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Personal Extenuating Circumstances (PEC) School Processes and Committee Recommendations. (May 2016)

Introduction

University Examination Conventions require that all Boards of Examiners for taught programmes hold a PEC Committee. This has limited membership and meets as a full committee in advance of the Board of Examiners. The purpose of the PEC Committee is to consider claims by students of personal extenuating circumstances that may have affected their performance in assessments/examinations, and to make the appropriate adjustments. Each Academic Unit should have a nominated member of staff to receive PEC forms and make an initial assessment of the request. The nominated member of staff should be a member of the PEC Committee (whether administrative or academic staff). PEC Committee members will make decisions on behalf of the Committee throughout the academic year, although it is anticipated that a full PEC Committee will only meet prior to Boards of Examiners.

Within the University regulations, the PEC Committee and procedure empowers the academic unit/Board of Examiners to make adjustments for student cases within the academic unit. The procedure should be read in conjunction with any programme specific PEC guidance and/or programme regulations. The following guidance can be used to aid Chairs of Boards of Examiners and others involved in the arrangements for PEC Committee and related processes.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/staff-resources/PEC/ http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/staff-resources/PEC/templates.htm http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/Regulations/SPS/appeals.htm http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/Regulations/SPS/f2s.htm

The following Student Wellbeing Service email contacts can be used to enquire about SSRs for students with long term conditions/mental health/disability/specific learning difficulty. Specialist Learning Team: specialistlearning@newcastle.ac.uk Disability: disabilityadvisor@newcastle.ac.uk Mental Health: MentalHealthAdvisor@newcastle.ac.uk

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A. Diagram showing the PEC and appeal routes

Arrangements

Student requests adjustment

Disability related - short or long term Short term unavoidable circumstance or episode during programme

Student completes online Personal Extenuating Circumstances Form

Considered by nominated member of Staff or PEC Committee (Chair/ or other committee member as required)

PECC/Chair/other nominated member of staff decides on case** (4 possible outcomes)

1a Support case and timing enables adjustments to be made immediately. Options include:

a. Extension approved b. Exemption approved c. Deferral agreed

1b Support case but timing prevents immediate adjustment may refer to PECC prior to Board of Examiners. Options include:

a. Discretion b. Any other adjustment available under

PECC regulation

2. Refer to DPD (to consider options such as Leave of Absence)

3. Reject Case

Student informed of outcome (as required)

All outcomes reported to PEC Committee who make available recommendations to Board of Examiners. BoE confirms academic results

Student may submit ‘Academic Query & Appeal Procedure’ Request

Long term - Refer to Student Wellbeing Service***

Adjustments advised by

Student Wellbeing Service via SSR - NOT VIA PEC

Notes: ** Options available to the academic unit may vary according to timing and the scale of impact. *** Students can contact SWS at any stage – or may be referred by the academic unit

Temporary - Refer to Examinations

Adjustments advised by Examinations NOT VIA PEC

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B. General guidance notes about PEC Submission and School Process

On-line Submission of PEC form Students will be advised early in the Semester how to submit requests for extensions and adjustments due to significant unavoidable personal extenuating circumstances. On-line PEC submissions will be received via electronic workflow by a nominated officer within an academic unit/School throughout the academic year. The nominated member of staff or other member of the PEC Committee will make an initial decision on the appropriate action to take and the student will be informed of this action. Many of the PEC requests will require immediate action by the nominated member of staff for approval of a short extension, others requests may need to be referred to the PEC Committee (PECC). Students will use the S3P student Portal to access the PEC forms. Students will need to describe the circumstances, specific modules and how these impact on their studies directly on the form (guidance is provided), attach relevant documentation and submit for consideration. The student will receive an automated acknowledgement of their PEC submission. The School staff should review applications upon receipt and advise the student if there is anything obviously missing (e.g. medical evidence, or missing information on the form). In exceptional circumstances the student may, hand in a form in confidence, or specific confidential evidence, for the attention of the nominated officer and by-pass this review by office staff. Prompt Consideration of the PEC form The nominated member of staff or PEC Committee member will assess the case and decide on the appropriate adjustment. Many decisions will be straight-forward, although they may vary according to the timing of the PEC application. For more complex cases, the nominated member of staff is advised to consult other members of the academic staff (e.g. Module Leader/DPD), PEC Committee or seek general guidance from Student Progress Service. If an adjustment is not judged to be academically viable or realistic, then this may form part of the decision to reject or to offer an alternative adjustment. Evaluating PEC applications

