The previous 2020/21 safety net package is available on Current Students.

We will:

• Ask moderators and Exam Boards to compare pre- and post-Covid marks in semester one and two assessments to further ensure that student performance is judged fairly.
• Reintroduce the five-working-day grace period for substantial coursework assessments in semester two to allow students extra time to complete - if they need it. The grace period will not apply to all forms of assessment, some will be exempt.

Moderations and Exam Boards

The Covid learning and assessment environment is different to that pre-Covid. Staff are already marking and moderating with this in mind and students’ use of the Extenuating Circumstances policy highlights exceptional cases to staff.

We will ask moderators and Exam Boards to compare pre- and post-Covid marks where they have identified concerns. This will further ensure that student performance is judged fairly in the Covid context.

Grace period for semester two

A five working-day grace period for substantial coursework assessments will be reintroduced for semester two. This grace period applies to undergraduate and PGT coursework assessments for both semester two and full-year taught modules.

Assessment deadlines have not changed. Where possible, students should work to these original deadlines. Changing deadlines will impact assessments and workload in the year ahead, and managing this should be considered before deciding to make use of the grace period.

Although we anticipate that many assessments will be included in the grace period, some forms are exempt. Schools and Departments will identify the assessments that need to be exempt for operational or pedagogical reasons and inform you of these.

Types of assessment that we anticipate will be exempt include, but are not limited to:

• In-class tests
• Live presentations
• Posters
• Workshop activities
• Lab activities
• Short written assessments

Your Schools and Departments will email you over the next week with more detail, including which of your assessments – if any – are exempt from the grace period.

The grace period will apply to all eligible assessments with deadlines that run from the start of Spring Semester (Monday 1 February) until two weeks (ten working days) before the start of the Semester two assessment period. This is expected to be the middle of May, but the date is not yet confirmed. We will communicate with you as soon as it is.

Where coursework deadlines fall after that final date, students may apply for extensions via the exceptional Extenuating Circumstances policy, but should consider the effect of those extensions on any exams they will be sitting. For students who have extensions due to support plans, the grace period applies from that extended deadline.

Students may apply for an extension at any time using our Extenuating Circumstances policy, whether or not an assessment is subject to a grace period.

For more detail on these new measures, visit the Student Services website.