Requesting an Assignment Extension

Hi everyone,

May I please remind all of you that you CANNOT request an extension from ANY member of staff if you are falling behind with an assignment. We expect postgraduate (and undergraduate) students to be able to manage their time effectively to ensure they complete assignments in good time. No staff (not even myself as the Programme Leader) has the authority to grant any sort of extension. Scripts that are submitted via the CRO bins have a barcode that is scanned by the CRO themselves - any item not scanned in according to the deadline is logged in the Faculty database as not submitted - and we have no power to override this. Under these circumstances, if you hand in work late (or not at all) you will receive a zero mark for that work.

There may be times however when you are unable to hit a deadline for reasons far more serious than poor time-management. This might include (for example) a family bereavement, pregnancy or other similarly serious event. Being generally unwell (i.e. having a cold), losing a computer disk or feeling stressed etc...is NOT regarded as a valid excuse as these are normal daily pressures on any of us.

If you have a valid, verifiable (by documentation) and serious reason for not being able to submit work on time, you may be eligible for Exceptional Factors. This is where a panel of independent academics assess your circumstances and may (if granted) give you an extension for submitting coursework.

If you feel that you have sufficiently important reasons to apply for Exceptional Factors then you may apply BEFORE the actual deadline for the piece of work you need an extension for. You should not ask a member of academic staff or myself to do this - you must follow a specific procedure:

Form EF1 must be submitted for all Exceptional Factors claims.
Submit the form, along with all necessary documentary evidence, to the appropriate Student Life Office or SIP for all units affected. Your nearest SIP is the one in John Dalton (sipnorth@mmu.ac.uk ). Your academic tutors cannot take the documentation from you. If you delay, you might miss the next available Exceptional Factors panel meeting - and this could affect the way we deal with you at upcoming Boards of Examiner meetings.
The form EF1 and ALL guidance notes for this procedure are clearly presented for download at: http://www.mmu.ac.uk/sas/studentservices/guidance/
If you have any ongoing academic problems - and/or need to discuss these with somebody, then please contact Emma Taylor - the faculty Support Officer. (e.taylor@mmu.ac.uk  /  E29a  /  0161 247 1513 )
If you need to speak with a counsellor - if you have personal issues that are not strictly academic, please contact the MMU Counselling service: http://www.mmu.ac.uk/academic/studserv/counselling/manchester.php

Thanks
Mark