York Online Programmes: disruptions affecting assessment

If you believe that an upcoming exam or assignment is going to be affected by disruptive circumstances, then you can plan your time by submitting a Disruptions affecting Assessment claim before the assessment takes place. This means that you need to submit a claim before the assignment deadline has passed, or before the exam becomes available for you to sit.

Claim requirements

You can submit a claim before the exam start or assignment deadline for any reason, but typical examples would include:

• an illness that seriously impacts upon your ability to concentrate; 
• a significant change in workload in your job that prevents you from preparing for your assessment; or 
• being unable to arrange childcare during the scheduled exam period.

Claims that are submitted in advance of the assessment will always be approved, and you will not be asked to tell us about your circumstances.

Claim outcomes

• Exams: if you submit a claim before your exam becomes available to sit, you can request to defer the assessment to a later date.
• Assignments (excepting project proposals): if you submit a claim before your assignment deadline, you can choose between a deadline extension of two weeks or deferring the assessment to a later date.
• Project proposals: if you submit a claim before your project proposal deadline, you can request a deadline extension of two weeks. 

You can learn more about what each of these outcomes would mean in practice further down this page, in Understanding assessment adjustments.

If you experience a disruption during an exam, or feel that your performance in an exam or assignment was affected by your circumstances at the time, you should tell us about it as soon as possible. You will need to provide evidence of the issue and demonstrate that your circumstances were significant enough to have impacted on your assessment and could not have been predicted.

Disruptions during an exam

If something that negatively affects your studies happens:

• during the period when the exam is available to sit and you haven’t started your attempt yet; or
• whilst you are sitting the exam,

then you should report the disruption and request mitigation by submitting a Disruptions affecting Assessment claim.

Most exams on the York Online Programmes follow a standard format, called a ‘limited timeframe exam’. The exam paper is available for you to sit for a two-day window (called an ‘availability period’), but once you have started the exam, you have a shorter time limit to complete the paper and submit your answers (for example, two hours). You can learn more about this type of assessment in the York Online student guide: Limited Timeframe Exams. Under the York Online Disruptions affecting Assessment policy, disruptions that take place ‘during an exam’ means any claims that are submitted during the availability period (i.e. once the exam is available to sit). It doesn’t matter whether you have started your attempt at the exam or not: in either case, you’ll be expected to meet the requirements described below.

If you encounter a disruption whilst you are actually sitting the exam, here’s what you need to do:

• If the disruption is a technical issue, take screenshots of the problem. Make sure the screenshots include the time and date when they were taken.
• If you are unable to upload or submit work due to connectivity issues, email a copy of your exam responses to the York Online Support Team before your exam time limit runs out. You will find a contact email to send your work in the exam instructions. It is important that you email a copy of your answers within your exam time limit (for example, for a two-hour exam, you should email your work within two hours of starting the paper). This is because we can’t accept or mark work unless you can prove that you haven’t edited it after your exam time limit has passed.
• Submit your claim as early as possible - exams are particularly time-sensitive.

If you encounter a disruption during the exam availability period but haven’t started your  attempt yet, we recommend that you still try to sit the exam anyway if you are able to do so. This will protect you from receiving a mark of 0 for non-submission if your claim is rejected.

Submitting a claim after the assessment deadline has passed

Sometimes circumstances can occur that means it isn’t possible for a student to submit a claim until after their assessment deadline has passed. This could be because the student’s circumstances physically prevent them from accessing the claim form (for example, severe travel disruptions or hospitalisation). However, this might also be due to circumstances such as depression or stress that have prevented the student from fully engaging with the impact the circumstances are having on their lives.

If you encounter circumstances that mean you need to submit a claim after the exam or assignment deadline has passed, here’s what you need to know:

• It is still very important that you submit your claim as soon as you are able to do so. The longer you delay, the less likely it is that your claim will be approved.
• The standard deadline for submitting claims is seven days after the assessment deadline. This applies both to assignments and exams.
• You are permitted to submit claims more than seven days after the assessment deadline, but you will need to provide a good reason for your delay in taking action, as well as meeting the usual requirements explained below. Examples of ‘good reason’ for submitting late claims (and reasons that aren’t accepted) are provided in section 10 of the Disruptions affecting Assessments policy.
• You can’t submit a claim after the assessment marks have been ratified by the Board of Examiners (at a ‘Module Board’). If you want to request mitigation for an assessment that has already been to a Module Board, then you’ll need to submit an academic appeal on the grounds of exceptional circumstances.

