What is an Exam Allowance?
Exam allowances can be applied for where you consider your exam performance or outcome was not representative of your abilities and was affected by medical circumstances or other grave cause.
- Serious;
- Unanticipated.
- Entirely beyond the student’s control;
- Close in time to the assessment; and
- Evidenced by contemporaneous evidence from an independent, appropriately qualified source
Each exam allowance may have additional criteria that must be met before it can be awarded. Further information is available in the relevant guidance notes.
Applications
Applications for Examination Allowances should be submitted within 3 months from publication of results. They are usually only considered after the examination has finished and the outcome is known. Applications received before the known outcome will not normally be considered and will be returned with instructions to submit a new application once the outcome is known.
The completion of the below application forms is to be undertaken by both the student and the College; however, the College must submit the application and evidence on the student's behalf.
Where a student does not wish to share evidence directly with their College, it is permissible for them to make an application directly to the EAMC without College involvement. The EAMC shall inform the College that an application has been made, and the nature of the application. Once a decision has been made about an application, an outcome letter will be produced and sent directly to you. Where an outcome affects the College, for instance they need to support provision of the allowance, the College will also be informed.
| Exam Re-Sit for Foundation Year Students | |
|---|---|
| Who is it for? | Foundation Year Students |
| Why is it used? | Where a foundation year student has been impacted in the exam by illness or grave cause |
| Guidance | Guidance notes for Foundation Year re-sit exam allowance |
| Application Forms | Application form: Foundation Year re-sit exam allowance |
| For Undergraduate and Some Postgraduate Students | |
|---|---|
| Who is it for? |
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| Why is it used? |
Where students on the named courses have been impacted in the assessments by illness or grave cause Exam allowances include:
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| Guidance | |
| Application Forms |
Application form: allowed to progress or receive award |
| Consideration |
The reconsideration of an original result would be required if a student wished to disregard a paper and still be Classed. This allowance is available where a student has been Classed or in cases where a student has not met the pass mark. Applications are usually only considered after the examination has finished and the final outcome is known. It should be noted that in instances where the Class will not change, the EAMC are unable to act, and a technical decline will be issued. This allowance is not intended to be used for:
If an application is approved, the mark(s) will not be removed from the transcript - only the overall Classing will change. The allowance relates to mitigating circumstances, it doesn't negate academic fact, so the enrolment and mark awarded will remain on your permanent academic record and will be displayed on your transcript. |
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Raising a complaint about IT issues in exams or coursework For Undergraduate and Some Postgraduate Students |
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|---|---|
| University IT issues |
Where students have experienced technical difficulties during an examination, it is expected that they will have raised the issue at the time, as advised by the relevant guidance (which differs dependent on examination mode and platform). Where the technical issue was the fault of the University – e.g. an issue with the digital platform, this is likely to have been remedied at the time of the exam or as part of the examining process. For example, the invigilator may have given the student additional time to complete the exam to compensate for the writing time used when remedying the issue. Alternatively, where an IT issue has impacted the cohort, for example the cohort could not access the exam paper for a length of time due to a technical issue with the platform, then the invigilators may still give additional time and/or the Examiners will take this into account when marking and examining the students’ scripts. Where the student receives their examination results and is concerned that the impact of the University’s IT issue has not been remedied, then an application for an Examination Review should be submitted within 28 days of receiving the formal examination results, under the ground of ‘procedural irregularity’. |
| The impact of University IT issues exacerbated by a student’s disability |
Where a student has received a remedy for the University’s IT issues but following receiving their examination results, believes that the remedy has not accounted for the specific disadvantage caused to them because the impact of the IT issues was exacerbated by their disability, the student can apply for an exam allowance. An exam allowance is a remedy granted to students hindered by illness or grave cause in an exam. It might allow a student to progress to the next year of their course where they had otherwise failed, or to have the relevant assessment disregarded from the calculation of the student’s Class, where the relevant assessment is a ‘small part’ of the assessments undertaken and all other marks are in a higher class than the current Class awarded to the student. Students should contact their Colleges to support making an exam allowance. The application is normally submitted by the College but can be submitted by the student and must be received within three months of the student receiving their exam results. The student will need to evidence that they were substantially disadvantaged in the assessment and that the remedy put in place for the University IT issue was insufficient to mitigate the substantial disadvantage caused by their disability. Part of this evidence is likely to include the student’s marks for the relevant exam being out of line with all of their other exam marks. |
| Student IT issues |
Students are expected to take responsibility for their own IT, as outlined in the relevant policy. Where students have issues with their devices, difficulties submitting assessments, or lost work due to an IT malfunction on their device without having regularly saved it, there is normally no remedy available, as students should have taken reasonable steps to ensure that work is saved, that submissions are made in good time and that devices are in good working order. However, if students consider that their IT issue is so exceptional as to meet the criteria of ‘grave cause’, in that it was serious, entirely unanticipated, beyond the student’s control, close in time to the examination, and independently evidenced, then the student can apply for an exam allowance. As outlined above, applications are normally made with the support of the College and must be received within three months of the student receiving their exam results. |
| Progression to Part III Opinion | |
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| Who is it for? |
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| Why is it used? |
For students who failed to progress onto one of courses below due to illness or grave cause. The student can request an opinion from the EAMC on whether their examination results were impacted by illness or grave cause and can then choose to provide the opinion to the University academic authority considering progression onto the relevant course. |
| Guidance | Guidance notes for exam allowances UG and some PG |
| Application Forms | |
| Considerations |
Declared to have Deserved Honours (DDH) is not a Classed award and may not be acceptable for some professional qualifications. Students should be aware that if a Class is removed and replaced with a DDH, this may need to be continually explained to prospective employers in the future. |
| For Certain Postgraduate Courses | |
|---|---|
| Who is it for? |
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| Why is it used? |
For students on the named courses where assessments were impacted by illness or grave cause |
| Guidance | Guidance notes for exam allowances for certain postgraduate courses |
| Application Forms | Application form: exam allowances for certain postgraduate courses |