Regulations and Arrangements for Mitigating Circumstances, Resits and Compensation

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES

Mitigating circumstances are personal or medical circumstances which are unforeseeable and unpreventable that could have a significant adverse effect on your academic performance. You should only submit a mitigating circumstances application if you consider it serious enough, and the timing critical, to have affected your performance in your assessed work and examinations.

Request for mitigation must be submitted to your programme administrator, in advance of your assessment submission deadline or exam. Requests for mitigation submitted after the assessment or exam (except those requests made as a result of circumstances that have arisen during the course of that assessment period) will not be considered without a credible and compelling explanation as to why the circumstances were not known before the beginning of the assessment period or why you were unable to complete or submit an application prior to the assessment or exam. Please note that not informing the University of circumstances due to personal feelings of embarrassment and pride, or having concerns over the confidential treatment of requests for mitigation, are not considered to be credible and compelling explanations.

All mitigating circumstances applications must be supported by independent third party evidence. The type of evidence required will vary according to the nature of the circumstances. Examples of evidence include a doctor or other health professional’s letter, counsellor’s letter, self-certification form signed by your GP or GP’s Medical Practice (for illnesses of 7 days and under only). Please note that it is a University policy that the self-certification form must be signed by a GP; we cannot accept forms which have not been signed by a GP. Please note that if evidence has not been received within 2 weeks of the submission of your form, and you have not contacted them to inform them of any delay, your application will be refused and no further action will be taken.

Please ensure that you password protect or encrypt your mitigating circumstances form and supporting evidence before sending to your programme administrator.

Any requests for mitigation will be considered confidentially by a mitigating circumstances panel or sub-panel. Dates of the panels for the academic year 2019/20 are 23rd October 2019, 27^th November 2019, 15^th January 2020, 19^th February 2020, 18^th March 2020, 22nd April 2020, 20th May 2020, 17^th June 2020.

Where a request for mitigation is supported, a recommendation will be made to the exam board for them to decide on the best course of action for the student.

You are advised to consult the following guidance, which directs you to seek advice and support before and whilst submitting a request for mitigation.

The University form and guidance for students, is available at: http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/basic-guide-mitigating-circumstances/

For further information about the process and acceptable grounds for mitigation see: Mitigating Circumstances Policy & Procedures:

http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=4271

Reassessment

Where the overall unit mark is below the compensation zone (40% for Masters and 30% for Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate) OR the number of compensatable fails (30 credits for Masters/Diploma and 15 credits for Postgraduate Certificate) has been exceeded, reassessment may be taken.

Reassessment as a result of a fail is known as a “Referral”. Reassessment as a result of approved and verified mitigating circumstances is known as “Deferral” and may be permitted where students are reassessed as a first attempt, for which no penalty applies.

Students may be referred in up to half of the total taught credits. The combined total number of credits referred and compensated cannot exceed half the taught credits. Decisions with regard to which components should be reassessed are made by the Examination Board. When a student is referred they will normally be permitted to retake the assessment/exam on one further occasion.

At the recommendation of the Board of Examiners, students will normally be allowed one resubmission of a failed dissertation or project and this will normally be within four months of the date of the publication of the result. For September 2016 starters only, failed PGT dissertations can only be re-submitted if they achieve a mark of 30 or above. The Board of Examiners, in agreement with the External Examiner may, exceptionally, decide not to allow resubmission.

The pass mark for a reassessment is the same as the first attempt (i.e. 50% for masters and 40% for Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate).When a reassessment is passed, the mark is capped at the lowest compensatable fail mark (i.e. 40R for Masters and 30R for Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate), unless the previous mark was within the compensation zone, in which case the original mark will stand with a suffix ‘R’. This mark is used in the weighted average/total mark for the final award. The capped mark is applied to the whole unit and not the failed component.

Referrals may also be compensated providing the number of quota of compensations has not been exceeded. When a student’s referral mark is in the compensation zone (and the student/unit is eligible for compensation), the student’s mark will be capped at the lowest compensatable fail mark (i.e. 40R for Masters and 30R for Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate).

Compensation

MRes/MSc Degree

Students may be awarded compensated credit if they receive fail marks in the range 40‑49% in no more than 30 credits in the taught component.

Postgraduate Diploma

Students may be awarded compensated credit if they receive fail marks in the range 30‑39% in no more than 30 credits in the taught component.

Postgraduate Certificate

Students may be awarded compensated credit if they receive fail marks in the range 30‑39% in no more than 15 credits in the taught component.

The combined total number of credits compensated and referred cannot exceed half the taught credits.

Compensated credit retains the original failed mark for the course unit and this is used in the weighted average for the calculation of the final classification/award.

Please note that some programmes do not allow compensation. Please refer to the Programme Exemptions section of the handbook where specific exemptions applicable to the programme will be listed.