Mitigating Circumstances

What are mitigating circumstances?

Mitigating circumstances are unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances that could have, or did have, a significant adverse effect on the academic performance of the student. 

What circumstances are considered to be mitigating?

Possible mitigating circumstances include:

  • Significant illness or injury.
  • The death or critical/significant illness of a close family member/dependant.
  • Significant family crises or a major financial problem leading to acute stress.
  • Absence for public service (e.g. jury service).
What circumstances are not usually considered to be mitigating?

Circumstances that will not be normally regarded as grounds for mitigation include:

  • Holiday, moving house or events that were planned or could reasonably have been expected.
  • Assessments that are scheduled close together.
  • Misreading the timetable or misunderstanding the requirements of an assignment.
  • Inadequate planning and time management.
  • Failure, loss or theft of a computer that prevents submission of work on-time; students should back their work up regularly.
  • Consequences of paid employment.
  • Exam stress or panic attacks not diagnosed as illness or supported by medical evidence.

If your problems are chronic and/or ongoing and relate to an illness or disability, you should register with the University’s Disability Advisory and Support Service rather than submit mitigating circumstances applications. Bear in mind that, if your problems are continuing, the panel will look for reassurance that you are able to manage them in the future.

 

What should I do if I have/had mitigating circumstances?

Requests for mitigation must be submitted within five working days for individual assessments, or within 24 hours following absence at a workshop. Requests after these deadlines will not be considered without a credible and compelling explanation as to why the circumstances were not known or could not have been shown beforehand.

In order to request for your mitigating circumstances to be applied to your studies, you will need to:

  1. Complete the Request for Mitigation Form. Please ensure that your form includes:
    • A full description of your mitigating circumstances (describe what has been happening, and how this has affected your academic performance).
    • The dates during which your academic performance has been affected.
    • Each course unit and assessment that has been affected.
  2. Obtain evidence to support your mitigating circumstances application (if your evidence is not in English, you will also need to provide a translation).
  3. Email the completed form and evidence to the Student Support Team as soon as possible.

Please note that your form must be fully completed and accompanied with supporting evidence, in order for your request to be submitted to the Mitigating Circumstances Panel. Applications for mitigating circumstances go through your School and are treated in the strictest confidence.


Additional Resources

For more information on mitigating circumstances, please see:

The University of Manchester