Claim requirements

If you submit a claim once the assessment deadline has passed or the exam availability period has started, you will need to meet the following requirements:

1. You need to describe what has happened;
2. You need to explain how the circumstances have negatively affected your ability to complete your assessment;
3. You need to demonstrate why the circumstances could not have been foreseen;
4. You normally need to provide independent supporting evidence to corroborate your description of the events. (See Evidence below for more guidance.)

You can make a claim for almost any circumstance but it is really important that you clearly demonstrate that the circumstances could not have been predicted (and therefore you couldn’t plan for them sooner) and that they significantly disrupted your ability to prepare for or attempt your assessment. 

There are certain circumstances that will never be accepted, or that will not usually be accepted, if you tell us about them after the assessment deadline. These circumstances are listed in full in section 6 of the Disruptions affecting Assessments policy. Use this policy to check if your circumstances will be accepted before submitting a claim.

Claim outcomes

• Exams: if you submit a claim after your exam becomes available to sit and your claim is approved, the outcome will either be a 'sit as if for the first time' (SAIFFT) or a late penalty waiver.

• Assignments (excepting project proposals): if you submit a claim after your assignment deadline and your claim is approved, you will usually be offered a late penalty waiver, or a ‘sit as if for the first time’ (SAIFFT). If you’ve submitted your claim and evidence less than one week after the original assignment deadline, then you can request a two-week extension instead if you prefer.

• Project proposals: if you submit a claim after your project proposal deadline and your claim is approved, the outcome will either be a deadline extension or a late penalty waiver. For this type of module, the maximum length extension you could be granted is 8 weeks; the actual length extension you will receive will be proportional to the level of disruption you’ve encountered and the strength of your supporting evidence.

You can learn more about what each of these outcomes would mean in practice further down this page, in Understanding assessment adjustments.

Important: claims submitted after the exam has started or the assessment deadline has passed are not always approved. Consequently, if you are within the late submission window then you should continue working on the assignment or try to sit the exam while you await your claim outcome. This will protect you from receiving a zero for non-submission if your claim is unsuccessful.

 

 If you submit your claim before the exam is available to sit, or before your assignment deadline, then you won’t be asked to provide any evidence in support of your claim. This is because you are submitting a claim proactively, as a time-management tool.

If you submit your claim after the exam availability period has begun or after your assignment deadline, then you will almost always be asked to provide evidence in order for your claim to be approved. Your evidence will need to demonstrate:

1. the nature of the disruption (ie what has happened); and
2. the timing of the disruption (ie when it took place)
3. the impact of the disruption (ie the evidence should either explicitly state how the circumstances affected your ability to complete the assessment, or the impact of the circumstances on your studies should be clearly inferred).

Your own account is an important source of evidence, but usually independent supporting evidence is also required. This evidence needs to be in English or accompanied by an English translation. Independent evidence provided by a third party professional (for example, a doctor’s note or police crime report) will support your request more strongly than evidence provided by friends, family or based on your own account. You can find guidance about evidence requirements, and what types of evidence are most likely to be accepted, in the Disruptions affecting Assessments policy.

Some circumstances are so serious that you will not be asked to submit independent evidence demonstrating what happened. For example, you will not be asked to provide a death certificate if you suffer a bereavement. In cases where you do not need to provide additional evidence, it is particularly important that your statement regarding the events clearly addresses the three bullet points listed above. The Disruptions affecting Assessments policy includes a list of circumstances where independent supporting evidence will not be required.

The level of approval your claim requires depends on when you submit it.

If you submit a claim before the exam becomes available to sit or the assignment deadline, then your claim will be automatically approved.

If you submit a claim after the exam becomes available to sit or the assignment deadline, then your claim will be reviewed by a member of staff in the York Online Support Team. 

