If you experience something short-term and unexpected that affects you and your academic performance, you might need the University to give you additional consideration for your exams or assessments.
Find out:
- what exceptional circumstances are
- who can claim
- types of claim
- circumstances that are likely to be accepted
- types of evidence required for your claim
- how to submit a claim
- deadlines for applying
- more about the process and our policies
- what to do if you have reasonable adjustments (longstanding and/or chronic health conditions)
- where to get extra support.
What exceptional circumstances mean
Exceptional circumstances are incidents that are:
- short term
- arise unexpectedly
- beyond your control.
It’s something that happens to you that negatively impacts your ability to study, prepare or complete an assessment or exam.
If you decide you need to make an exceptional circumstances claim, all parts of the definition above must be met.
Important: There is another process for claiming for reasonable adjustments.
Who can make an exceptional circumstances claim
You can claim for exceptional circumstances if you are a taught undergraduate or postgraduate student and you are taking an assessment which is credit bearing or weighted.
- If you are studying abroad, on a placement or a research student
If you are studying abroad you can’t make an exceptional circumstances claim to us. You must contact your host institution. If you need to retake an assessment this should take place (where possible) during the host institution’s study period. If you are having difficulty resolving matters, you should speak to the Sussex Abroad Office.
If you are on a placement you should use the sickness reporting systems in place at your employer/placement facilitator. You must also notify your School if you are absent for six consecutive days or more. An exceptional circumstances claim can only be submitted for a respective placement portfolio/project, with claims for non-submission or late exceptional circumstances submission permitted only.
If you are a research student you should contact your supervisor.
Find out more in our exceptional circumstances policy [PDF 143KB].
Types of claim
There are three types of exceptional circumstance claims you can submit for consideration, if you are eligible.
Late submission
You may be able to claim for this if you have missed an assessment deadline due to the circumstances you have experienced and submitted your assessment within the late submission period (if provided). You would usually receive a late penalty for submitting during this period.
Non-submission or absence
You might be able to claim for this if you are absent from an assessment or did not submit your assessment work due to the circumstances you have experienced. You would usually receive a zero mark when this happens.
Impaired
You may be able to claim for this if you attend an assessment or submit your assessment work, but believe your circumstances have seriously impaired your academic performance and will result in an unrepresentative mark.
Important: You cannot submit a late submission if the assessment does not have a late period attached to it. You also cannot claim impaired before your assessment or exam.
Circumstances likely to be accepted
We make decisions about claims on a case-by-case basis which are subject to our exceptional circumstances policy [PDF 143KB] and procedural guide [PDF 213KB].
When considering a claim we take into account the impact experienced on the module assessment.
Examples of experiences that may be accepted are:
- serious short-term illness, an injury or other ailment
- the death or significant illness of a close family member or friend
- jury service (where deferral is not permitted by the court).
Examples of experiences that may not be accepted are:
- you feel your assessments are scheduled too close together
- poor time management on your behalf, including not meeting online assessment requirements
- general pressures, stress and/or anxiety from academic work.
You can see more examples of what may or may not be accepted in our exceptional circumstances procedural guide [PDF 213KB].
Providing evidence for your claim
You must provide evidence to support the circumstances you are claiming for – this is a reasonable requirement.
You can provide evidence in two forms:
- a self-certification form [PDF 211.60KB] (also available as a Word document) - subject to conditions stated in section eight of our exceptional circumstances policy [PDF 143KB] and procedural guide [PDF 213KB]
- supporting evidence (ideally from an independent and authoritative source).
Examples of evidence that may be accepted include:
- medical certificate or letter
- letter from a registered counsellor
- letter from a professional best placed to corroborate matters being considered (such as student advisor or disability advisor)
- hospital admission report/appointment letter
- police/crime statement
- court/tribunal letter.
If you are registered at the University Campus Health Centre you may be able to request medical evidence.
Important: You must not upload graphic images such as body parts. These could be seen as offensive and cannot be verified.
How to submit a claim
You can submit an exceptional circumstances claim through Sussex Direct.
You will need to:
- log in using your University username and password
- select 'study’ and then 'exceptional circumstances’ from the drop down menu
- select 'new claim’ to start writing your claim.
Your claim will be considered in accordance with our exceptional circumstances policy [PDF 143KB] and procedural guide [PDF 213KB].
Important: You’ll receive an email confirming that a claim has been successfully submitted. If you don’t receive an email confirmation, you must return to your draft claim and select 'submit'.
You can find more information about potential outcomes and how we respond to claims in sections 12 to 14 in the exceptional circumstances procedural guide [PDF 213KB].
