Mitigation & Extensions

Brighton Students’ Union Support Mitigation & Extensions (2020/21) University of Brighton

Mitigating Circumstances (Mitigation) In circumstances where you are ill or your studies have been affected by another serious incident or event, you may find you have been unsuccessful in passing your coursework and/ or examinations. You may also find that you have ‘unrepresentative performance’ (underperformed) in these circumstances too. Mitigation is the process by which a student can ‘mitigate’ (lessen) the effect of the personal circumstances on your grades.

A new category of mitigation known as Generic Mitigation has been introduced for the academic years 2019/20 & 20/21, in response to the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic, to ensure students can progress at the normal rate, even if their study has been disrupted.

Applying for Generic Mitigation Generic mitigation provides a safety net for all students. You do not need to apply to receive it and you do not need to show you’ve been affected. It will be automatically applied for you.

How Can Generic Mitigation Help Me? Generic Mitigation means you are allowed to attempt failed assessment(s) again – these can be categorised as failed attempts or failure for non-submission.

Assessments failed at first attempt, will be given another attempt at a later date, without any penalty – this is known as a ‘deferral’.

If you are on your second or third attempt at an assessment, you will automatically be given Generic Mitigation if you fail an assessment, however you will remain on your same attempt number and the grade will remain capped – this is known as a ‘referral’.

Generic mitigation may not apply to some courses with Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) requirements. You can check with your Course Leader if you are unsure if your course has a PSRB requirement.

I Need More Time to Complete my Coursework If you think you won’t be able to meet the deadline for your assignment, you should ask for an extension.

If your difficulties are short-term and occur close to a coursework submission deadline you may apply for an extension to deadline. An extension to deadline grants you extra time to complete your assignment without a negative impact on your marks.

Without an extension, a late submission of work (i.e. handing in the work within two weeks after the submission deadline) carries an automatic penalty and the mark for the work will be capped at the module pass mark of 40% (undergraduate) or 50% (postgraduate), so it is important that you apply for an extension in advance of the submission deadline.

An extension to the deadline can be for three days up to a maximum of two weeks. If you think you are going to need longer, you should probably consider using generic mitigation – see above. By not submitting your work, you will automatically be given another opportunity to submit a similar piece of referral work.

Applying for an Extension to a Deadline You must obtain agreement for an extension from your Course Leader and make the application at least one day before the deadline. If you have a Learning Support Plan, you may still need to apply, but it will be granted automatically.

Complete the form and send to your school office – see below.

Mitigating Circumstances - Unrepresentative Performance Unlike Generic Mitigation which applies to failures and non-submissions, Unrepresentative Performance is for students who pass their assessments, but nonetheless have had their results and grades impacted by external factors, and where the student would like another attempt at the assessment to improve their grade.

Factors that had an impact on your ability to study, complete coursework or take exams, are considered by the Exam Board and it may allow you to take another assessment, different to the previous one to improve your marks.

Unlike Generic Mitigation, you must make an application for Unrepresentative Performance.

You should send your form together with any evidence to your school administration office – see below.

Applying for Mitigating Circumstances Unrepresentative Performance In order to successfully apply, you must first be within 14 days of receiving your official ratified results from the Examination Board. If you have not yet received your results, you

can still start filling out the mitigating circumstances form, but you may not submit it until the results are received.

As well as completing the mitigating circumstances form, you will also need to submit supporting evidence. If you cannot obtain evidence, then you should explain why, and your claim will be considered on the strength of your application alone.

You should refer to the accompanying guidance when making an application.

Where to send your request for: Unrepresentative Performance or an Extension to a Deadline To request consideration for an extension to deadline or mitigating circumstances for unrepresentative performance you must submit an application through your School Administration Office. You may find it helpful to compile and submit supporting documentation alongside your claim form, but all claims will be reviewed whether supporting documentation is available or not. Your School Office will be able to advise you on the process and give you information about how and when decisions are made. In either case, it is better to seek help early so that you can get the support you need .

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Advise you on university procedures.

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Assist in putting statements together.

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Advise on gathering evidence.

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Guide you on filling out forms.

Further Guidance You can find further information and helpful guides in our webpages on these issues below:

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Academic Appeals

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Academic Misconduct

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Student Complaints

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Fitness to Practise

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Student Disciplinary Matters