If you have not met the requirements listed above, or if you need to provide further details regarding your circumstances or supporting evidence, then you will be given the opportunity to provide the additional information and set a deadline to respond. If you still have not met the requirements after your deadline has passed, then your claim will be rejected.

If you have provided all of the information and evidence required, then your claim will be considered by the York Online Support Team. The team might consult an academic member of staff from your department about your claim if academic judgement is required to determine an appropriate outcome.

Once your claim has been considered, you will receive an email to tell you whether your claim has been approved. If your claim is rejected or you are offered different mitigation than you requested, then you have the right to submit an Academic Appeal.

Before you apply, make sure that you are familiar with the York Online Disruptions affecting Assessment Policy, and understand what is required of you.

To submit a claim, go to e:vision and select ‘Submit Disruptions affecting Assessment claim’ (you can find this under ‘Further actions’). This will take you to an online form. The questions you are asked will depend on when you submit the claim in relation to the assessment. Make sure that you answer all of the questions and upload any supporting evidence if requested. Your claim will not be visible to University staff until you confirm that you are ready to submit. Paper forms or requests submitted by email cannot be accepted.

You can add more than one assessment to a single claim. This is useful if the same circumstances have affected (or is likely to affect) multiple assessments.

When completing the form, please note:

• You will not be able to add assessments if the module in question hasn’t started yet: in this situation, please consider taking a planned break from the upcoming module instead. 
• You will not be able to add an assessment if the marks for that assessment have been ratified by the Board of Examiners at a Module Board. If you want to request mitigation for an assessment that has had results approved by the Board of Examiners, you’ll need to submit an Academic Appeal.
• The types of mitigation that you can request are conditionally dependent on the assessment format, and on when you submit the claim. For example, you cannot request a deadline extension for an exam.
• You cannot add an assessment if you previously submitted a claim for the same assessment and have not yet received an outcome. However, you can submit a new claim for the assessment after the first claim has been resolved.

Once your claim has been submitted, you will receive an automated email as confirmation of receipt. You can also view all of your current and historic claims in e:vision. The University may require further information or evidence before coming to a decision, so you should check your University email account or e:vision regularly whilst your claim is pending. If you include multiple assessments in a single claim, the outcome for each assessment may be determined separately. This means you might receive multiple updates about your claim until decisions have been made regarding every individual assessment.

The capstone project module requires you to work on an independent project for sixteen continuous weeks. It is therefore a significant undertaking, and it is important that you are sure that you are ready for the commitment before you begin the module. This means we want it to be as easy as possible for you to delay starting the CPM until you feel ready. You can therefore take planned breaks from your studies to help you plan when to start your capstone project.

If you are approaching the end of your programme, use this quiz to see if you are ready to register for the CPM.

If you have already registered for the CPM but:

• you change your mind or your circumstances change before you start the module; or
• you change your mind or your circumstances change before Tuesday of week 2,

then you can defer studying on the module by submitting a break request in e:vision. You can submit a break request within eight days of the module start date for any reason, and no evidence will be required.

After Tuesday of week 2, it won’t be possible to submit a break request via the York Online Registration, Absence and Engagement policy. From this point onwards, any change in circumstances that affects your engagement with the CPM must be handled by submitting a Disruptions affecting Assessment claim.

If you experience exceptional circumstances during the CPM that you couldn’t have planned for that:

• prevent you from engaging with the module; or
• prevent you from submitting a summative assessment by the deadline; or
• negatively affect your performance in a summative assessment;

then you should notify the University as soon as you can by submitting a Disruptions affecting Assessment claim.

All claims for capstone projects will need to meet the claim requirements listed below.

Claim timings

• Submit a claim as soon as you realise that your circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the CPM.
• Claims should be submitted before your assessment deadline if possible, and no later than seven days after your deadline. 
• If you submit a claim more than seven days after your deadline, then you will need to demonstrate a good reason for your delay in submitting the claim in addition to the requirements listed below. You can learn more about ‘good reason’ for submitting late claims in the Disruptions affecting Assessments policy.
• You cannot submit a claim after the capstone project marks have been ratified by the Board of Examiners. If you want to challenge your result after it has been ratified, you’ll need to submit an academic appeal.