Deadlines for submitting a claim
All claims (including any requested evidence or further information) should be submitted before the exceptional circumstances claim deadline (see table below). This is to ensure any accepted claims can be considered on time and will help minimise delays to progression or award decisions.
Deadlines for exceptional circumstances claims will take place throughout the year. Claims after these deadlines will typically be rejected. This is because it’s too late for the exam board to review them. Instead, you may be able to submit a claim under the academic appeals process.
Online distance learning (ODL) and ZJSU-Sussex AI Joint Institute only
- Online Distance Learning
Initial assessment attempts
Assessments during Semester 1: modules running from September to December 2024 (D1, D2)
Monday 27 January 2025Assessments during Semester 2: modules running from January to April 2025 (D3, D4)
Monday 2 June 2025Assessments during Semester 3: modules running from May to August 2025 (D5, D6)
Thursday 11 September 2025Resit assessments
Resit assessments between 28 April - 12 May 2025
Monday 2 June 2025Resit assessments between 26 August - 8 September 2025
Thursday 11 September 2025 - ZJSU-Sussex AI Joint Institute
Undergraduate (non-finalists)
Assessments for Autumn Term modules (S1, A1)
Monday 27 January 2025Assessments for Spring Term modules (S2, A2) and resits in A1
Monday 30 June 2025Resit assessments undertaken in A3
Monday 1 September 2025Final-year undergraduates
Assessments for Autumn Term modules (S1, A1)
Monday 27 January 2025Assessments for Spring Term modules (S2, A2) and resits in A1
Wednesday 21 May 2025Resit assessments in A3
Monday 1 September 2025Taught postgraduates
Assessments for autumn term modules (S1, A1)
27 January 2025Assessments for spring term modules (S2, A2) and resits in A1
30 June 2025Resit assessments done in A3
1 September 2025
All other students
- Undergraduate (non-finalist including Foundation Year)
Assessments for Autumn Term modules (S1, A1)
Monday 27 January 2025Assessments for Spring Term modules (S2, A2)
Monday 2 June 2025Resit assessments (A3)
Monday 18 August 2025 - Final year undergraduate
Assessments for Autumn Term modules (S1, A1)
Monday 27 January 2025Assessments for Spring Term modules (S2, A2)
Wednesday 21 May 2025Resit assessments (A3)
Monday 18 August 2025 - Taught postgraduate
Assessments for Autumn Term modules (S1, A1)
Monday 27 January 2025Assessments for Spring Term modules (S2, A2)
Monday 2 June 2025Resit assessments (A3) and dissertation/projects
Thursday 11 September 2025
All deadlines are subject to UK time and by 11:59pm of the date stated, unless specified otherwise.
The claims process
The exceptional circumstances claims process consists of three stages.
-
Assessment (stage one)
Your claim will be assessed to see if it can be accepted. We may contact you to request more information to help us decide.
-
Outcome (stage two)
If your claim is accepted at stage one, it will be sent to your examination board for consideration. The examination board will make an academic judgement and decide the outcome, if any. Accepted claims for late submission at stage one will have the late penalty removed automatically.
-
Appeal
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of stage one or stage two, you can submit an appeal. You are advised to read the academic appeal process and comply with any requirements specified – such as the date to submit your appeal (usually during an appeal window).
Important: The stage levels do not reflect the severity of an exceptional circumstances claim.
Find out more about the process in our exceptional circumstances policy [PDF 143KB] and procedural guide [PDF 213KB].
If you have exhausted the University’s internal procedures, you will be issued with a completion of procedures letter. You may be able to make a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
If you have reasonable adjustments
Usually, your reasonable adjustments should be sufficient to support you during your studies long term. You can also seek extensions to your assessment submissions as part of this.
But sometimes there are occasions where you may need both reasonable adjustments and to make an exceptional circumstances claim.
These are:
- you are experiencing an atypical flare up, fluctuation or deterioration in your ongoing condition meaning all adjustments in place are no longer sufficient
- there is a temporary issue in the implementation/presence of your reasonable adjustments (so temporary measures are required)
- you experience an exceptional circumstance that is unrelated to your disability or reasonable adjustments.
Find out more under section six of our exceptional cirumstances procedural guide [PDF 213KB] and find out about our disability support.
Regulations
For more information about exceptional circumstances, see:
- exceptional circumstances policy [PDF 143KB]
- exceptional cirumstances procedural guide [PDF 213KB]
- exam and assessment regulations, which includes exceptional circumstances.
More information and support
If you need more help and advice about making an exceptional circumstances claim you can contact: