Exceptional removal of a mark process

You may apply to have the mark for an assessment removed if your decision making about whether to do the assessment was affected by personal difficulties, or if you fell ill in an exam and were unable to finish it.

The mark will be removed and replaced by a non-submission (NS). If a mark removal results in you not passing a module the Examination Board could:

• allow you to resit/retake a failed module. If a retake is permitted, you will need to complete all assessments for the module again and a module fee may apply
• accept failure to pass up to 30 credits, but still grant you an award.

If you make an application for a removal of a mark but your circumstances continue and affect other assessments or examinations, you’ll need to complete a new application if you are unable to attempt them.

Things to consider before you apply

• A mark removal request which results in a resit or retake may not be the best course of action for you, especially if you already have a resit or retake. Please speak to a Student Support Adviser before you make your decision.
• If a resit is required due to a mark removal, you will need to resit all of the pieces of work for the whole component, not just the one where the mark was removed.
• The mark achieved at the resit or retake will stand and cannot be replaced by the original mark once it has been removed.
• If you are in your final year and the exceptional removal of a mark results in a resit or a retake, this could mean you are unable to graduate with the rest of your cohort.
• If a module is passed even when a mark has been removed, the overall mark for the component or module cannot be adjusted to compensate for the missing mark. This may mean that you pass with a lower mark than would have originally been achieved.
• If a mark is removed for an assessment where an assessment offence has been committed, the record of the assessment offence will remain.

How to apply

When to apply

You should submit your application as close as soon as possible after the assessment. Where this isn't possible, the final deadlines for making applications at the end of each assessment period are:

• Postgraduate dissertation modules (for students completing their award): 14:00 on 13 October 2023
• School of Health and Social Wellbeing (December 2022 exam boards): 14:00 on 1 December 2023
• Modules completed by the end of assessment period one: 14:00 on 2 February 2024
• School of Health and Social Wellbeing (April 2023 exam boards): 14:00 on 22 March 2024
• Modules completed by the end of assessment period two: 14:00 on 7 June 2024
• Modules completed by the end of assessment period three: 14:00 on 9 August 2024

Please note: These deadlines don't apply to students studying Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Legal Practice Course (LPC) Law programmes.

Applications received after the final deadline won't be considered unless you can demonstrate that circumstances beyond your control prevented you from disclosing the relevant factors at that time.

Your late application must be received no later than ten working days after the formal notification of the Examination Board’s decision.

In exceptional circumstances, if you can demonstrate with the support of suitable evidence that you could not reasonably have complied with the University’s regulations, an application submitted after this time frame may be reviewed.

Contact

If you have a question which isn't answered above then please contact an Information Point for further guidance.