Manchester Mitigating Circumstances Procedure Instructions

Table of Contents

Manchester Mitigating Circumstances Procedure-fig1

The mitigating circumstances procedure in brief

Please note that the full Mitigating Circumstances Policy and Procedures will always take precedence over this Basic Guide, which is a summary.

U seful Links & Sources of Help and Advice

Your Academic Advisor or a Student Support Officer in your School is a good first point of call and may be able to answer general queries you have about the process.
The University’s Mitigating Circumstances Policy & Procedures and the Request for Mitigation Form (please note that your School may use a different form or online system so check first).
Student Support Website:
The Student Support website links to resources on topics such as health & wellbeing.
Students’ Union Advice Service:
The SU Advice Service, which is independent of the University, may be able to provide advice on your mitigating circumstances form and evidence.
Further guidance and frequently asked questions about mitigating circumstances during the Coronavirus outbreak, including examples of supporting evidence you can provide, can be found on the Student Support website.
Evidence
You should provide as much supporting evidence as possible, which should be independent and time-specific, relating to the circumstances you are claiming for. You should also comply with any additional requests made by your School.
Students registered with DASS for a disability will not usually need to provide further evidence of the disability itself but may need to provide evidence of issues exacerbating it, if applicable. Please see the Student Support webpage on mitigating circumstances for more details on evidence.

Some points to bear in mind / what the outcome may be

If you think mitigating circumstances might affect your academic performance, you should tell your School as soon as possible. Requests for mitigation must be submitted by published deadlines, which your School will advise you of.
The University defines mitigating circumstances as ‘unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances that could have, or did have, a significant adverse effect on the academic performance of a student.’ This might include significant illness or injury, or the death of a close family member, for example. Events that were planned or could reasonably have been expected, such as holidays or moving house, will not normally be regarded as grounds for mitigation
A request for mitigation will never lead to individual assessment marks being changed, as examiners can only give marks for the work presented to them. However, after consideration of your case, some possible outcomes include:
- you being given a replacement attempt at an assessment
- an extension to your coursework deadline
- an assessment mark being discounted from the calculation of an overall course unit mark
- you being permitted to sit an assessment using an alternative assessment method (e.g. a paper exam instead of an online assessment)
- the boundary zone between degree classifications may be increase d to permit you t o achieve a higher classification