Academic Policy & Governance

The following examples could be considered as Good Cause:

• Serious or incapacitating injury, illness, or medical condition or operation (whether elective/routine or unanticipated/emergency).
• Significant short-term mental ill-health.
• A long-term or chronic physical or mental health condition which has recently worsened significantly. If you are affected by a long-term health condition, please consult the Disability Service as soon as you can so that we can put support and reasonable adjustments in place. You may also speak to your School to explore other options concerning your programme of study (e.g., moving from full-time to part-time study or taking a Fitness to Study Leave of Absence).
• A significant family or personal crisis (e.g., bereavement or serious illness affecting someone close to you such as a family member, friend or partner).
• Jury Service or Court attendance.
• Unforeseen events, such as being a victim of a crime which is likely to have significant emotional impact such as a sexual or other physical assault, being involved in a road traffic accident, an exceptional crisis of employment commitment beyond your control, or being immediately impacted by military conflict or natural disaster.
• A financial or housing crisis, e.g., temporary homelessness or the unexpected requirement to move at short notice.
• Severe disruption during your online exam, such as sudden software failure, prolonged loss of internet connection where you are using your own IT equipment, or a sudden domestic crisis. If you experience technical difficulties with accessing, completing, checking or submitting a non-invigilated online exam, you should immediately contact the IT Helpdesk. If you are unable to access the Helpdesk via the internet, call +44 (0)141 330 4800. In submitting a Good Cause claim for such an issue, you could support your claim with reference to the IT Helpdesk Incident Number, if you logged the issue with the IT Helpdesk. Note, however, that if it is a University-based technical issue impacting a whole group or cohort of students, IT will publish a Spotlight Alert which will provide updates (you can sign up to the alert email list). In this case, your School should communicate with you about mitigations they will put in place, which may include advice that there is no need to submit a Good Cause claim. If, however, you feel there are reasons that you were disproportionately impacted by the disruption, you may still submit a Good Cause claim. If the technical difficulties occur in an invigilated online exam, seek initial guidance from an invigilator or attending staff member in the first instance. If the issue cannot be resolved, you may then be advised to submit a Good Cause claim.
• Extreme, unforeseen travel disruption on your way to an on-campus exam. You are expected to take reasonable steps to allow for some cancellations/delays.

The above list is not exhaustive, and we want to know about serious issues, beyond your control, that you believe have prevented you from taking an assessment or have significantly impaired your performance. If you are unsure whether your circumstances would be considered Good Cause, please contact your School for further advice and support.

Please see ‘What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim’ for information about what you need to include when submitting your Good Cause claim on MyCampus.

Good Cause regulations relate only to short-term issues that may have affected the taking of exams, submission of other assessments, or your performance in assessments. In other words, issues that have prevented you from demonstrating in your assessments what you have learned through your studies.

Students are expected to cope with difficulties, problems and minor illnesses that occur in normal life in the same way as everyone does at work or at home, and to manage competing demands on their time. Around exam time a certain amount of stress is natural.

The following are examples of circumstances which would not normally be considered Good Cause:

• A long-term or chronic physical or mental health condition which has not significantly worsened recently. If you are affected by a long-term health condition, please consult the Disability Service as soon as possible so that we can put support and reasonable adjustments in place. You may also speak to your School to explore other options in relation to your programme of study (e.g., moving from full-time to part-time study or taking a 'Fitness to Study' Leave of Absence).
• A minor short-term illness or injury (e.g., a common cold) which would not reasonably have had a significant adverse impact on assessment.
• Personal/domestic events that could have been planned for and choices in personal life (e.g., attending weddings or holidays).
• General worry about financial difficulties over a period of time. Please note that advice is available on the Cost of Living Support Pages.
• Failure or theft of your computer or other equipment being used to produce the work to be assessed, including work not being backed-up. For exams taken on your own device, please see the online exams checklist for advice on steps to take in advance. If you experience technical difficulties with accessing, completing, checking or submitting an exam, you should immediately contact the IT Helpdesk. If you are unable to access the Helpdesk via the internet, call +44 (0)141 330 4800. Keep the web address and telephone number to hand throughout the exam diet.
• Poor management of time or misunderstanding of deadlines/dates (including failure of others to submit group assignments).
• Regular commitments to paid or voluntary employment.

You should therefore take appropriate steps to minimise the impact of such events as these are unlikely to be accepted as valid claims under Good Cause.

You have five working days^[1] from the assessment date (e.g. exam date or coursework submission deadline) to initiate your Good Cause claim on MyCampus, otherwise it is deemed to be late and will not be accepted without there being a good reason for not submitting it on time.

We do recognise that, occasionally, this may not be possible (e.g. if you are in hospital and therefore unable to access the system). In such cases you should still try to make contact with your School or Adviser to let them know that you have missed the deadline but intend to make a claim as soon as you can.

You can, in extreme circumstances, ask a friend or family member to pass a message on if you are unable to make direct contact. This will also help us to understand your current difficulties and advise you of any support that may be available.

If you are prevented from initiating your claim within five working days for good reason, you must detail this in your claim.

Evidence to support your claim can be uploaded later, but the claim MUST be STARTED on MyCampus within five working days. This applies both to assessments that you have missed, and to exams that you attended or coursework that you submitted but where you believe your performance was significantly affected. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.

You will receive an acknowledgement on MyCampus when you submit, and your School will be able to provide you with more information about when you should expect a decision. Your claim can be retracted up to five working days after the assessment date.

When your Good Cause claim is considered, you will receive an email to check MyCampus for the outcome.

You will need to tell us about the impact of your circumstances on your ability to complete or perform well in your assessment. You will also need to provide evidence to support your claim.

Your evidence must include your name (or the relevant other person's name if the claim relates to their circumstances, e.g. the illness of a relative) if applicable, must cover the date(s) of the impacted assessment(s) (e.g., if your essay is due 3 July, the evidence must cover that date), and a translation of the document if it is not in English. 

The following are examples of evidence that is normally accepted:

• Bereavement. You could provide a letter from an independent person (usually not a family member) giving a view on the closeness of the relationship to you. A death certificate, funeral notice, or order of service are other forms of acceptable evidence.
• Medical matters. Documentation from hospital, clinic, GP, consultant, counsellor, therapist, or carer. This could include: a hospital report; a doctor or other medical professional's report; a doctor's 'Fit Note'; a formal notification of a hospital or clinic appointment, or hospital discharge letter. Please note that you should only make an appointment with a GP if you require advice and/or treatment in relation to a medical matter. The University does not expect Good Cause claims to be supported by GP letters in relation to minor matters that did not require advice and/or treatment. It is therefore not appropriate to make an appointment with the purpose of obtaining a doctor's letter in such circumstances. For supporting a Good Cause claim, there is little value in a letter from a GP saying that you told them that you recently had an illness such as a stomach upset or flu. It is also not a good use of a busy GP surgery's time to be asked for such letters. In those cases, the following may be considered:
• Letter from a member of University staff such as your tutor or Adviser of Studies.
• Letter from a leader/manager or senior colleague of a group or club that you belong to, an organisation where you volunteer, or a place of employment.
• Someone who saw you when you were unwell (e.g., personal friends, flatmates or family members). Letters of support from them may be submitted, but these carry less weight. You should explain why this is the best evidence available to you.

Note: As soon as you become a student at the University you should register with a local doctor (within the postcode area of your term-time home) who will be responsible for your medical care whilst at the University. This does not mean the relationship with your home doctor is broken. You may still consult them when on vacation.

The above information about evidence would also apply if the medical circumstances you are reporting relate to a close relative or friend. In such cases you would need to explain in your claim why you were affected and, in the case of a hospital appointment, why it was essential that you accompanied that person. Before submitting any evidence in relation to a third party you must have their consent.

• Disability. For cases where there has been a short-term worsening of a long-term (chronic) condition you can seek a supporting letter from any relevant service you have already been registered with for support for the long-term condition, such as your Counsellor (e.g. from Counselling & Psychological Services [CAPS]) or GP, mentor or other support worker. If you are registered with the Disability Service with a relapsing and remitting condition, the Disability Service can provide you with a template letter confirming that you have such a condition. If you experience a flare-up of that condition at the time of an assessment, meaning that you with to submit a Good Cause claim, you can use the letter as evidence to support your claim. In other words, you won't need to obtain additional supporting evidence relating to the specific flare-up. Further guidance is available.
• Personal Circumstances which are not health related. You should provide a letter or document from an independent responsible person (or organisation), with their contact details provided, who can vouch for the circumstances you are reporting, such as:
• Letter from a support service (e.g., Citizen’s Advice Bureau, social worker or other support organisation).
• The Police (e.g. crime report or accident report with reference numbers).
• Legal documentation from the Court, Crown Prosecution Service or a solicitor.
• Documentation from an insurance company (e.g. in relation to a road traffic accident).
• A member of University staff who was alerted to the circumstances at the time.
• Letter from a leader/manager or senior colleague of a group or club that you belong to, an organisation where you volunteer, or a place of employment.
• If you experienced technical difficulties with accessing, completing, checking or submitting an online exam (and it wasn't a University issue that, for example, impacted on a full cohort and where other mitigations have been put in place by your School and communicated to you), you could support your Good Cause claim with reference to an IT Helpdesk Number if you logged the issue with the IT Helpdesk.

