Mitigation

Q. I have been ill, or badly affected by some other event, and I have missed an assessment deadline - or I think I can't meet the deadline. How does the University deal with this and what evidence do I need to present?

A. We expect you to approach your assessments in a well-organised way, allowing good time for the possibility of minor illness and the range of other normal hurdles in life. Except in certain circumstances, where a disability is involved, we do not operate a system based on extensions because this is not considered an equitable system for faculty or students.

To reflect the expectation that work will be submitted on time, even if that means battling through some difficulties, the University operates a system of graduated penalties for lateness, which works like this:

Lateness of submission of work	Penalty
up to 24 hours late	Penalty deduction of 5 percentage points
after 24 hours and up to 7 days (1 week)*	Penalty deduction of 10 percentage points
after 7 days (1 week) and up to the published 'final submission opportunity' - that is the date beyond which no further submissions will be accepted because feedback will have been given to the class. *	Work to be marked and (if marked a pass) given a capped 40% mark.
After 'final submission opportunity' (see above)	Automatic zero mark

*Some assessments (e.g. Maths weekly problem sets) have a faster turn-around time so the final submission opportunity may be earlier than 7 days. In these cases, penalties will be applied in the following pattern:
- up to 24 hours late - penalty deduction of 5 percentage points.
- after 24 hours and up to the final submission opportunity - penalty deduction of 10 percentage points.
- after the final submission opportunity - automatic zero mark

Absence from examination/test

If you are absent from other types of assessment that happen on a particular day (e.g. unseen examinations) your non-attendance will be noted and the mark for the exercise will default to zero. It is important, therefore, that you make every possible effort to plan ahead to avoid this happening. If you are unavoidably absent from a test/examination, you may submit mitigating evidence. This should be obtained on the day in question, or as close to it as possible, and must confirm in detail the serious, unforseen incapacity that prevented attendance.

Mitigating/Extenuating evidence - general guidance

Claims for penalties to be waived (including zero marks imposed for absence from exams) should be made in exceptional circumstances only. We consider these to be cases of acute, severe illness, incapacity or exceptional impairment affecting assessed work, which must be substantiated by independent evidence.

Examples of acceptable cases and of acceptable supporting evidence

Bereavement: death of close relative or significant other, must be corroborated by a letter from a relative which confirms your relationship to the deceased, and which clearly states the author's name, address and contact telephone numbers.
Serious short term illness or accident (of a nature which, in a workplace context would have led to an absence or sick leave) You must provide a dated GP's certificate or letter to confirm this event.
Evidence of a long-term health condition worsening - if you are already registered ('flagged') with the Student Support Unit and have 'reasonable adjustments' in place you are advised to provide evidence and use the mitigating evidence forms to indicate if:

- a long term condition has worsened significantly: evidence of this should be provided.

- a sudden event has occurred which affects your ability to study, even if this is not directly related to the reason you are flagged e.g. bereavement

- if the reasonable adjustments, as agreed with the Student Support Unit, have not been in place.

When you submit your claim it will automatically link to your status as a 'flagged' student. This means that Student Support Unit advisors will be informed and will contact you. Their role is to discuss the effects of extenuating circumstances on your studies, and to find out the best ways to support you, possibly involving further reasonable adjustments. Your Director of Student Support will be involved, mostly to recommend ways of making your workload manageable.
Serious adverse personal/family circumstances. Your statement must be accompanied and corroborated by a letter from a counsellor, or a GP, or a specialist agency such as the Student Support Unit or the Psychological and Counselling Service. Whilst advice may be sought from the Student Life Centre neither they nor staff in the Student Union Advice and Representation Centre can provide corroborating evidence to supoport your claim.
Other significant and exceptional factors for which there is evidence of stress caused. A counsellor's letter/GP certificate should be provided.

Submission guidance for mitigating evidence.

To submit mitigating evidence please go to your Sussex Direct screens, click on your 'study' tab and choose 'mitigating evidence' from the drop-down menu. Click on 'new claim' and select the dates appropriate to the duration of your claim. All assessments due between those dates will appear on your screen claim. Enter the information about your claim according to the guidance provided on the screen.

Once you have completed the claim you will be required to print a cover sheet and a copy of the claim 'insert'. Place the insert and all documentary evidence in an envelope and attach the cover sheet.

You must submit the envelope to your school office. School office staff will log the claim, and pass forms to the Director of Student Support, unless you have indicated that you prefer the form to go directly to the Mitigating Evidence Committee.

Q. When should I submit my claim?

A. Claims should be made without delay and should be for short term issues, generally. This applies to all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students. There is information on the claim screens about deadlines for submitting mitigating evidence.

If your claim relates to work that is submitted late, and you are requesting that lateness penalties be waived, please wait until you have handed in the assessment to lodge your online claim and submit the documentation.

Claims may not be made 'in advance' e.g it is not possible to enter data for a forthcoming event, such as an operation. Neither is is possible to submit a claim that relates to a previous year of study.

Very late submission of work, where you are handing in an assessment/s before the Final Submission Opportunity, but beyond the lateness penalty scheme, would generally receive a capped mark (40%). If you are considering making a claim for very late submissions, you must bear in mind the general guidance that mitigating evidence should be for acute and unforseen cases of incapacity and that your evidence must be robust and cover the period from the original deadline to the actual submission date. If you consider that your circumstances may affect your studies for a long term period, please see 2, below.

Q. What happens after you submit a claim?

A. If you provide all the required documentation and your case is a clear cut one, with dated, robust evidence, your claim may be 'fast-tracked' by the Director of Student Support (DOSS)of your School.

Where a Director of Student Support does not feel able to fast-track a claim, it will be referred to the central Mitigating Evidence Committee (MEC), which meets regularly.

If you are a 'flagged' student, having disclosed disabilities and registered with the Student Support Unit, your claim will be considered and decisions made in accordance with the principles of the MEC. However, in addition to any waiving of penalties or other MEC-related decisions, your existing 'reasonable adjustments' will be reviewed, and any further anticipatory adjustments will be made in discussion with your disability advisor and your Director of Student Support.

Other important information.

You should not approach the Director of Student Support directly to seek advice on your claim - this will be seen to have compromised the objective nature of the decision, and it may slow down the process. If this happens, the case will go to the next meeting of the Mitigiating Evidence Committee for a decision.
If your claim refers to 'ongoing' personal/health issues, which were not present when you registered as a student, and for which you are not currently entitled to support via the Student Support Unit, you should make a claim as soon as you have missed a deadline/s or exams, or have submitted work on time but performance is 'impaired'. Please obtain dated evidence to cover these circumstances but indicate that matters are not resolved. Do not wait until the end of a term, or academic year, to make your claim. This is because you may have support needs that the university can meet, or give guidance on, in a more 'anticipatory' way. Claims that relate to 'ongoing' issues will be referred, as a matter of course, to the Student Support Unit who will contact you with information about appropriate services on campus, and/or the procedures for consulting a disability advisor.
If you are concerned that you have missed a lot of seminars/lectures and that your academic work is already suffering, you should contact your Academic Advisor without delay.
Medical certificates or other supporting documentary evidence must be submitted to your home School Office. If you are supplying a Doctor's note it must be obtained quickly (preferably on the day in question or as close to it as possible), it must be dated, and the dates of certificated illness must clearly relate to the deadline/timing of the assessment/s in question.

Student Life Advisors can provide guidance on this process and may help you to understand the form you need to complete and relevant University rules. However, it is not their role to become directly involved in claims for mitigation/extenuation, nor to indicate the outcome of any claims.

Q. What kinds of claims and what types of evidence are not acceptable to the Mitigating Evidence Committee?

A. The following is a non-exhaustive list of circumstances that you will not be able to claim for, or will require additional documentation to be accepted: in these cases you will be emailed once the claim has been scrutinised.

your statement indicates you have a medical condition but no evidence is forthcoming
'retrospective' medical note - i.e. the GP saw you after the period of illness
circumstances that you could have reasonably forseen or prevented
long term health condition for which you are already receiving reasonable or appropriate adjustments (but see example 3 of acceptable cases: disability issues)
minor illness or ailment
holiday arrangements
financial issues
personal computer/printer problems
poor management e.g. not backing up electronic documents
claims that state you were unaware of submission dates or exam times etc
poor time management

Q. I have managed to get my work in on time, and to sit my exams, but I was struggling to cope with serious personal issues and these definitely had a negative impact on my work. How do I flag this up?

A. If you feel that assessed work, that has been submitted to deadline, or examinations taken on the scheduled date, is impaired you must produce supporting evidence and you must specify which assessments you feel have been affected. The circumstances you cite must be exceptional and the evidence compelling, as indicated above. The process of making the mitigation claim (in this case for 'impairment') is the same as described above.

Q. Will my tutors know that I have given in some mitigating evidence? Who decides whether or not the penalties will be waived?

A. Your tutors do not see mitigating evidence. The Director of Student Support in your School is authorised to 'fast track' mitigation claims which fall within the accepted range of circumstances and where clear supporting evidence is received. More complex cases, or where evidence is less clear, will be discussed by the central MEC committee. The process is highly confidential and forms and documents are kept in secure conditions.

Q. What shall I do if I don't want my DOSS to read my form and see my evidence?

A. You may indicate this preference when you make your online claim. In these cases, the DOSS will not be able to 'fast track' but this will ensure that as few people as possible see the form. The Chair of the Mitigating Evidence Committee will direct the response to your claim in these circumstances.

Q. How will I know the outcome of my mitigating evidence claim?

A. Decisions will be fed back to you via Sussex Direct, and those decisions are also passed on to the Exam Boards which consider your year-to-year progression and your final classification.
If you are required to provide more evidence you will be emailed and you will be told when/where to submit additional documentation.
If the claim is rejected you will be informed by email and given information about the appeals process. Appeals can only be made after the exam board has met.

Q. What should I do if I need further support? Shall I keep on submitting claims?

A. The mitigating evidence process is intended to help you when you have hit a sudden and unavoidable barrier to your studies. It is based on a retrospective use of 'evidence' and is not intended to provide long term 'cover' for late submissions/ absences/impaired performance.
If you continue to be affected by illness or serious, adverse personal circumstances, we encourage you to access the various sources of support available. Your Academic Advisor will give you support that is directly related to your studies and any concerns you may have about your academic progress. The Student Life Centre offers a wide range of information and guidance and will assist if you think that you need to take temporary intermission; the Student Support Unit provides specialist help relating to disabilities and inclusion, and there is also the Psychological and Counselling Service, offering therapeutic support, including help with drug/alcohol related issues. All of these are campus-based services.

Q. I am studying abroad and have had some personal/health problems during my stay - can I submit mitigating evidence to Sussex?

A. Yes, if the issue is related to the examples of legitimate reasons to make a claim, given above. You still need to provide dated, robust evidence to support your claim of serious ill health or personal circumstances. However, you should check, first, to see what local arrangements might be in place to help you if you have fallen behind : for example, you might be offered the chance to resubmit a failed paper or take an exam you had missed. If you do take such an opportunity, you cannot use the Sussex system of mitigation in addition. However, if you are unwell during this 'resit' period, and you provide robust, dated evidence to cover these assessments/exams, the claim will be considered in the usual way by the Sussex MEC.

Please note: if your issues are related to a 'complaint' about the administration or teaching of your course, or to lack of provision of disability/learning support, this will not be an appropriate case for the Mitigating Evidence Committee. These issues must be notified, without delay, to your department representative, and/or the Study Abroad Office and/or the Student Support Unit.

Q. When should I submit the evidence if I am studying abroad?

A. You should submit the evidence as soon as you know you have missed assessments in a term/semester. If you have only been away for a term it is expected that you submit the claim form, to your School Office, as soon as you return. The deadlines on the form are a guide to this expectation, but if you have genuine reasons for delayed submission, you must indicate these in your statement.

For students who are away for an academic year, there is still the expectation that you submit evidence as close as possible to the event. If you are finding that your difficulties are not resolving themselves and seem 'ongoing' you should also make contact with the International Study Abroad Office, or the Student Life Centre - you should not wait until the end of your stay to submit a claim that relates to the whole year, as there may be a way of sorting things out at an earlier stage.

Please note: the process of making a claim is confidential, and only your Director of Student Support will see the form and the documentation, in order to make a decision. Your tutors are not informed if you make a claim.

Q. Where do I find the form, when I am abroad, and where must I submit this?

A. The claim form is available as a downloadable copy from the Study Abroad Study Direct web page which will be easy to print, and attach your evidence document/s to the form. The Study Abroad Office will also send you a form on request, as will the Student Life Centre, if for some reason you cannot download one. In-person submission of the claim form is obviously not possible, in most cases but it is your responsibility to make sure that you send the form and documents, hard copy or as emailed, scanned attachments, to your School office who will log them and pass to the DOSS.
Mark your envelopes, or your emails subject fields, in such a way as to indicate that they contain a claim form and should be treated as confidential information.

Q. Can I get help to fill out the online form in Sussex Direct?

A. There are useful notes on how to complete the online form located at: student mec guidelines [PDF 547.14KB]