Additional Consideration
Additional considerations are intended for unforeseen, short term circumstances that affect your ability to complete assessments.
About Additional Consideration
Meeting the deadlines for your assessments is extremely important, and non-submission/non-attendance can affect your progression on your course.
Sometimes there are circumstances outside your control that affect your ability to study. If you are struggling to complete work or attend examinations due to personal circumstances such as illness or bereavement, it is possible to apply for Additional Consideration.
Additional considerations are intended for unforeseen, short term circumstances – if your submission deadline/assessment date is still some time away, you should try to catch up the best you can before making an application. Applications should not be made as a contingency plan.
Before You Apply
Before you apply for Additional Consideration, it is important to understand what circumstances are considered.
Applications will be considered for
- Circumstances that you cannot overcome or manage without an impact on your ability to undertake any assessment because they occur suddenly, unexpectedly, or are severe in nature.
- The circumstances are significant, short-lived, unforeseeable, unpredictable, and outside your control.
- Additional Consideration can be applied for even if you attempted the affected assessment and felt your performance in the assessment was significantly effected.
Applications will not be considered for
- Circumstances and/or conditions that have been previously registered by the conservatoire, e.g. the particular examination requirements of a student with a disability, or a minor illness.
- Circumstances that could have been avoided with better planning or time management.
Examples of circumstances which will not be considered:
- Issues relating to group work, particularly in relation to planning and preparation (e.g. intra-group conflict, absence, non-cooperation of one or more group members. Instead, these should be reported directly to the Module Coordinator at the earliest opportunity
- Poor time management
- Change of course or module during early part of year
- Mistaking a deadline/assessment date
- Lack of studio time, practice space, or similar
- Financial difficulties (e.g. undertaking paid work for too many hours)
- External Commitments that are not part of the requirements to complete the course, even if you have been given permission to be absent from the conservatoire
- Commitment or availability issues with external (not Leeds Conservatoire) members of ensembles, group examinations, or collaborators
- Alarm clock did not go off (or similar)
- Technology failure, losing work not backed up, and difficulties experienced with submitting work off-campus or on personal devices
- Restricted access to the conservatoire or submitting assessments as tuition fees not paid
- Examination nerves, stress, or deadline congestion
- Holidays
- Transport difficulties, unless unpreventable, or failure to make alternative travel plans when disruptions were known about in advance or could have been avoidable
- House moves
- Ignorance of conservatoire/ University regulations
- Minor illness or ailment which in a work situation would be unlikely to lead to absence. These are considered on the basis of the assessment affected
- Minor accidents/Illness affecting relatives or friends unless the student is the sole carer
Preparing Your Application
Once you’ve decided to make an application you need to know what the outcomes could be, the deadline, and what evidence you need to include.
Outcomes of approved Additional Consideration
- Have a late penalty waived
- Be granted a deadline extension
- Given a replacement attempt at the assessment
- Have the assessment deferred until fit to take it
Should your application be approved, your mark and feedback will be available to view within 20 working days of your new deadline.
Application deadline
Applications can be submitted up to 10 working days (2 calendar weeks) after the affected submission deadline/examination/assessment. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.
Where your circumstances are particularly short-lived it is advised you make your application as soon as possible, and ideally in advance of the affected deadline/examination/assessment, where possible.
Supporting evidence
All applications must be accompanied by independent supporting evidence. Examples of acceptable evidence can be found in the evidence guidance below. Applications without independent supporting evidence will not be considered.
Evidence guidance
This list is not exhaustive, and each case is looked at on an individual basis. There is no definitive list of such situations, and the conservatoire recognises that difficulties impact people in different ways.
You are responsible for obtaining all appropriate documentary evidence and ensuring that it is submitted on time. The conservatoire will not seek documentary evidence on your behalf. The conservatoire reserves the right to request additional evidence, where required.
Any evidence in a language other than English must be provided along with a verified translation from a professional translation agency. We are not able to accept any evidence translated by students or their friends or relatives.
Examples of your circumstances
Appropriate supporting evidence
- Personal Illness
- Minor illnesses or ailments will be considered on the basis of the assessment affected.
- Being taken ill during an examination
- Medical certificate
- Hospital or physiotherapist report
- Report from a qualified medical practitioner
- Hospital letter
- Copy of a prescription
- Self-certification (1-5 working days or 1 calendar week illness)
- Operation
- Hospital tests
- Serious accident or injury
- Victim of a crime
- Medical certificate
- Hospital report
- Report from a qualified medical practitioner
- Appointment letter
- Copy of the accident report
- Insurance claim letter
- Crime report and number issued by police
- Significant mental health issues
- Report from a psychiatrist, psychologist, counsellor or mental health practitioner
- Medical certificate
- Significant adverse personal or family circumstances
- Report from a psychiatrist, psychologist, counsellor or mental health practitioner
- Medical certificate
- Sudden deterioration in, or exacerbation of, a long-standing medical condition or disability
- A medical report from an appropriate qualified medical practitioner
- Medical certificate confirming a recent exacerbation
- Legal proceedings requiring attendance at court
- Documentary evidence from the court or a solicitor
- Religious observation on the day of an examination if it is appropriate for the conservatoire to re-arrange the assessment
- To be notified in advance by letter at the beginning of the semester
Letters or notes from “ZoomDoc Health” or similar organisations will not be accepted.
Self-certification
Where an illness is short-lived (up to 5 consecutive working days/1 calendar week) you can self-certify your circumstances. Self-certification is restricted to a maximum of two instances per semester and three instances per academic year (including the summer reassessment period). Where applied to coursework, a maximum extension of 2 weeks will apply.
Apply for additional consideration
In due course, you will be able to apply for Additional Consideration via My Portal. In the meantime, should you wish to apply for Additional Consideration, please complete the form below and email it, along with your supporting evidence, to exams@leedsconservatoire.ac.uk.
Additional Considerations & Late Submissions – FAQs
How do I get an extension or defer an in-person assessment?
Students can apply for Additional Considerations up to 10 working days before or after their deadline. Evidence should be supplied wherever possible, but must be supplied for ongoing or long term (over 7 days) circumstances. Please see the Student Information site for the form: https://students.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/assessment/additional-consideration/
What happens if I submit online work late?
If you submit your work up to 24 hours after the deadline you will receive a 10% cap on your mark. If you submit after this, but no later than 7 calendar days late, your mark will be capped at 40%. You will not be able to submit any work after 7 days, non-submissions will receive a mark of 0. You can apply for additional considerations to have the late penalty waived, but this must be submitted no later than 10 working days after the deadline.
What happens if I feel unwell on the day of my exam?
If you feel unwell on the day of your exam, please contact the Exams Team as soon as possible and we will inform your assessors. For group assessments, please also contact your group to let them know that you will be unable to make it. You should also apply for Additional Considerations so that your exam can be deferred.
I don’t have evidence for my Additional Considerations, what can I do?
You can request to self-certify for up to 7 calendar days for mental and physical health reasons as long as:
- You are not applying on same grounds as those in relation to any Adjustment Plan in place. (e.g. flare up/exacerbation of medical condition or mental health condition)
- You have not already have been given an extension through additional considerations for the same circumstances
- You have not self-certified more the 2 times this semester or the maximum of 3 times this academic year.
We do recommend self-certifying only when absolutely necessary as extensions for this tend to be shorter than those with evidence.
How many times can I request an extension or deferral?
There isn’t a set limit, however, it is worth noting that the further online deadlines or in-person assessments exam dates move, the more work you may have later in a semester or future semester. This may mean you are unable to graduate on time or enrol on to the next level of study.. It is worth noting that each further request will also require new evidence.