Letters of support from personal friends or family members may be submitted in relation to any circumstances, but these carry less weight in supporting a Good Cause claim. In your claim you should explain why this is the best evidence available to you. 

We understand that obtaining evidence before submission may be difficult. You must initiate your Good Cause claim within five working days^[1] of the assessment date even if you do not yet have evidence. Evidence can be added to your claim at a later date.

You must obtain consent to share information or documents relating to third parties (e.g., family members), and by sharing it on MyCampus the University assumes you have received that consent. Photographic evidence is allowable (e.g., pictures of documents), but please avoid sending us graphic or distressing images of illness, injury, or death as they are not appropriate evidence.

We understand that some circumstances are extremely sensitive, such as sexual assault, pregnancy termination, or family crises. In rare cases, there may be highly sensitive personal information that you believe is pertinent to your case, but which you might be reluctant to disclose. You should contact your Head of School in the first instance, and they will assign a member of staff (such as your Adviser of Studies) to discuss arrangements for sufficient but restricted information to be passed to appropriate colleagues so that your circumstances can be considered. In such cases, you must still submit a Good Cause claim in MyCampus, indicating who you have contacted with the details, but you would not need to submit the evidence, on the basis that you have already shared this with the staff member supporting your claim. If you have discussed your circumstances with a member of staff, please provide an email address for them so that when the claim is being considered, they can provide confirmation that there are significant adverse circumstances relevant to the claim.

Remember that a request for an extension of up to five working days^[1] does not need a Good Cause claim. Use the local process, as described in your course documentation, giving an explanation of why you need extra time. You do not need supporting evidence. 

We understand that you may share with us some very personal details in support of your Good Cause claim, and Schools have systems in place to hold that information securely and will only use it to consider and respond to your claim. Data will be stored and shared using the University’s standard hosting services and software applications such as Outlook, OneDrive/SharePoint, its IT Helpdesk system (‘Ivanti’), its virtual learning environment (‘Moodle’) and its student records system (‘MyCampus’), with access limited to those either administering and/or contributing related information for consideration by the relevant decision making individual or committee.

When your claim is submitted, this will be accessed by those responsible for coordinating the provision of your programme or assessing your progress, or by the staff from your School or Subject area with designated responsibility for considering Good Cause claims.

We understand you may find it difficult or embarrassing to reveal information about your personal or medical circumstances, and, for some students, it may not be usual to disclose the details of some of these kinds of circumstances outside of immediate family. There may also be situations where you may be pressured not to reveal your personal circumstances.

However, it is crucial to provide all the relevant information when making a Good Cause claim, despite the discomfort or pressure you might feel, so that we can fully consider your circumstances. This helps us to understand the situation’s severity and assess the best solution. In rare cases, there may be highly sensitive personal information that you believe is pertinent to your case, but which you might be reluctant to disclose. You should contact your Head of School in the first instance, and they will assign a member of staff (such as your Adviser of Studies) to discuss arrangements for sufficient but restricted information to be passed to appropriate colleagues so that your circumstances can be considered. In such cases, you must still submit a Good Cause claim in MyCampus, indicating who you have contacted with the details, but you would not need to submit the evidence, on the basis that you have already shared this with the staff member supporting your claim. If you have discussed your circumstances with a member of staff, please provide an email address for them so that when the claim is being considered, they can provide confirmation that there are significant adverse circumstances relevant to the claim.

Sometimes, if the staff reviewing your claim think that the information you have provided suggests you would benefit from further support, you may be referred to a member of staff in your College (e.g. Adviser of Studies, Student Support Officer), who may then offer you support and/or suggest referral to support services provided by the University (such as Counselling & Psychological Services, Disability Services, Financial Aid team), or other external support agencies that may be able to help you.

There are two stages in considering a Good Cause claim: 

a) A judgement on whether the circumstances themselves should count as Good Cause. 

And, in cases where you have submitted a claim for affected performance in an assessment: 

b) A judgement on whether the grade you achieved in your exam or coursework has been “manifestly prejudiced” i.e. significantly out of line with your normal performance (e.g., if you normally get marks of A and B but receive a D for the affected assessment). 

Step b) will only happen if Good Cause is accepted at Step a). 

If your Good Cause claim is accepted in relation to work that you completed (e.g., an exam that you sat, a piece of coursework that you submitted) the grade that you achieved will NOT be increased to reflect the difficulties that you were facing. 

What happens if my Good Cause claim is approved?

Depending on your programme and circumstances, outcomes could be:

• Resit or resubmission as a first attempt at the next available opportunity.
• A rearranged deadline for longer than five working days.^[1]
• The removal of late penalties.
• For Senior Honours/final year integrated masters students there may also be scope to remove the affected assessment from your final course or degree calculation.

The most common outcome for an accepted claim (whether for completed assessment or missed assessment) is that you will need to complete the assessment at a later date. This later opportunity will be treated as your first attempt (unless the discounted attempt was already a second attempt). This will usually be at the resit diet, which takes place during the summer vacation. PLEASE NOTE: that if it is judged that your performance has been significantly affected, the assessment(s) will not be counted even if your performance was good enough to allow you to progress or achieve a grade you find acceptable. 

It is slightly different for Senior Honours/integrated masters students. Depending on the stage you are at in the Honours or integrated masters programme and on how much assessment you have missed, you may not be required to complete the missing assessment at a later date. 

At the end of Senior Honours or of the final year of an integrated masters programme, where Good Cause is accepted, a limited amount of assessment could be set aside (i.e. the grade not counted and the assessment not required to be completed at a later date).

What happens if my Good Cause claim is declined?

If your claim is declined, the grade for any assessment you have completed will stand, and any missed assessments will be treated as a non-submission.

We may not approve your claim if:

• It was submitted later than five working days after the assessment deadline, and you have not given a good reason for this.
• It does not include legitimate circumstances that would count as Good Cause.
• You did not sufficiently explain how your circumstances disrupted your assessment(s).
• There is insufficient evidence to support your claim.
• In the case of a completed assessment, it is judged that your performance has not been significantly affected.

We may contact you after initial submission of your Good Cause claim to ask for further evidence or information.

If you wish to challenge the outcome of a Good Cause claim, you may submit an academic appeal following the formal publication of your course results. Information for students about the relevant timescales and the Academic Appeals procedure is available on the website. You may also wish to read the Academic Appeals FAQs.

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I am unwell and have a piece of coursework due to be submitted

If you are affected by illness or other adverse circumstances at the time when you should be completing coursework you may wish to apply for an extension of the submission deadline. (See 'I am unwell. Can I request an extension of my coursework submission deadline?')

However, if the circumstances have been so severe that you feel unable to complete the work at this time then you may wish to apply for Good Cause.

If you have submitted the coursework but feel that your performance was affected by the adverse circumstances you may wish to apply for Good Cause. Bear in mind that it might be better to apply for an extension than to submit an incomplete or poor piece of work on time.

If you do not submit the coursework or if you submitted the coursework, but feel that your illness has affected your performance:

1. Seek evidence to support your Good Cause claim. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. Submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus within five working days of the submission deadline. If your evidence arrives later you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have impacted on you and your preparation for the assessment.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand the possible outcomes from such a claim. Note: grades are NEVER increased through a Good Cause claim. (See ‘What happens are the possible outcomes from my Good Cause claim?’)

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I am unwell. Can I request an extension of my coursework submission deadline?

You should always plan your various assessments carefully, taking particular note of where a number of deadlines fall around the same time. Try to complete assessment in good time so that you will still be able to submit by the deadline in the event of an unexpected disruption to your ability to study. Before submitting a request for extra time, consider carefully whether this would really be in your best interests. By submitting on time your marked work will be returned to you promptly and you will avoid creating a later bottleneck of deadlines.

If illness or other adverse circumstances mean that you will be unable to submit your work on time, you may request an extension.

Extensions of up to five working days:^[1] If you think that you need an extension of up to five working days, you should use the relevant process in your School, explaining the situation. (Your course documentation will provide the details of this process.) There is no requirement to provide supporting evidence for an extension request of up to five working days. If it is accepted that you will be prevented by circumstances beyond your control from submitting the work on time then you will be granted an appropriate extension, up to a maximum of five working days. You should request an extension as soon as you become aware that it may be necessary. If you submit the request after the submission deadline, and there is no good reason for not having requested the extension earlier, then late submission penalties may be applied.