The nominated member of staff or the PEC Committee, is required to evaluate the case made by students in their PEC applications. Applications are considered on individual merit, but generally need to be supported by evidence. N.B. the submission of an unusually high number of PEC applications could be an indicator that the student is experiencing difficulties which should be addressed under the Fitness to Study Procedure (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/Regulations/SPS/f2s.htm). Evaluating Evidence

Students are advised that they should provide evidence of their medical or personal circumstances. When evaluating the validity of evidence particular consideration should be given to the following;

The date of the evidence in relation to the academic issues the student has raised on the form.

In cases of ill health, if the evidence indicates whether the condition is chronic or acute?

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Students can self-certify a short illness if accompanied by a Student Absence Request identifying the period of absence from study (or the Request for Absence form in the case of students of medicine and dentistry). However, this can only be accepted for an extension request of up to 7 calendar days on two occasions per academic year. It cannot be used for the deferral of an examination, a reinstatement of an attempt or other significant adjustment.

In the event of a bereavement of an immediate family member, the University accepts that it can be difficult to articulate and assess impact on studies. It will help if the student is specific by providing information such as their relationship to the deceased, the timing of the death, how much study time was lost. In addition, students are advised to obtain independent evidence such as: a supporting statement from a tutor, other member of staff or a relative and, if available, a copy of a death certificate or other notice of bereavement.

Copies of documents are accepted, however, if the original document is requested, students should be able to provide this upon request.

If the original document is not written in English the student should be asked to provide an official translation (not a translation they, or a family member, have prepared).

If Schools believe that evidence provided is false/fraudulent they are advised to follow the University Disciplinary Procedures, initially at the local level http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/Regulations/SPS/disciplinary.htm.

If an elite athlete or student representing the country or the University at a high level submits a PEC application, letters of support should only be accepted if they are from the Director of Sport or the Performance Manager.

Where the student has a disability or long term condition, for which the Student Wellbeing Service has provided a Student Support Recommendation (SSR), or is part of a ‘Fitness to Study’ case, it may not be necessary to see original medical evidence if the SSR or ‘Fitness to Study’ documentation sufficiently summarises the case.

Students are advised NOT to seek to evidence after the event. For example asking for a doctor’s note retrospectively which states, ‘The student informs me that…..’ will not normally be accepted as evidence. It should be noted that requests for adjustments that relate to the following, are not normally accepted as the basis of a PEC application:

(i) Instances where an appropriate adjustment has already been made. (ii) Retrospective report of illness or other extenuating circumstances, without good reason. (iii) Ongoing medical conditions/disabilities including learning disabilities, or mental health

conditions for which the student is already receiving reasonable adjustments via a Student Support Recommendation (SSR).

(iv) Transport problems, excepting those where it can be shown that adequate time had been allowed.

(v) Unspecified anxiety or examination stress (vi) Minor infection such as coughs, colds, headaches or hay fever, unless supported by specific

medical evidence. (vii) Distress relating to family pet. (viii) Holidays, house moves, sporting or other social commitments. (ix) Known employment or financial responsibilities (particularly when in full-time study). (x) Problems with personal computers, printers or other technology. (xi) Where the circumstances could have been avoided, particularly due to poor time management.

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Consulting Other Schools

If the PEC Committee decision has an impact on the workload of other Schools it is good practice to consult that School before the decision is made. This is particularly important for adjustments relating to practicals, extensions and extraordinary examinations. Staff from other Schools will also need to be informed of the outcome of any PEC decision by being copied in to the PEC email to the student.

Informing the Student Whatever decision is made (including decisions not to take immediate action, but to hold for the committee meeting) the student should be notified, by email, as soon as possible. Where PEC applications are presented to the PEC Committee to provide a rating for the Board of Examiners, there is no requirement to report the rating to students. However, should the student appeal, there should be clear minutes available.

Record Keeping

All Schools should manage their records to be able to provide accurate statistics on the following data (NESS has been developed to facilitate this reporting) :

the total number of students submitting PEC applications, and

the number of PEC forms submitted

the number of cases where extensions were granted

the number of cases where exemptions were granted

the number of cases where deferrals were approved

the number of cases where referrals were made to others

the number of cases considered for discretion by the Board of Examiners

the number of PEC applications that were rejected

The Student Progress Service will provide an overall annual report to ULTSEC on all PEC cases.

Electronic PEC forms will be retained and available via the University SAP student system.

C. PEC Committees and available adjustment/actions

Appointment of a PEC Committee

The membership of the PEC Committee (PECC) should be in line with the Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Taught) Examination Conventions, and will normally consist of a Chair and Secretary, the nominated member of staff and two other senior members of academic staff, one of whom should normally be selected from outside of the academic unit/School. In some circumstances, e.g. in some larger Schools within SaGE, the external represention may come from within the same School, however measures must be taken to ensure that this

representation must NOT be allied in any way to the programme(s) being considered. The Chair should be a senior member of academic staff with experience of sitting on Boards of Examiners. To respect the confidential nature of PEC business, membership should always be restricted to a small number of staff. The Committee will meet before Boards of Examiners (BoE) take place. At this meeting, the committee members will:

(i) report all PEC decisions made since the last committee

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(ii) consider any PEC forms that have been held for the meeting, and provide a discretion rating to forward to the BoE (where applicable). This discretion rating should take into account any adjustments already made, to avoid ‘double-counting’.

For cases where a discretion rating is provided to the BoE, the BoE will then consider whether there is a case for applying discretion. There may be occasions where the BoE feel that a different adjustment would be more appropriate in which case the circumstance should be reconsidered by a member of the PEC Committee and the final outcome communicated to the student. To maintain confidentiality, PEC cases should not be revisited and discussed in detail during a BoE meeting. If the PEC Committee supports a student’s PEC circumstance, a number of adjustments are available in accordance with the University examination conventions;

Extensions within and beyond those permitted as part of the Submission of Work policy;

Exemptions from minor elements of assessed work (normally a maximum of 20% of the module in question);

Deferral of a formal examination or assessment attempt to the next normal occasion (generally August);

Deferral of a formal examination or assessment attempt to a later normal occasion;

Extraordinary examinations, including those outside of the regular assessment periods:

Setting aside previous attempt(s) at a module, semester or stage and allowing repeat tuition if required;

Allowing a student to retake a module, semester or stage with tuition (subject to payment of the appropriate tuition fees);

Allowing a student to proceed to the next Stage of a programme carrying fails; and

To provide Boards of Examiners with an assessment of the scope and severity of mitigating circumstances affecting a student, which have not been addressed by a-h above (i.e. to recommend consideration of the use of discretion).

A PEC committee may, on occasion, need to consider other adjustments in response to a student’s personal extenuating circumstance case. Adjustments other than those listed above must be approved by the appropriate Dean.

Notes: i. The PEC committee must only approve such actions if there is an evidenced case presented for or by the student.

ii. Where appropriate, Schools may convene one School PEC committee to consider the cases for more than one programme.

Off Campus Examinations

Overseas students may apply to take resit exams (or exams deferred by PEC) in their home country. Applications are via the Examinations team of the Student Progress Service. The Examinations team may also consider cases that fall outside of their own policy (e.g. late applications, students on a Year Abroad or internship) if a PEC application is referred to them however, as with all applications for off-campus examinations, it may not be possible to secure appropriate invigilation and the application may ultimately be declined by the Examinations team on that basis. Exams will be arranged for the normal examination periods unless there is approval for extraordinary timing. For more information about off-campus examinations please see: www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/exams/exams/overseasresit.htm.

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D. Guidelines for PEC Committee Adjustments

When PEC applications are received and the timing of the application prevents immediate adjustment, this may need to be considered by a full PEC Committee and a recommendation made to the Board of Examiners for use of discretion.

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E. PEC Adjustments – guidance on ‘standard’ adjustments. NOTE: All adjustments are subject to there being a legitimate, evidenced case which has been considered through the PEC system.

Reasonably Routine Occasional Rare Not Permitted Extensions within Submission of Work policy‡

Longer Extensions Multiple extensions on the same piece of work

Open ended extensions

Exemptions for minor elements that are repeated within the module (e.g. 1 out of 6 labs/ up to 20% of the module)

Exemptions for minor elements that are not repeated but module outcomes still covered (e.g. Lit review missed, but essay done)

Exemptions for minor elements where the learning outcomes are not met, but it is impractical to repeat (e.g. oral presentation missed)

Exemptions for major elements/ formal examinations Exemptions that are not agreed with the Head of the School (or nominee) that delivers the module.

