Dissertation and Final Project Extension Requests
Dissertation and Final Project Extension Requests
Grounds for Claims
Many mild illnesses and routinely difficult or upsetting events do occur in life. It is a normal part of life to have to manage these and continue with work or study. Therefore, many such difficulties are not normally considered grounds for the submission of an extension request.
Requests should be entered at least 14 days prior to the submission deadline of the dissertation or project, unless there is a compelling reason for the delay.
Students should speak to their dissertation/project supervisor before entering the request if possible as they will have to approve this before it goes to the Student Casework Team for review.
The following represent potential grounds for the submission of an extension request:
- Significant illness lasting for several days, and which is serious enough to prevent a student from making progress with or submitting an assessment
- Serious illness of a close family member which means a student needs to provide significant caring support and which has not been planned for
- A very close family member or friend dies
- The student is a victim of a serious crime
- Being called for jury service which cannot be deferred
- Participation in sport at an elite level by either representing their country at a major international competition, preparation immediately preceding an international competition or participating in a major national championship
- Excessive employment demands which were substantial and temporary [this applies to part-time students usually]
- Serious family difficulties
- Your supervising tutor is unavailable due to illness for an extended period and a suitable replacement is not available
- Any other factor having a substantial effect on performance
Types of suitable evidence include:
- Medical certificate [obtained at the time of illness]
- Letter from medical practitioner confirming the illness of the student or person which they have a caring responsibility for
- Letter from a counsellor
- Death certificate or order of service
- Birth certificate [of your new-born child]
- A signed and dated letter, or e-mail from the professionals work address, from a coroner, legal practitioner, police officer, court official, or other professional
- Hospital discharge summary [must detail the nature of the illness and dates]
- Statements from University staff if they have witnessed the illness/incident
- Letter from your line manager describing excessive unforeseen employment demands [this applies to part-time students usually]
An electronic copy of the evidence can be uploaded to your claim, if you can’t do this then please e-mail it to mitcircs@worc.ac.uk with your student number included. We don’t recommend you delay entering a claim because you don’t have your evidence yet.