Fit to Sit / Extenuating Circumstances

If you take part in an assessment, such as handing in a coursework or sitting an exam, you are declaring yourself to be well enough to do so: in other words you are “Fit to Sit”. However, occasionally unexpected health or personal issues can impact negatively on your studies. The University calls these “Extenuating Circumstances” and there is a process to support you.  

For up to date guidance on the university's Fit to Sit processes (including extensions, deferrals and extenuating circumstances) see MyNapier: Fit to Sit and extenuating circumstances

BEFORE an assessment deadline

Extensions to deadlines

If you need a little more time to complete non-exam-based assessment, you should apply for an extension to the hand-in date. Extensions can be granted by your Module Leader up to a maximum of five working days (or 10 working days in some circumstances or for modules of 20 credits or more).

To apply for an extension you should complete form RE1 and return it to your Module Leader by the original coursework submission date. Your module leader might ask for details of the reason for your request, but the regulations state that independent evidence is not required to support an application for an extension

Please note that this option does not apply to examinations.

Deferral of Assessment

If your circumstances are more serious or relate to a formal exam, you need more than an additional 5 working days and/or you are not able or ready to attempt the assessment at all, you can apply for a Deferral of Assessment.

This means that you would undertake the assessment at the next available opportunity i.e. either during the next trimester or during the summer diet.

You will need to include time-relevant third-party supporting evidence with your application. If you are not sure what to include or whether you have appropriate evidence, you can speak to ENSA Advice or your school Fit to Sit Officer.

The decision to defer assessment could affect whether you can carry on to the next year of your studies so you should always seek advice from your Programme Leader, PDT and/or ENSA Advice, our free, independent and confidential advice service, before applying for a deferral. 

To Apply for a Deferral of Assessment, you should do so via the ‘Apply for Extenuating Circumstances and Deferrals’ tile on the eStudent records portal. You should ideally apply before the assessment point or, exceptionally, at the latest within 5 working days.

Important Note: If you apply for a deferral of an assessment you are in effect 'voiding' the attempt, which means you will not receive a mark and you will need to sit the assessment at a future point.

AFTER an assessment deadline

What to do if you submit work and realise later that something was impacting you, or if your circumstances were so serious that you could not apply for a deferral in due time and didn’t attempt the assessment.

1. Apply for Extenuating Circumstances

If you submit your assessment or sit an exam and then realise that you were not 'fit to sit' and should have applied for a deferral, you can apply for Extenuating Circumstances.

To apply for Extenuating Circumstances, you should use the 'Apply for Extenuating Circumstances and Deferrals’ tile on the eStudent records portal  within 5 working days after the original submission date.

You will need to include time-relevant third-party supporting evidence with your application. If you are not sure what to include or whether you have appropriate evidence, you can speak to ENSA Advice or your school Fit to Sit Officer.

Important Note: If you requested Extenuating Circumstances and have also undertaken the assessment, your mark/grade will not count even if it was a pass. This is because you have indicated you were not fully 'fit to sit' and could not therefore perform to the best of your ability.

2. Apply for  Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances

If you did not submit a piece of work, or sit an exam, and your circumstances were so serious you could not apply for a Deferral or Extenuating Circumstances within five working days, you can apply for Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances. There is a fixed deadline for each trimester which you can check on MyNapier.

You will need to include time-relevant third-party supporting evidence with your application that demonstrates both why you could not complete the assignment and why you were unable to engage with the Fit to Sit processes at the time. If you are not sure what to include or whether you have appropriate evidence, you can speak to ENSA Advice or your school Fit to Sit Officer.

The decision to defer assessment could affect whether you can carry on to the next year of your studies so you should always seek advice from your Programme Leader, PDT and/or ENSA Advice, before applying for a deferral. 

To apply for Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances, you should use the 'Apply for Extenuating Circumstances and Deferrals’ tile on the eStudent records portal  by the  published deadlines.

3. Apply for Late Mitigation

If you have missed the deadline for other Fit to Sit processes due to exceptional circumstances and have not attempted your assignments, you can consider your eligibility to apply for Late Mitigation.

Only the most serious of circumstances will be accepted, and approval of Late Mitigation will be extremely rare. You will need to include time-relevant third-party supporting evidence with your application that demonstrates both why you could not complete the assignment and why you were unable to engage with the Fit to Sit processes at the time. If you are not sure what to include or whether you have appropriate evidence, you can speak to ENSA Advice or your school Fit to Sit Officer.

Applications for Late Mitigation may only be made up to the end of the trimester after the trimester in which the assessment was due. For example, events that occurred in Trimester 1 could be applied for by the end of Trimester 2, but only with clear evidence of why you did not engage at an earlier point.

You can only apply for Late Mitigation by contacting your school Fit to Sit Officer.

Further Information 

Enduring Circumstances - If you have underlying permanent or temporary health conditions, disabilities or other contextual circumstances that affect your ability to perform in assessments, you may be able to make use of Enduring Circumstances to avoid having to resubmit evidence of each occasion. To discuss Enduring Circumstances, contact the Disability Inclusion Team.

Help and support

For the most up to date guidance on the above processes, and access to relevant forms, access MyNapier.

If you would like any advice about your options, make an appointment with ENSA Advice.

The Fit to Sit Regulations has full details on a number of areas you may find useful, including suitable grounds for extenuating circumstances, information about support available to you, and what constitutes suitable supporting evidence.

You'll find information in the following sections of the regulations:

EC3.2 – Acceptable grounds for support

EC3.3 – Unacceptable grounds for support

EC14 – signposting to support for students

Annex 1 – examples of suitable supporting evidence