members will ALSO need to individually submit their own EC form as the circumstances will have impacted them differently and they may need different adjustments as a result.

If my EC is IT-related, what do I need to know?

Useful information:

- IT problems can only be a reason for an EC request when you cannot reasonably access campus, or when you are affected by a University IT failure.

- IT problems are not accepted as evidence for EC for those who are registered on campus and can use IT facilities during the semester.

- You are expected to store files securely on OneDrive and this is provided to you as part of your University IT package.

- If you have an IT issue, you are expected to take prompt action to remedy it, for example: email the IT Service Desk; take your technology for repair; contact your School if you need support with the school-provided/recommended software

- If your own device is faulty, central PC labs on campus are available to you (check Essentials for details).

- Failures of the central IT system and the Halls system are logged by DTS – so can be referred to on your ECF.

Examples of evidence to support an EC include:

- Contact with IT Help – evidenced in the form of the DTS ticket acknowledgment email.

- Confirmation from IT Help that the problem is real and that they have investigated it.

- Evidence of reasonable and timely action taken by you to overcome the problem.

- Evidence of failure by the University to provide services it has committed to provide (eg an email telling you the internet was down in your hall at the specific date and time of an assessment).

- Evidence from a Blackboard log that this is an assignment submission difficulty. (NB this needs to be obtained from the Support Centre as it is not accessible to students.)

- Evidence of a timely email to the relevant module convenor (only in cases where specialist software/storage or other local solutions are being used).

Examples of evidence that is not acceptable to support an EC include:

- A stand-alone screen shot with no date or time; a screenshot could be used in dialogue with DTS to diagnose a problem.

- Save date and time of file.

Can I submit a standard EC request if I already have DAS reasonable adjustments in place for an assessment?

You should submit an EC request where:

- Reasonable adjustments have already been put in place regarding your assessment but you are then faced with additional circumstances beyond your control.

- Your studies have been impacted by the new circumstances.

- If reasonable adjustments have been put in place for this assessment and then require additional time due to an exceptional circumstances, you should:

- First use your DAS-agreed 5+/10 days reasonable adjustment, as per your Individual Learning Plan;

- Then submit an Exceptional Circumstances form for additional time in the normal way.

What if I want to appeal the outcome of my request?

You have the right to appeal against a School-level or University Standing Committee on Special Cases (USCSC) decision in respect of an Exceptional Circumstances request.

Please carefully review the grounds for appeal detailed in the Exceptional Circumstances outcome appeal form. You are strongly encouraged to . They are professional 黑瓜吃料网 Students' Union staff with knowledge and experience of the University’s procedures who can offer confidential, independent advice and support you throughout the process.

If you have new evidence which you were not able to submit by the original deadline, you may submit this to the Support Centre, Henley School Office or ISLI (as appropriate). This should normally be within 10 working days from the date that the outcome of your exceptional circumstances request is made available to you, together with an explanation as to why the evidence could not be submitted by the original deadline. Please note that the deadline for evidence for a PREC (Post Results EC) request is 8 working days from results publication.

1. Submit any appeal before the deadline for appeal. The deadline to appeal is within five working days from the date you were sent the notification outcome of your Exceptional Circumstances request. The only exception to this deadline is if you are notified of your outcome during an examination period. In this circumstance, the deadline for you to appeal is whichever is later:

five working days from the date the outcome of your Exceptional Circumstances request is made available to you
the next working day following the final day of the relevant exam period. The dates for are published online.

2. To make an appeal: download and complete the .

3. Get any official documents or paperwork that you need to support your appeal.

4. Send the form and the documents to the Student Appeals and Academic Misconduct Officer ecfappeals@reading.ac.uk before the deadline for appeal.

Please be aware that an appeal of your EC outcome will take time to process. Therefore, if your appeal is upheld this will likely create a delay in implementing the new agreed outcome and the associated work that you need to complete/submit. This may then impact you being able to progress through your studies/graduate at the normal time. Please seek advice from your School about the implications of your appeal request. If your appeal is requesting a particular deadline/extension to be considered, you must be working towards submitting your work to that requested deadline/extension and not wait for the appeal outcome. This will prevent you incurring any additional late penalties should your appeal be upheld.

I have other questions not included in this page?

If you have other questions not covered in this page about making a request, you can contact the following people for advice:

- Your Student Support Coordinator or relevant support staff in ISLI/HBS

- Your Academic Tutor or the School Director Academic Tutoring

- The Advice Service at 黑瓜吃料网 Students' Union: email advice@rusu.co.uk or call 0118 378 4100

- For students on Henley Greenlands-based programmes contact your Programme Administrator

Guidance on your Exceptional Circumstances request