{"id":85,"date":"2023-10-23T15:57:25","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T14:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/?p=85"},"modified":"2024-06-24T12:02:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T11:02:13","slug":"when-difficulties-arise-in-the-assessment-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/2023\/10\/23\/when-difficulties-arise-in-the-assessment-period\/","title":{"rendered":"When Difficulties Arise in the Assessment Period\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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All the fresh faces from September are now old hands at student life as we head towards November.  This means the reality of assessments and exams may be kicking in for students who were excited about moving to Belfast and tasting the student experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have seen the first trickle of queries in Drop-in about Exceptional Circumstances for upcoming assessments.\u202f This year has brought about changes to the Exceptional Circumstances process, with the key information collated into a handy Student Guide to Exceptional Circumstances<\/a> available on the Assessment Support Hub.\u202f The\u202fAssessment Support Hub<\/a>\u202fis our university’s one-stop shop for information around all things assessment including demystifying assessment, where to get more help for assessment (including the Student Wellbeing Service, the Learning Development Service, the Graduate School and the Academic English Service), and provides support if things aren’t going as planned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help, we have some included some common EC queries students ask about in Drop-in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a funeral and can\u2019t attend an exa<\/em>m.\u201d\u202f \u201cI am sick and won\u2019t make my<\/em>\u202fassessment deadline<\/em>\u201d.\u202f \u201cI have personal issues that mean I can\u2019t focus<\/em>\u201d.\u202f This year, the Exceptional Circumstances process has introduced the option to self-verify for up to seven calendar days for all exceptional circumstances.\u202f This means that you (the student) will declare that there is a reason that you cannot meet the assessment needs at this time and you will verify this by completing a Student Impact Statement as part of your exceptional circumstances application.\u202f For exams, this means that you are requesting to defer to the next available exam opportunity.\u202f For coursework and continuous assessments, you are requesting an extension of up to seven calendar days, appropriate to the reason you have stated.\u202f If you need longer than seven days, you will need to provide independent evidence, such as a letter from a GP if it is health-related.  We at Wellbeing Services will be able to provide an Interaction Letter if you have been receiving ongoing support from us.  Evidence of one call into Drop-in would not be considered sufficient.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a condition that means I can\u2019t meet deadlines<\/em>.\u201d\u202f Exceptional Circumstances- the clue is in the name.\u202f These have to be circumstances that were not predicted, are out of your control and relate to the assessment time period.\u202f In the case of an ongoing health condition, Accessible Learning Support (formerly Disability Services) provide students with an Individual Student Support Agreement detailing reasonable adjustments such as extra time for exams and deadlines.\u202f Unless there is a change or unexpected flair-up of the condition, EC does not apply.\u202f Students need to register with Accessible Learning Support for ongoing support in these cases.\u00a0 If the condition is anticipated to be short-term, the school can provide support through the Short Term Impairments process<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further information on other University processes which can provide you with adjustments and mitigations for your assessments can be found on the Assessment Support Hub<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was going through a tough time and pushed through to complete my exam.\u202f Can\u2019t that be taken into consideration<\/em>?\u201d\u202f The university operates a \u2018fit to sit, fit to submit\u2019 principle- \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This means that once you have submitted your assessment, you are not eligible for exceptional circumstances to be taken into consideration as you have confirmed that you were fit to be assessed.\u202fWatch the Fit to Sit Explainer video<\/a> on the Assessment Support Hub to find out more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We always suggest that students get advice from their School regarding Exceptional Circumstances.\u202f You may need to know what your options are if you are deferring an exam, or what the impact will be.  SU Advice<\/a> can also provide guidance on submitting an exceptional circumstances application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the exceptional circumstances process is meant to cover unpredictable and uncontrollable events, regular use will trigger an Assessment Support Check-in by your School to ensure that you are getting all the help that you need to complete your assessments.  This might include a referral to the Support to Continue to Study process if you are experiencing significant challenges that are having a detrimental impact on your ability to progress academically and function effectively and\/or safety at the University.  Further information can be found in the Support to Continue Study<\/a> guidance.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is our role in exceptional circumstances?\u202f Usually, students are going through a difficult time when they submit an exceptional circumstances.\u202f That is where we can come in.\u202f Wellbeing Services can support you with the impact of this.\u202f We are not directly involved in the process however.\u202f We cannot advise on whether to submit one or what your academic options are.\u202f  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Assessment Support Hub has information, videos, guides and support options.\u202f It also contains the link to the Queen\u2019s Portal to submit your request for Exceptional Circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assessment Support Hub \u2013 Home (sharepoint.com)<\/a>\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjustments and Mitigations (sharepoint.com)<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic | QSU (qubsu.org)<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration | Student Centre | Queen\u2019s University Belfast (qub.ac.uk)<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All the fresh faces from September are now old hands at student life as we head towards November.  This means the reality of assessments and exams may be kicking in for students who were excited about moving to Belfast and tasting the student experience. We have seen the first trickle of queries in Drop-in about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions\/146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/thedropindialogues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}