Claims submitted for the capstone project are not always approved. It is therefore really important that you submit your claim as early as possible, so that you have time to adapt if your claim is rejected. After submitting a claim, keep working towards your current deadline whilst you are waiting for a decision.

Claim requirements

If you submit a claim for your capstone project, then you’ll need to meet the following requirements:

1. You need to describe what has happened. Include a short timeline with specific dates of when your circumstances started, changed or worsened. Make sure you tell us whether the disruption has ended, or is still affecting your studies.
2. You need to explain how the circumstances have negatively affected your ability to work on the capstone project. You should also tell us how much of your project you have completed so far; this will help us to accurately assess the level of support you need.
3. You need to demonstrate why the circumstances could not have been foreseen and avoided. If your circumstances pre-date the start of the CPM, then you need to explain what level of disruption you originally anticipated and planned for, and why the circumstances have been harder to manage than you expected.
4. You normally need to provide independent supporting evidence to corroborate your description of the events.

If you previously received an extension for the capstone project and are asking for new mitigation, make sure you also explain why the earlier extension was insufficient. Your explanation should demonstrate that there was continued disruption over and above what you had anticipated when you submitted your previous claim.

Claim outcomes

If your claim for the capstone project is approved, you will be offered one of the following adjustments:

• A deadline extension. This is the most common outcome for capstone projects. The length of the extension you are offered will be dependent on your description of how long your circumstances have disrupted your studies, how much longer you anticipate the circumstances will continue, and how effectively your account is corroborated by supporting evidence. If you are temporarily unable to study at all, then your deadline extension might include an informal built-in break.

• A late penalty waiver. This outcome might be granted if you complete and submit your capstone project in the late submission window.

• A Leave of Absence with Repeat Study. This is a very rare outcome. You might be offered to repeat the module from week 1 if you can demonstrate that your ability to engage with the CPM has been disrupted from the very beginning of the module and that you were unable to take action in time to cancel your module registration.

Please note that a deadline extension will delay when your marks and feedback are due for release. Depending on the length of your extension, this could result in a delay to when your award is ratified and mean that you are invited to graduate later than other students who studied the module with you.

 If you submit a claim for the capstone project, then you will almost always be asked to provide evidence for your claim to be approved. Evidence requirements are the same as for taught modules, which means your evidence will need to demonstrate:

1. the nature of the disruption (i.e. what has happened); and
2. the timing of the disruption (i.e. when it took place)
3. the impact of the disruption (i.e. the evidence should either explicitly state how the circumstances affected your ability to complete the project, or the impact of the circumstances on your studies should be clearly inferred).

It is really important that your evidence is contemporary. This means the evidence usually needs to be dated after your module began. The date of the evidence matters because you need to demonstrate that you couldn’t have foreseen the disruption before you registered for the CPM, and therefore were unable to manage your circumstances by taking a planned break. This means that if your claim relates to a long-standing circumstance that pre-dates when you started the CPM, you may therefore need to provide evidence of how the circumstances have altered since you started the module.

Some circumstances are so serious that you will not be asked to submit independent evidence demonstrating what happened. For example, you will not be asked to provide a death certificate if you suffer a bereavement. In cases where you do not need to provide additional evidence, it is particularly important that your statement regarding the events clearly addresses the three bullet points listed above. The Disruptions affecting Assessments policy includes a list of circumstances where independent supporting evidence will not be required.

Your claim will be reviewed and triaged before being considered. If you have not met the requirements listed above or we need further information to consider your claim, then you will be given the opportunity to provide the additional information and set a deadline to respond. If you still have not met the requirements after your deadline has passed, then your claim will be rejected.

If you have provided all of the information and evidence required, then your claim will be considered by the York Online Support Team. The team will escalate your claim to an academic member of staff from your department if academic judgement is required to determine an appropriate outcome.

Sometimes claims for the capstone project require additional approval:

• Requests for a Leave of Absence with Repeat Study of the CPM need approval from the departmental Chair of Board of Studies.
• Where a Leave of Absence with Repeat Study would result in you repeating more than 10 weeks of the module, approval is also required from Special Cases.
• If the CPM is your last module and you are offered a deadline extension that is greater than two weeks, then you will need a programme extension too. You do not need to take any action to request a programme extension; we will process the programme extension on your behalf.
• If you are offered a deadline extension that means your new deadline is more than twelve months after your original programme end date, then Special Cases will need to approve the programme extension before your new deadline can be confirmed.