Deferral of assessment from Jan or June to August‡

Deferral from Jan/ June to Jan /June of the next year (perhaps if the student intends to take a Leave Of Absence)

Deferrals of first attempts in to a next Stage (‘carrying’ the module, without yet attempting it)

Open-ended deferrals (preferable to give a new date, and review again if necessary)

Extraordinary Examinations to avoid delay to progression or graduation

Off-campus Extraordinary Examination, not covered by the University’s policy§

Extraordinary Examinations after September induction week (to give a chance to progress – but starts to interfere with the next Stage quite quickly)

Extraordinary Examinations that are not in a similar format to original Extraordinary Examinations that are not supported by the Head of the School (or nominee) that delivers the module.

Repeat tuition as first attempt for period fully covered by evidence

Repeat tuition as first attempt when only assessment periods covered by evidence

Late requests for repeat tuition, following results, when School not aware of issues throughout the year

Any promise of financial ‘favours’ (e.g. permission to repeat a period of tuition without paying further fees)

Alternative assessments with clear academic and medical grounds, supported via SWS. (The Dean should be consulted)

Alternative assessments without clear academic and/or medical grounds.

Splitting of modules to create one-semester modules. Sometimes necessary due to unforeseen changes and requires Faculty approval. (The Dean should be consulted)

‡ - It is expected that nominated members of staff, in consultation with academic staff (e.g. Module Leaders /DPD) where appropriate, can make these decisions. § - Schools should liaise with Examinations Section over extraordinary off-campus examinations.

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F. Guidelines for PEC Committee Ratings

a) Schools must ensure that students have been made aware of the PEC process. This may be done in a variety of ways, however, the minimum expectation is an e-mail communication to all students at least two weeks before the PEC Committee meeting is scheduled to take place. The email should indicate:

the availability of on-line PEC form and associated guidance

the deadline for submission and any specific arrangements within the School

that claims relating to personal circumstances made after results are published are not normally considered.

b) The secretary of the PEC Committee should ensure that an accurate record is maintained of those cases considered and that all forms are logged (NESS can be used for this purpose).

c) The PEC Committee meets to consider each case that has not been dealt with through other practical adjustments (e.g. extensions, deferral of assessments). Each case is rated against the University standard scale and a minute made of any pertinent points for each student: see examples below. The PEC Committee should be minuted carefully, as it may be required in the event of an appeal by a student.

The secretary of the PEC Committee prepares summary lists and brief recommendations for the Board of Examiners. Examples are available in point H below.

d) The PEC Committee should carefully consider what rating each student circumstance should be awarded. The rating needs to be as specific as possible against individual modules or periods of study. This will enable the Board of Examiners to make informed judgements for individual students regarding their progression/classification.

G. The University recommended rating scale

The following provides an explanation and suggestions for the level of discretion to be shown.

These are guidelines only. The Board of Examiners has ultimate discretion to determine whether adjustment should be applied or not and how much discretion is appropriate and rely on the PEC Committee rating for determining the seriousness of the Personal Extenuating Circumstance affecting the studies/assessment of the student. This rating needs to take account of the severity, duration and timing of the circumstance. This can cover all situations from a single module assessment to a whole year of study.

NB: Boards of Examiners and PEC Committees may only make decisions within University regulations. In the rare event that an unusual adjustment is deemed necessary, the Dean should be consulted.

0 No

support. The circumstances are not considered to have been sufficient to adversely affect performance. The student should not be given any discretion by the Board of Examiners.

1 Low support.

The circumstances are considered to be minor but are acknowledged to have had the potential to have a small adverse effect on performance. It is unlikely that the Board of Examiners would exercise overall discretion with this rating. However, the Board could use discretion over relevant marginal fails and/or note a marginally reduced overall performance not addressed by passing failed modules.

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2 Moderate support.

The circumstances are acknowledged to be significant and are likely to have had an adverse effect on performance. It is expected that adjustments will be considered where there is clear evidence of an effect on marks awarded. Any adjustment made should be proportionate to the impact of the circumstances.

It is expected that Boards of Examiners will not consider students for a higher classification where there is no evidence of achievement at the higher level. It may therefore be more appropriate for students to be given another attempt at the affected assessment/s.

