Mitigation FAQs

If you feel illness or other adverse personal circumstances may affect your ability to perform academically you may be able to apply for Mitigation. The Mitigation Process is used in circumstances such as health issues, or unexpected personal circumstances that may prevent a student working to their full capability.

Applications are processed for the following types of mitigation:

• Extension to coursework deadlines
• Deferral of an assessment to the next available assessment period

Very exceptionally, and in accordance with the University regulations, there may be a handful of cases for which extension or deferral are not appropriate, but these will normally be dealt with on an individual basis.

The mitigation process is used for summative assessments only, however for certain assessments (such as presentations and formatives) you can speak with your module convenor to arrange a different assessment deadline/ scheduled time, rather than going through the Hub Mitigation Team, if you are studying at an Exeter Campus. For those studying at the Penryn Campus, please contact the Penryn Hub for all assessments that you require mitigation - summative or formative.

Please contact your Hub if you require any advice or assistance on this process. Independent advice and support is also available through the Students’ Guild Advice Unit and the Students' Union Advice Unit.

For full University regulations on mitigation please see the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual, Chapter 10.

The details of any application will remain confidential between the colleague dealing with your application and in some cases the Mitigation Committee members and its representatives, unless there is clear risk to you or another. All information regarding your application is handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

In cases where you feel like an extension or a deferral are not appropriate, go to your Hub Info Point to initially discuss your options. This could be in cases such as:

1. Requesting alternative assessment – this is only permitted when listed as a requirement on a student ILP. Alternative assessments are applied for by completing and submitting the standard mitigation application form.  Please note that the deadline for requesting alternative assessments for exams is the same date as advertised for those students who require specific exam adjustments.  The dates and additional information will be sent out to students termly.
2. Presentation re-arrangement; Exeter campus students may be able to arrange an alternative time without going through the mitigation process, remember this is at the discretion of the module convenor. Penryn students, please contact your Hub as with other assessments
3. In class tests – please go to your Info Point to check what mitigation provisions are available.

Please go to your Hub Info Point if you have any further queries.

If you feel the circumstances affecting your performance are ongoing, and are likely to last the whole academic year or longer, you should consider the following options:

1. Ask your Pastoral and/or Academic Tutor about support under the Health, Wellbeing and Support to Study Procedure (HWSS). 
2. Contact your Info Point or your Hub’s Welfare Advisor. Penryn students can contact the Education Support Manager (Welfare) for their Hub.
3. Contact Wellbeing Services for support.
4. Interruption from your studies. If you are considering interruption, we recommend that you seek academic advice from your Pastoral and/or Academic Tutor and financial advice from the Students’ Guild Advice Unit (Exeter) or Student's Union (Penryn).  There is information about Interruption of Studies online here.

It is one week from the original due date. You are expected to still be working on your coursework where possible while you are waiting to hear about an extension, and you should hand in your work as soon as it is ready to submit.

You can now apply for evidence-based Mitigation (longer than 72 hours) directly through the Student Records System (SRS). You can also access this via My Exeter. 

You have up to 4 weeks before or up to 24 hours after your assessment deadline to apply for mitigation. 

Guidance notes on how to apply for mitigation can be found here. You can also view a guidance video here. 

If you need a shorter, evidence-free extension, you can do this within ELE 2 before, or up to 24 hours after, the submission deadline. 

• You will receive an email confirming the outcome of any mitigation application.

• If your work is to be submitted via ELE 2, your dashboard will be updated and your submission point will say ‘You have an extension’ next to it. Please note that your ELE2 dashboard will be updated once the full application/evidence has been received and a decision made. Where the decision-making process is completed beyond the submission date, the Mitigation team is able to adjust ELE 2 retrospectively if necessary to add an extension.

• If you would like to query the status of your application, please contact your Hub.

If you find an extension we have granted is not sufficient, and you wish to have a longer extension, you must submit another mitigation application form. Please be aware, the maximum permitted extension is usually two weeks.  After this you will be asked to defer the assessment instead.

Applications will be processed within 5 working days. During busy periods (for example the end of term and assessment periods), applications can take longer to process.

Students must make a decision on whether to undertake the exam or submit the assignment on time with the knowledge that the mitigation application may or may not be successful. If students feel that their performance will be significantly affected, they should still submit their assignment or sit the exam, unless it is felt that to do so would exacerbate their condition or disrupt the exam for other students.

If a mitigation application is unsuccessful and the student does not sit the examination, they will automatically receive a mark of zero. If the mitigation application is unsuccessful and the student does not submit the coursework on time, they will be capped. Full details can be found in the TQA manual – section 2.11.

The University does not offer performance impact mitigation, this means the University will never grant additional marks to a student based on adverse personal circumstances. A mitigation application will likely result in either an extension or deferral.

If you are on a year abroad please contact your host institution in the first instance, and engage with their mitigation procedures. If you feel that the mitigation offered by your host institution isn’t sufficient please contact your Study Abroad co-ordinator for their advice, as soon as possible. When contacting Exeter about mitigation please make sure you tell us the title of the module(s) affected.