Once your claim has been considered, you will receive an email to tell you whether your claim has been approved. If your claim is rejected or you are offered different mitigation than you requested, then you have the right to submit an Academic Appeal.

Before you submit a claim, make sure you understand what is required of you. Take a look at the York Online Disruptions affecting Assessment Policy, and especially at the section called ‘Disruptions affecting capstone project modules’.

To defer starting the CPM until a later date, you can request a planned break or cancel an existing module registration by submitting a break request in e:vision. All break requests for the CPM must be submitted before Tuesday of week 2 (that is, 8 days after the module begins). You can find guidance about how to submit a break request in York Online Programmes: taking time out.

After Tuesday of week 2, you should submit all claims for CPMs using the Disruptions affecting Assessment claim form in e:vision. Please do not try to submit a break request or a Repeat Study request for the CPM, as these processes are designed for taught modules only.

To submit a claim, go to e:vision and select ‘Submit Disruptions affecting Assessment claim’ (you can find this under ‘Further actions’). This will take you to an online form. You will be asked a series of questions regarding your circumstances and the impact they have had on your project. Make sure that you answer all of the questions and upload your supporting evidence. Your claim will not be visible to University staff until you confirm that you are ready to submit. Paper forms or requests submitted by email cannot be accepted.

Once your claim has been submitted, you will receive an automated email as confirmation of receipt. You can also view all of your current and historic claims in e:vision. We may require further information or evidence before coming to a decision, so you should check your University email account or e:vision regularly whilst your claim is pending. If you include other assessments in the same claim as your capstone project, the outcome for each assessment will usually be determined separately. This means you might receive multiple updates about your claim until decisions have been made regarding every individual assessment.

A deferral is a way of managing your time, by requesting to reschedule an assessment.

Being offered a deferral means that you can attempt an assessment at a later date instead of when the assessment was originally due. You will then be invited to take the deferred assessment at the ‘next available opportunity’ - this means the next time that an appropriate paper is scheduled to take place. Your new assessment will be an unseen assignment task or exam paper that will be treated in the same way as the assessment you deferred.

When to request a deferral

You can only request a deferral for an assessment if you submit a Disruptions affecting Assessment claim before the exam becomes available to sit or the assignment deadline passes. You can request a deferral for an exam or for most assignments, but not for a project proposal or for a capstone project.

This adjustment is useful if you completed the module teaching but can’t prepare for your assessment at all, or will not be able to sit the exam when it is scheduled. If you are currently registered on weeks 1-7 of a module and can’t study at all, then you should consider taking a break and returning to the module later in your studies instead.

How to accept a deferral

If you want to accept a deferral, you must not attempt the assessment for which the deferral has been granted. This means that you must not submit any work to the assignment or start the exam. You will be considered to have started the exam if you open the exam and access the exam paper in Canvas or Gradescope, even if you don’t answer any of the questions. Attempting your original assessment will void the offer to defer. This means that you won’t be allowed to take the assessment again unless you submit a new claim and are granted a ‘sit as if for the first time’.

So long as you don’t void the deferral, you will be invited to take an entirely new exam paper or new assignment brief at a later date. If the rescheduled assessment is due to take place at a time that you cannot attempt the assessment, then you are allowed to defer the assessment again. However, repeatedly deferring an assessment means that you will be progressing with your studies ‘at risk’ (proceeding onto new modules without knowing whether you will pass previous modules). We therefore recommend that you attempt the earliest assessment opportunity that you are fit to sit.

A deadline extension is a period of extra time to help you complete an assignment or capstone project.

Receiving an extension means that you will be expected to continue working on your current assignment brief, but you will be allowed to submit your work to a later deadline.

When to request an extension

You can request an extension for any course-work style assessments. This includes assignments and project proposals for taught modules, and your capstone project. You can’t request a deadline extension for an exam.

This adjustment is useful if you have already begun work on your assignment and you are still able to study.