3 Strong support.

The circumstances, are severe and probably have had an adverse effect on the student’s performance. The Board of Examiners would be expected to consider some discretion.

For Stage 1 students, the recommendation would be for the Board to use discretion over relevant failed modules, where feasible (but the skills and knowledge required for progression should be noted).

For students beyond Stage 1 but pre-final-year, the recommendation would be for the Board to consider the use of discretion over relevant failed modules (where feasible, but the skills and knowledge required for progression may be an issue) and/or note a reduced overall performance not addressed by passing failed modules. The recommendation should indicate whether the effect of the overall performance (after passing failed modules) is negligible, marginal, moderate or severe. Where the Board notes a marginally, moderately or severely reduced overall performance, care should be taken to ensure the information is carried forward for the Board in the student’s final year.

For final year students, the Board should consider very carefully whether the circumstances have affected the final degree classification and, if evidence of achievement in the higher class is sufficiently clear, the higher class could be awarded by the Board, at its discretion.

It is expected that Boards of Examiners will not consider students for a higher classification where there is little evidence of achievement at the higher level. It may therefore be more appropriate for students to be given another attempt at the affected assessment/s.

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H. Sample Personal Extenuating Circumstances, Subsequent Suggested Ratings and Sample Minutes

Cases Rated Zero – No support CASE DATES OF

ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED

EVIDENCE PROVIDED AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

1 Exam – 22 May Exam – 01 Jun Exam – 28 May Exam – 28 May

Car Accident. Whiplash, Back Pain. Given Extensions for 2 pieces of coursework due following the accident. Only had 1 week to complete Literature review, behind on revision. Period Affected: 14 April – 28 April

Medical Note indicating only needed 1 week to recover.

0 Timing of the car crash was sufficiently ahead of the assessments to mitigate the impact. Previous extensions given. Medical note suggests that the student should have only taken 1 week to recover.

No support for special discretion.

The student failed three modules and with no support from the PEC Committee the Board recorded that all modules should be retaken.

CASE DATES OF ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED

EVIDENCE PROVIDED AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

2 Project – 20 Apr Assign – 04 May Diss – 20 Apr

Grandfather passed away. Spent time with family. Missed seminars which meant missing presentation which would have helped with project and assignment. Finding it hard to concentrate for long periods of time. Dissertation neglected. Period Affected: 16 March – 23 March

Nothing provided 0 No evidence provided. Bereavement a month before the assessment. Although students not required to provide death certificates, a letter from a parent, copy of funeral service, obituary note from newspaper etc. could have been provided. If the student had liaised with staff a statement from DPD or personal tutor could have confirmed event.

No support for special discretion.

The student failed three modules with no support from the PEC Committee the Board recorded that all modules should be retaken.

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CASE DATES OF ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED

EVIDENCE PROVIDED

AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

4 Revision for Exam – 13 Jan

Stage 1 student where their parents split up just before Christmas. Spent time with Brother looking after Mother over the Christmas break. Did not start revising for exams until back in Newcastle after New Year. Period Affected: Early Dec - Present

Letter from Mother

1 Letter from parent is satisfactory evidence. Break up was significantly ahead of the examinations.

Low support for special discretion.

The student failed DEF4422 and with low support from the PEC Committee the Board agreed that this module should be retaken.

Cases Rated One – Low Support

CASE DATES OF ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED

EVIDENCE PROVIDED

AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

3 Exam – 17 Jan Exam – 13 Jan Exam – 22 Jan Practical 8 Dec (Exemptions given for 3 minor assessments)

Stage 2 student with wisdom tooth extracted on 14 Nov. swelling and pain. Didn’t react well to pain killers and antibiotics, resulted in vomiting and infected mouth. Affected sleep and concentration. Missed a lot of lectures and seminars. Period Affected: 14 Nov – 28 Nov

Medical Note dated 18 Nov and Self- Certification dated 3 Dec

1 Extensions already given for 3 assessments during the affected period. Delay in issue of the self-certification form. Dates of assessments claimed to be affected do not reconcile with the date of the dental surgery. Medical note is helpful. Difficult to highly rate the impact of many minor medical/dental events without specific evidence.

Low support for special discretion.

Notwithstanding the borderline result and low support for discretion by the PEC Committee, but noting the overall profile of the student's marks, the Board resolved that the student be required to resit module ABC1234.

