You may have heard the term “mitigating circumstances”, which some universities refer to as “extenuating circumstances” or abbreviate to acronyms like PECs. While the name may vary between universities, the policies are generally similar.
Knowing what these are and what they mean for your university career is essential for students. If you’re not quite an expert on them yet, don’t worry, as by the end of this article, you will be!
This article will be your go-to guide for understanding mitigating circumstances policies. We’ll walk you through when, why, and how to apply, as well as how they can affect your degree and grades.
Table of Contents
What are mitigating circumstances?
To better understand what “mitigating circumstances” mean at university, it helps to first grasp their general definition. “Mitigating” refers to reducing the severity or impact of something—in this case, a personal situation.
Check out this page on the Cambridge Dictionary website for more on this definition.
In a university context, this term refers to policies that address a student’s personal extenuating circumstances. These policies are often referred to as mitigating circumstances, extenuating circumstances, or even by acronyms like PEC.
Universities describe extenuating circumstances as unexpected situations that are out of your control that may significantly impact your ability to complete assessments. You can learn more on this by checking out this video by the University of Lincoln.
Some examples of mitigating circumstances are:
- A serious injury, illness or medical condition.
- Bereavement or serious illness of a close family member.
- Jury duty.
- Natural disaster.
- Being a victim of a criminal act.
- Severe weather affecting travel.
Universities may also make a distinction between short-term situations, covered by their mitigating circumstances policies and long-term situations, which may have slightly different policies.
Instead, recurring circumstances may include:
- Long-term disabilities, illness or mental health conditions.
- Terminal illness.
- Being a carer.
- Gender-based violence.
You can learn more about these examples of mitigating and recurring circumstances in this article by the University of Dundee.
What can you apply for due to mitigating circumstances at university?
As a student, it’s important for you to know what mitigating circumstances are. This is not just so that you’re aware of them, but also so that you are aware of what your university can offer to help when it comes to exams and other assessments.
While policies may vary between universities and even departments, some common adjustments include the following:
- Gaining an extension
- Being able to repeat assessments
- Being able to continue with your course despite failing assessments.
You can learn more in this YouTube video by Newcastle University.
Adjustments for mitigating circumstances aren’t limited to these examples and will depend on your university’s policies and your situation. For more specific information, it’s best to look at your university’s website or get in contact with them directly.
Can you request an extension with mitigating circumstances?
Requesting an extension is one of the main adjustments that you can apply for under mitigating circumstances policies, but how it works can vary by university and department.
Universities will typically allow students to request an extension due to their extenuating circumstances.
Extensions are generally given for assessed coursework such as essays, reports and sometimes even group projects. However, they are not usually granted for exams, live presentations, or non-assessed work.
Some key points about extensions include the following:
- For some universities, extension requests are part of the general mitigating circumstances application.
- Other universities have separate procedures for these, which might not always require the submission of evidence, or uses a separate form or system to the general mitigating circumstances one.
One of the main areas in which policies vary is in the length of the extension. Some departments will set this at as little as 4 days, whereas with others you may be able to get up to 14 days.
Regardless of how long of an extension you are given, you will only be able to use 1 extension per assessment. Universities also tend to limit students to 2 or 3 extensions per academic year.
For more on university policy on extensions, have a look at this page on the University of Leeds’ Business School’s website as well as this page from the University of Edinburgh.
How do you apply for mitigating circumstances at university?
As each university has its own policies, you will need check with your university for the exact process of applying for mitigating circumstances. However, these policies tend to share similar steps for students to follow, including the following:
Step 1: Check what counts under mitigating circumstances at your university – This is so that you’re sure that your university’s policies cover your personal situation.
Step 2: Check your university’s application process – This can be done by looking at your university’s website or directly contacting student support services.
Step 3: Complete any application forms as required – Universities generally require students to complete application forms to process any claims. These are often online and may even already be on your student portal or other university platforms that you already use.
Step 4: Gather evidence – To assess your situation, universities need evidence of your extenuating circumstance, such as a doctor’s note or a letter from a counsellor.
Step 5: Submit your application – After you have followed your university’s procedure, all that’s left is to submit. Make sure that this is done within the deadline.
