The Examination Board may take into account mitigating circumstances brought to its attention by a student only under the specific guidelines for mitigating circumstances. Application forms should be submitted within five days of the exam or assessment taking place. Claims for mitigation might include such matters as:
- Certified unexpected illness of the candidate, or
- Death or serious illness of a close relative or a close friend, or
- such other matters which may to a significant extent have adversely affected the examination performance.
If the mitigating circumstances are considered to be applicable by the examination board, they may be taken into account when determining the candidate’s overall result. Normally the candidate will be deferred in the module, and will be given the opportunity to re-sit the examination as if for the first time, at the next relevant session and the result for the session under consideration. The result will be recorded as deferred. This applies to the deferral of examinations only. It can postpone the opportunity to sit the exam. It is not an entitlement to reattend and avail of tuition free of charge, or avail of the academic resources of the University in the following academic year. To do this, students must pay appropriate fees.
The application process
Documentation must be provided as follows:
Appropriate form filled out correctly within 5 working days of the relevant exam, including the following documentation:
- In case of certified illness or other events effecting performance in an examination module, certified evidence (e.g.medical cert) must be uploaded with the application.
- In the case of the death or serious illness of a close relative or close friend, appropriate confirmation should be provided.
- For other circumstances evidence from a reliable and objective and verifiable source to be included.
Application and relevant documentation must be submitted within 5 days of the examination in question. The documents will be provided by the school office to the relevant course board and the relevant examination board will consider the mitigating circumstances.
Mitigating circumstances covered by this section may not form the basis of a formal appeal.
Mitigating Circumstances Application Form
The Mitigating Circumstances Application Form for Christmas 2024 can be accessed below: