What are Mitigating Circumstances?
The University defines mitigating circumstances as ‘unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances that could have, or did have, a significant adverse effect on the academic performance of a student’.
Please visit the Student Support page on Mitigating Circumstances and view the full policy on Mitigating Circumstances for more information.
If personal circumstances affect your exams/assessments, you can make a request for mitigating circumstances. This can include extension requests on assessment deadlines (if you require an extension, unless you have been direct to mitigating circumstances by the support team, please visit the Coursework Extensions page for further details). Each request will be assessed and, where necessary, action will be taken to mitigate for any impact on your performance.
Mitigating circumstances might include:
- a significant short-term illness or injury
- a long-term or recurring medical or mental health condition
- the death or illness of a close family member
- acute stress from personal or financial issues
- absence for public service (e.g. jury service)
- technical issues during an online exam or assessment
If you are going through any of these circumstances, remember that there is support available and always somebody to talk to. As well as applying for mitigating circumstances, be sure to seek additional support if you need it.
Our mitigating circumstances policy gives further examples of what are and are not considered mitigating circumstances.
Circumstances that will not normally be regarded as grounds for mitigation include:
- failure, loss or theft of a computer or printer that prevents submission of work on time; students should back up work regularly and not leave completion so late that they cannot find another computer or printer
- holidays, moving house and events that were planned or could reasonably have been expected
- travel during exam period: If you are an international student to remain compliant with UKVI requirements, you are expected to submit all your assessments from the UK. For all other students, we recommend that you remain in Manchester during the entirety of the exam period to ensure minimal disruption to exams. If a student is required to travel during the exam period, it is their responsibility to ensure travel times do not interfere with their exam schedule and that they have reliable access to equipment
- assessments that are scheduled close together
- misreading the timetable or misunderstanding the requirements for assessments
- inadequate planning and time management
- the act of religious observance (please see the Examinations and Religious Observance form)
- consequences of paid employment
- exam stress or panic attacks not diagnosed as illness or supported by medical evidence; and disruption in an examination room during the course of an assessment which has not been brought to the attention of, or recorded by, the invigilators (including instances such as fire alarms or other noise disruption)
- uploading incorrect work/files for online submission or not following the submission instructions provided
For further details please refer to the Mitigating Circumstances Policy.
Applications for mitigating circumstances must be submitted using the AMBS Mitigating Circumstances request form.
If you have any problems accessing or submitting the form, please get in touch with the Mitigating Circumstances Team at ambs.mitcircs@manchester.ac.uk
For any issues affecting your assessment during the academic year (outside of the scheduled exam period), the deadline to apply is as follows:
Coursework
Students can submit mitigating circumstances applications for coursework 7 calendar days after the original deadline. Applications received after 7 days of the original deadline will be considered late and will require a strong and acceptable reason to why it is late.
For information and deadlines relating to coursework extensions please refer to the Coursework Extensions webpage on the handbook.
Mid-term tests:
- For IT issues, same day.
- For illnesses affecting test, 7 days from submission deadline date and time.
Groupwork:
As soon as impact is known, before the deadline. Applications after the deadline will not be considered unless there is a credible and compelling reason to why a student was not able to inform the School at the time.
For any other forms of assessment methods, students must inform the School before the deadline.
Exam period
Please read through the information below carefully so you apply by the correct deadlines.
IT issues
If you experience IT issues during your exam or at the submission point, applications for mitigation must be submitted on the same day. Supporting documents (videos and/or screenshots) to evidence the IT issues will be required. These must be date and time stamped before the deadline and clearly show that an error has occurred.
Exams
If you are experiencing issues that could have an impact on your academic performance, you are advised to inform the school as soon as possible and submit an application so that we may advise you accordingly. The ultimate deadline to submit mitigation will be 7 days after the relevant assessment (exam) period has ended. The ultimate deadline dates are as follows:
- Semester 1: Friday, 6 February 2026
- Semester 2: Wednesday, 17 June 2026 before 5pm
Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.
Not informing the University of circumstances due to personal feelings, e.g., shame, embarrassment and pride, or having concerns over the confidential treatment of requests for mitigation, are not considered to be credible and compelling explanations as to why the circumstances could not be made known or shown before the beginning of the assessment period.
Supporting documentation
As part of your application, you will be required to provide independent evidence relating to the issues you are citing which are time specific to the impacted period. If you are unsure about what documents to provide or do not have any documents at present, you are advised to still submit an application form and contact ambs.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk for guidance.
Resit period
The deadline to submit mitigation for the resit exam period is as follows:
If you are experiencing issues that could have an impact on your academic performance, you are advised to inform the school as soon as possible and submit an application so that we may advise you accordingly. The ultimate deadline to submit mitigation will be 7 days after the relevant assessment (exam) period has ended. The ultimate deadline date is Friday 11 September 2026.
The normal deadlines apply for coursework extensions and IT issues.
Students registered with the Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) will not routinely need to apply for mitigation for their DASS registered issue/s as adjustments will have already been put in place. However, should there be an exacerbation of the DASS registered issues, who have stated a disability-related reason for their request for mitigation do not need to provide additional medical evidence to support their request. However, a detailed explanation of how the disability has specifically impacted your studies at the time needs to be given on the mitigation application form.
In the instance where students have stated external factors that have, for example, exacerbated their disability, evidence of these external factors should still be provided (e.g., if an exacerbation of disability is due to a bereavement, a medication change or financial issues, evidence of these issues should still be provided). DASS will advise the School if it feels that further disability-related evidence is required.
Students who are not registered with DASS but have stated a disability-related reason for their request for mitigation will still need to provide medical evidence of their difficulties to support their request.
With regards to coursework, if you are registered with DASS, please check your DASS University support plan. If you are entitled to a DASS automatic 1 week coursework extension, please make sure you read the automatic 1 week extension guidance notes to check if the auto extension applies to the specific assessment. The list enclosed available via the link is not an exhaustive list, and there may be other cases where it is not possible to accommodate an automatic extension. For this reason, if the extension applies, you must check with the AMBS Disability Coordinator. Please make sure you do this in a timely manner and before the deadline so you can plan accordingly.
You can contact the AMBS Disability Coordinator at ambs.dc@manchester.ac.uk
Events may arise during pregnancy that may constitute mitigating circumstances, and these need to be judged on a case by case basis. It is recommended by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), that, at a minimum, students are required to take two weeks’ compulsory maternity-related absence, or four weeks if they are on placement in a factory. This is in line with employment law and is to ensure the health and safety of the mother following birth.
Applications for mitigation are treated with confidentiality and anonymity where possible.
When you submit a medical note or other certified evidence of mitigating circumstances in relation to your attendance or assessment (examinations and/or coursework), you will be giving your consent:
- to that document being recorded on your manual file; and
- to the details being recorded on any electronic file relating to your performance in assessment; and
- to the details being disclosed to University of Manchester personnel having a need to see them in the course of their work.
Discussions with a third party regarding a student's progress or circumstances:
There is a contract between the student and the University. A student may authorise a third party to act as his/her agent but unless this authorisation is given in writing then members of staff are unable to discuss issues regarding students (medical, academic or other issues) with third parties.
The basic guide to Mitigating Circumstances aims to make the process of mitigation easier to understand.
The Students’ Union Advice Centre have also created a guide on mitigating circumstances and can offer impartial advice on your circumstances, help you prepare your mitigation application and support you throughout the process.