Extensions of more than five working days: If you think you need an extension of more than five working days, you must submit a Good Cause claim:

1. Seek evidence to support your Good Cause claim. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. Submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus as soon as you become aware that you may need an extension. If your evidence arrives later, you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have impacted on you and your preparation for the assessment and say how much extra time you think you need.

You are advised to bring the claim to the attention of a member of staff such as your Adviser of Studies or Honours Convener to ensure that it is responded to promptly. As soon as your claim has been considered you will be told whether an extension has been approved and, if so, what your new submission deadline is.

If you are registered with the Disability Service and your Disability Entries Report (DER) includes the provision that you can negotiate flexibility in the submission deadline for a coursework assignment, the Disability Service can provide you with a letter confirming that you should not be asked for additional supporting evidence or to provide a lengthy narrative to explain your request for an extension. In other words, you won’t need to obtain additional supporting evidence, though you should follow the processes in place to request such an extension.

All students should be aware that the length of extension that can be approved may be constrained by factors such as the timeline for returning feedback on the assessment in question: for most assessments, it is not possible to be given an extension beyond the date when the rest of the cohort will receive feedback on their work.

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I've been dealing with difficulties and my dissertation/project has suffered. Can I make a Good Cause claim?

Good Cause applies to health issues or other adverse circumstances that are acute. Given that the work on your dissertation or project takes place over a long period, it’s unlikely that an acute set of circumstances will have a significant impact on that work.

As soon as you experience difficulties that may affect your dissertation/project you must alert your supervisor or other relevant member of staff e.g. Honours convener or PGT Programme Lead. They will be able to advise you about how best to manage the circumstances so that you will still be able to complete the work. If appropriate, they will be able to refer you to other sources of support.

If illness or other difficulties suddenly arise or become more serious very close to the submission date for the work, you may request an extension of up to five working days^[1] in the normal way (by using the local process, as described in your course documentation). If you think you will need more than five working days, you can request a longer extension by submitting a Good Cause claim and explaining the circumstances.

Where you are facing very challenging circumstances, you should discuss your circumstances with staff. The length of extension that can be granted to a Senior Honours student is limited by the tight turnaround time for marking before graduation. In some cases, there may be an option to complete the dissertation/project over the summer but that would result in your graduation being delayed until the winter. You should therefore be sure to discuss your situation with a member of staff as soon as you become aware that there is a difficulty, to ensure that you understand your options and their consequences. If you submit a Good Cause claim for an extension, a decision will be made on the claim and this won’t necessarily involve any further discussion with you about the consequences so it is much better to discuss these fully before submitting any claim.

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I'll be submitting my dissertation/project but difficult circumstances mean that I expect it's going to get a poor grade. What can I do?

For both an Honours degree and a PGT masters degree you must achieve a grade of at least D3 in the substantial piece of independent work, that is in your dissertation or project. This requirement cannot be set aside through Good Cause and a claim for affected performance would never result in a grade being increased. It is not appropriate for examiners to speculate on what level of performance you may have achieved in better circumstances.

If the difficulties arise close to the submission date, meaning that you will not be able to complete the last stages of the work, you should apply for an extension rather than submitting an incomplete piece of work on time. You may request an extension of up to five working days^[1] in the normal way (by using the local process, as described in your course documentation). If you think you will need more than five working days, you can request a longer extension by submitting a Good Cause claim and explaining the circumstances.

Good Cause applies to health issues or other adverse circumstances that are acute. Given that the work on your dissertation or project takes place over a long period, it’s unlikely that an acute set of circumstances occurring sometime before the submission deadline will have a significant impact on that work. If a short illness or other short-term difficult circumstances have interrupted your work on the dissertation/project at any earlier stage, you should discuss with staff whether you might need some additional time at the end in order to manage all your other submission deadlines and make up for lost time.

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I am unwell for my exam

You need to decide whether you feel well enough to sit the exam.

If you are unsure, you are advised to seriously consider taking the exam as you may still submit a Good Cause claim afterwards if you believe that your performance was affected due to the illness.

If you miss your exam or take your exam, but feel that your illness has affected your performance:

1. Seek evidence to support your Good Cause claim. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. Submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus within five working days^[1] of the exam. If your evidence arrives later you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have prevented you from taking your exam or impacted on you and your preparation for the exam.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand the possible outcomes from such a claim. Note: grades are NEVER increased through a Good Cause claim. (See ‘What are the possible outcomes from my Good Cause claim?’)

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I have been unwell during revision time

If you feel that being unwell during revision time affected your performance in an exam, you may wish to submit a Good Cause claim.

