Mitigating Circumstances

When should you submit a mitigating circumstance?

A late submission or non-submission of an assessment

Non-attendance of examination
Poor performance in assessment (caused by individual or external factors)?

Please be aware that you cannot ask for a remark on your work.

Reasons for submitting a mitigating circumstance

Types of unforeseen circumstances (this list is not exhaustive and there may be other situations that are considered):

Injury or illness
Family-related emergency
Flare-up of an existing medical condition
Short term conditions

Any unforeseen circumstance mentioned in your Mitigating Circumstances claim must have taken place at the time of the assessment/deadline.

Deadline of mitigating circumstance submission

You should submit your claim as soon as possible and can do this 2 weeks before the assessment deadline and no later than two weeks after the assessment deadline/date of examination.

Late submission of assessment

If you submit an assessment up to 7 days date, you will receive a late penalty, which represents a 10% deduction of the overall mark (as long as this was above the pass mark).

If your Mitigating Circumstances claim is accepted then you will receive the original mark without any deduction.

If you submit an assessment more than 7 calendar days late, you will receive a late penalty mark which represents the pass threshold i.e. 40% for undergraduate modules or 50% for postgraduate modules.

If you do not submit work or a Mitigating Circumstances claim

You will be capped at the following assessment opportunity, meaning you will not be awarded any higher than the allocated capped mark threshold i.e. 40% for undergraduate modules or 50% for postgraduate modules.

Submitting a Mitigating Circumstance claim

You may be asked to submit evidence depending on how many claims you have previously made and for wat reasons. We would advise that all students read the policy and guidance before submitting a first or any subsequent claims: Mitigating Circumstances Policy.

The requirement for students to submit evidence to support Mitigating Circumstances claims has been suspended for the 2021-22 academic year. This is outlined in the Mitigating Circumstances Policy and associated guidance for staff and students.
The evidence requirement will be reviewed in advance of the 2022-23 academic year.
The following are examples of acceptable grounds for claims:

Bereavement

Shorter-term medical conditions or sudden illness and hospitalisation
Deterioration of existing physical medical conditions or mental ill health conditions or development of such conditions
Pregnancy and maternity-related issues
Caring responsibilities
Being the victim of crime

Major incidents such as fires or natural disasters

All mitigating circumstances claims should be submitted using your MyBirkbeck record.

Things to consider before you submit a claim

Have your circumstances:

detrimentally affected your performance/submission/attendance in relation to an assessment or will they do so;
been sudden, unforeseen and out of your control (could not have been prevented);
taken place directly in relation to the timing of the assessment(s) affected.

Please refer to the Mitigating Circumstances policy here when submitting your claim.

Unhappy with the outcome?

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your claim then you are entitled to submit an appeal. Please click the following link to see our Appeals FAQ’s page.