If you wish to withdraw an application, you can do this by clicking the 'withdraw' button next to your application in SRS within 3 days of submission. If more than 3 days have passed since the application was submitted, you will need to contact your Hub directly. They will then withdraw your application, providing it is within the allowed withdrawal period of 3 days following the deadline of an exam or assessment. 

Please contact the Hub Info Point for the assessment details. If you are unsure of the correct contact, you can check the module prefix on our hub contact page.

Three-week extensions are granted only for complex and exceptional circumstances, and must be supported by evidence. If your application meets these criteria, the team may approve a three-week extension. However, if you require more than a two-week extension, a deferral is usually the more appropriate option in most cases.

Do not worry, you may still be able to pass the module overall and you should take your deferred assessment as planned. Your final module result depends on the weight of each assessment, and the marks you get. You need to complete all assessments before knowing if you’ve passed the module.

If you don’t pass after completing everything, the APAC (Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee) will decide if your module can be condoned or if you need to retake an assessment. This could affect your progression, and you might need to Resit Without Attendance (RWA), meaning you retake the assessment without attending classes again.

Students may be granted up to a maximum of three-weeks extension for assessments due during the Refer/Defer period (the August assessment session) in line with the Teaching Quality Assurance Policy. However, please be aware that any extension granted beyond one-week may result in delays to confirmation of progression into the next stage of studies as your work will still need to be marked, moderated and sent to an External Examiner (if applicable) before being considered by the Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committees (APAC).

You can apply for deferral of assessments due during the Refer/Defer period. If approved, this would mean completing the assessment in the next available assessment period in the following academic year.  This would also affect your ability to progress into your next year of studies on your degree programme - for further information, please refer to point 3.4 below.

If you have already been granted deferral for an assessment, and you wish to apply for further deferral we would likely not approve this if you applied on the same grounds (without a flare up or exacerbation being evidenced). This is because we expect students to make reasonable adjustments to their situation in order to prepare for any August assessment sessions.

Please also be aware that in line with the University regulation TQA: 2.13.1, modules must be completed by the end of the academic year following that in which they were started. Periods of interruption are not included within this timeframe.

Unlike referred work, deferred work will not normally be capped. To defer means to delay taking the assessment, normally until the August session, as if for the first time. A deferred essay would however be capped if the essay were then submitted late. If a referred item is subsequently deferred, then it would be capped in the same way that the original referral was. For more information on this please contact your Hub.

The University does not usually permit trailing of assessments/modules, meaning you won’t be able to progress to the next stage of your degree until you have completed your deferred assessments.

Students that have deferred work into the next academic year will have an enrolment status of ‘Resitting without attendance’ and will usually not be allowed to attend any classes.

Undergraduate finalist students may still be able to attend July graduation ceremonies despite not having completed all of their modules by the time of the June APACs. This is dependent on the number of credits you have successfully completed and whether or not you have met the conditions for an ordinary degree. If you meet these criteria you will be able to walk across the stage and receive an empty envelope. Once you have successfully completed your outstanding credits your Honours degree will be confirmed.

For more information on ordinary degrees please refer to Table 2 at https://www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/specificsites/tqa/apa/APA_Handbook_Chapter_9.pdf

For further information on awarding principles please visit: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/specificsites/tqa/apa/APA_Handbook_Chapter_9.pdf

There are penalties (including a potential mark of zero) for uploading the incorrect piece of coursework or submitting an incorrect hard copy. Examples of incorrect submission include:

• Upload of incorrect file
• Correct file submitted but all or part of it is unreadable/corrupted.

If you are concerned about incorrect submission contact your Hub as a matter of urgency.

Students are reminded to check the correct work has been uploaded, submitted to the correct link, and to aim to submit three hours before the deadline to allow for unforeseen problems.

Anyone with an extension of a week or more, will now receive their feedback within 6 weeks.

In term 3, due to the close proximity between marking and the APACs (exam boards) an extension could delay your progression/awarding decision being confirmed, as a full profile of results is required. In some circumstances this delay could result in your award not being confirmed in time to be included in the next graduation ceremony.

You can request a review of your mitigation outcome, in some cases. Further information can be found in section 10.9 of the Mitigation Handbook. If you feel that your outcome was subject to a procedural irregularity or bias, or not one which a reasonable body could have arrived at, you may request a mitigation review. You must make this request within 10 days of the outcome of your mitigation application being communicated to you.

You must write to mitigation-outcome-review@exeter.ac.uk, setting out your request for a review and provide the evidence upon which you intend to rely.

If you remain dissatisfied you can appeal against the decision, however you must follow the University’s strict rules on appeals. Further information can be found here.

Alongside your Pastoral Mentor and/ or Academic Tutor, your Hub is your first point of contact for any queries relating to your course or personal issues which may be impacting upon your studies.

Our Education Support Advisors (Welfare) are available to talk to you in a confidential and non-judgmental space about any issue you feel you may need support with. They offer practical support, as well as access to self-help materials, and signposting to specialist advice and support services.

Click here to contact an Education Support Advisor (Welfare).

Other useful contacts: