Extenuating circumstances

If a serious event in your life has affected your work, it could be taken into account in your assessments.

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Please note that from Monday 19 June 2023 we will no longer be considering late applications for extenuating circumstances for assessments which have already taken place. This is because your results are being considered for ratification as a part of the Board of Examiners process.

If you need to submit a late application, as you have not yet been considered for the circumstances that have impacted you completing your assessments, you must follow the academic appeals – stage 1 process confirmed on the website once your results have been released.

What Goldsmiths consider extenuating circumstances

Extenuating Circumstances categories that are considered by Goldsmiths include serious medical conditions, trauma, bereavement and court attendance.

See the full list of acceptable and unacceptable categories.

Self-Certification required

Students do not need to provide evidence of their extenuating circumstances. Instead, students must self-certify by providing a written statement to explain their circumstances, and then to explain the impact those circumstances have had on their assessments.

Students with physical or mental impairments

Students with physical or mental impairments that have a substantial and long-term negative impact on their ability to study and/or to engage with assessments should seek support and reasonable adjustments to assessment through the Disability Service.

Reasonable adjustments and support, including variable adjustments such as extensions, should be approved as part of a Reasonable Adjustment Student Agreement (RASA), and should not be accommodated by using the Extenuating Circumstances Policy.

Students who have a RASA in place that permits extensions to assessment deadlines, but who experience other extenuating circumstances (not relating to the circumstances on which their RASA is based) affecting their ability to engage with assessments, can make an Extenuating Circumstances application in the usual way.

What the outcomes can be

If an extenuating circumstances application is accepted the following can be applied:

Deferral - your assessment/exam may be deferred to the next available assessment period in the current academic year, eg late summer resit period. Where possible, students should continue to work on their assessment until they receive an outcome from their application
Deferral to the following session - your assessment/exam may be deferred to the next available assessment period in the following academic year. Depending on how many assessments are affected and deferred this could have an impact on your ability to progress to the next level of study if you have not met the progression requirements for your programme of study. Where possible, students should continue to work on their assessment until they receive an outcome from their application
Change to a deadline - an extension to an assessment deadline may be granted which can be a minimum of 5 working days or a longer extension depending on the circumstances and their impact. This is not suitable for all assessments, (e.g. take-home papers, unseen exams and timed examinations). For these assessment types, you should request a deferral. Students should continue to work on their assessment even if a Change to Deadline is needed.
Discount of an Attempt - the assessment deadline has taken place and there are circumstances not previously considered which impacted your assessment. Consideration can be given to discount the attempt and grant you a new attempt.

Restrictions to an Application

An assessment element can only be deferred following approval of an EC application and, from 2021/22 can normally only be deferred a maximum of two times.

Extenuation may not be applied more than once to the same assessment element unless there are new extenuating circumstances presented by the student.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted no earlier than 14 working days before a deadline or examination and no later than 7 working days after a deadline or examination.

Applications submitted outside of this timeframe will be rejected unless you can demonstrate that you were prevented from disclosing the circumstances at the time.

Go to My Goldsmiths to apply

Select 'My Extenuating Circumstances' from the menu on the right.

Help with applying through My Goldsmiths

You will need to complete the online form in full and complete your statement to confirm self-certification of your circumstance(s) and the impact this has had on your ability to complete your assessment(s) on time.

Applications are processed within 3-10 working days, excluding college closure days.

Consideration

Your application will be considered by the Registry Operations team.

Registry Operations will establish whether your application meets the criteria and make a decision which they will communicate to you. These decisions are ratified by the Board of Examiners.

Decision

You will receive the outcome via email and this will also be updated on MyGoldsmiths, confirming any next steps.

To check the status of your Extenuating Circumstances application login to MyGoldsmiths and select 'My Extenuating Circumstances' from the menu on the right. If your EC application is still pending after 10 working days, please submit an enquiry form.

If you are not satisfied you can email contact the EC team. Once the mark for your assessment is ratified by the Board of Examiners, you can appeal the decision if you have grounds.

From 2023/24, following a recent change approved by Academic Board, you are now able to request a review of a rejected EC application for a change to deadline, where it may impact your ability to progress to the next level of study or complete your programme on time. Details of how to request a review will be included in your EC outcome message where this route is available to you. Outside of this timeframe, you may still follow the academic appeals process.