What is an Extenuating Circumstance Request (ECR)?
It is a request to extend or delay your assessment deadline if you cannot meet it due to serious personal issues.
Find more important guidance here.
What does it mean to extend my deadline?
An extension gives you up to 5 extra working days to complete your assignment. This is only for
coursework, not for exams or other assessments.
What does it mean to defer my deadline?
A deferral is submitting the assessment at the next assessment opportunity without extra teaching. You can’t pick
when the next assessment date is, so a deferral might stop you from moving on to the next stage of your course
or delay your graduation if the next resit is in a new academic year
International Students: An Extenuating Circumstance Request to defer your deadline may
impact your visa. Contact the visa help team of your study location for advice:
Am I eligible?
Your ability to complete an assessment must have been affected by something that you could not control to apply
for an ECR. Find a list of what might be considered extenuating circumstances here.
ECRs received after the original submission deadline has passed will not normally be granted.
The University has a 24-hour grace period for submitting coursework. It is not guaranteed, does not apply to
extensions, exams, presentations or resit attempts.
What type of evidence can I submit?
Every request must be accompanied by relevant evidence which:
- Relates to the relevant period of time and circumstance
- Is from a professional person who is not a friend or family member
- Is written in English or accompanied by a certified translation.
The type of evidence will depend on your circumstances. For example, you might need a letter or email from your
doctor, the University’s Health and Wellbeing service, hospital admission record, death certificate or a police
report number.
If your evidence is a standard ECR Form issued by Health and Wellbeing for the purpose, and the request falls
within the date range covered by the letter, it should be accepted. Health and Wellbeing will only issue a
letter for students who are known to them.
For more information on supporting evidence, see the Registry Team’s advice here.
If the evidence is about someone else you must complete a Third Party Consent Form
Download this here for Coventry University and Coventry
University London and here for CU Coventry, CU London (Dagenham and Greenwich) and
CU Scarborough. Submit this with your application.
What is likely to be considered extenuating circumstances?
- Serious illness or accidents
- An unexpected deterioration in a chronic illness
- Very serious and unexpected weather conditions or transport problems
- Death or serious illness of a close friend or relative
- Divorce
- Fire
- Burglary
- Court cases
- Pregnancy issues
What isn’t likely to be considered extenuating circumstances?
- Minor illness with no medical evidence
- Routine work commitments
- Minor transport problems
- Social commitments
- Holidays
- Being unaware of a process
- Forgetting to check email
Note: These are examples only and extenuating circumstances are considered on an individual basis.
How Can Your Advice Service Help You?
We can advise you if you have read the guidelines above and still have questions.
We are happy to proofread your Extenuating Circumstance Request form before you submit it if sent a few days in
advance of your submission date. Please send the form and any evidence to us through using our online enquiry
form.
We can also help you appeal the outcome of your request if you disagree with it and feel that you meet the
grounds. Please send us a copy of your appeal form, evidence and the outcome letter to us using our online enquiry
form.
Note: We cannot track the progress of submitted Extenuating Circumstance Requests.