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Student Update: Assessments, Extensions and Extenuating Circumstance

27/10/2020
Student Update: Assessments, Extensions and Extenuating Circumstance

Please be aware that this information was shared with students by email and correct at the time of sending. For the latest Covid-19 guidance, please visit our coronavirus webpages: www.wlv.ac.uk/coronavirus. If you are a student who has a query or needs support, please log a helpcall with ASK@WLV in e:Vision (www.wlv.ac.uk/evision).

I hope you are settled into your studies and keeping safe in these first few weeks of the semester. We very much appreciate your patience and cooperation with the restrictions within which we are all working.

This week marks the beginning for many of our postgraduate programmes, and I want to welcome all postgraduate students to the University of Wolverhampton. Whether you are a new student to the University starting your postgraduate journey with us or progressing to the next stage of study, it is my pleasure to welcome you. I do appreciate that we are all still living in uncertain times and our priority must be to ensure that all of our students stay safe and well whilst at the same time continuing to be successful in your studies and your chosen career path.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some information about submitting assessments this semester. There is also a reminder about the process for requesting to move all your teaching to online.

Plans for physical examinations

Due to the continuing national and regional restrictions in response to Covid-19, the University is planning for the majority of semester 1 assessments to be held online. This means that wherever possible, we will convert physical exams to an online assessment.
 
The only exceptions will be for those courses where there is a regulatory body requirement for an on campus examination. Students who are affected by this will be advised separately by their course teams and tutors.
 

Requesting an extension for your assessments

The University continues to operate a trust-based system for extension requests for coursework assessments. This means, that where you require additional time to complete your assessment (for example, due to illness or circumstances related to Covid-19), you will not be required to provide evidence of these circumstances. You must, however, notify the University to request this extension. Requests can be made through e:Vision and must be accompanied by a statement explaining your need for additional time.
 
It is important to note that extensions cannot be requested where the assessment is an examination.
 
The Student Support and Wellbeing team support students with ongoing health conditions or disabilities and as part of this support they authorise automatic 1 week extensions that apply to all modules for an individual student. If this automatic extension has been granted to you, your later deadline will automatically be reflected in the deadline shown in each of your Canvas modules.

Deferring an assessment beyond one week

If you have been impacted by illness or the pandemic in such a way that an additional week to submit your assessment is not sufficient, then you can submit an extenuating circumstance claim and defer your assessment to the next submission opportunity.

As with an extension request, this is a trust-based system, and you will need to provide a statement explaining your circumstances; however, no further evidence will be required.

"Fit to sit"

It is important to remember that if you submit an assessment, you are declaring that you are fit to do so. This means that you will not be able to claim extenuating circumstancing retrospectively after you have submitted your assignment.

Award Classifications

In the last academic year, to support students during the initial lockdown, the University committed to reducing the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic might have on a student's award classification.

This means that, if you were enrolled and actively studying at Level 5 or 6 during this period (Semester 2, 2019/20), the University will apply a revised calculation for determining your final award classification when you come to finish your course and graduate.

This revision will use your best 120 credits (from level 5 or 6) as opposed to your best 180 credits. This will not apply in all cases; for example, some courses are not permitted to use this revised calculation by a regulatory body.
 

Requesting to Move to Learning Online

We are committed to ensuring all our students have the best learning experience possible this year, whilst keeping the safety of our University community at the heart of everything we do.

For the majority of students, the core content of your course has not changed, although how it is being delivered is different. While large group lectures are online, small-group teaching, laboratory and practical work are taking place in-person where it is possible to do so safely and securely.

We recognise that not all students can return to campus and where possible, we are making on-campus teaching also available online. If you would like to move to online teaching, you should contact your Faculty Student Services as early as possible via the e:Vision Helpdesk to ensure we have the right support in place for you to access your learning.

You can access our Learning Online guidance where you'll find top tips, links to essential resources and virtual backgrounds which you can download and use during your online face to face teaching sessions.

Top tips and essential resources for learning online

Covid-19 and Self isolating

Self-isolating is when you do not leave your home because you have or might have coronavirus, it is a requirement and not optional if you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms or have received a positive test result.

Protecting our University community requires everyone to play a part by being socially aware and individually responsible to help reduce the spread of the virus. There may be a time during this semester when you need to self-isolate, and our guide will help you know when and how to isolate, how to inform the University and the essentials you'll need to engage with your learning and access support when required.

If you are experiencing symptoms of coronavirus or have tested positive, you should self isolate immediately. Please refer to our Covid-19 Reporting Procedure for the action needed to inform the University.

Self-isolating means you must stay at home or in your residence and not leave for up to 14 days. You must follow this advice even if you feel well, as symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear. Self-isolating in this way will help protect your family, friends and our University community.

A student guide to self isolating during Covid-19

Where you can find more information

We are committed to keeping students up to date, and we do this by email, on our social media channels (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) and the University Student News web page.

Visit our dedicated Covid-19 web pages for information on how you can stay safe and help protect our University community during the pandemic. This includes information on our Covid-19 Reporting Procedures and the latest guidance on Local Alert Level Restrictions.

Thank you, and stay safe.

Julia Clarke

Deputy Vice-Chancellor

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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