Mitigating circumstances and extensions regulations

We understand that everyone can experience difficult circumstances sometimes, but we do expect you to take ownership of your learning and  be responsible for managing your time alongside the demands of everyday life so that your assessments are not impacted.  

If you are experiencing difficulties, we recommend  you seek advice from your personal tutor, course team and/or the Kingston Students' Union. You should also familiarise yourself with the information on this page and read through our main regulation document which contains important information (please see bottom of this page.

If your circumstances are ongoing then it may be in your interest to consider whether an interruption of studies or a withdrawal from your course is the best course of action so that you can come back at a later date, once your situation has improved.

If you make the decision to apply for Mitigating Circumstances you will need to be sure that your circumstances meet our definition. We consider Mitigating Circumstances to be specific circumstances that have impacted you in the lead up to, or during an assessment event or submission. They must be:

• Sudden, serious and/or unpredictable or unforeseeable in nature, and
• Relevant to you, the individual student making the claim, and
• Likely to seriously impair your performance, and
• Taking place at the same time as an assessment event or before an assignment deadline.

We do not consider ongoing conditions mitigating circumstances. However, we do consider significant fluctuations in a long-term condition to be mitigating circumstances (see paragraphs 56 to 61 of the main regulations document provided below for more information on disability, mental health conditions and other ongoing medical conditions).

A summary of the types of circumstances that we do and don't consider to be acceptable reasons for mitigation, along with the types of evidence that would be required to support a claim, is provided at the back of the main regulation document provided below (View the Academic Regulation AR05). 

If you are unable to undertake a time-limited online or on-campus exam, you can self-certify (this means that you can submit a claim for mitigating circumstances without providing evidence) from 5 days before the date of the exam and up to 10 days after the date of the exam.

You can also self-certify for an in-class test as long as this is validated as a major element of assessment and is not one of a portfolio of tasks that together form a major element of assessment. If you are not sure if whether an in-class test is eligible for self-certification, you should ask your module leader**.

You do not need to provide evidence to support a self-certified claim.

To submit your claim, please use the appropriate options in the OSIS system (see How to make a claim section below).

You should be aware that we have a fit to sit policy which means that, if you attend an examination or an in-class test, you will have declared yourself fit to undertake the assessment and that there have been no mitigating circumstances affecting you. Therefore, if you engage with an assessment and submit a claim for mitigating circumstances after completing it, we will normally not consider your claim (see section on Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances paragraphs 66 to 68 of the main regulations document provided below for more information).

If you fall ill during an examination, you must inform the chief invigilator that you are leaving the venue due to illness and apply for mitigating circumstances within 10 working days of the event using the self-certification option. We will use the chief invigilator's report to corroborate your claim.

**In cases where you miss an in-class test which is part of a number of different assessments that together form an element, you should discuss this with your module leader in the first instance.

If you have mitigating circumstances in relation to a Portfolio (which is an assessment comprised of more than one piece of work), you should refer to the relevant Coursework/Assignment brief in the first instance and/or information provided on the relevant module in Canvas and/or your Module Leader to see whether you are required to make a formal claim for mitigation or whether there are local arrangements in place.  

If you are required to make a formal mitigating circumstance claim, please follow the instructions on how to submit your claim via OSIS.

The University will consider and provide an outcome to your mitigating circumstances claims as soon as possible. It is not possible for us to confirm a fixed date by which you will receive an outcome to your claim as this will depend on a range of factors including whether or not your claim can be approved without proceeding to a panel or whether panel consideration is required. Providing outcomes to claims may also take a little longer during peak assessment periods. 

If you have submitted a claim but have not received a response to it by the date of your assessment, it is ultimately for you to decide if you are too ill or otherwise impacted by mitigating circumstances to take the assessment. For your claim to be accepted you will need to have submitted an eligible mitigating circumstance claim with the appropriate supporting evidence. A summary of the types of circumstances that we do and don't consider to be acceptable reasons for mitigation, along with the types of evidence that would be required to support a claim is provided at the back of the main regulation document provided below. (View the Academic Regulation (AR05))

You should be aware of the University's Fit to Sit policy which means that if you submit work or attend an examination, you will have declared yourself fit to undertake the assessment and that there have been no mitigating circumstances affecting you.

If you submit a claim for mitigating circumstances and then engage with an assessment, your mitigating circumstances claim will be annulled. 

International students on Student Visas should be aware that deferring assessments through the University's mitigating circumstances process may impact their eligibility to apply for the Graduate Visa. Here's what you need to know:

1. Assessment deferral and visa implications:

If you defer an assessment through our university's mitigating circumstances process to a reassessment period beyond the end of your course, you may not receive your retake results and have your award conferred prior to the end of your Student Visa.

2. Impact on Graduate Visa eligibility:

This means that if you're in this situation, you may not be eligible to apply for the Graduate Visa. The university cannot extend a student's visa solely to make them eligible for the Graduate Visa if they are only required to undertake an assessment by retake.

3. Reassessment by repeat and Student Visa Extension:

If mitigating circumstances are granted and a Programme Assessment Board sets reassessment by repeat, you may be eligible to extend your Student Visa. This is subject to specific conditions and assessment outcomes.

Contact the CAS and Visa Compliance Team if you have any doubts or questions about how these circumstances may affect you and your visa status.

It is for you to decide if you are too ill or otherwise impacted by mitigating circumstances to take an assessment. While you can seek advice from members of staff and/or the Kingston Students' Union about whether to submit an assessment or apply for mitigation, they will limit their advice to explaining the procedure that you should follow and the requirement for evidence to be supplied in support of a mitigation claim. Ultimately it is you who must make the final decision on your fitness to undertake an assessment.

We do however encourage you to talk to us about any issues impacting your wellbeing and your ability to engage with your chosen course of study. Please speak to your Personal Tutor, Module or Course Leader or with the Kingston Students' Union who are very experienced with supporting students with these procedures. If, for whatever reason you find it difficult to engage with these individuals, there are a range of services available from Kingston University to support you during your studies. Please see advice and support for more information the range of support available to you during your time studying with us.

Students with disabilities, mental health or other medical conditions who are considering applying for Mitigating Circumstances should note that support is available to them via the University's Disability and Mental Health Advisers and via the Student Well-being Hub. You should also read the Section on Disabilities, Mental Health conditions and other ongoing medical conditions below).

If you have any questions about the process for submitting your claim, you should contact your Faculty's Student Casework Coordinator (SCC) who will be able to provide advice. Contact email addresses for Faculty SCC teams can be located in the section below.

The team of Student Casework Coordinators manage the University's mitigating circumstances applications. You may receive communications from them about your claim.

• Kingston School of Art – [email protected]
• Faculty of Business and Social Sciences – [email protected]
• Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education – [email protected]
• Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment – [email protected]

• AR5: Mitigating circumstances and student assessment 2026/27 (PDF)
• Annex 1: Guidelines on Acceptable/Unacceptable Mitigation 2026/27 (PDF)
• Mitigating circumstances medical certificate for academic studies 2026/27 (Word)

• AR5: Mitigating circumstances and student assessment 2025/26 (PDF)
• Annex 1: Guidelines on Acceptable/Unacceptable Mitigation 2025/26 (PDF)
• Mitigating circumstances medical certificate for academic studies 2025/26 (Word)

• AR5: Mitigating circumstances and student assessment 2024/25 (PDF)
• Mitigating circumstances medical certificate for academic studies 2024/25 (Word)