Problems with your course

If your course is not running as smoothly as you'd like, there are procedures in place to help you.

The university recognises that students can come up against unexpected difficulties and hardships during their studies. The Additional Consideration and extensions to deadline processes are designed to help protect students from the impact of unexpected circumstances on their achievement.

You can find information on:

Additional Consideration
Extension to deadline
Errors or queries about your marks, or the assessment process, before an examination board meets
Results review
Academic appeals
Repeating a period of study
Placement issues
Fitness to practise
Changing your mode of study
Poor academic practice and academic misconduct
Making a complaint

You can get help from Brighton Students’ Union. You can book an on-line appointment for a confidential conversation about your options by completing a Case Form on their website. Contacting Brighton Students' Union does not commit you to any particular course of action.

What to do if you are thinking about withdrawing or transferring

Get support if problems are affecting your wellbeing or work

Additional Consideration

If you experience exceptional circumstances which impact on your assessment, you can submit a request for Additional Consideration.

- Brighton Students’ Union advice videos
- Brighton Students Union Get Advice (to book an appointment)
- Contact your SSGT for advice
- Additional Consideration reminder: Facing serious unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances? (pdf)
You can Self-Certify for Additional Consideration once per semester, if you have been absent from one or more time-bound assessments (e.g., an exam, viva, presentation or OSCE) as a result of circumstances lasting for up to seven calendar days.
- You cannot Self-Certify for coursework or attendance.
- You must Self-certify within 7 calendar days after the last affected assessment date.
- You do not have to provide evidence to Self-Certify.
- All eligible assessments in the 7-day period can be included on the request.
Please use the Online Form to request Self-Certification.
Undergraduate/postgraduate students (except below)

You must submit a Full Request for Additional Consideration within 14 calendar days of the last affected assessment/submission deadline.

BSMS undergraduate medical students (BM BS course)

You must submit a Full Request for additional consideration within 7 calendar days of the last affected assessment/submission deadline.

Late request

If you are submitting a late request after the Additional Consideration deadline you must include a valid rationale for lateness on the form.
- Please read the full guidance.
- Download the ARGEAR form (do not complete it on your phone).
- Please make sure to complete all sections of the form correctly.
- Please tell us if you have a Learning Support Plan (LSP) and will require reasonable adjustments or help with the application process.
- Email the completed form and supporting documentation as attachments to: additionalconsideration@brighton.ac.uk.
- Requests for Additional Consideration are reviewed by an Initial Assessor or, for complex cases, by the Additional Consideration Sub-Committee. The next meetings of the Sub-Committee are: 8 November 2024, 20 November 2024, 02 December 2024 and 17 December 2024.
- If your request is upheld, this decision will be reported to the relevant Course Examination Board who will determine how the Additional Consideration can be taken into account.
- If your request is not upheld, you will be sent further information by email about how to submit an Outcome Review (form).

Extension to deadline

How to apply

If your difficulties are short-term and occur close to a coursework submission deadline, you may apply for an extension to deadline.

An extension to deadline grants you extra time to complete your assignment without any negative impact on your marks. Without an extension, a late submission of work (i.e. handing in the work within two weeks after the submission deadline, or the last working day immediately prior to the feedback date where this is shorter than two weeks) carries an automatic penalty, and the mark for the work will be capped at the module pass mark of 40% for undergraduate or 50% for postgraduate, so it is imperative that you apply for an extension in advance of the submission deadline.

To request consideration for an extension, you must submit an application form through your School Administration Office. You should complete the form and submit it along with supporting documentation (for a full request) at least 48 hours before the published submission deadline. The extension request will be considered by the designated signatory (Course Leader or equivalent eg, Deputy Course Leader or Year Tutor).

Regulations

The Extensions to Deadline regulations have been revised for 2024–25. Please read this carefully:

Self-Certification for Extension (NEW)

You can Self-certify for an extension for one assessment per semester.
Your need to request to Self-certify at least 48 hours before the assessment or submission deadline.
To Self-certify you will not need to give a reason for your request or provide any supporting documentation.
You cannot Self-certify for extensions for group-work.
Self-certification is not permitted for single-module (CPD) students.

Standard Extension Request

The standard extension period will be a standard is 7 calendar days.
You need to request an extension at least 48 hours before the assessment or submission deadline.
Please review the grounds for requesting an extension – e.g. this now includes unforeseen and unavoidable caring responsibilities for a dependent.
Please ensure you provide supporting documentation – the list of accepted documentation now includes evidence of engagement with internal (university) wellbeing services and a supporting statement from your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT).