Permitted extension lengths

The length of the extension you are allowed depends on the format of your assessment. You can submit your work early to any deadline extension if you wish, but submitting earlier won’t change the timescales for marking your assessment.

Assignments (excepting project proposals): extensions granted for taught module assignments are always two weeks. If you submit your claim before the original assignment deadline, then you won’t need evidence. If a two-week extension isn’t enough, then you can:

1. Request a deferral instead (before the original assignment deadline); or
2. Submit a new claim with supporting evidence to request a late penalty waiver or ‘sit as if for the first time’ (after the original assignment deadline).

Project proposals: if you submit a claim before the original assignment deadline, you won’t need evidence and will be offered a standard deadline extension of two weeks. If a two-week extension isn’t enough, then you can request a late penalty waiver or a further extension. The maximum total length of extension that you can receive for a project proposal is 8 weeks, no matter how many claims you submit. All claims for extensions of longer than two weeks or that are submitted after the original submission deadline require supporting evidence. The actual length of extension that you are offered will be commensurate with the level of disruption you have encountered and the evidence you provide.

Capstone project modules: you will always need evidence to be offered a deadline extension for your capstone project. The length of the extension you may be offered will depend on how long and how severely your studies have been disrupted, and the evidence you provide. There is no upper limit for deadline extensions on the capstone project module, but if this is your final module then you will also need a programme extension too, which may require additional approval.

A late penalty waiver is applied in cases where you submitted work in the late submission window. It means that you won’t receive a penalty for submitting your work late and (if appropriate) that the markers will mark a later submission than usual.

When to request a late penalty waiver

You can be granted a late penalty waiver for any type of assessment, if the following are true:

• The assessment deadline has passed; and
• You submitted work to the assessment in the late submission window.

As you can only request a late penalty waiver after the exam has become available to sit or the assignment deadline has passed, your claim will always need to be supported by evidence.

This adjustment is useful if the disruption you encountered meant you started your exam or submitted your work late, but you don’t feel that the circumstances negatively affected your academic performance. If your circumstances mean that you submit work late and the work that you submit doesn’t reflect your grasp of the topic (for example, the work is incomplete, badly written, or you didn’t manage to do all of the reading you needed to), then you should consider requesting a ‘sit as if for the first time’ opportunity instead.

How late penalty waivers are applied

Usually, if you submit work late, your work is marked and then a mark penalty is applied to the assessment mark in e:vision. Penalties are applied as a percentage of the maximum marks available for an assessment. For example, if you were to submit an assignment up to one hour late, 5% of available marks will be deducted. If the maximum mark for the assessment is 100, and your original mark is 67, then this means that your mark after the late penalty has been applied would be 62. If you are granted a late penalty waiver, the 5-mark deduction would not be applied. To learn more about how late penalties are calculated and applied, visit the York Online Programmes Handbook, which you can read or download from your Orientation Module in Canvas.

Late penalty waivers sometimes also affect which submission is marked, if you upload your work multiple times. There are specific rules about which version of your work will be marked if you submit multiple times. If you are granted a late penalty waiver, then your latest submission will be marked instead.

If you can demonstrate that your work has been significantly affected by your circumstances, then you may be offered an opportunity to sit the assessment ‘as if for the first time’. This is also referred to as being ‘offered a SAIFFT’.

A SAIFFT opportunity is similar in many ways to being offered a deferral, because it allows you to attempt an unseen version of the affected assessment at a later date. However, a SAIFFT permits you to sit the rescheduled assessment as well as the original assessment, whereas a deferral only allows you to sit one or the other.

If you attempt the SAIFFT opportunity, your new mark will overwrite your original mark for the assessment, even if the new mark is lower. You should therefore review your mark and feedback carefully before you accept a SAIFFT opportunity.

When to request a SAIFFT

You can only request a SAIFFT for an assessment if you submit a claim after the exam becomes available to sit or the assignment deadline passes. This means that your claim will usually need to include independent supporting evidence in order to be approved. You cannot request a SAIFFT for a project proposal or a capstone project, because these assessment types are based on your independent work.