You can learn more about these steps by having a look at this page on the Loughborough University website.
What counts as evidence for mitigating circumstances?
As universities will need evidence to assess your situation and decide if you are eligible for adjustments, submitting the right evidence as part of your application is crucial. Without this, your university will be unable to see the full impact of your situation, decreasing the likelihood of you receiving a sufficient adjustment.
You will also need to make sure that this evidence is independent and relevant. For independent evidence, you must make sure that the evidence is from an official source, such as a doctor, counsellor or police officer.
Ensure that your evidence is dated and affects your assessment period, so that your university can see the relevant impact on your assessment. Also, make sure to include as much relevant evidence as you can to better support your claim.
You can learn more about what evidence you need for a mitigating circumstance application on this page on the University of Lincoln’s website.
To see some examples of acceptable evidence to support your mitigating circumstances claim, have a look at the following table:
| Circumstance | Examples of evidence |
| Illness or injury (including mental illness) |
|
| Bereavement |
|
| Being a carer |
|
| Being a victim of a criminal act |
|
You can learn more about these examples of evidence on this page of the University of Manchester’s website.
What happens if your mitigating circumstances are rejected?
Your university may reject your application for mitigating circumstances for a few different reasons, such as:
- Insufficient or irrelevant evidence
- Late submission of your application
- Issues affecting your course’s requirements
In the case that your claim is rejected, universities may still allow you to rectify this by submitting additional evidence or through an appeal. This will generally be done through your university’s general appeals procedure, which you should be able to find on your university website or in your student handbook.
However, to be able to appeal successfully, you will most likely need to either:
- Submit new evidence that you were unable to provide beforehand. Or,
- Be able to prove an error on your university’s part in reviewing your case.
You can learn more about the appealing policy in this guide by King’s College London.
Even if you are still unable to gain mitigations for your situation, you may be able to get other forms of support from your university. You can talk to your personal tutor or student support services for guidance on this.
Can you apply for mitigating circumstances after a deadline?
While some universities allow you to apply for mitigating circumstances a few days after your deadline, others won’t give any leeway. Even if a late application is accepted, you are likely to need more evidence for why you didn’t apply before.
For more on this, have a look at this page on the University of Manchester’s website.
Due to this, it is crucial that you check your own university’s policies and get your application in as quickly as possible just to be safe.
How many times can you apply for mitigating circumstances?
The number of times you can apply for mitigating circumstances varies between universities and even specific departments. Many universities also distinguish between general applications for mitigating circumstances and a self-certification process:
1. General Mitigating Circumstances Application: This process typically requires evidence and allows students to apply for various adjustments based on their circumstances.
For general mitigating circumstances applications with evidence, there are fewer limitations on how many times you can apply. Some universities explicitly say that you can apply as many times as you need to, whereas others won’t be so outright. Contact your university directly for clearer information.
You can learn more about this on this page of the University of Edinburgh’s website.
2. Self-Certification for Adjustments: This is simpler self-certification process, where students can request adjustments without needing to submit evidence. However, this process comes with greater limitations.
For the self-certification process students will often only be able to get a short extension of about 4 days, or sometimes be able to defer an exam. Unlike general mitigating circumstances, students will only be able to use this process about 2 or 3 times depending on the university.
You can learn more about self-certification on this page on the University of York’s website and this guide by the University of Westminister.
Can mitigating circumstances affect your final degree?
Depending on the mitigation offered, applying for mitigating circumstances can affect your final degree, though this will also depend on your overall performance.
Gaining mitigating circumstances will generally not affect your grade very much. In some cases, an adjustment made might be increasing your mark up to 5% but even this is quite rare.
If the university allows you to repeat assessments and you haven’t met the requirements to progress or graduate, you will need to retake these before you can continue. This may cause your degree to take longer or may even delay your graduation if you’re in your final year.
However, if you’ve met the requirements and the retakes are not mandatory, you can choose to decline them and continue with your course as originally planned.
You can learn more about this on this page of the Loughborough University website.
For international students, if mitigating circumstances result in deferring your dissertation or a period of study, this could potentially affect your student visa, and in the worst cases, lead to its cancellation. Learn more about this on this page of the University of Westminister’s website.