Further information can be found in the regulations section of the Student Contract – see GEAR section B4: Extension to deadline

Where to get help

Your school office will be able to advise you on the extension to deadline process and give you information about how and when decisions are made. In either case, it is better to seek help early so that you can get the support you need. 

If you are experiencing difficulties and would like to discuss this further, we encourage you to reach out to one of our support services, such as your Personal Academic Tutor, Student Support and Guidance Tutor, the Brighton Students' Union, or your course/ Module Leader.

We have also prepared some frequently asked questions (pdf) that you may find useful.

If you have a Learning Support Plan you should seek advice from the Disability and Learning Support Team.

Errors or queries about your marks, or the assessment process, before an Examination Board meets

At any point during the academic year and up to the time that an Examination Board meets, you are encouraged to speak to your Course Leader, School Quality Lead or school office to discuss your concerns regarding a provisional mark (ie a mark that has not been approved and confirmed by an Examination Board) including where you feel that this has been incorrectly recorded.

Where such a concern arises, the Course Leader or School Quality Lead will undertake such actions as to check the provisional assessment outcome and notify the student of their findings. Students should note that marking errors (eg ‘slips’ such as transposition or arithmetic errors) may be rectified prior to an Examination Board if an error is acknowledged by the academic school.

Results review

If you have any queries relating to your results, once your marks have been ratified (i.e. confirmed by the Course Examination Board), you have up to 14 calendar days from receipt of your results to contact your school office and request a Results review.

You should state clearly why you have a concern and what you expect the outcome to be. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the Results review, you will have a further 21 calendar days to submit a formal Stage 1 Appeal.

Academic appeals

An academic appeal is a formal request to the university to ask an Examination Board to look again at its decision about your progression or award. This might concern your degree classification or your ‘progression’, which means a decision about whether you continue to the next stage of your degree, are asked to repeat a module, or are asked to leave the university.

Read our regulations on Academic Appeals in Section H of GEAR.

If you are considering making an academic appeal,the Brighton Students’ Union can offer advice and guidance. You can book an on-line appointment for a confidential conversation about your options by completing a Case Form on their website. Contacting Brighton Students' Union does not commit you to any particular course of action.

Appeal documents

Academic appeals (GEAR section H)
Stage 1 Academic Appeal Form (.docx)
Stage 2 Academic Appeal Form (.docx)
Stage 1 formal appeal guidance (pdf)
Stage 2 appeal outcome review guidance (pdf)

You must use the Stage 1 Form and accompanying guidance provided for this purpose, which you can download here or obtain from the BSU. You must appeal within 21 calendar days from receipt of your Course Examination Board results, or within 21 calendar days of the conclusion of your school’s Results Review. You need to follow the guidance instructions carefully and you must attach evidence in support of your appeal, including an attached copy of your results notification email. If you are still awaiting evidence and cannot provide this within the deadline of 21 calendar days, you should submit your appeal form together with a rationale explaining why you have not been able to submit on time and a note explaining what further evidence is awaited and when it will be received. You have a maximum of 14 calendar days to submit this evidence.
If you believe that the outcome is incorrect, you should read the Academic Appeals Regulations Section H of GEAR carefully and seek advice from the BSU to see whether to request a Stage 2 Appeal Outcome Review. To do this, you will need to complete the Stage 2 Academic Appeal Form, referring to the accompanying guidance and submit to academicappeals@brighton.ac.uk within 14 days of your stage 1 Academic Appeal outcome.
Dates for autumn 2024 are:
- Friday 27 September
- Thursday 3 October
- Tuesday 8 October
- Tuesday 15 October
- Thursday 24 October
- Thursday 31 October
- Wednesday 6 November
- Monday 11 November
- Monday 18 November
Academic Appeals Panels (where Examination Boards fall in February, June or during the referral period), will be established and dates will be published on the university’s website. Where Examination Boards meet outside these times, Academic Appeals Panels will be convened as required. (GEAR section H10.2)
If you have a problem with the service delivery of the university, whether this relates to quality of teaching and course materials, supervision or if you think you are a victim of bias or prejudice, you should raise the issue via the Complaints Resolution Procedure, which will enable a proper investigation to be carried out. You should raise this in the first instance with one of your school Complaints Officers, but if the matter cannot be resolved to your satisfaction within 7–14 days, you should bring a formal Stage 1 Complaint.

See the section below: How to make a complaint.

Repeating a period of study

If you have failed all or part of the academic year, you may not have to leave the university. Instead, you may be able to repeat a period of study.

Repeat study opportunities are offered at the discretion of the examination board. You will need to discuss your individual situation with your personal tutor or course leader.

Bear in mind that repeat study funding, including bursaries, is a complex issue, and we recommend that you see a student adviser to ensure that you will be able to successfully fund your repeated year.

Placement issues

If you experience issues while you are on a placement, contact your placement officer. You can also contact your personal tutor, course leader or Student Support and Guidance Tutor (SSGT) if your school has one.

If you find yourself without the contact details you need, call the main switchboard on 01273 600900 and ask to be put through to a member of staff from your area.

Fitness to Practise

Students studying for awards which lead to registration with a professional body e.g. nursing (Nursing and Midwifery Council), pharmacy (General Pharmaceutical Council), social work (Social Work England) and teaching (Teacher Regulation Agency) are expected to be aware of, and work towards, relevant professional standards and should notify the University of anything likely to affect their fitness to practise (i.e. any concerns that a student may have breached professional standards or may have an ongoing significant health problem that might prevent admission to the relevant profession).

The Fitness to Practise procedure is available The University of Brighton Student Contract.

Changing your mode of study

Overview

Changing your mode of study means changing from full-time to part-time or vice versa. This option is only available on some courses and can depend on the timing of modules and on individual circumstances.

Make sure that you carefully consider any effects that changing mode could have upon your student finance. If you started your course before 2012, changing your mode of study will mean that you are liable to pay the higher fees that were introduced by the government in 2012. If you started your course in 2012, however, changing mode will mean that your tuition fees will vary depending on how many modules you take in a given year.

If you do eventually make the decision to change mode, you need to work with your course leader, who will help you to inform the Academic Registry Student Administration team and your school office.

Student finance

If you plan to study on the same course but change your mode of study to part-time, you are eligible to apply for full funding from Student Finance England, as long as the change is agreed by your academic school. However, unless you have compelling personal reasons for doing so, you will only be entitled to the standard number of years of tuition fee loan and maintenance grant or special support grant for your course. This equates to the standard length of your course plus one year.

If you change course, you will be classed as a new student and your fees and funding will be set at the current level.

If you decide to change your mode of study you will not be eligible to receive a University of Brighton bursary unless you are liable to pay the full tuition fee.

International students

International students with a student visa must study full-time courses and are not permitted to change their mode of study to part-time. There are two exceptions:

International students can study on a part-time basis to re-take modules or re-sit exams.
Postgraduate research students (MPhil/PhD) who are writing up a thesis may also be permitted to study part-time.

We recommend speaking to an international student adviser for further information on this issue.

Poor academic practice and academic misconduct

If you have received a letter accusing you of poor academic practice or academic misconduct, it can be confusing and upsetting. Academic misconduct is taken seriously by the university and can lead to disciplinary action.

The letter you receive will indicate whether yours is considered to be a case of 'poor academic practice' or 'academic misconduct' and will give you a date for an academic practice review meeting with the Head of School or nominee or an Investigating Panel for cases of academic misconduct.

We advise you to contact the Students' Union support service for advice and support with the process as soon as possible. The Students' Union is there to make sure you are treated fairly throughout the process and to advise you on your options.

How to make a complaint

If you are considering making a complaint, advisers from Brighton Students’ Union can provide you with advice and support relevant to your individual circumstances, including helping you complete a Stage 2 Formal Complaint Form and accompanying you at meetings. You are encouraged to contact a Students’ Union Adviser before submitting your complaint.

You can book an on-line appointment for a confidential conversation about your options by completing a Case Form on their website. Contacting Brighton Students' Union does not commit you to any particular course of action
- Failure by the university to provide a satisfactory service.
- The quality of facilities or learning resources.
- Misleading or incorrect information in prospectuses or promotional material and other information provided by the university.
- Concerns about the delivery of a programme, teaching or administration including, where applicable, that provided by a partner college.
- Poor quality of facilities, learning resources or services provided directly by the university.
- Complaints involving other organisations or contractors providing a service on behalf of the university.