This adjustment is useful if you completed the module teaching but encountered a significant disruption that has negatively prevented you from preparing for - or deferring - your assessment. If your personal circumstances are ongoing and have affected your ability to engage in the taught content of a previous module, or are likely to affect a current or future module, then speak to your Student Success Coordinator about whether you should take a break from your studies and/or submit a Repeat Study request too.

How to accept a SAIFFT

Unlike deferrals, we recommend that you attempt to sit or submit your originally scheduled assessment if you are able. This will not prevent you from being offered the SAIFFT opportunity later.

You will be invited to attempt a new, unseen, exam paper or assignment brief next time the assessment is scheduled to run. To accept the SAIFFT, make sure that you attempt the assessment the first time that it is offered. If you want to accept the opportunity but aren’t currently able to prepare for the assessment, make sure that you submit a new Disruptions affecting Assessment claim to defer the SAIFFT opportunity to a later date. If you don’t attempt the assessment and don’t submit a new claim, then your non-submission will be treated as you declining the SAIFFT opportunity. Declining a SAIFFT opportunity means that your original mark will stand.

If you have a disability or long-term health condition which has lasted, or is likely to last, twelve months or more and which has a negative impact on your studies, then you are encouraged to contact Disability Services about putting a Student Support Plan (SSP) in place. SSPs are the University’s way of planning for and implementing academic adjustments on your programme. These are adjustments to the way the University delivers your education, such as providing accessible course materials or special examination arrangements.

Many of the reasonable adjustments specified in your SSP for assessments will be put in place automatically by your department. For example, you don’t need to take any action to request a Spelling and Grammar Sticker, or to be given extra time allowance to complete an exam, so long as these adjustments are listed in your SSP, and you have given consent for your SSP to be shared with your academic department.

However, a small number of adjustments (such as occasional extensions to deadlines, and deferring an examination) will only be arranged when you make a request. You should request these kinds of adjustments by submitting a Disruptions affecting Assessment claim in e:vision.

Occasionally a student’s SSP could include an adjustment that isn’t usually offered under the York Online Disruptions affecting Assessment policy (for example, a longer deadline extension). If this applies to you and you want an adjustment that isn’t available on the e:vision form, then please contact the York Online Support Team on york-online-ex-circs@york.ac.uk to make your request.

If your claim is approved, you will be offered one of the outcomes listed above for each affected assessment: you cannot request multiple adjustments for the same assessment in a single claim.

However, if you realise that another adjustment would be a better fit for your circumstances, or you are unable to benefit from the mitigation you were granted in your original claim, you may be able to change your outcome or request further support. The following table lays out what actions you can take if the adjustment you have been offered no longer suits your circumstances.

Original adjustment	Assessment type(s)	Additional adjustments allowed	Claim requirements
Deferral	Exam	None - you should not sit the exam now and therefore no other mitigation will be required. You can void your deferral by sitting the exam.	If you void a deferral by sitting the exam, any new claim will require an explanation about why the disruption you encountered was unforeseen and supporting evidence.
Deferral	Assignment (except project proposal)	None - but you can replace the deferral with an extension	To change to an extension, submit a new claim before the original submission deadline. This will void your deferral. No evidence required.
Extension	Assignment (except project proposal)	You can replace the extension with a deferral	To change to a deferral, submit a new claim before the original submission deadline. This will void your extension. No evidence required.
Extension	Assignment, project proposal, capstone project	Late penalty waiver	Submit work in the late penalty window (after the extended deadline), and submit a new claim. Your new claim needs to explain why the previous extension was insufficient and provide supporting evidence.
Extension	Project proposal, capstone project	Further deadline extension	Submit a new claim. Your new claim needs to explain why the previous extension was insufficient and provide supporting evidence.
Extension	Assignment (except project proposal)	‘Sit as if for the first time’	Submit a new claim. Your new claim needs to explain why the previous extension was insufficient and provide supporting evidence.
‘Sit as if for the first time’ (SAIFFT)	Exam, assignment (except project proposal)	None - but you can request to replace your SAIFFT with a late penalty waiver.	Submit work in the late penalty window, and submit a new claim within one week of being offered the SAIFFT.  This will void your SAIFFT. No new evidence required.