Understanding extenuating circumstances

Sometimes when completing an assignment, you feel like you do not get the grade you deserve. Depending on the situation, it can be easy to know why (family issues, serious illness) but not always. If you are ever in this situation, you can apply for something called extenuating (or mitigating) circumstances. This is a policy which every British university has for students who feel there were reasons why they did not get a higher grade than the one they are given by their marker(s). Here’s what you need to know if you’re in that position:

1)  If there is an issue beforehand, try to tell someone

If you can already tell that you are not doing well (for example, you are extremely stressed or experiencing family hardship), then reach out to a doctor and your academic advisor as soon as possible. Doing so before the exam makes it much easier to claim extenuating circumstances after the exam, as your assessors will be more convinced you are not just complaining because you wanted a higher grade.

2)  Read the policy carefully

Each university has similar but slightly different extenuating circumstances policies, and some can be more restrictive than others. Reading it before you ever need to use it will mean that you know exactly how it can and cannot be used if you should ever need it. You will notice in almost all cases, extenuating circumstances are only for things that happened to you (you usually cannot dispute a grade you were given based on misunderstanding by your examiners, unless you can show very strong misconduct).

3)  Worst case, don’t worry

If it turns out that you cannot use extenuating circumstances for an assignment or your university decides that it cannot be accepted, don’t stress. Usually, before your final year, almost everyone gets a grade they wish was higher. Instead, focus on what you got wrong and think about consulting a tutor who is able to help you address your weaknesses and achieve the grades that you want and deserve in the future.