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Cases Rated Two – Moderate support CASE DATES OF

ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED

EVIDENCE PROVIDED

AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

5 Exam – 23 Mar Exam – 18 May Exam – 21 May Exam – 27 May Exam – 1 Jun

Final year student reported having had a fractured skull 2 years ago. Had Extradural Haematoma. Problems with concentration, memory and headaches in periods of extended concentration and stress. Revision is painstaking and can only concentrate for 40 mins at a time. Taking more than recommended level of painkillers. Problems in exams retrieving information have to stop for periods. Period Affected: 09 July (2 yrs previously) - Present

2 x Medical Notes confirming fractured skull, surgery and resulting severe headaches.

2 Incident occurred significantly in the past. Clear that student did suffer a problem in the past and this is corroborated by medical evidence. Student saw doctor at time of exams (evidenced by one of the medical notes). The impact on assessment significantly beyond the time of the incident is not clear and not evidenced. (Should have had an SSR)

Moderate support relating to an extended period of difficulty.

The student’s final aggregated mark was 57.4. Taking into consideration the moderate support from the PEC Committee and that there was no evidence of Upper Second Class ability in the overall mark profile, the Board recommended that the student be awarded a final classification of 2.2

CASE DATES OF ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED

EVIDENCE PROVIDED

AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

6 Exam – 17 Jan Exam – 12 Jan Exam – 19 Jan Exam – 22 Jan

Continuing student with severe depression due to gambling addiction and drug abuse. Undergoing counselling with Student Wellbeing and on course of anti-depressants prescribed by GP. More severe since start of January. Period Affected: October – ongoing

Medical Note from GP

2 Medical Note from GP is brief but confirms ‘depressive illness’. No evidence that the student engaged with the School on the matter.

Moderate support for discretion.

Noting the profile of the student's marks and particularly the good performance in the majority of the examinations, in addition to moderate support from the PEC Committee, the Board, by discretion, resolved that the semester 2 module XYZ2346 be deemed a pass.

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Cases Rated Three – Strong support CASE DATES OF

ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED EVIDENCE PROVIDED

AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

7 Assign – 18 Oct Assign – 17 Nov Assign – 17 Nov Assign – 6 Jan

Stage 1 student in hospital with acute appendicitis for a week. Confined to home after operation for further 1-2 weeks. Developed chest infection as a result of operation and unable to attend university for a further 2 weeks. Had extensions on 2 assignments (18/10 and 17/11). Period Affected: 10 Oct – end of Nov

Medical Note from Hospital.

3 (relating to Oct/Nov Assign. only)

Medical evidence is specific and helpful. Medical note only refers to a 2 week post-op absence and extensions already given for 2 assignments. However it’s possible that the student may have needed longer to recover from the operation. Also possible that missing several weeks of lectures may have disrupted the student’s study pattern.

Strong support for discretion in all modules, but particularly with regard to Semester 1 modules.

The Board noted the strong recommendation of the PEC Committee and, by discretion, resolved that module XYZ3456, the only semester 1 module failed, be deemed a pass.

CASE DATES OF

ASSESSMENTS AFFECTED

CIRCUMSTANCE/PERIOD AFFECTED EVIDENCE PROVIDED

AGREED RATING

NOTES SAMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEC COMMITTEES TO THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

SAMPLE MINUTES FOR BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

8 Exam – 13 Jan Exam – 17 Jan Exam – 22 Jan

Final year student where their depression/Stress increased from beginning of Dec. Couldn’t study, lack of concentration and sleep. Disengaged from peers and social life. Repeat of issues when younger as a result of Father’s death. Agreed to try to sit at least 1 of the 3 papers affected. Prescribed Propranolol for anxiety and to help sleep. Sought help of Hypnotist and Psychotherapist. Period Affected: Dec onwards

Medical note dated 13 Jan.

3 The detail of the student’s submission is helpful. The timings of the claims are relevant. The medical note refers to acute problems. The claim is specific.

Strong support for discretion in all modules, but particularly with regard to Semester 1.

The Board, noting the overall mark profile (which included some evidence of 2.1 ability from previous years and Semester 2 of final year) and the strong recommendation of the PEC Committee, agreed to exercise its discretion and resolved to raise the student’s final classification to 2.1.