Posted on 20 February 2023
Self-certification is the means by which a student may either defer or have a short extension to an assessment without the need for evidence. The procedure is available to students to use on a maximum of up to 3 assessments a year, to help with short-term, acute illnesses or short-term unforeseen circumstances prior to submission of an open assessment or commencement of an examination.
There are substantial reasons why the University reverted back to unlimited self-certification from 2022-23 onwards, relating to fairness to students, student welfare concerns, and the overall running of assessment processes to ensure that students can progress and graduate.
The University has however, heard examples from YUSU where this policy is impacting on vulnerable students and in some cases disadvantaged them. We have therefore agreed with YUSU that we will put in place a streamlined ECA evidencing process for these students. This change will impact around 4000 vulnerable students.
Over the course of this week, these students will be contacted directly by email from the University, advising them of the new support available to them.
In addition to the streamlined evidencing process for vulnerable students, there are also two other changes that all students should be aware of:
More information can be found on the Exceptional Circumstances web pages.
If you are struggling with assessments and deadlines there are a number of ways the University can help, including;
If you are struggling you should contact your department, who will do their best to support you and discuss the best avenue of support with you.