Late or incorrect submissions

What we mean by late or incorrect submissions

Late submission

When your submitted answers for your online exam or coursework are uploaded/received after the submission deadline. Anything received after the deadline is considered late.

Incorrect submission

When you mistakenly submit/upload the wrong answers to Learn for your online exam or coursework. Examples of this could include: uploading the question paper instead of your answers, uploading the answers to a different exam/assessment by mistake, uploading your notes instead of your exam answers or coursework.

There are a number of different reasons why these situations could occur.

What support is available to you

The University provides a wide range of services to support students with exams and coursework, linked below.

For coursework, you should ensure you know how to prepare and make your submissions well ahead of the deadline. Your School will be able to advise you on this and provide support if you are experiencing any difficulties with this. Make sure you contact them as soon as you experience a problem and, if you miss a deadline or make an incorrect submission, you should still submit your correct coursework straightaway.

For online exams, make sure you read through our guidance for online exams carefully before sitting any exams. These include:

  • How to prepare your answers for submission
  • The steps you should take when submitting your answers
  • Links to the Learn practice module where you can practice the process

The Exam Helpline is available to support you if you experience issues again in future. Make sure you call them as soon as you experience a problem, so we can help you solve it right away.

Should you submit a Mitigating Circumstances claim

You are expected to take responsibility for your own personal organisation, including managing your learning, coursework assignments and revision, in a way which anticipates that events will not always run smoothly.

We recognise that this isn’t always possible, as there may be circumstances outside of your control which result in late or incorrect submissions. Examples of these could include (but aren’t limited to) technical issues with your computer, power and/or Wi-Fi, a disruption to your working environment or other circumstances outside of your control. Where these circumstances occur, we would recommend submitting a claim.

Please note that we do not consider the following situations to be eligible reasons to submit an MC claim:

  1. Claims arising from poor time management or personal organisation (e.g. failure to plan for foreseeable last-minute emergencies such as computer crashes, printing or travel problems resulting in late submission of coursework; misreading the examination timetable).
  2. Claims referring to circumstances within your control (e.g. family wedding or holiday; getting a cheaper flight; choosing to miss an assessment or coursework deadline for something considered more important).

What your Mitigating Circumstances claim for Late or Incorrect Submissions should include

  • A full description of what happened – make sure to include the sequence of events which led to your late/incorrect submission.
  • As much detail as possible on the circumstances which led to your late/incorrect submission and why they caused this to happen.
  • Which assessment(s) were impacted by the circumstances outlined in your claim by selecting the relevant components on the online form.
  • We recognise that it can be challenging to gather evidence for this type of claim, but we recommend taking screenshots or pictures of any technical difficulties you experience. We strongly recommend calling the exam helpline if you experience any issues again, so that a record of this can be logged when it is happening and referenced by your School as part of your claim.