You should take your exams if you feel well enough on the day. If you are too unwell to take your exam, see 'I am unwell for my exam'.

If you take your exam, but feel that having been unwell during the revision time affected your performance:

1. Seek evidence to support your Good Cause claim. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. Submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus within five working days^[1] of the exam. If your evidence arrives later you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have impacted on you and your preparation for the exam.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand the possible outcomes from such a claim. Note: grades are NEVER increased through a Good Cause claim. (See ‘What are the possible outcomes from my Good Cause claim?’)

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I have suffered a bereavement

If someone close to you has sadly passed away, we understand that this could disrupt your exam revision, or the exam itself.

In most cases we would advise you to try to take your exams, although only you can decide whether you feel able to, and if there is a funeral at the time of your exams, we understand that you will want to be there.

If you miss your exam or if you take your exam, but feel that your bereavement has affected your performance:

1. Seek evidence to support your Good Cause claim. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. Submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus within five working days^[1] of the exam. If your evidence arrives later you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have either prevented you from taking your exam or impacted on you and your preparation for the exam.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand the possible outcomes from such a claim. Note: grades are NEVER increased through a Good Cause claim. (See ‘What are the possible outcomes from my Good Cause claim?’)

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A close relative/friend has been seriously ill, and it has affected my exam preparation - what should I do?

If you feel your exam preparation has been compromised by these difficulties (perhaps you have been needed to care for that person or take over caring responsibilities for others), you may wish to submit a Good Cause claim.

If you are able to, you should take your exam.

If you miss your exam or if you take your exam, but feel that your circumstances affected your performance:

1. Seek evidence to support your claim. This could include medical evidence relating to your relative/friend. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. Submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus within five working days^[1] of the exam. If your evidence arrives later you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have either prevented you from taking your exam or impacted on you and your preparation for the exam.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand the possible outcomes from such a claim. (See ‘What are the possible outcomes from my Good Cause claim?’)

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I had to attend a family crisis at the time of my exam - what should I do?

If you have missed an exam due to a significant family crisis, you may wish to submit a Good Cause claim.

1. Seek evidence to support your claim. (See 'What do I need to include in my Good Cause claim?')
2. You must submit your Good Cause claim on MyCampus within five working days^[1] of the exam. If your evidence arrives later you can add this to the claim, but the claim MUST be started within the five working day period. Please see the MyCampus Good Cause Guide.
3. In your claim, you must explain how events have prevented you from taking your exam.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand the possible outcomes from such a claim. (See ‘What are the possible outcomes from my Good Cause claim?’)

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No. Good Cause regulations relate only to short-term issues that have affected the taking of exams, submission of other assessments, or your performance in assessments. In other words, issues that have prevented you from demonstrating in your assessments what you have learned through your studies.

If you have been unable to fully engage in your studies during the semester, you should speak to your Adviser of Studies about the best course of action.

Please note that you should only make an appointment with a GP if you require advice and/or treatment in relation to a medical matter. The University does not expect Good Cause claims to be supported by GP letters in relation to minor matters that did not require advice and/or treatment.

If you don't have any documentation from your GP, there may be another independent person who can provide a letter of support - either from having seen you or from having spoken to you at the relevant time. While they will not be able to provide a professional opinion or diagnosis, they can advise us of any observations they had regarding your physical and/or mental wellbeing at the relevant time. Again, the letter must provide clear information relating to the date or dates relevant to the circumstances being reported. People who can provide such information could be:

• Someone you know in the University such as your tutor or Adviser of Studies.
• The leader/manager of a group or club that you belong to, or of an organisation where you volunteer, or a senior colleague in your place of paid work.

Sometimes the only people who will have seen you at the time when you were unwell will be personal friends, flatmates or family members. Letters of support from them may be submitted, but these carry less weight in supporting a Good Cause claim. In your claim you should explain why this is the best evidence available to you.

No.

Marks cannot be awarded on the basis of undemonstrated performance as it is not appropriate for examiners to speculate on what level of performance you may have achieved in better circumstances.

Where illness or other Good Cause has impaired your performance in an exam or coursework, you will usually be given another opportunity to take the examination or assessment at a later date (e.g. at the resit diet which takes place during the summer vacation). This later opportunity will be treated as your first attempt (unless the discounted attempt was already a second attempt). In limited circumstances some work may be “set aside” and you will not be required to complete it.

Good Cause claims can only be cancelled up to five working days^[1] after the assessment date (e.g. exam date, coursework submission deadline).