Self Certification

If you encounter a short-term problem that will prevent you from submitting your assignment or from attending your assessment, you may be eligible to self-certify this anticipated delay or absence using the self certification process to request an automatic 4 day extension or deferral to the next attempt as it falls in the academic calendar. Evidence is not required to self-certify, but you must complete the Self certification task in eVision for each of the assessments affected. Late submission of work/non-attendance to exams will result in your submission being considered late/non-submission in line with the University policy if you do not complete the eVision task for each assessment affected.

Please be aware that students may use self-certification for a maximum of 3 assessments per academic year. Any additional requests over and above this must go through the full exceptional circumstances process.

Grounds of Self certification

When a student asks for self-certification, approval will be automatic, as long as the criteria are met and the request is made on time. Students will be required to state the reason for the claim - i.e. one of the following:

Exceptional Medical Circumstances (Physical Health)
Exceptional Medical Circumstances (Mental Health)
Exceptional Medical Circumstances (Physical and Mental Health)
Exceptional Personal Circumstances
Inadequate IT resources

Implications of extensions & deferral requests through Self Certification

The decision to self-certify should not be taken lightly. When deciding whether to self certify an extension or deferral, serious consideration should be given to the impact of assessment and progression for your particular programme.

For example,

If you choose to defer the first attempt of an exam to the resit opportunity and then fail the deferred exam, you may be required to take a Leave of Absence to address the outstanding assessment at the next opportunity the following academic year, before progression to the next stage is permitted.
A four day extension on an assignment may mean you are working on an assessment when other assessments, classes or other study responsibilities must be met.
A four day extension will exempt your work from the 20 day marking turnaround, and therefore your work may not be marked in time to offer a reassessment opportunity prior to the formal progression deadlines. This may result in there being a requirement for you to take a Leave of Absence and join the following cohort once all progression requirements are addressed.

It is highly recommended you discuss your individual circumstances with your personal supervisor before applying for self-certification. Further information about progression requirements for your particular programme can be found in your programme handbook and the University Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking & Feedback.

Self Certifying for an Extension

For an assessment with a formal submission deadline (e.g. assignment, essay, case study, pre-recorded presentation that are submitted by a set deadline) completion of the eVision self certification task for each assessment will result in a 4 calendar day extension being applied to the submission deadline which can be found on your current assessment schedule. In order to self certify an extension you must submit the request via the relevant google form in the tab below-prior to the submission deadline. Submissions after this date cannot be considered for self certification and you must refer to the department's exceptional circumstances claim procedure after this point.

Please be aware that this short exceptional 4 day extension can only be self-certified once per attempt. If you require a further extension to this assessment you will need to engage with the full exceptional circumstances procedure and you will be required to submit evidence to support your claim.

Self Certifying for a Deferral to an examination/live assessment (e.g. face to face presentation, OSCE or viva)

For an assessment such as an examination/face to face presentation/OSCE/Viva where you are expected to participate on a set date, you may request for the current attempt to be deferred to next time it runs in the academic calendar. Requests for self certification (via the eVision self certification task) of this nature will result in an automatic approval to defer. Your request to self certify a deferral must be submitted prior to the start of the assessment window, requests after this point cannot be considered for self certification and you must refer back to the department's exceptional circumstances claim procedure after this point.

Please be aware that if you submit a request to defer an assessment in a particular assessment period, and then choose to submit on the scheduled first attempt date, it will not be marked. If you wish to withdraw a request to defer, to enable you to take the assessment, you must notify dohs-assessments@york.ac.uk prior to the start of the exam/assessment.

It is very important that you are aware of the implications exam deferral and subsequent assessment failure may have on your future assessment and progression. Please ensure you seek advice from your personal supervisor.